How would you feel if G-D gave you a task that forced you to separate from your family for years without being able to see them? This is exactly what happened to Moshe. G-D commanded Moshe to take leave of his father-in-law and travel to Egypt to save the Jews. Moshe, with his wife and children, went down to Egypt in order to fulfill G-D's command. During the trip, Moshe's wife circumcised their son, revealing to us the young age at which Moshe was forced to leave his son, since once Moshe arrived in Egypt, Aharon told Moshe to send his family back to Midyan because there was enough suffering of the Jewish people in Egypt under Pharoh and why should Moshe bring more people to suffer. This left Moshe and his wife in a difficult situation, let his children grow up without a father and fulfill G-D's words or ignore his responsibilities to the Jewish people and go back to Midyan with his family.(See Shemos 4:19-28 for the full details) Obviously, Moshe chose the latter and finally, after years of separation, Moshe is finally able to see his family again when Yisro, his father-in-law, brings them to see him as described in this week's Parsha:
ב. וַיִּקַּח יִתְרוֹ חֹתֵן מֹשֶׁה אֶת צִפֹּרָה אֵשֶׁת מֹשֶׁה אַחַר שִׁלּוּחֶיהָ:
2. So Moses' father in law, Jethro, took Zipporah, Moses' wife, after she had been sent away,
ג. וְאֵת שְׁנֵי בָנֶיהָ
3. and her two sons......
One would think that Moshe would be overjoyed to see his family and would want to go out and greet them. Therefore, it is curious that when Yisro sends word of their coming he states:
ו. וַיֹּאמֶר אֶל מֹשֶׁה אֲנִי חֹתֶנְךָ יִתְרוֹ בָּא אֵלֶיךָ וְאִשְׁתְּךָ וּשְׁנֵי בָנֶיהָ עִמָּהּ:
6. And he said to Moses, "I, Jethro, your father in law, am coming to you, and [so is] your wife and her two sons with her. "
Rashi here explains that Yisro was saying, through a messanger:
אני חתנך יתרו וגו': אם אין אתה יוצא בגיני צא בגין אשתך, ואם אין אתה יוצא בגין אשתך צא בגין שני בניה:
If you will not come out [to greet us] for me, do it for your wife, and if not for her, greet us for your children.
Why did Yisro have to ASK Moshe to come out and greet them? Wouldn't Moshe be jumping for joy and be RUNNING to meet his long absent family?
One of the first related ideas, other than Rashi, that I saw on this subject bothered me. One of the opinions found in the Daas Sofrim seems to say based on how they understand the phrase "Your wife and HER two sons" that Tzipora and her children were not that great of people. They say that the reason the verse calls Moshe's two sons HER sons is because the root of their souls never reached to the level of the root of Moshe's soul. This opinion in the Daas Sofrim seems to be saying that Tzipora did not do a good job raising Moshe's sons and therefore the Torah calls them HER two sons. Perhaps this can also explain why Moshe was not so excited to see them according to the Daas Sofrim.
The next thing regarding this idea can be seen in the Ibn Ezra and this really threw me off. He says:
ויצא לקראת חתנו -
בעבור כבוד יתרו וחכמתו. ולא לאשתו ובניו, כי אין מנהג לאדם נכבד לצאת לקראת אשתו או בניו.
[He went out towards his father-in-law] because of the honor of Yisro and his wisdom, but not towards his wife or sons because it is not the custom of an honorable man to go out towards his wife or sons.
These two ideas of the Ibn Ezra and the opinion in the Daas Sofrim is fundamentally different than the approach of Rashi. Rashi seems to be saying that Yisro is asking Moshe to come greet him, Yisro, in order that Yisro should be honored. However, if Moshe is unwilling to honor Yisro, Yisro then begs that Moshe honor his daughter. If Moshe is unwilling to do that, at least Moshe will honor his sons. This shows that Rashi understands that Moshe would PREFER to go out to greet his family for Tziporah's sake and his own children's sake more than for the sake of Yisro. The Ibn Ezra focuses on who is more grandiose, but Rashi sees Moshe as a man separated from his family and his love for his family being the most important thing above all else.
Rashi's approach reveals the humbleness of Moshe, but I am unsure what Ibn Ezra's approach shows other than haughtiness. If we follow Rashi's approach, then Moshe is a man who is going out of his way to show honor to his father-in-law even though he doesn't have to. The only thing that could compel Moshe to honor his father-in-law is Moshe's own humbleness and willingness to make others feel good about themselves. This is a trait we should all strive to acquire. However, the Ibn Ezra's approach would seemingly only show Moshe as an arrogant man that did not miss his family, or, at the very least, a man who is unwilling to be emotional with his family. According to the Ibn Ezra, Moshe was careful about his own honor and would not go out to meet his family, only Yisro. I don't know how else to understand the Ibn Ezra. Any suggestions are welcome.
Nonetheless, there is a good lesson to be learned from Moshe according to Rashi. Showing honor to others that deserve it should always be done. Yisro deserved to be honored, therefore, Moshe showed him honor. Even though Moshe did not have to show him honor since Moshe was, at this point, the king of the Jews, he still showed Yisro respect. This is a very important trait to learn, humbleness and a desire to always do the right thing.
Showing posts with label Yisro. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Yisro. Show all posts
Thursday, January 20, 2011
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
Moshe's Judaism vs Yisro's Judaism
In this week's parsha Yisro comes and meets up with Moshe and the Jewish people. The most interesting event that occurs between Moshe and Yisro is a conversation where Yisro gives Moshe advice as to how Moshe should lead the people. The conversation goes like this (Shemos 18:14):
This seems so strange. First off, Yisro says that Moshe is doing a great disservice to the people by making them wait on line to speak with him. Next, Yisro says that Moshe himself will not be able to continue this ill begotten practice for much longer. Then Yisro tells Moshe to teach "them" the Torah and laws. Finally, he tells Moshe to set up leaders of thousands, hundreds and tens that can guide the people. The question here is, simply put, what exactly is going on. What was Moshe doing before Yisro suggested these changes?
If one takes a closer look at the verses he or she will notice something strange. It seems like Moshe, at this point, had not taught anyone any Torah or laws whatsoever. This is seen in verse 20 where Yisro tells Moshe, "Teach them the Torah and its laws!" This is then followed by verse 21 where it says, After you teach them appoint leaders for them that are the best and the brightest to answer any further questions. However, how could Moshe not have taught the Jewish people the Torah at a point where they already had the Torah and it's laws?
It seems to me that Moshe Rabbeinu and Yisro had different ideas as to how the Jewish religion was supposed to exist. Moshe thought that there was supposed to be one person that connects to G-D and tells everyone else what to do. No one can make a move without asking G-D how to behave. In essence, he thought the Jewish people were supposed to be like angels. This makes sense because they had just experienced so many miracles and such high levels of prophecy.
Yisro, on the other hand, came from a completely different background. He had just come from Midyan where life was very humanistic and filled with physicality. If Moshe had continued treating the Jewish people in a purely spiritual manner, they would have never been able to survive in the land of Israel. Living like angels was only possible in the desert where the hand of G-D is seen continuously and constantly. Therefore, Yisro told Moshe to wake up and smell the coffee. He told Moshe, like any good father-in-law would, that he was living in a fantasy world. "You and these people will grow weary of this," Yisro said.
How can the Jewish people consult Moshe on every detail of their life? Yisro was arguing that human comprehension and choices must be allowed and encouraged. Also, the point yisro was trying to bring across to Moshe was that his place was not as a puppet master where every action must go through him and ultimately G-D, but the people must have free choice and their own logical input. "Teach them the Torah and let them figure it out." However, Yisro did not want Moshe discontinuing his leadership role, no, no, no. Yisro was telling Moshe that there must be guidance and therefore, the best and the brightest should guide when there are simple questions and Moshe should be consulted when no one else can figure out the halacha.
Yisro was setting up a nation that could survive in a world where prophecy would not be constant. Yisro knew how the world outside of the desert worked and how to set up a community. That is why the verse tells us that Yisro was the priest of Midyan, because he understood how to lead a nation. One can not act as a leader by controlling every move of his subjects, rather one must teach the subjects how to make the right choices. That is the only way to lead without becoming weary yourself and without making your subjects weary of you.
To make this relevant to today, like I always try to do, let's ask how can it be that people feel like they always need to ask their Rabbi everything? "Rebbe, can I get a job?" "No my talmid, you must study forever." However, in the meantime this man's wife and he are stressed because they have no money. Unfortunately, I have heard this story many times. Also, the countless amount of times that one must ask a Rabbi about every little thing he or she does. We should learn from this story in Yisro, G-D wants us to figure out the halacha with our own knowledge. We have the Shulchan Orech, Aruch Hashulchan, Igros Moshe, Mishnah Berurah and so on. These are tools that allow us to figure out the halacha and know what to do. Serious questions like Niddah questions, certain kashrus questions and the like require a Rabbi, but we need to be able to know what to do in everyday life.
This seems so strange. First off, Yisro says that Moshe is doing a great disservice to the people by making them wait on line to speak with him. Next, Yisro says that Moshe himself will not be able to continue this ill begotten practice for much longer. Then Yisro tells Moshe to teach "them" the Torah and laws. Finally, he tells Moshe to set up leaders of thousands, hundreds and tens that can guide the people. The question here is, simply put, what exactly is going on. What was Moshe doing before Yisro suggested these changes?
If one takes a closer look at the verses he or she will notice something strange. It seems like Moshe, at this point, had not taught anyone any Torah or laws whatsoever. This is seen in verse 20 where Yisro tells Moshe, "Teach them the Torah and its laws!" This is then followed by verse 21 where it says, After you teach them appoint leaders for them that are the best and the brightest to answer any further questions. However, how could Moshe not have taught the Jewish people the Torah at a point where they already had the Torah and it's laws?
It seems to me that Moshe Rabbeinu and Yisro had different ideas as to how the Jewish religion was supposed to exist. Moshe thought that there was supposed to be one person that connects to G-D and tells everyone else what to do. No one can make a move without asking G-D how to behave. In essence, he thought the Jewish people were supposed to be like angels. This makes sense because they had just experienced so many miracles and such high levels of prophecy.
Yisro, on the other hand, came from a completely different background. He had just come from Midyan where life was very humanistic and filled with physicality. If Moshe had continued treating the Jewish people in a purely spiritual manner, they would have never been able to survive in the land of Israel. Living like angels was only possible in the desert where the hand of G-D is seen continuously and constantly. Therefore, Yisro told Moshe to wake up and smell the coffee. He told Moshe, like any good father-in-law would, that he was living in a fantasy world. "You and these people will grow weary of this," Yisro said.
How can the Jewish people consult Moshe on every detail of their life? Yisro was arguing that human comprehension and choices must be allowed and encouraged. Also, the point yisro was trying to bring across to Moshe was that his place was not as a puppet master where every action must go through him and ultimately G-D, but the people must have free choice and their own logical input. "Teach them the Torah and let them figure it out." However, Yisro did not want Moshe discontinuing his leadership role, no, no, no. Yisro was telling Moshe that there must be guidance and therefore, the best and the brightest should guide when there are simple questions and Moshe should be consulted when no one else can figure out the halacha.
Yisro was setting up a nation that could survive in a world where prophecy would not be constant. Yisro knew how the world outside of the desert worked and how to set up a community. That is why the verse tells us that Yisro was the priest of Midyan, because he understood how to lead a nation. One can not act as a leader by controlling every move of his subjects, rather one must teach the subjects how to make the right choices. That is the only way to lead without becoming weary yourself and without making your subjects weary of you.
To make this relevant to today, like I always try to do, let's ask how can it be that people feel like they always need to ask their Rabbi everything? "Rebbe, can I get a job?" "No my talmid, you must study forever." However, in the meantime this man's wife and he are stressed because they have no money. Unfortunately, I have heard this story many times. Also, the countless amount of times that one must ask a Rabbi about every little thing he or she does. We should learn from this story in Yisro, G-D wants us to figure out the halacha with our own knowledge. We have the Shulchan Orech, Aruch Hashulchan, Igros Moshe, Mishnah Berurah and so on. These are tools that allow us to figure out the halacha and know what to do. Serious questions like Niddah questions, certain kashrus questions and the like require a Rabbi, but we need to be able to know what to do in everyday life.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)