Yitro

Parashat Yitro
Rabbi Jill Hammer

By Rabbi Robert Freedman

The account in Exodus of the revelation at Sinai emphasizes physical boundaries. “YHVH said to Moses, ‘I will come to you in a thick cloud.'” (Exodus 19:9). “You shall set bounds for the people round about, saying, ‘Beware of going up the mountain or touching the border of it. Whoever touches the mountain will be put to death.'” (19:12) “The Lord said to Moses, ‘Go down, warn the people not to break through to the Lord to gaze, lest many of them perish.'” (19:21)

These boundaries are similar to those set up by the priesthood following the rebellion of Korah and the destruction of his followers. (Numbers 17:27-18:7) They kept all but the ordained priests from coming close to the holiest part of the sanctuary and prevented any non-anointed person from performing the rites of the temple cult. There, as here, the penalty for crossing the boundary was death. At Read More >

By Rabbi Bruce Alpert

As our world grows more secular, the questions I am asked about my faith grow more sophisticated. People used to ask me whether I believed in God. Given my choice of profession, the answer to that one strikes most as obvious. So now I am asked instead whether I believe in a personal God – a living, active God, if you will; one who not only creates, but who reveals and redeems as well.

The gist of this question, as I hear it at least, seems to be as follows: “I understand why you would hold onto some vague, deistic notions out of a sense fidelity to your past or solidarity with your people. But given our knowledge of the vastness of the universe (or perhaps even multiverse), can you seriously believe that there can be a God who knows and cares about us as a species, let alone as Read More >

Addressed To Each of Us Individually

“In the third month, on the first day of the month, on this day (ba-yom ha-zeh) the Israelites arrived at the wilderness of Sinai.” Why “on this day”? To teach you that every day one must regard the Sinaitic revelation as a present reality, that God is addressing you and speaking to you today (Rashi on Exodus 19:1).

“Like the smoke of a kiln.” Only like the smoke of a kiln? An understatement! Rather, this is to teach you that the divine utterance modulates itself to what the ear can hear (Mekhilta on Exodus 19:18). Similarly: “The voice of the Lord is in strength (Psalm 29:4) -adapted to the strength of each individual (Pesikta de-Rav Kahana on Exodus 20:1 - “I am the Lord your God”). Read More >

By Hayley Mica Siegel

To say that I come from a family of talkers is an understatement. At an early age, I was taught “It’s perfectly fine to interrupt someone else if you know his/her answer or what he/she is about to say” by my elders and witnessed irsthand that this statement was upheld to the highest degree! Dinnertime could nicely be described as a six-ring circus (there were five members of my family and a bearded collie named Bailey). There was an “unspoken” challenge laid in front of every member of my household: to get as many words or opinions interjected into the dinner conversation as possible. And with three boisterous children, two engaged parents, and a street savvy dog, it’s fair to say that people in the lobby of my building could have easily heard every idea, bark, or interjection. Even at family functions (or other people’s family functions!), we never Read More >

Moses learns a lesson in management
Irwin Huberman

There once was a CEO of a major corporation whose dedication to his work and to his employees was legendary.

He would arrive at his desk at sunrise, and would not return home until well past nightfall. For the entire day he would not only attend to his own responsibilities, but would also assist his employees to navigate the pathways of their own lives.

People would come to him with not only with their own work issues, but also with their interpersonal problems. The CEO was wise and revered, and the lineup outside his office door was constant and never ending.

One day, his father’in-law, Yitro, a person of wisdom and experience, came to visit and noticed not only the long lineup, but also the physical toll it was taking on his son-in-law.

And he uttered the words, which would be forever inscribed in the corporate tradition. Yitro Read More >

The Makings of a Great Leader
Hayley Siegel

In Pirke Avot (Ethics of the Fathers) 1:10, our teachers Shemayah and Avtalyon teach, ‘Do not become overly familiar with the government.’ Indeed, our rabbis probably could never have imagined an election season quite like this one!

With groundbreaking candidates, including an African-American, a female, a Mormon, and a Jewish candidate (possibly) running in the 2008 Presidential election, who wouldn’t want to pay attention to this year’s primaries and campaigns?! With the myriad ads, speeches, and publicity events flashing before our overwhelmed eyes, it can be difficult to separate the truth from the hype. Luckily for us, Moses’ creation of the first Israelite government in Parashat Yitro gives us the perfect opportunity to gain insight into the qualities we should take into account when we elect leaders for our government.

In last week’s parashah, B’Shalah, we read of the tribe’s dramatic escape from Egypt. The Israelites Read More >

Reason & Revelation
By Suri Krieger

A riddle:
5 scrolls, ancient word
Direct dictate of God heard
Moses writes it all down
On top Mt Sinai, holy ground . . . What am I?

Have you got the answer? OK
Hold that thought, and let’s try another:

5 scrolls, a few thousand years
Words of poets, priests and seers
Reworked by the hands of so many scribes
Until finally edited and codified . . . What am I?

Parashat Yitro, stands out as one of the quintessential parshiot ‘ portions – in our whole Torah cycle. It contains both the moment of Revelation at Sinai, and the giving of the Ten Commandments, aseret ha-dibrot. Based on this parashah, a debate between Revelation and Reason has been raging for centuries. (I use this dichotomy to stand for the problem of whether the traditional claims for how the Torah was given to Israel ‘ Revelation – are Read More >

Often the original movie or book is better that the sequel. Last year I caught the end of Beverly Hills Cop, staring Eddie Murphy on TV. I had not seen it in years, and I had forgotten how funny a movie it was. It was genuinely a good comedy. However, not to many people will say the same of Beverly Hills Cop Two. And Beverly Hills Cop Three bombed.

Does the Torah follow the same pattern as the movies? Parshat Yitro, which precedes Parshat Mishpatim, is certainly an exciting Parsha. Yitro, the Midianite priest and father-in-law of Moses joined the Hebrews after he heard that God had saved the Hebrews. Yitro brings his daughter Zipporah and grandchildren, thus reuniting Moses with his wife and children.

The excitement continues with the revelation at Sinai. After three days Read More >

A Treasured People
By Daniel Price

In this week’s Torah portion, neatly nestled between Yitro’s sage
advice to Moses to delegate, and the Ten Commandments, is a
controversial verse that has been central for Jews over the centuries.
It has been both a source of hope and strength for a marginalized
people through the ages, and it has been used against us. As a liberal
Jew I have found it to be a source of concern. I certainly understand
it within a historical context, but I refute it from a theological
context. I have to. I am not an apologist, but I am a product of the
teachings of liberal Judaism of the past half century.

I am speaking of Exodus 19:5, where G-d speaks to Moses, saying:
‘Now then if you (the Children of Israel) will indeed obey Me and keep
My covenant you shall be my ‘treasured’ possession among all the
peoples.’ The word written in the Torah is ‘segulah.’ This word, Read More >