Hamodia ‘Parsha Growth Spurts’
Rabbi Dani Staum
Parshas Yisro
(18:1) “Yisro… heard all that Hashem did to Moshe and Yisroel , His People – that Hashem took Yisroel out of Mitzrayim.”
In Aish Kodesh, the Piaseczna Rebbe hy’d zt’l introduces the following thought he delivered in the Warsaw Ghetto with the words “B’H Yisro (5700/1940); During this Shabbos I was in hiding”:
Rashi explains “What did Yisro hear that caused him to come? K’rias Yam Suf and the War against Amalek.” The pasuk writes that Yisro heard about the exodus. If so, why does Rashi say he came because of K’rias Yam Suf and Milchemes Amalek?
Kabbolas HaTorah took place in the desert, not in Eretz Yisroel, to ingrain in Klal Yisroel that Torah traverses all boundaries. Torah and mitzvos aren’t endemic to any particular place, but are universal in every place and in every situation.
When Yisro heard about the exodus he was excited and wanted to be part of Klal Yisroel. But to do so he could’ve commissioned a few Jews to join him in Midyan and teach him in his home, so that he could then teach his neighbors. But when Yisro saw how immediately after K’rias Yam Suf, Amalek sought to quell the Jews’ enthusiasm by attacking ‘baderech’ on the road, he realized that a Jew must learn to maintain his passion and observance even beyond the comforts of home. To be a Jew he had to physically join Klal Yisroel in the desert. He had to learn how to be a Jew even ‘baderech’, when it’s not comfortable or convenient.
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(18:17) “The father-in-law of Moshe said to him, ‘The thing that you do is not good’.”
At a gathering of Torah Leaders in Warsaw before the War, there were individuals who voiced complaints that the ‘Agudah’ wasn’t doing enough to help the volatile situation in Eretz Yisroel.
The Imrei Emes of Gur zy’a told them that Rashi notes that one of Yisro’s seven names was Yeser which means ‘extra’, because a parsha was added to the Torah on his account. Rashi writes that the added parsha begins with the words ‘V’atah Sechezeh’. It is difficult to understand why Rashi refers to the added parsha as beginning with the words V’atah Sechezeh, when in fact, Yisro’s speech to Moshe began seven verses earlier, when he voiced his disapproval of the entire nation lining up before Moshe with their inquires.
The Rebbe explained that the words V’atah Sechezeh begins Yisro’s suggestion of how to rectify the problem, by appointing a hierarchy of judges. Anybody can point out problems and voice complaints, but for merely chastising Moshe, Yisro would not have merited an added parsha. He was granted the distinction of an added name because he proposed a viable solution for the problem.
It is useless to kvetch or complain, unless one can present possible solutions.
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(19:12) “Guard yourself (from) ascending the mountain or touching its edge; whoever touches the mountain shall surely die.”
During the final week of his life, Rav Moshe Sherer a’h, the beloved President of Agudas Yisroel for over three decades, wrote the text of a speech he planned to deliver at Agudas Yisroel’s 76th Annual Dinner. Sadly, Rav Sherer passed away just prior to the dinner.
Included in the text of the speech, Rav Sherer quoted the following homiletic explanation of the Kotzker Rebbe:
Often individuals who possess innate abilities don’t actualize their potential. To these people the pasuk warns, “Guard yourselves” those who can “ascend the mountain”. If you “only touch its edge”, by only utilizing part of your potential – “all those who touch the mountain” when they could accomplish so much more, has not accomplished his task in life.
Rav Sherer concluded with what would be the final words he wrote in his life: “If you’ve merited and ascended the mountain, do not be like those who are satisfied with little. Instead endeavor to climb higher and higher!”
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Sources: Imrei Emes – quoted in Ta’am V’da’as; Rav Sherer – related by Rav Paysach Krohn