Then Give Hope To The Hopeless, The Helpless And The Homeless (Robert Hunter & Phil Lesh - "Wave To The Wind")

           Earlier this week, President Biden gave the State of The Union Address before a joint session of Congress, and all those who had tuned in. The President struck a note of hope.  He spoke of the growing frustration that people have when dealing with airlines, insurance companies, pharmaceutical companies,  and all the current sources of aggravation and inconvenience that everyday people experience.  Acknowledging that there are still many economically and politically alienated people, his goal remains to do as much as possible to create opportunities that mitigate the sense of alienation. He reminded Americans and the world that aspiring to the best version of America was still possible.  Several moments after the President’s State of the Union Address, the minority party’s response was offered by Sarah Huckabee, the former White House Director of Communications during the Trump Administration and the current Governor of Arkansas. She spoke of a Left Wing Cabal and registered the complaints that her former boss articulated seven years ago. She looked towards the past and spoke in a code that only the most passionate believers of her message would understand. President Biden spoke of the present and of the future in a language and using examples that everyone could understand and relate to. 

           In this week’s Parsha Yitro, there are two distinct narratives. The first narrative focuses on Moshe and his father-in-law Yitro.  Moshe leads B’nai Yisroel to Midian. While there, Moshe spends a little time with his wife, his two sons, and his father-in-law, Yitro. Yitro acknowledges that G-d has protected B’nai Yisroel and that the Lord is greater than all other gods. The next day, Yitro witnesses Moshe sit from morning to night mediating and adjudicating conflicts among B’nai Yisroel. Yitro understands that his son-in-law is overextended and the current method of governing is neither good for him nor for Amchah (the nation). Being both a Priest of Midian as well as his father-in-law, Yitro offers advice as both a father and a community leader. The second distinct narrative occurs, from chapters 19 through 20,  and focuses upon B'nai Yisroel’s revelation at Sinai.  The Parshah concludes with God’s declaration of the Aseret Dibrot, the Ten Commandments. The second part of the Parshah is very well known, incredibly unclear, and lends itself to numerous interpretations, commentaries, and Midrashim.  However, the two stories seem so disparate and could easily stand alone.  Why do these two separate narratives appear together in the same Parsha and how are they connected? 

           Yitro suggests to Moshe “You be a representative of God, and you convey the matters to God…you shall make known to them the path in which they should go and the deeds they should do. You shall discern from among the entire people, men of accomplishment, men of truth, men who despise money. You shall appoint them as leaders of thousands…they shall judge the people at all times, and they shall bring every major matter to you, and every minor matter they shall judge, and it will be eased for you, and they shall bear with you. If you do this thing and God shall command you, then you will be able to endure, and this entire people, as well, should arrive at its destination in peace.” (Ex. 18:19-23)  Yitro explains that a community must have a shared vision. To some degree, people need to know how to seek G-d on their own, and how to behave within a community. Others need to know God's ways in order to adjudicate and mediate conflicts or transmit information. Everyone must have access to G-d and G-d’s teaching. Only then will Moshe’s leadership responsibilities be light enough to bear. Only then will Amchah have a stake in the relationship with G-d. Only then will Moshe and B’nai Yisroel become willing participants in their covenant with G-d. Only then can this community uphold its role as a “priest to the nations”. Then and only then will Moshe and B’nai Yisroel arrive at its destination in peace.  However, Yitro’s suggestion is a top-down approach. Moshe sits atop.   After Moshe heeded his father-in-law’s advice, the preparation for the Revelation at Sinai occurs. While Moshe ascends and descends the mountain, the narrative focuses on B’nai Yisroel’s preparation, and its standing, waiting, and listening.  God instructs  Amchah to prepare for Revelation. The “entire people'' were in the camp, and they shuddered. Then Moshe brought the people from the camp toward God. (Ex 19:16-17). When presented with God’s covenant, “the entire people responded together and said, ‘everything that God has spoken we will do!’”(Ex 19:8) The narrative continually emphasizes that Revelation was not solely between God and Moshe.  B'nai Yisroel must be involved in the process. B’nai Yisroel must experience some aspect of Revelation. B’nai Yisroel must be active participants in Revelation. They were. They willingly and unanimously responded.  B’nai Yisroel’s unanimous response indicated that they were responsible and willing participants in the covenant. Their participation and the unanimous response indicated that they shared a common vision and purpose.

Moshe and B’nai Yisroel had a shared vision. Moshe experienced numerous revelations as an individual. However, at Sinia, he shared that revelation with B’nai Israel. As the leader, the disseminator of Law, and the one responsible for transmitting that law to the people, Moshe is responsible for not only transmitting law but doing everything he can to make sure that B’nai Israel has a shared and common vision, a sense of citizenship and common experience. By doing so, he improves the chances that this new society will be able to survive in the future. President Biden’s speech reflected that same idea. Speak in a language and from a common shared experience. That sense of shared common experience binds us as a people and offers the best chance of solving the problems of the future. 

Peace,
Rav Yitz

Whatever Happened To His Precious Self Control (Gerrit Graham & Bob Weir - "Victim Or The Crime")

           One of the most damaging results of the ongoing pandemic has been the increase of has been the increase in substance abuse and addiction. Whether alcohol, opioids, or another substance; the increased tension, and anxiety have led to an increased demand for mental health services.  Dr. Carl Erik Fisher author of The Urge: Our History of Addiction wrote a recent Op-Ed piece in the Jan 15th New York Times entitled "It's Misleading to Call Addiction a Disease". He explains that as a recovering addict, who is also a medical doctor, he has always struggled with the idea that addiction is a disease. His point is that the “addiction as a disease” paradigm oversimplifies the role of medicine and science. This paradigm assumes that a pill or a procedure will eradicate the disease. Besides, oversimplification, the “addiction as a disease” paradigm also eliminates the importance of empowering the patient to recover. A disease, if genetic, creates a degree of fatalism, and a disease that is entirely environmental and socio-economic eliminates the importance of hope. Rather, Fisher explains that when he wakes up every morning, his addiction reminds him that he, like everyone else, has a human struggle. His addiction reminds him that he, like everyone, must struggle with self-control and his addiction is just another example of human suffering and struggling with self-control.  

        This week's Parsha is Yitro. Named after Moshe's father-in-law, who happens to be a Midianite priest, the Parsha begins with Moshe leading B'nai Yisroel toward the wilderness of Midyan where he meets up with his father-in-law, his wife, and his two sons. Yitro suggests that Moshe should create a bureaucracy whereby others administer the small everyday rulings required of a judge. Difficult legal issues would be administered by Moshe. Moshe is then commanded by God to bring B'nai Yisroel to Har Sinai. For three days they will purify themselves, clean their clothes, not have marital relations, and purify their souls for a revelation. With the mountain smoking and thunder billowing from the heavens, God begins to speak. B'nai Yisroel is absolutely petrified and fearing death, they beg Moshe to go up the mountain as their Shaliach (appointed messenger). Moshe ascends the mountain and receives the Aseret HaDibrot (the Ten Commandments), then descends. Upon his descent, he tells B'nai Yisroel the Aseret HaDibrot. The Parsha concludes with B'nai Yisroel readily accepting the Ten Commandments, Moshe re-assures the people not to fear the thunder and the flames, God attests to the fact that B'nai Yisroel has accepted these commandments and then commands Moshe to build an altar of earth.

        The Ten Commandments are bound by several themes. The first five commandments are God-oriented. The second five commandments are people-oriented. The Aseret HaDibrot is punishable by death. Through our modern perspective, we may not agree but we can understand the concept of capital punishment in terms of murder, testifying falsely, (in which false testimony leads to death), or even kidnapping. However, how do we explain capital punishment as a punishment for not honoring your parents, keeping the Shabbat, or committing Avodah Zarah (Idolatry)? Certainly violating Shabbat or violating the first five commandments that are all God-  does not necessarily hurt someone else. Even not honoring one's parents might not warrant capital punishment in today's day and age. So how do we understand that each commandment is punishable by death? We know that if we do not take care of our bodies, there is a chance our bodies will be hurt. If we don't eat right, get enough sleep, and exercise then our resistance is low and there is a chance we will get sick. If we don't fasten our seatbelts then there is a chance that we won't be able to walk away from an accident. If we drink too much and too often or if we smoke, we know that we are doing damage to our bodies. There are things that we do to help our spiritual existence as well. Failure to take care of our souls is also detrimental to our existence. Failure to take care of our soul leads to emptiness, purposelessness, and a misguided existence. The first five commandments are about the welfare of our souls.  The first five commandments give our existence a higher more spiritual purpose. The first five commandments fill our lives with meaning even when overwhelmed with the onslaught of the humdrum of everyday life. The first five commandments give us a sense of where we fit in the universe. The first five commandments are for each individual's soul and the soul's relationship to God.

        The Aseret HaDibrot is much more than the Ten Commandments. The Aseret HaDibrot provides a blueprint for a life that is part of a community  (the second five commandments) and accounts for our own sense of self-worth and purpose (the first five commandments). The Aseret HaDibrot teaches us and commands us to transcend time and space by adding meaning and holiness to our lives. The Aseret HaDibrot teaches us that our spiritual well-being is just as important as our physical well-being. When our soul is complete, filled with a sense of purpose, filled with love, and filled with the acknowledgment that there is God, we are able to transcend the physical. As Dr. Fisher explains, addiction is just another type of human struggle that occurs on a daily basis. That struggle is as much a struggle of the soul as it is a struggle of the body. The Aseret Dibrot, gives our soul a higher purpose, choosing to connect to the holy and the sacred rather than the mundane, the ordinary, or the destructive.

Peace,
Rav Yitz.

Arabian Nights Our Gods Pursue Their Fights; What Fatal Flowers of Darkness Bloom From Seeds Of Light - Robert Hunter & Jerry Garcia - "Blues for Allah"

           This week was the 80th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor and the United States’ entrance into WWII when the world was divided between the forces of fascism/authoritarianism and democracy. Ironically, this week President Biden met with the largest democracies in Europe prior to his meeting with Europe’s most authoritarian regime: Russia. Russia has amassed approximately 100,000 soldiers and equipment along its border with Ukraine. It seemed that the President wanted to confront Putin using the language of sanctions and diplomacy, so he needed to know the position of Europe’s largest economies regarding any such diplomatic response. Also, the President responded to another authoritarian regime by announcing a diplomatic boycott of the upcoming winter Olympics in China. On a global diplomatic scale, we witnessed the confrontation or a clash between liberty/democracy and suppression/authoritarianism.

          This week’s Torah portion is VaYigash.  The confrontation between Yosef and his brothers is about to occur. The Parshah begins with Yehudah approaching his brother Yosef, whom he does not recognize, and pleads for Benjamin’s freedom.  Yosef reveals his identity. Then Yosef and his brothers hug and kiss each other. They cry and they forgive each other. Yosef asks about his father’s welfare. The brothers return to their father, Yaakov, and tell him that Yosef is alive. The brothers explain that everyone, the entire clan, should go down to Egypt. So this clan, including Jacob, the brothers, their wives, and children, heads down to Egypt. Yaakov meets Pharaoh. Yosef’s family is given a parcel of land outside of Egypt in a place called Goshen, where they can tend to their flocks. Yaakov is reunited with his beloved Yosef in the land of Goshen.

          For the ChaZaL, the Sages of Blessed Memory, the Sages of the Talmud, the confrontation between Yosef, the second most powerful man in Egypt, and Yehudah, the leader of Yaakov’s sons; the confrontation is much more than just two brothers meeting up after a couple of decades. For ChaZaL, the word VaYiGaSh refers to Yehudah girding himself for war. Remember, Yehudah does not yet know the identity of the man standing before him. For all Yehudah knows, this man, who looks Egyptian, dresses Egyptian, and speaks Egyptian embodies the most powerful empire and the most dominant culture in the world. However, according to the Or HaChayim that is not the plain meaning of the word. The Or HaChayim, Rabbi Chaim ibn Attar an early 16th Century Moroccan Kabbalist and Talmudist,  explains that if Yehudah was “girding himself for war” then he would not have spoken so respectfully and politely to Yosef: Bi Adoni “if it pleases my lord”. Nor would Yehudah be concerned with antagonizing Yosef’s anger. Instead, Yehudah approached  Egypt’s second in command diplomatically, not girded for war with his sword unsheathed or his gun drawn so to speak,  but confidently,  striding powerfully towards Yosef bypassing guards and advisors, and then quietly and privately speaking into the minister’s ear. Make no mistake, when Yehudah tells the minister that he is just like Pharaoh he is not paying the Minister a compliment. Yehuda speaks truth to power,  without subtleties, coldly and brutally honest. However, Yehudah confronts the minister in a  whisper, privately, without causing embarrassment to the second most powerful man in the Egyptian empire.

          For the Talmudic Sages, Yehuda’s approach to this representative of Egypt was not an approach between two men but a clash between two cultures, a clash between idolatry and monotheism, a clash between two diametrically opposite worlds. Most of history, at least European History is a similar clash albeit, between religions or between sects of the same religion. This week, we are reminded that these powerful clashes are not solely confined between religions. These “cosmic” sorts of clashes also occur between the force of democracy and the forces of authoritarianism and tyranny. In either case,  depending on the diplomatic skills of both sides, such “cosmic” clashes can either exacerbate tensions or diminish tensions.

Peace,
Rav Yitz

So I Give You My Eyes And All Of Their Lies, Please Help Them To Learn (John Barlow & Bob Weir - "Black Throated Wind")

          For the past few weeks, I have followed the latest in the cultural wars. The latest battlefront is the response to Critical Race Theory (CRT). Essentially Critical Race Theory suggests that social and legal institutions created by a white-dominated social and legal institution are intrinsically racist or racially insensitive to people of colour. This theory originated in law schools as a way of challenging the racial bias that occurs anywhere. The recent battle that we have been hearing about is not the CRT per se, but the assumption that unless CRT is eliminated, little white children will be taught a version of history that might make them either feel bad about themselves, somehow makes them less appreciative of their society or even unpatriotic. Obviously, the perpetrators of this highly emotional and utterly chaotic response are those incredibly hypersensitive white people who are afraid to acknowledge the past and are certainly anti-intellectual enough that they are incapable of learning from the past. Just imagine if Moshe had to bring that group into Eretz Canaan!

          This week’s Parsha is Devarim, which is the first Parsha of the Book of Deuteronomy or Sefer Devarim. In very large brushstrokes, Moshe recounts the experiences of the generation that fled Egypt. Very few details are given. In fact, Moshe begins the story at the foot of Sinai; however, the name is changed from Sinai to Horev. In his recounting, Moshe speaks as a participant in this national experience not in the third person, as was presented in the Books of Exodus, Leviticus, and Numbers. This is quite different from the Moshe we have seen. Until now he spoke as a prophet. God spoke to him and he spoke to B'nai Yisroel. Now Moshe displays a certain amount of freedom as he shares the experiences of the past from his perspective. Parsha Devarim is the introductory Parsha to Moshe’s formal teaching of the Torah to this new generation. Moshe begins with a history lesson beginning with the most recent events and working backward to the Exodus. Moshe Rabeinu, now only a few weeks from the moment of his death, imparts his teaching and his wisdom upon B’nai Yisroel like a dying grandparent or parent would to his/her children.  This re-telling or repetition of history and laws to a new generation inspired the Talmudic Sages to call Sefer Devarim (The Book of Words- Deuteronomy) the Mishnah Torah or the repetition of the Torah. 

          Moshe does not whitewash anything. He is not terribly worried about offending historical sensitivities. While addressing this generation who is about to enter Eretz Canaan, he holds no punches. He points out that their parents and grandparents were unworthy. He points out that their parents and grandparents were spiritually weak. The first issue that Moshe discusses is the reason for wandering forty years. He recounts the incident 40 years earlier with the twelve spies. Moshe does not sugarcoat their parents and grandparents' response to the spies' report.  V’Lo Avitem La’Alot VaTamru et Pi HaShem Elokeichem But you did not wish to ascend, and you rebelled against the word of Hashem, your God. VaTeiragnu V’A’Haleichem VaTomru B’Sinat HaShem Otanu HoTzi’Anu M’Eretz Mitzrayim LaTeit Otanu B’Yad Ha’Emori L’Hashmideinu- You slandered in your tents and said, ‘because of the Hashem’s hatred for us did he take us out of the land of Egypt, to deliver us into the hand of the Amorite to destroy us.” (Deut. 1:26-27). Who is the “you” that Moshe refers to? Clearly, he is speaking to the generation that is physically before him, that is with him on the eastern bank of the Jordan River preparing to realize the covenant. Is Moshe confused? It seems doubtful. Clearly, he is talking about the parents and grandparents of the current generation. Why does he address them as “You”? Clearly, Moshe is not too terribly worried about hurting feelings, destroying love of country, or creating anti-patriotic feelings, nor is Moshe concerned about self-loathing. No, Moshe had one very real concern. If the generation that experienced the miracle of the Exodus, the Revelation at Sinai, Miriam’s Well, Manna, and God’s constant presence,  could lack faith, then each and every generation after could also lack faith. So, Moshe wanted this current generation to learn from their parents' and grandparents' mistakes and not repeat them. By referring to this generation as “you”, Moshe has inserted them into the past and holds them responsible for the future. 

          When I listen to the critics of Critical Race Theory and their fear of teaching history so that everything is whitewashed (no pun intended); I realize that is so antithetical to Judaism. First of all, how do we teach Jewish History? Our history is not only a history of oppression at the hands of dominant and frequently anti-semitism, the Rabbinic Sages look at history as self-inflicted wounds, and shortcomings in faith (Tisha B’Av and the destruction of the First and Second Temples), as well as moments when we rose to such challenges. Judaism does not have saints. Moshe points out that our ancestors had real shortcomings, Moshe had a nasty temper, King David committed numerous morally questionable acts (and paid the price for those morally questionable deeds), King Solomon had numerous non-Jewish women in his concubine that led him to engage in idolatry. Joseph’s brothers conspired against their father and lied to him about Joseph. In the Talmud, our sages record the majority opinion and the minority opinion. Judaism doesn’t whitewash anything. We struggle with the words, we struggle with the text, we interpret, we re-interpret, and interpret some more. Our Sages understood and established a tradition of learning from the successes and the failures of those who preceded us. For our Sages, the reward for learning these lessons was a vibrant Jewish society built upon learning, a society that took care of its most vulnerable, and a society that aspired towards holiness. Maybe all those overly sensitive white parents need to be reminded that the purpose of studying history is not about making sure that their fragile egos are soothed or that their fragile children feel good, but rather learn from the past in order to take responsibility for the future.

Peace
Rav Yitz 

Think This Through With Me, Let Me Know Your Mind, What I Want To Know Is, Are You Kind? (Robert Hunter & Jerry Garcia - "Uncle John's Band")

          An elderly gentleman told his friend about a magnificent restaurant. “The food is great, the prices are reasonable, and the ambiance is really elegant.” His friend asked for the name of the restaurant, and the elderly man struggled to remember the name of the restaurant. Finally, he asked his friend, “There is a flower with beautiful petals… it has a long stem with thorns on it- what do you call it?” The friend replied, “A rose?” “Yeah, that’s it!” said the gentleman. So he turned toward the kitchen and yelled, “Hey, Rose! What was the name of that restaurant we ate in last night?” Sometimes we all need a reminder. We even need a reminder for those things that we really know.

          Besides Shabbat, it is also Shavuot. This is essentially the yearly reminder of two important concepts of Judaism: Mitzvot and Chesed (Commandments and Kindness). Shavout has numerous alternative names, but perhaps the most well known is Chag Matan Torah, the Holiday of the Giving of the Torah. On Friday, the first day of Shavuot, we read about B’nai Yisroel’s revelation at Sinai (Ex. 19:1-20:23). We read of their three days of preparation, Moshe’s ascending and descending from the mountain, and finally, we read the Aseret Dibrot (The Ten Commandments). Needless to say, the Torah reading for the first day of Shavuot is replete with laws. Explicitly, we read the Ten Commandments, ten universal rules that were all punishable by death. We also read and understand that our ancestors purified themselves in preparation for meeting God. They washed their clothes, they bathed, and they refrained from conjugal relations. We are reminded that Torah possesses a ritual/legal aspect that enriches the relationship between the individual and God, and the community and God. Both of these relationships require that we approach the sanctity of these relationships in a state of purity.

          The second day of Shavuot coincides with this Shabbat, therefore instead of the weekly Parsha, we read the passage in Deuteronomy 14:22-16:17. If the first day Torah reading for Shavuot focused upon the Commandments, the receiving of Torah at Sinai, The second day Torah reading focuses upon Chesed, Kindness. On three different occasions, the Torah reading either implicitly or explicitly reminds us and challenges us to engage in Gemilut Chasidim and Act of Kindness. First, we read about laws concerning tithing. Explicitly, we are again discussing law, however, this is not ritual law or law concerning Man’s relationship to God. Implicitly, we are reading about those laws that govern our behavior towards our fellow man, ethical law. We are commanded to care for those who are less fortunate. “At the end of the three years you shall take out every tithe of your crop…then the Levite can come-for he has no portion or inheritance with you – and the proselyte, the orphan and the widow who are in your cities so they may be satisfied….(Deut. 14:28-29). The second topic discusses the laws concerning Shmittah, the seventh year when debts are canceled, fields lie fallow, slaves are set free, and any firstborn male born during this year is considered Hekdesh (sanctified and therefore belonging to God.) Even here, the Torah’s focus is upon what we consider to be ethical concerns. “For destitute people will not cease to exist within the land; therefore I command you, saying, ‘you shall surely open your hand to your brother, to your poor, and to your destitute in your Land’” (Deut.15:11). We are commanded, and obligated to always take care of those who are less fortunate. The third topic discusses the Mitzvot related to each of the three Pilgrimage Festivals (Pesach, Shavuot, and Sukkot). On Pesach, we are commanded to eat only unleavened bread and the Pesach offering. On Sukkot, we are commanded to dwell in the Sukkah. On Shavuot, having already counted seven weeks since Pesach, we are now commanded to bring an offering commensurate to total production. Everyone is commanded to rejoice before God, “You, your son, your daughter, your slave, your maidservant, the Levite in your city, the proselyte, the orphan, the widow who are among you” (Deut.16:11). Again, implicit in the Torah reading is the notion of caring for those less fortunate. The ethical concerning, mankind’s relationship to mankind is the second concept of Torah.

          Unique to the holiday of Shavuot is the reading of the book of Ruth. The book of Ruth contains no laws regarding impurity and purity, nor laws of what is prohibited and what is permitted. It is however a beautiful story of a young woman willing to remain with her mother-in-law, return to the mother-in-law’s (Naomi’s) homeland of Eretz Canaan, and convert to Judaism. Implicit in the Book of Ruth is Gemilut Hasidim, Acts of Loving Kindness. Boaz, a wealthy landowner and distant relative of Naomi’s late husband, leaves the prescribed part of his field to be harvested by those who are less fortunate. He cares for the destitute, the proselyte, the widowed, and the orphan. He doesn’t abandon his communal nor familial responsibilities. Ruth, under no obligation, did not abandon her mother-in-law. As a non-Jew, she chose to accept those obligations and converted. The two are married. They embody Torah, the symbiotic relationship between the ethical and the ritual. As a result, they have the z’chut (the merit) to be King David’s great grandparents.

         Like the old man who needed to be reminded of his wife’s name as well as the restaurant’s name, every once in a while we need to be reminded that Torah and Judaism have as much to do with God and ritual as with Mankind and ethics. The Ethical and Ritual are inseparable. Our attempt to separate the two diminishes Torah, Judaism, our community, ourselves, and our relationship to God.

Peace,

Rav Yitz 

Still I Know I Lead The Way, They Tell Me Where I Go (John Barlow & Bob Weir - Estimated Prophet)

      

          Our son just returned from participating in a Model U.N. program sponsored by Yeshiva University involving approximately twenty Jewish Day schools from across North and South America. He and his team had spent the past two months preparing position papers on a variety of issues including the cannibalization of Africa’s natural resources, concerns over water shortages, drought and immigration. The two-day convention was an exercise in the hard work of becoming a community. The process of becoming a community occurs on the micro-level (each school/each country), and on a macro level (building consensus among the delegates for the numerous position papers that need to be voted upon and ratified. Whether in the micro or macro sense, individuals have to come together for a common cause and purpose-based upon their own volition and desire.

In this week’s Parsha, Yitro, we read two distinct narratives. In the first half of the Parsha, Moshe brings B’nai Yisroel to Midian. While there, Moshe spends a little time with his wife, his two sons and his father-in-law Yitro. Yitro acknowledges that G-d has been protective of B’nai Yisroel and that the Lord is greater than all other gods. The next day, Yitro sees Moshe sitting from morning to night mediating all problems that arise between individuals within the community. Yitro sees that his son-in-law is overextended and the current method of governing is neither good for him or Amchah. Being both a Priest of Midian as well as his father-in-law, Yitro offers advice as a father as well as a community leader. The second part of the Parshah, from chapters 19 through 20, tells of B’nai Yisroel’s revelation at Sinai.  The Parshah concludes with God’s declaration of the Aseret Dibrot, the Ten Commandments.

As Moshe’s father-in-law, as a leader of his community; Yitro makes an awe-inspiring suggestion. Because the revelation at Sinai occurs later, the suggestion often gets overlooked yet the message goes to the fabric of the type of community Moshe and God aspire to build.  Yitro suggests to Moshe “You be a representative of God, and you convey the matters to God…you shall make known to them the path in which they should go and deeds they should do. You shall discern from among the entire people, men of accomplishment, men of truth, men who despise money. You shall appoint them as leaders of thousands…they shall judge the people at all times, and they shall bring every major matter to you, and every minor matter they shall judge, and it will be eased for you, and they shall bear with you. If you do this thing and God shall command you, then you will be able to endure, and this entire people, as well, should arrive at its destination in peace.” (Ex. 18:19-23) Yitro explains to Moshe that a community must have a shared vision. To some degree, people need to know how to seek G-d on their own, and how to behave within a community. Others need to know G-d’s ways in order to inform those who need advice and adjudication. Everyone must have access to G-d and G-d’s teaching. Only then will Moshe’s load be lightened enough to bear. Only then will Amchah have a stake in the relationship with G-d and enter into a partnership with God. Only then, when confronted with the revelation at Sinai, amid the smoke and the fire and the thunder and lightning will the nation accept God’s covenant “the entire people responded together and said, ‘everything that God has spoken we will do!’”(Ex 19:8). Only then will Moshe and B’nai Yisroel arrive at its destination, in peace as a unified community. Only then can this community uphold their role as a “priest to the nations”.

Yitro understood and explained to his son in law, Moshe, that nature of true leadership. True leadership, based upon the sacred, the good, and for the public welfare is not the leadership of the despot and the dictator. True leadership, based upon the sacred, the good and the public welfare does not lead the people to the leader but rather towards something greater, more important and sacred. From Yitro’s perspective, Moshe's purpose, his mission,  was to create a legal system whereby he could lead his people towards adherence to God, God’s laws, and covenant.  That system was based upon transmitting and teaching the law, choosing judges with integrity and could not be corrupted, and creating an environment where the law, God’s covenant was relevant to the entire community and not to only certain members of the community. For our son and his Model U.N. peers, they learned how and why a community with so many divergent opinions and interests is able to come together. They are able to come together when they recognize common needs for themselves and their children. Those common needs have nothing to do with the leader but rather something far greater and far more sacred

Peace,

Rav Yitz