Spark of Jewish Experience

* Many nations had seen and heard the miracles that G-d performed for the Jews in Egypt and at sea. However, Yitro comprehended what G-d had done. He was impressed to the point that it changed him and he was ready to convert to Judaism.

*Originally, Yitro’s name was Yeter, only later the letter VAV was added to his name, making it Yitro. This served as both as a sign of his having become a Jew and to indicate that the parsha of appointing Judges was added to the Torah in his honor. In many instances, the Torah adds a letter to a person’s name as a sign of his having acquired greatness. Conversely, a letter is omitted from someone’s name if he fails to maintain his spiritual status.

* Moshe sends a message to Tziporah, his wife, to meet him at a certain point in the desert. Yitro arrived with Tziporah and Moshe’s two sons at the scheduled meeting place.

* A meal offering was initiated by Yitro commemorating his circumcision and his introduction to Judaism. We see many years later that the King of Israel, Shaul, warned the Canaanites, who were the descendants of Yitro, to leave their residence within Amalek (enemies of the Jews) because war was imminent. The reason for such concern as to not to harm them stemmed from this meal celebration between Moshe, Aharon, Yitro, and other high-ranking officials. We see the power of a sit down meal celebration when done for the sake of mitzvah, and how positive it can be so that it has long lasting effects, even hundreds of years later.

Second Portion: * Yitro’s experience in public office where he had had a high ranking position in Pharaoh’s super power government, enabled him to advise Moshe on how to be more proficient in his duties and make the justice system run better.

* There is a question as to why Moshe wasn’t able to derive the advice that Yitro gave him from the Torah itself? We have to understand that although the Torah provides us with great wisdom, there will be, on occasion, an individual who can provide sound advice. G-d’s purposely teaching us that it’s not the intellectual superiority which is the main part, nor are we more culturally advanced than the other nations, rather the focal point is the spiritual superiority.

Third Portion: * Moshe took the advice of his father-in-law.

* Yitro decided to return to Midyan.

* Why did Yitro decide to return to Midyan? Wouldn’t he feel more comfortable with his new comrades (his fellow circumcised Jews)? (See one of my schmooze in the email newsletter). One should note that Ruth the Midyanit convert decided to go to Israel with her former mother-in-law rather than go back to her former home. It would be most difficult to maintain one’s religious level among people who do not have the same goals as you. So indeed, why did Yitro return to Midyan?

Fourth Portion: * The Israelites arrived at Mount Sinai and Moshe went up to receive the Torah.

* G-d told Moshe to tell the people, “If you keep My Torah, I will hold you in great esteem”.

Fifth Portion: * Moshe came down from the mountain and related everything that G-d is demanding of us. The elders, the leaders, all answered back “We will do whatever G-d says”.

* Moshe gave instructions for the preparations necessary to receive the Torah.

* The nation gathered at the bottom of the mountain.

Sixth Portion: * G-d’s aura had descended and rested upon the Israelites. This was the closest the Jews have ever been to the presence of G-d.

* The first two commandments were recited by G-d. However, the people weren’t able to withstand the rays of G-d’s presence. Therefore, Moshe recited the last eight.

* The Ten Commandments are divided into five and five. The first five on the right are commandments between G-d and man, while the second five are commandments between man and his fellow man.

Seventh Portion: * One cannot even imagine what a special moment in history this was. The scripture says they actually saw the voices!!

* Only three Jews did not witness the revelation at Mount Sinai, Yitro and Moshe’s two sons. How can that be – Moshe’s sons? This was designed by G-d so that Moshe can perform what every father and Rabbi is commanded to do, to pass down the Torah to the next generation. Almost the whole nation experienced the Sinai experience, so there was no passing down for a while. Still, they learned from the best teacher and the best lesson; Moshe taught his two sons.

* Three million Jews witnessed the receiving of the Torah. No other religion has witnesses of this magnitude that have seen the revelation of their religion.

If one goes to a Yeshiva study hall, one will see a whole bunch of guys immersed in their books studying. SO BIG DEAL!  WHY ARE ALL THESE RELIGIOUS JEWS MAKING SUCH A HOOPLA OUT OF LEARNING TORAH?!

Another question one has to ask is regarding the famous SHEMA that we say every day. In that prayer we start off, immediately after the proclamation of the sentence SHEMA, “VEH AHAVTA ET HASHEM ELOKECHA”- “and you should love your G-d”. How can one love G-d? One has never seen him or touched him?!

Rabbi Baruch Dopelt quotes many sources as saying that the essence of G-d can be found in the Torah and if one wants to get to know Him, one has to study the Torah. This idea is brought out by the Zohar based on the first word of the Ten Commandments, ANOCHI. The four letters of the word ANOCHI represent ANA NAFSHI KETUVIM YAHAVAT-“My essence is in the scriptures that I gave”. Learning Torah is different from any other subject. When one learns Gemarah or Chumash, for example, one becomes attached to G-d. We have all lit candles for a deceased loved one. The departed soul is represented by the fire; fire connects to fire, spirituality connects to spirituality. By learning His Torah we become infused with the essence of G-d.

The SHEMA continues and says “VEHAYU HADVARIM HA ELEH”-“and these words”. This is referring to the Torah.

There is a preconceived notion that people who learn the Talmud become smart. The Torah is G-d and G-d is infinite. Therefore, if one studies the Torah, which is His CHUCHMA-intelligence, he ultimately becomes infinitely more intelligent. This is the reason why there are so many explanations of each word of Torah. All are correct; each one is just a different facet and angle. Hence, it is infinite.

This is the way for us to show that we love G-d. In any relationship, one needs two sides to participate. When we pray, we talk to him. When we learn Torah, He talks to us.

D’var Torah heard from Rabbi Shalom Ber Hecht
and Rabbi Offer Davidov.

Yitro was a very smart man, and when he came to the Israelite camp in the desert, he saw a severely overworked leader in his son-in-law, Moshe.

Yitro advised him to spread the wealth of knowledge and to assign the task of judging the people to others. Although Yitro’s advice was successfully implemented, one has to be careful in giving advice. It could be devastating to the person receiving it and even more damaging to the one giving it.

There was a story about two young, ambitious, Jewish business partners who were looking to make it big. They would buy here and sell there and make a few dollars. However stressful and difficult, they would never give up on their dream.

One day, the opportunity came their way. One of the partners, Moshe, received a tip from a lawyer friend from the next town that his rich client had

passed away and had left a warehouse full of good merchandise. His daughter, however, did not want to burden herself with the business and was looking to sell the entire stock of merchandise for a bargain price. It would be an opportunity that would take these boys to a different tax bracket and would change their financial lives’ drastically.

After agreeing on the price, through this lawyer friend, the boys borrowed money to pay for the tremendous shipping expense of the enormous stock of merchandise as well as for the purchase of a nice size warehouse. They figured it was a “done deal” and all that was left was just to sign on the dotted line. They would be well prepared.

Before traveling to the next town where the business transaction was to take place, the lawyer prepped them as to what to say and how to act when they meet his client, the daughter. They must be extremely polite because his client never met Jews before. At first, she was hesitant to go forth with the transaction, however, the lawyer assured her that the Jews do not have horns and don’t bite. In those days, Jews and non-Jews almost never interacted.

They met the lawyer at the house of the deceased man where his daughter now lived alone. The papers were drawn up and the partners already signed, all while waiting for the young lady to come down. Again the lawyer reiterated that they must act properly and be polite. When they finally met, the boys made such a good impression and the daughter was really impressed. She was especially taken by one of the partners, David, noting that he had a great smile. The meeting was a huge hit and the papers were signed. Moshe told David that he will go back home to wait for the shipment, while he should stay and make sure the shipment is sent properly.

The next day, David gets a message saying that there is one important document that the daughter forgot to sign and he should meet him and the daughter at the same place that night.

When David entered the house that evening, he was greeted by just the daughter. “Where is our lawyer friend?” he asked. “We really don’t need him tonight; he gave me the document this morning”. David asked if she could sign because it was getting a little late, however the daughter had different plans. “If you want me to sign this document and transfer the merchandise, you have to sleep with me tonight” she said to him. David was taken aback. He tried to persuade her to reconsider, however she was adamant; either she sleep with him or the deal is off.

The next morning the merchandise was on their way to the partners’ home town where Moshe greeted David with such enthusiasm. However, the enthusiasm was not so shared by David. Over the next four months, Moshe witnessed a change in David. He became more serious, he started to attend Torah lectures, he was more diligent in going to minyan, and he dressed more modestly. He wasn’t the same fun loving David.

One day Moshe confronted him and asked him why he is acting so differently ever since they came back from the business trip. Dave confessed that he had slept with the non-Jewish woman. Moshe thought about it and advised David, “You’re missing out on all the fun stuff, especially now that we’ve accumulated so much wealth. I’ll tell you what; I’m going to buy your sin with the woman for your portion of the partnership. What do you say? Deal?”

Eventually, David agreed. The two wrote out a contract, shook hands and went their separate ways.

Forty years later, the wealthy Moshe became ill and after a few months he died.

When Moshe came to be judged, he was given a very harsh judgment. Surprised, Moshe was reluctant to accept it and asked why. The answer was because he slept with the non-Jewish woman. He complained that “it wasn’t me; it was my partner”. He was begging. “I swear it was him not me!” Bet Din said, “If you are correct, prove it!!”

That night, Moshe appeared to David in a dream and told him that “I need you to come up here to testify on my behalf”.

David shrugged it off as a bad dream. However, the next night Moshe again appeared to David in a dream, only this time it was a bit more intense. It was after the third time when he felt Moshe was choking him and demanding that he join him in the heavenly court, did David seek help. He approached the leading rabbinical figure of the generation, the Maharsha, HaRav Shmuel Aidels (some say he was the last Rabbi to write commentary with RUACH HAKODESH-Divine inspiration).

The Maharsha instructed David that next time Moshe appears in your dream demanding that you go there, tell him, “this issue can only be resolved in this world. If he wants, he has to come here in BET DIN OF YISRAEL”.

The next night, Moshe indeed appeared and received the Maharsha’s instructions. A date was set to stand trial against David.

This is one of the few times in the history of the world where a person who had gone to the other world came back.

In the court there was a section where Moshe would sit alone. The courtroom was very crowded. The Maharsha heard both testimonies and concluded: “Moshe you are guilty of giving the wrong advice. David committed a sin and he was repenting. He became a changed man. However, you interfered with his growth in Torah and spirituality. After the transaction when you purchased his sin, he became more lax; he regressed in his AVODAT HASHEM-serving of G-d. You have not only interfered with his life, but you also affected his future generations. Therefore, your purchase of the sin will be dealt with severely”.

Everyone in the courtroom heard as they were dragging Moshe away to Gehinnom.

In this week’s parsha, Parshat Yitro, when Yitro saw all the miracles that Hashem had performed, he said “Baruch Hashem – blessed are you Hashem”.  We too must make it habit to say “Boruch Hashem.” When one says these two words they are confirming that Hashem is running the world and He is behind all that occurs.

One is also thanking Hashem for all that happens. The Baal Shem Tov used to ask others, “How are you?” just so that he can hear people answer “Baruch Hashem”.

One also should get into the habit of saying “B’Ezrat Hashem – if Hashem wills it to be”. We cannot do or accomplish anything without the will of Hashem.

Shifra could not manage. It was already a week since her washing machine broke and the repairman had promised to come two days ago. The dirty laundry was taking up every spare inch of space and her children were starting to complain that they did not have clean clothing. After more than one attempt by phone, Shifra made up her mind to travel to Tel Aviv to complain to the manager personally. “I am going to Tel Aviv. I will give the manager a piece of my mind! Then he’ll surely send someone immediately. There is no reason for this delay. The machine is still covered under warranty”, Shifra pronounce determinedly. “Say B’Ezrat Hashem you will go to Tel Aviv. We cannot do anything without the will of Hashem.” said Ephraim, her husband, patiently. “There is no need to say B’Ezrat Hashem. I am leaving immediately.” Shifra took her purse; made sure she had enough money for her bus fare, and headed toward the bus station for Tel Aviv. After a 45 minute bus ride, Shifra arrived in Tel Aviv. But as soon as she stepped off the bus she no longer could remember why she traveled all the way there. She had simply forgotten the reason for her trip. Shifra took the 45 minute return trip home without having accomplished a thing. “One must always remember that nothing can be attained without the will of Hashem. Remember always say B’Ezrat Hashem.” reminded Ephraim when his wife told him what happened.

The Shelah Hakadosh stated that when speaking about the journey of the Jews in the desert, the Torah states “Al Pi Hashem – with the words of Hashem” twice, once when they traveled and once when they rested. This teaches us that they could not travel or rest without the consent and order from Hashem. All that happens requires Hashem’s command.

When one sets out on a journey he recites Tefillat Haderech. He asks Hashem to allow him to arrive safely. This prayer shows us that all that occurs is up to Hashem. One can plan, know all the ways and yet not arrive at his destination. Hashem is in charge and orchestrates everything.

Throughout one’s day one should ask for Hashem’s assistance in all that he does and then he should thank Hashem for having accomplished his task. There is no limit to the amount of times one should use the phrases B’Ezrat Hashem and Baruch Hashem on a daily basis.

What have we learned today?

From whom do we learn the importance of saying “Baruch Hashem”?  

Yitro said “Baruch Hashem” after he heard about the great miracles. He realized that Hashem is the one that runs the world and that all that occurs is only because Hashem willed it to be that way. We see how important this concept is. When one wakes up each morning the first thing that he must do is recite Modeh Ani. He must realize that it is Hashem that has returned his soul and gave him the opportunity of a new day.

When should one say “B’Ezrat Hashem and Baruch Hashem?

Throughout the day one can and should say B’Ezrat Hashem and Baruch Hashem. We say B’Ezrat Hashem before we do something. We must realize that nothing can be accomplished without the will of Hashem. For example: when one goes out shopping one should say “B’Ezrat Hashem we will find what we need.” One should ask Hashem for his assistance. And then when done shopping he should remember to say “Baruch Hashem” and thank Hashem for allowing him to succeed.

Mr. and Mrs. Avi and Bracha Behar, MAZAL TOV!! upon the engagement of their daughter, Sarah to Jonathan Mechael Yunatanov, may the Behar and Yunatanov family see much NACHAT and BRACHA

Rabbi Uri and Ricki Sklaar in loving memory Avraham Yosef ben Sarah   and a refuah shelema to Mila Yaffa bat Devorah Mendle

Mr. and Mrs. Michael Gad hatzlacha to all.

Mr. and Mrs. Rafi Fouzailoff for peace and unity in the world especially among our Jewish nation

Mr. David Bodenhiem in loving memory of his father Naftali ben Avraham MENUCHATO BEH GAN EDEN

Mr. and Mrs. Jack Abraham in loving memory of his father Shalom Yitzchak ben David and Yocheved and his sister Tamara bat Shalom Yitzchak and Sara Malka MENUCHATAM BEH GAN EDEN

Mr. and Mrs. Mark Abraham in loving memory of his father Shalom Yitzchak ben David and Yocheved and his sister Tamar bat Shalom Yitzchak and Sara Malka MENUCHATAM BEH GAN EDEN

Mr.and Mrs. Herbert Livi refuah shelema to all of klal Yisrael

Mr.and Mrs. Shlomo Shimonov for the health, parnasa, and hatzlacha for the entire Shimonov and Matat family and all of klal Yisrael

Mr.and Mrs. Yaacov and Sarah Nager for refuah shelema Tovah bat Mirriam Leah, Sarah bat Shulamit

Mr.and Mrs. David Hodzibekof in loving memory of his father Efraim ben Yeshua MENUCHATO BEH GAN EDEN

Anonymous

REFUAH SHELEMA

Shoshana Roza bat Ester

Shura Yoshua bat Chusni

Frumit bat Esther Malka

Yissachar dov ben Tzipora Faiga

Nissim ben Rachel

Oshrat bat Esther