Articles with the tag: yitro

Faith: You Always Have It

The defining moment of Jewish faith took place on the shores of the Sea, as the fleeing, fledgling nation was cornered. Trapped between raging waters and a raging Egyptian army, the people had few options. Some gave up hope. Others wanted to appeal for mercy from their former tormentors. Another faction petitioned for war against the Egyptians, while a last group advocated praying to G-d.

The Almighty however rejected all four approaches. What then was the Jew to do when caught between a hostile enemy and an unyielding sea? Replace fear with faith and as G-d demanded, “Go forward.”  So Nachshon the son of Aminadav plunged in, and as they say, the rest is history. That act of faith is…

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There Are No Ifs (20:22)

Amidst the thunder, lightning, and a smoking mountain a Voice pronounced the supremacy of conscience over convenience, of duty over dereliction and of virtue over vice. No other religious communication has exercised a greater influence on the moral and social development of man than those Ten Commandments uttered at Sinai. So unforgettable, so overwhelming was its message, that the few miscellaneous laws which follow the Decalogue were overshadowed.
Among those mitzvohs is one that reads,  “V’eem (otu) Mizbach Avonim Ta’aseh Li…” Literally translated, the English version would be, “And if you make an altar of stone….” The famous, medieval French commentary Rashi, however, with the Mechilta as his authority, preferred to render the verse, “When you make..”
This non-rigid interpretation…

Continue reading There Are No Ifs (20:22)

Don’t Be Reasonable (20:13)

Sinai was ablaze. The rumbling thunder, the streaks of lightning that lit the morning sky and the smoking mountain provided just the right backdrop for the greatest moment in history. G-d himself was about to descend to the physical realm and reveal his glory for all to witness. This one time event also contained the Decalogue which future generations could obey, thus also experiencing Revelation, albeit in a diminished capacity.

One would have imagined the Ten Commandments, the core of all subsequent Mitzvot to speak essential truths, profound mystical insights or theology. And yet we find that although there is mention of deep concepts like G-d’s unity, most of the commandments contain such elementary injunctions as “Thou shall not murder”...

Continue reading Don’t Be Reasonable (20:13)

A Mitzvah Comes Full Circle (20:12)

The Ten Commandments, as they appear on the Tablets, are divided into two categories. The first five are regarded as “Mitzvos Bain Odom L’makom - Laws between Man and G-d,” while the second five are, “Mitzvos Bain Odom L’chavairo - Laws Between Man and his Fellow Man.”

Rabbi Shimshon Raphael Hirsch makes an amazing observation.  Mitzvos relating to G-d begin with commandments that are intellectual concepts, more theory than practice. But although they begin with ‘cerebral’ ideals such as “I am the L-rd your G-d,”they progress to orders that involve concrete actions, such as, “Honor your Parents.” The reason for this chronology is that if Mitzvos between Man and G-d do not ultimately climax in specific actions, then we have…

Continue reading A Mitzvah Comes Full Circle (20:12)

The No Spectacle Sinai (20:1)

Revelation was the most profound event in our nation’s history, the singular moment when G-d spoke ‘face-to-face’ to His nation. Was this the greatest miracle of all time? How does it compare, for example, with the Splitting of the Sea?

Six weeks earlier, at the parting of the waters, the Jews had been treated to an unparalleled display of G-d’s majestic might. Their spectacular rescue from the clutches of Pharaoh was, even as miracles go, quite amazing. Indeed, Yisro at the beginning of this week’s reading proclaims,  “Now I know that G-d is greater than all others!” Why? Because His unique intervention at the Sea revealed G-d’s extraordinary judiciousness: the very same mechanism Pharaoh used to destroy the Jews, was…

Continue reading The No Spectacle Sinai (20:1)

Come to Me…first (18:15-16)

How often have you heard the sentiment,  “I may not be religious, but I am a good, decent person.” Somehow over the course of time, a notion has taken root in many minds that Divine dogma only addresses the ancient rituals practiced in the halls of study and prayer. However for the vast multitude of activities that occur in the street or in the boardroom - the prosaic, everyday labors, we call life - those are not to be guided by Heavenly wisdom but by the hustlers of contemporary fashion and finance.

It is truly sad, that so many people feel this way. Worse, this mindset is hardly new. Indeed, the very first generation of Jews who received the Torah…

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Lessons in Leadership (18:14)

It wasn’t his connections in high places, his former status as advisor to the Pharaoh, his previous job as High Priest of Midian or his relationship to Moshe Rabbeinu that catapulted him to immortal fame by having an entire Torah portion named Yisro - it was his advice.

At first glance this is quite perplexing. Wasn’t Yisro only protecting his son-in-law Moshe from a taxing and impossible job?
You look puzzled, as if you are not following my train of thought. Maybe I should start at the beginning. Yisro, the father-in-law of Moses saw that the entire judicial system had fallen on Moshe’s shoulders. As the only judge adjudicating cases, the load was piling up with the people standing around…

Continue reading Lessons in Leadership (18:14)

Faith: the Never Ending Story (18:1)

How many times have you said,  “If G-d would only show me a miracle, I would surely believe.” Although I, too, would love to see the Hand of G-d showing us His cards, I maintain that most of us would be impressed, even overwhelmed. But believe? That, my friends, results from internal, mental, and spiritual growth, not external manipulation.

This can be clearly seen from this week’s Torah portion, Yisro. Jethro, the priest of Midian, arrives at the camp of the Israelites after hearing about the miraculous dividing of the Red Sea and the battle with the tribe, Amalek. Why did the combination of these two specific events stimulate Jethro to join the Jews? While it is true that the…

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4 Images of Sinai

4 Images of Sinai

There Are No Ifs

Amidst the thunder, lightning, and a smoking mountain a Voice pronounced the supremacy of conscience over convenience, of duty over dereliction and of virtue over vice. No other religious communication has exercised a greater influence on the moral and social development of man than those Ten Commandments uttered at Sinai. So unforgettable, so overwhelming was its message, that the few miscellaneous laws which follow the Decalogue were overshadowed.

Among those mitzvohs is one that reads, “V’eem (otu) Mizbach Avonim Ta’aseh Li…” Literally translated, the English version would be, “And if you make an altar of stone….” The famous, medieval French commentary Rashi, however, with the Mechilta as his authority, preferred to render the verse, “When you make..”
This non-rigid interpretation…

Continue reading There Are No Ifs

Lessons in Leadership

It wasn’t his connections in high places, his former status as advisor to the Pharaoh, his previous job as High Priest of Midian or his relationship to Moshe Rabbeinu that catapulted him to immortal fame by having an entire Torah portion named Yisro - it was his advice.
At first glance this is quite perplexing. Wasn’t Yisro only protecting his son-in-law Moshe from a taxing and impossible job?
You look puzzled, as if you are not following my train of thought. Maybe I should start at the beginning. Yisro, the father-in-law of Moses saw that the entire judicial system had fallen on Moshe’s shoulders. As the only judge adjudicating cases, the load was piling up with the people standing around…

Continue reading Lessons in Leadership

Don't Be Reasonable

Sinai was ablaze. The rumbling thunder, the streaks of lightning that lit the morning sky and the smoking mountain provided just the right backdrop for the greatest moment in history. G-d himself was about to descend to the physical realm and reveal his glory for all to witness. This one time event also contained the Decalogue which future generations could obey, thus also experiencing Revelation, albeit in a diminished capacity.

One would have imagined the Ten Commandments, the core of all subsequent Mitzvot to speak essential truths, profound mystical insights or theology. And yet we find that although there is mention of deep concepts like G-d’s unity, most of the commandments contain such elementary injunctions as “Thou shall not murder”...

Continue reading Don’t Be Reasonable

A Mitzvah Comes Full Circle

The Ten Commandments, as they appear on the Tablets, are divided into two categories. The first five are regarded as “Mitzvos Bain Odom L’makom - Laws between Man and G-d,” while the second five are, “Mitzvos Bain Odom L’chavairo - Laws Between Man and his Fellow Man.”

Rabbi Shimshon Raphael Hirsch makes an amazing observation.  Mitzvos relating to G-d begin with commandments that are intellectual concepts, more theory than practice. But although they begin with ‘cerebral’ ideals such as “I am the L-rd your G-d,” they progress to orders that involve concrete actions, such as, “Honor your Parents.” The reason for this chronology is that if Mitzvos between Man and G-d do not ultimately climax in specific actions, then we…

Continue reading A Mitzvah Comes Full Circle

The No Spectacle Sinai

Revelation was the most profound event in our nation’s history, the singular moment when G-d spoke ‘face-to-face’ to His nation. Was this the greatest miracle of all time? How does it compare, for example, with the Splitting of The Sea?

Six weeks earlier, at the parting of the waters, the Jews had been treated to an unparalleled display of G-d’s majestic might. Their spectacular rescue from the clutches of Pharaoh was, even as miracles go, quite amazing. Indeed, Yisro at the beginning of this week’s reading proclaims, “Now I know that G-d is greater than all others!”

Why? Because His unique intervention at the Sea revealed G-d’s extraordinary judiciousness: the very same mechanism Pharaoh used to destroy the Jews, was…

Continue reading The No Spectacle Sinai

There Are No Ifs

Amidst the thunder, lightning, and a smoking mountain a Voice pronounced the supremacy of conscience over convenience, of duty over dereliction and of virtue over vice. No other religious communication has exercised a greater influence on the moral and social development of man than those Ten Commandments uttered at Sinai. So unforgettable, so overwhelming was its message, that the few miscellaneous laws which follow the Decalogue were overshadowed.

Among those mitzvohs is one that reads, “V’eem (otu) Mizbach Avonim Ta’aseh Li…” Literally translated, the English version would be, “And if you make an altar of stone….” The famous, medieval French commentary Rashi, however, with the Mechilta as his authority, preferred to render the verse, “When you make..”

This non-rigid interpretation…

Continue reading There Are No Ifs

Lessons in Leadership

It wasn’t his connections in high places, his former status as advisor to the Pharaoh, his previous job as High Priest of Midian or his relationship to Moshe Rabbeinu that catapulted him to immortal fame by having an entire Torah portion named Yisro - it was his advice.

At first glance this is quite perplexing. Wasn’t Yisro only protecting his son-in-law Moshe from a taxing and impossible job?

You look puzzled, as if you are not following my train of thought. Maybe I should start at the beginning. Yisro, the father-in-law of Moses saw that the entire judicial system had fallen on Moshe’s shoulders. As the only judge adjudicating cases, the load was piling up with the people standing around…

Continue reading Lessons in Leadership

Don't Be Reasonable

Sinai was ablaze. The rumbling thunder, the streaks of lightning that lit the morning sky and the smoking mountain provided just the right backdrop for the greatest moment in history. G-d himself was about to descend to the physical realm and reveal his glory for all to witness. This one time event also contained the Decalogue which future generations could obey, thus also experiencing Revelation, albeit in a diminished capacity.

One would have imagined the Ten Commandments, the core of all subsequent Mitzvot to speak essential truths, profound mystical insights or theology. And yet we find that although there is mention of deep concepts like G-d’s unity, most of the commandments contain such elementary injunctions as “Thou shall not murder”...

Continue reading Don’t Be Reasonable

A Mitzvah Comes Full Circle

The Ten Commandments, as they appear on the Tablets, are divided into two categories. The first five are regarded as “Mitzvos Bain Odom L’makom - Laws between Man and G-d,” while the second five are, “Mitzvos Bain Odom L’chavairo - Laws Between Man and his Fellow Man.”

Rabbi Shimshon Raphael Hirsch makes an amazing observation.  Mitzvos relating to G-d begin with commandments that are intellectual concepts, more theory than practice. But although they begin with ‘cerebral’ ideals such as “I am the L-rd your G-d,” they progress to orders that involve concrete actions, such as, “Honor your Parents.” The reason for this chronology is that if Mitzvos between Man and G-d do not ultimately climax in specific actions, then we…

Continue reading A Mitzvah Comes Full Circle

The No Spectacle Sinai

Revelation was the most profound event in our nation’s history, the singular moment when G-d spoke ‘face-to-face’ to His nation. Was this the greatest miracle of all time? How does it compare, for example, with the Splitting of The Sea?

Six weeks earlier, at the parting of the waters, the Jews had been treated to an unparalleled display of G-d’s majestic might. Their spectacular rescue from the clutches of Pharaoh was, even as miracles go, quite amazing. Indeed, Yisro at the beginning of this week’s reading proclaims, “Now I know that G-d is greater than all others!”

Why? Because His unique intervention at the Sea revealed G-d’s extraordinary judiciousness: the very same mechanism Pharaoh used to destroy the Jews, was…

Continue reading The No Spectacle Sinai