OU Israel Center Torah Tidbits - Parshat Yitro 5784

ISSUE 1551

‫ב"ה‬

United We Stand

FEB. 3 2024 ▪ ‫כ״ד שבט תשפ"ד‬

‫פרשת יתרו‬ PARSHAT YITRO SHABBAT MEVARCHIM

Rabbi Dr. Tzvi Hersh Weinreb

The Seeker Page 14

Shoshana Judelman

Mikveh Am Yisrael Page 56

‫הנה אנכי בא אליך בעב הענן‬ ‫ט׳‬:‫שמות י״ט‬

YERUSHALAYIM SHABBAT PARSHAT YITRO ZMANIM CANDLES 4:38 PM • HAVDALA 5:53 PM • RABBEINU TAM 6:32 PM OU ISRAEL 02-560-9100

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Table of Contents

Dear Torah Tidbits Family 04 Rabbi Avi Berman Aliya-by-Aliya Sedra Summary 10 Rabbi Reuven Tradburks The Seeker 14 Rabbi Dr. Tzvi Hersh Weinreb & Creed 16 Deed Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks zt"l the Prophets 22 Probing Rabbi Nachman Winkler to the Aseret HaDibrot 24 Postscript Rabbi Shalom Rosner for Torah 26 Thirst Rebbetzin Shira Smiles People 28 One Rabbi Judah Mischel Akum and Intermarried Jews 30 Bishul Rabbi Ezra Friedman 32 Schedule OU Israel Shmuel 38 Simchat Rabbi Sam Shor Dark Clouds Above, 42 Rabbi Yirat Shamayim Below Moshe Taragin

Stepping Up 46 Rebbetzin Dr. Adina Shmidman 48 Kiddush Rebbetzin Zemira Ozarowski Heart Bursting with Love 52 ARabbi Aaron Goldscheider Am Yisrael 56 Mikveh Shoshana Judelman Y-Files Comic 58 The Netanel Epstein 4 Teens by Teens 60 Torah Allison Davidson // Gershy Schwartz

See TorahTidbits.com > Individual Articles for this weeks Divrei Torah by Rabbi Moshe Hauer, Rabbi Daniel Mann and Rabbi Chanoch Yeres. 2 TORAH TIDBITS 1551 / YITRO

HELPFUL REMINDERS ‫ראש חדש אדר הראשון יהיה ביום הששי וביום‬ ‫שבת קדש הבא עלינו ועל כל ישראל לטובה‬ ‫מולד חודש אדר הראשון יהיה בליל שבת קדש‬ ‫עשרים ותשע דקות וחמישה חלקים אחרי תשע‬

Rosh Chodesh Adar Aleph is on Friday, February 9 and Shabbat, February 10

THIS WEEK'S COVER PHOTO I made aliyah from England. I live in Arnona Jerusalem and am a member of the OU choir. It was a rainy erev Shabbat and as I walked with my husband talking about the hostages soldiers and the darkness of war...we saw Photographed by this bright circle of light coming Naomi Halpern. through the cloud onto the sea... it felt like G-ds way of telling us there will be light again.

OTHER

CANDLE LIGHTING AND HAVDALA TIMES

Z'MANIM

YITRO CANDLES

Yerushalayim / Maale Adumim Aza Area (Netivot, Sderot et al) Beit Shemesh / RBS Alon Shvut Raanana / Tel Mond / Herzliya / K. Saba

Modiin / Chashmonaim Netanya Be’er Sheva Rehovot Petach Tikva Ginot Shomron Haifa / Zichron Gush Shiloh Tel Aviv / Givat Shmuel Givat Zeev Chevron / Kiryat Arba Ashkelon Yad Binyamin Tzfat / Bikat HaYarden Golan Nahariya/Maalot Afula

4:38 4:56 4:57 4:54 4:54 4:54 4:54 4:56 4:55 4:38 4:53 4:42 4:52 4:54 4:57 4:54 4:56 4:55 4:44 4:50 4:51 4:52

MISHPATIM HAVDALA

5:53 5:56 5:54 5:53 5:54 5:54 5:54 5:55 5:54 5:54 5:53 5:53 5:52 5:54 5:53 5:54 5:56 5:54 5:50 5:50 5:52 5:52

CANDLES

4:44 5:02 5:03 5:00 5:00 5:00 5:00 5:02 5:01 4:44 4:59 4:49 4:59 5:01 5:04 5:00 5:02 5:01 4:51 4:57 4:57 4:58

Rabbeinu Tam (Jerusalem) - 6:32 PM • Next Week - 6:38 PM

HAVDALA

5:59 6:01 6:00 5:59 6:00 5:59 6:00 6:01 6:00 6:00 5:59 5:59 5:58 6:00 5:59 5:59 6:01 6:00 5:56 5:56 5:58 5:58

All Times According to MyZmanim (20 mins before Sunset in most Cities; 40 mins in Yerushalyim and Petach Tikva; 30 mins in Tzfat and Haifa) DafYomi: Yomi:Bava Kidushin Daf Kama6993 OU Kashrut  NCSY  Jewish Action  JLIC  NJCD / Yachad / Our Way  OU West Coast  OU Press  Synagogue/Community Services  OU Advocacy  OU Israel MITCHEL R. AEDER, PRESIDENT OF THE ORTHODOX UNION Yehuda Neuberger, Chairman of the Board, Orthodox Union | Dr. Josh Penn, OU Kashrus Commission RABBI MOSHE HAUER, EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT | RABBI JOSHUA M. JOSEPH, ED.D. EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT & CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER Rabbi Dr. Tzvi Hersh Weinreb, Exec. V.P. Emeritus OU KOSHER: Rabbi Menachem Genack, CEO/Rabbinic Administrator OU Kosher | Rabbi Moshe Elefant, COO/Executive Rabbinic Coordinator ISRAEL: Rabbi Yissachar Dov Krakowski, Rabbinic Administrator | Rabbi Ezra Friedman, The Gustave and Carol Jacobs Center for Kashrut Education/ Deputy Rabbinic Administrator Headquarters: 40 Rector St. 4th floor, New York, NY 10006  212-563-4000  website: www.ou.org

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(According (According to to the the Gra Gra and and Baal Baal HaTanya) HaTanya)

Chatzot x:xx- 11:53 - x:xx Chatzot (Halachic (Halachic Noon) Noon) 11:52 Mincha x:xx- 12:23 - x:xx Mincha Gedola Gedola (Earliest (Earliest Mincha) Mincha) 12:22 Plag Mincha Mincha x:xx -- 4:12 x:xx Plag 4:05 Sunset x:xx -- 5:25 x:xx Sunset (Including (Including Elevation) Elevation) 5:16 Seymour J. Abrams • Orthodox Union Jerusalem World Center • Avrom Silver Jerusalem College for Adults • Wolinetz Family Shul • Makom BaLev • Birthright • Yachad • NCSY in Israel • JLIC in Israel • Camp Dror • Pearl & Harold M. Jacobs ZULA Outreach Center • The Jack Gindi Oraita Program • OU Israel Kashrut STUART HERSHKOWITZ, PRESIDENT OU ISRAEL Zvi Sand / Yitzchak Fund: Former Presidents, OU Israel | Rabbi Emanuel Quint z”l, Senior Vice President | Prof. Meni Koslowsky, Vice President VAAD MEMBERS: Michael Elman | Yonatan Frankel | Yitzchak Fund | Daniella Hellerstein | Stuart Hershkowitz | Jeremy Lustman | Meir Raskas | Atara Reichel | Zvi Sand | Norman Schmutter | Mark Schneider | Esther Williams RABBI AVI BERMAN, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, OU ISRAEL David Katz, CFO, OU Israel | Chaim Pelzner, Director of Programs, OU Israel | Rabbi Sam Shor, Director of Programs, OU Israel Center | Rabbi Sholom Gold zt"l, Dean, Avrom Silver Jerusalem College for Adults 22 Keren HaYesod <> POB 1441 <> Jerusalem 9101032 phone: (02) 560 9100 | fax: (02) 561-7432 email: office@ouisrael.org website: www.ouisrael.org Founders and initial benefactors of the OU Israel Center: George and Ilse Falk a"h Torah Tidbits and many of the projects of OU Israel are assisted by grants from THE JERUSALEM MUNICIPALITY OU Israel, Torah Tidbits does not endorse the political or halachic positions of its editor, columnists or advertisers, nor guarantee the quality of advertised services or products. Nor do we endorse the kashrut of hotels, restaurants, caterers or food products that are advertised in TT (except, of course, those under OU-Israel hashgacha). Any "promises" made in ads are the sole responsibility of the advertisers and not that of OU Israel, the OU Israel Center , Torah Tidbits.

OU ISRAEL CENTER 3

DEAR TORAH TIDBITS FAMILY

RABBI AVI BERMAN Executive Director, OU Israel

I’ve remarked in these pages about the incredible feeling of achdut and togetherness that Klal Yisrael is experiencing right now in Israel. Jews of all types are helping each other, supporting each other, loving each other. Our brothers and sisters have come by the planeload to Israel on mission after mission (many through the OU). Fathers and sons, mothers and daughters, rabbis and shul members, you name it, everyone wants to be here because they are experiencing this feeling as well. (Let me take a moment to give a shout-out to all my colleagues at the OU in North America who are working so hard to bring missions to Israel and showing support - from volunteering to donating to barbequing for soldiers on army bases!) There is one area of Israeli society that I feel has generally taken a different approach, and it is disheartening to see. I have avoided it for a long time, since it often seems to be so disconnected from the feeling of the nation. I’m talking about the Israeli media. I find that when I glance at a newspaper, turn on the radio, or pass by a TV on the news stations and talk shows, I walk away with the feeling that they live in a totally different universe than me and everyone around me. They live in a place where that unity is broken, disunity has been sown, and every possible point of criticism can and should be stated and reviewed. I understand that journalists have their job to do. Sometimes, criticism is necessary, but there is a time and a place for 4 TORAH TIDBITS 1551 / YITRO

RABBI AVI BERMAN Executive Director, OU Israel

everything. I just can’t shake the feeling that in times like these, when war rages on, this kind of journalism can serve our enemies much more than us. Our enemies want us splintered and broken, unable to hold each other’s hands and help each other. I just want to tell the media (and I mean many of the people in the media, not everyone, of course), how can you turn your back on this incredible unity that is clear to me is necessary for us to win and to survive this war? I saw a picture this week that really moved me to the core. A store owner put a sign up on his store window saying, “Hachanut segurah, ani bemiluim,” “The store is closed, I am in the reserves.” On that sign, people began

In memory of

GAVRIEL BLOOM HY”D

beloved son of Jennifer & David Gavriel fell in battle in Gaza protecting Am Yisrael and Eretz Yisrael. During the war, Gavriel went above and beyond the call of duty, volunteering for many dangerous missions, and dedicating his unique personality and talents to make his unit the most outstanding in its field. We honor and salute his courage and heroism.

‫זכותו יגן עלינו‬

Our love and support are with the entire Bloom family during this difficult period ‫בית כנסת אור שלום ברמה‬

to write notes. “Kol hakavod, thank you for your service!” “We love you.” “Come back home soon!” You see that and your heart swells. What an incredible nation we have. In Torah Tidbits, I have written about many of the initiatives that people have taken upon themselves to express their feeling of unity and show how much we are there for each other. People who have come en masse to funerals to pay their respects; shiva houses that are filled with hundreds of people in show of support; restaurant owners that tell the uniformed soldier that his money is no good there and to order whatever he wants. It’s a special feeling. I carry it with me always, and that’s why I made a decision a long time ago to stay away from the media as much as possible. Many of my friends know that when they come across an article or read an interview that has to do with Jewish unity they should send it to me. There is no lack of articles and news stories like that, and I read them voraciously. But the negative ones? Keep them away from me. I had a very painful experience this last Motzei Shabbat. A neighbor of mine is in the IDF. It was his second time out of Gaza since October 7, and he is currently fighting in Khan Yunis. He came home for Shabbat and on Motzei Shabbat he came over to my house to talk for a bit and get a hug. We spoke about what’s happening, how he’s doing, and how I could help him if at all possible. He said, “Avi, we have everything we need.” I said, “Are you sure? There’s nothing I can help with?”

He said, “Listen, I’m a single guy. My mother and father are worried at home, but there’s not much you can do about that.” I insisted, “There must be something I could do!” He answered me, “If you have any ability to influence, any pull at all, get the TV stations to emphasize the positive more than the negative.” He explained that he was just at home with his mother, when she turned on the TV to watch the news. He sat down with her for a few minutes, mother and son, and watched a news channel speak about the war. After two minutes, he stood up. “Mom, I just can’t stand this. I can’t listen to it anymore.” And that’s when he came to me, for a bit of positivity, a bit of optimism and warmth that was so lacking from the news he was watching. He came because he needed chizuk. He asked me, “Is this how the nation is feeling?” I told him no. I don’t think that in any way, shape or form, what he is hearing on TV is what Klal Yisrael is feeling right now. We are embracing. We are together. I don’t think I have that much influence on journalists. I know a few, and I’ve made sure to speak to them from my heart on this issue. I’ve tried to pass on this soldier’s message. I think it’s important we all do our part in this. Emphasize the good. The positive. We need to explain to our media people that while their job is to report the truth, it is how that news is reported and what is emphasized, and when it is published, that can make all the difference. We are at a OU ISRAEL CENTER 5

time of war. We need to maintain our unified feeling to win against our enemy. There are signs everywhere, “Beyachad nenetzach,” “together we will win.” The only way is if we emphasize the unity we all hold. We have brothers and sisters in this country who have put their entire lives aside - their personal businesses, their jobs, their families, their children, their parents and their spouses for the sake of defeating Hamas and getting back our hostages. Many of us who aren’t fighting have had to experience the “inconvenience” of our local repair guy or painter or store owner being out on miluim. I believe that if we can push off that repair or buying that item until they return, we should do that. This shows the support they need at this time. Let me give you an example from my own life. I have a gardener who comes once a month to fix up the yard and make it beautiful. He’s on miluim now, and he told me he’ll find me a replacement, and I can pay him instead. I said, “Absolutely not. My garden can wait. I’ll wait until you come back from miluim.” I told him this October 8th. Since then, my boys and I have worked to keep the garden looking as nice as possible, but I did not hire a different gardener in his place. I want him to know that he won’t have to worry about at least one client when he returns. Our soldiers need to see this positivity and support. So if you can talk to any journalists you know about keeping positive, do it. And if you can show support for our soldiers, if you can show them that what they see on TV is not the feeling of the people on the ground, they will fight for us that much better and we will win. Our journalists, politicians, and other leaders should learn from our chayalim, and they 6 TORAH TIDBITS 1551 / YITRO

should see that Am Yisrael is one unified nation. When we look at this week’s parsha, we learn from Yitro that there is no such thing as one person doing it all. Moshe Rabbeinu was trying every case and judging every fight, but Yitro told him, “Look at what you’re doing and how tired it is making you. You can’t do it alone. Appoint lower judges and higher judges, and together you will be successful.” This is always true. We cannot and should not think that we’ll do it alone. We all have our part to do to encourage this feeling. Together with our friends, families, and the entire Am Yisrael, we will win. Wishing you all an uplifting and inspiring Shabbat, Rabbi Avi Berman Executive Director, OU Israel aberman@ouisrael.org

In Loving Memory

Jenny Weil ‫חיה גיטל בת מרדכי ושרה‬ whose 5th yahrzeit falls on ‫כ’ שבט‬ She is very much missed by her children, grandchildren, great grandchildren, nieces, nephews, and friends

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8 TORAH TIDBITS 1551 / YITRO

Together we will win! Our thoughts and prayers go out to anyone suffering during this difficult time. May Hashem protect our soldiers and bring them home safely!

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OU ISRAEL CENTER 9

ALIYA-BY-ALIYA SEDRA SUMMARY RABBI REUVEN TRADBURKS RCA ISRAEL REGION

PARSHAT YITRO Yitro joins Moshe. He advises Moshe in delegating to judges. At Mt. Sinai, G-d offers the Jewish people to be a treasured people. The Ten Commandments are given at Sinai. The people quake in response.

1ST ALIYA (18:1-12) Yitro, Moshe’s father-in-law, moved by the exodus from Egypt, travels to meet Moshe, bringing Tzippora and the 2 sons. Moshe greets them and tells of all that has happened. Yitro blesses G-d, affirming that now he knows G-d is great, and offers offerings to Him. Rashi claims that this story of Yitro occurs after the giving of the Torah – meaning, the Torah plucked it from its proper chronology and stuck it here. Presumably for a good reason. Why place this story here? You could answer either by looking at what comes next or from what just happened. The story at the end of last week’s parsha was the war with Amalek. This story of Yitro is placed here, juxtaposed to Amalek as a counterbalance. There are different types of non-Jews that we will encounter in history; there are Amaleks and there are Yitros. Amalek seeks our harm. Yitro seeks our G-d. Amalek sees our weakness. Yitro sees our greatness. Amalek fights us. Yitro partners with us.

2ND ALIYA (18:13-23) Yitro observes the people standing and waiting all day for Moshe to adjudicate. Yitro questions this. Moshe 10 TORAH TIDBITS 1551 / YITRO

responds: the people come seeking G-d; seeking adjudication; and I teach them G-d’s laws. Yitro criticizes Moshe. And suggests: You inquire of G-d on their behalf. And teach them G-d’s laws. But in addition, choose Judges who can adjudicate in your stead. Judges who are substantive, G-d fearing, men of truth and abhorring inappropriate gain. Yitro offers good advice to Moshe; delegate authority to judges. But while he proposes delegating authority in the court system, he does not suggest delegating authority in Moshe’s other roles. Because in those Moshe is simply irreplaceable. Moshe told Yitro that he has 3 functions: aiding those seeking G-d, adjudicating disputes, and teaching G-d’s commands. Yitro tells him: others can settle disputes. But as for the inquiry of G-d and teaching G-d’s commands, well for those, no one but you could possibly do them. For when it comes to communications from G-d, you are unique, irreplaceable, sui generis, one of a kind. This exchange presents a fundamental principle of the Torah: that G-d speaks to Moshe in a way that He does not, nor will He in the future ever do again with anyone else. When Moshe says that people come to him seeking G-d, what he means is: I have access to G-d. He speaks to me. (Speaking to G-d isn’t the trick; the trick is when He answers back.) Similarly, when Moshe says that he teaches G-d’s law, what he means is that G-d communicates those laws to him and to no one else.

This could very well be the prime purpose of this Yitro story. For, in the very next story, the giving of the Torah, the very same theme of Moshe’s uniqueness as the one to whom G-d speaks is central.

3RD ALIYA (18:24-27) Moshe heard. He chose judges, with only the most difficult cases brought to him. Moshe sent Yitro home. It takes an honest leader to accept suggestions to improve. Moshe displays his honesty and humility – if the suggestion is good, embrace it. Just as Yitro accepted the news of the Exodus and affirmed One G-d, so too, Moshe admits he could improve his system. Two men of honesty and humility.

4TH ALIYA (19:1-6) The people camped in the Sinai desert opposite the mountain. Moshe ascended the mountain. G-d told him: tell the people. If you will listen to Me, keep My covenant, then you will be a kingdom of kohanim and a holy nation. Tell that to the Jewish people. This short aliya screams of significance: it is the invitation to an intimate encounter. The entire Torah to this point has been G-d’s reach for man. And here is the culmination of that reach. Akin to a Divine hug. G-d created the world, an act of desire for a world. He created man. He reached out to Avraham, promising, unsolicited, the Land of Israel. But He kept His distance. Until Egypt, when He reached again to pull the Jewish people out of slavery, calling them His first born. Now He tells Moshe that He is pulling the Jewish people close as His closest, kohanim, those who are in His inner sanctum.

5TH ALIYA (19:7-19) Moshe presents G-d’s words to the people. They respond: all that

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c a l l D a v i d a t 0 5 4 - 4 3 3 - 2 6 21 davidz@AshkelonProperties.com www.ashkelonproperties.com G-d says we will do. G-d says: I will come to you in a cloud, so the people shall hear that I speak with you. Prepare them for 3 days for on the 3rd day I will descend in the view of all the people. No one shall touch the mountain. Moshe prepared the people. On the third day there was lightning and thunder, a thick cloud and a powerful shofar sound. The people in the camp were afraid. Moshe brought them out to the mountain. It was all in smoke for G-d descended in fire. The mountain shook. The shofar increased in power. Moshe spoke; G-d’s voice emanated. The revelation of Sinai is a culmination of G-d’s reach for man. He promises, He redeems us, and now He speaks, communicates. And although this moment is a pinnacle moment in the history of man, what the people actually heard is not at all clear. The OU ISRAEL CENTER 11

narrative, without the midrashim, seems to relate that the people will overhear G-d speaking to Moshe. After all, Divine communication to man is overwhelming, inconsistent with our finite being. The people are afraid – Moshe needs to coax them out. Afterwards, in aliya 7, the people tell Moshe that they can’t take hearing G-d’s voice or they will die. It is here that we really see Moshe’s uniqueness: as the only one to be able to hear G-d’s word and survive. The Torah will describe him as such later – no one else could tolerate “panim el panim”, direct communication from G-d. Moshe’s uniqueness is not as a leader, a legislator, a King, a warrior, or a motivational speaker. His uniqueness is as the one who hears G-d’s words, His commands, His mitzvot, and is able to withstand that and survive. The purpose of the revelation at Sinai is to expose the people to the experience, up close, of the communication from G-d to Moshe. This experience will reinforce for them that G-d speaks to Moshe so that they accept Moshe’s teachings later as being from G-d. And it will overwhelm them and bring them to believe in G-d.

6TH ALIYA (19:20-20:14) G-d descended onto the mountain and called Moshe up the mountain. He warned him to again instruct the people to not touch the mountain for they would die. The Ten Commandments: I am G-d, no idols before Me, don’t use G-d’s name in vain, Shabbat, honor parents, don’t murder, adultery, theft, false testimony, covet. The Midrash points out that the first 2 commands are in the 1st person, G-d speaking directly to the people: I am G-d. And the 12 TORAH TIDBITS 1551 / YITRO

rest in the 3rd person, seemingly Moshe speaking in G-d’s name about Him: do not take His name in vain. That is contrary to what I said above – that the people did not hear the content of what G-d said but only overheard Him speaking with Moshe. The Midrash reconciles this by stating that after hearing the first 2 commandments directly from G-d, the people did in fact die on the spot from the overwhelming experience of revelation. Then, they came back to life. From then on Moshe spoke in G-d’s name, as they were simply unable to withstand the power of the direct experience of G-d.

7TH ALIYA (20:15-23) The people recoiled from seeing the thunder and lightning, the shofar sound and the smoking mountain. They said to Moshe: let G-d speak with you, but not to us, for we do not want to die. Moshe assured them that G-d came so they would fear Him. G-d commanded: You saw that I spoke with you from heaven. Therefore, have no other gods; rather make an earthen altar. 2 symbols linger from the Sinai experience: the shofar and the cloud. The shofar is our way of recalling His Presence; the cloud is His way of indicating His Presence. From now on, when the cloud hovers over the Ohel Moed, it is to indicate that G-d’s Presence is there, speaking to Moshe. Like the cloud and smoke of Mt. Sinai. And the shofar is our way of recalling His Presence at Mt. Sinai. On Rosh Hashana, when we are to feel especially close with G-d, the shofar of Sinai is recalled. The ultimate redemption too is heralded by the Shofar Gadol. The shofar endures as a symbol of the intimate Presence of G-d, as it did at Mt. Sinai.

STATS 17th of 54 sedras; 5th of 11 in Shemot. Written on 138 lines in a Torah (46th). 15 Parshiyot; 4 open, 11 closed. 75* pesukim - ranks 47th (only 7 sedras have fewer pesukim). 1105 words, 4022 letters - ranks 46th. Yitro is the smallest sedra in Shemot. *Tradition is that Yitro has 72 pesukim, not 75. If we count DIBROT rather than pesukim for the Aseret HaDibrot, then the number drops to 72 (from 75) and that probably explains the difference. HOWEVER... when we read the Aseret haDibrot with TAAMEI HA'ELYON (as Dibrot), there are only 9 pesukim/dibrot, since the first two are definitely combined. Total: 71.

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OU ISRAEL CENTER 13

THE PERSON IN THE PARSHA BY RABBI DR. TZVI HERSH WEINREB OU EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT, EMERITUS

The Seeker “This is the most shocking and astounding phrase in the entire Torah!” These were the words uttered, in Hebrew, by the aging and ailing rabbi who was visiting Baltimore for medical treatment, where I lived long ago. The rabbi was from Israel, where he was the revered and popular dean of a rather famous yeshiva. The treatment he needed was unavailable in Israel at the time, so he journeyed to the community where I was serving as a young pulpit rabbi. I had long ago developed the habit of taking advantage of the opportunity to meet visitors of this sort. He was too frail to give a formal lecture, but he found it invigorating to sit with three or four of us and engage in conversation about various religious subjects, his favorite one being the weekly Torah portion. I felt especially privileged to be a part of that small group. The Torah portion that week was Parshat Yitro (Exodus 18:1-20:23), which we ourselves will read in the synagogue this Shabbat. Before identifying the shocking phrase which he wished to discuss, he asked us to participate in the following thought experiment: “Imagine that you are asked to write a brief biographical sketch of some saintly rabbinic figure, such as Rabbi Yisrael Meyer HaKohen, known as the Chofetz Chaim, and you happened to know that 14 TORAH TIDBITS 1551 / YITRO

this man’s father-in-law was some rogue who had a disreputable past. Would you share the nature of the father-in-law’s past in a biography for all to see? Would it not be embarrassing for both the Chofetz Chaim and his father-in-law to publicize the latter’s past misdeeds, especially if he had long repented of them?” He then launched into a very eloquent and forceful discourse about the ethical prohibitions against publicly disclosing a person’s past, or even reminding him of it in private. To bolster his argument, he quoted the following passage from Maimonides’ Mishneh Torah: “It is a serious sin to say to a penitent, ‘Remember what you once did,’ or even to mention those past actions in his presence, thus embarrassing him... We are admonished by the Torah not to abuse others verbally...” (Maimonides, Hilchot Teshuvah 7:8) He then drew our attention to the opening verse in this week’s Torah portion: “And Yitro the High Priest of Midian and the father-in-law of Moses, heard about all that the Almighty had done for Moses and Israel his nation...” (Exodus 18:1) “In the same breath,” he exclaimed, “he is referred to as a pagan priest and as the father-in-law of Moses! What a combination of titles! Yes, he was an idolater and the zaide of Moses’ children. This is as unlikely as the witch doctor of some primitive tribe who is also the very close personal advisor of the saintly Chofetz Chaim; or, the Archbishop of Canterbury as the mentor of some

Chassidic sage!! Are not those juxtapositions jarring, astonishing, irreconcilable?” Now that you have some sense of how graphic and dramatic this honored guest to our community could be, I will identify him by name. His name was Rabbi Simcha Zissel Broida, and he was the dean of the Chevron Yeshiva in Jerusalem. Rabbi Broida went on to offer a suggestion as to why Yitro is introduced to us again in this week’s Torah portion in terms of his old title, High Priest of Midian. After all, at this point in time he had renounced his idolatrous past, and indeed, according to rabbinic tradition, was about to convert to Judaism. “You see,” taught Rabbi Broida, “our tradition respects the seeker, the person who searches for the truth and never tires of that search, no matter how many blind alleys he encounters and no matter how much frustration he experiences. Yitro is described as an individual who worshiped every idol in the world in search of the truth. As he became disappointed with each faith that he explored and with each religion that he practiced, he rejected that path and renewed his search. He retains the title High Priest of Midian because that title represents the heights he could achieve in the religious hierarchy within which he sought truth. That title is symbolic of the degree to which Yitro was a seeker of truth.” The old man at this point began to show signs of fatigue, and we begged him to stop his discourse and rest. But he told us that he refused to rest until he was convinced that we had learned the lesson he was trying to teach. “That lesson,” he whispered hoarsely, “is best conveyed in the words of Talmud in Tractate Gittin 43a: ‘No man truly achieves Torah knowledge without first experiencing

error.’ ” When a person’s errors in life culminate in his finally making proper choices and correct decisions, then those errors are to be publicized and respected, because they are indicators of the degree to which that person was a seeker. As far as I can recall, Rabbi Broida did not share with us on that occasion the following gematria. As you may know, every Hebrew word has a numeric equivalent, also known as a gematria, and often very diverse terms have identical numerical equivalents, suggesting otherwise unpredictable connections. The proper name “Yitro” has the numeric equivalent of 416. Two contradictory Hebrew terms have the exact same numeric equivalent. Those terms are “he was an idolatrous priest (komer haya lavodah zara)” and “The Torah (HaTorah)”, indicating that this one individual combined within himself two diametrically opposed tendencies. One of those tendencies, HaTorah, prevailed, but only because of the lessons learned from his experiences with idolatry. For those of you who are intrigued by gematria, I suggest you consult the commentary of Ba’al HaTurim to corroborate this one. Every year since I was privileged to first learn Rabbi Broida’s lesson, I look forward to the opening verse of the Torah portion which we will all have the opportunity to read this week. Not only must we learn from our mistakes, but it is only by virtue of making those mistakes that we ultimately learn. That is a powerful and practical lesson indeed.

OU ISRAEL CENTER 15

COVENANT & CONVERSATION THOUGHTS ON THE WEEKLY PARSHA RABBI LORD JONATHAN SACKS ZT"L

FORMER CHIEF RABBI OF THE UNITED HEBREW CONGREGATIONS OF THE COMMONWEALTH

May the learning of these Divrei Torah be ‫לעילוי נשמת‬ HaRav Ya'akov Zvi ben David Arieh zt"l

‫לעילוי נשמות‬ ‫פנחס בן יעקב אשר וגולדה בת ישראל דוד אייז ע״ה ועזריאל בן אריה לייב ומעניה בת יצחק שרטר ע״ה‬

Deed & Creed The parsha of Yitro records the revolutionary moment when God, Creator of Heaven and Earth, entered into a mutually binding agreement with a nation, the Children of Israel, an agreement we call a brit, a covenant. Now, this is not the first Divine covenant in the Torah. God had already made one with Noah, and through him all of humanity, and He made another with Abraham, whose sign was circumcision. But those covenants were not fully reciprocal. God did not ask for Noah’s agreement, nor did He wait for Abraham’s assent.

In loving memory of our beloved Father, Grandfather & Great Grandfather Saba Sababa

IRVING MAISEL z”l

‫ר’ ישראל בן פסח ז”ל‬

on his 14th Yahrtzeit May the Torah learned from this TT be in his merit The Maisel, Bodenheim and Gottlieb Families Efrat, Bet Shemesh and Kiryat Sefer 16 TORAH TIDBITS 1551 / YITRO

Sinai was a different matter. For the first time, He wanted the covenant to be fully mutual, to be freely accepted. So we find that - both before and after the Revelation at Sinai - God commands Moses to make sure the people do actually agree. The point is fundamental. God wants to rule by right, not might. The God who brought an enslaved people to liberty seeks the free worship of free human beings. God does not act toward His creatures like a tyrant. (Avodah Zarah 3a) So at Sinai was born the principle that was, millennia later, described by Thomas Jefferson in the American Declaration of Independence, the idea that governors and governments derive “their just powers from the consent of the governed.” That is why the Sinai Covenant was conditional on the people’s agreement. Admittedly, the Talmud questions how free the Israelites actually were, and it uses an astonishing image. It says that God suspended the mountain above their heads and said, “If you agree, well and good. If you don’t, here will be your burial.” That is another topic for another time. Suffice it to say there is no indication of this in the plain sense of the text itself. What is interesting is the exact wording

in which the Israelites signal their consent. To repeat: they do so three times, first before the Revelation, and then twice afterwards, in the parsha of Mishpatim. Listen to the three verses. Before the Revelation: All the people answered as one and said, ‘All that God has spoken, we will do [na’aseh].’ (Ex. 19:8) Then afterward: Moses came and told the people all of God’s words and all the laws. The people all responded with a single voice, ‘We will do [na’aseh] every word that God has spoken.’ (Ex. 24:3) He took the Book of the Covenant and read it aloud to the people. They replied, ‘We will do [na’aseh] and we will hear [ve-nishma] all that God has declared.’ (Ex. 24:7) Note the subtle difference. In two cases the people say: all that God says, we will do. In the third, the double verb is used: na’aseh ve-nishma. “We will do and we will hear, (or obey, or hearken, or understand).” The word shema means ‘to understand’, as we see in the story of the Tower of Babel: “Come, let us descend and confuse their speech, so that one person will not understand another’s speech.” (Gen. 11:7)

May the Torah learned in this issue of Torah Tidbits be in loving memory of and ‫לעילו נשמת‬

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Now note that there is another difference between the three verses. In the first two cases there is a clear emphasis on the unity of the people. Both phrases are very striking. The first says: all the people answered as one. The second says, The people all responded with a single voice. In a book that emphasises how fractious and fissiparous the people were, such declarations of unanimity are significant and rare. But the third verse, which mentions both doing and listening or understanding, contains no such statement. It simply says: They replied. There is no emphasis on unanimity or consensus. What we have here is a biblical comment on one of the most striking features of all in Judaism: the difference between deed and creed, between asiyah and shemiyah, between doing and understanding. Christians have theology. Jews have law. These are two very different approaches to religious life. Judaism is about a community of action. It is about the way people interact in their dealings with one another. It is about bringing God into the shared spaces of our collective life. Just as we know God through what He does, so God asks us to bring Him into what we do. In the beginning, as Goethe put it, was the deed. That is why Judaism is a religion of law, because law is the architecture of behaviour. When it comes, however, to belief, creed, doctrine, all the things that depend on shemiyah rather than asiyah, understanding

With Hakarat Hatov to

JACKY SCHIMMEL

for his overflowing chesed! Gary & Lisa Rosen 18 TORAH TIDBITS 1551 / YITRO

rather than action: on this Judaism does not call for unanimity. Not because Judaism lacks beliefs. To the contrary, Judaism is what it is precisely because of our beliefs, most importantly the belief in monotheism, that there is, at least and at most, one God. The Torah tells us in Bereishit about creation, in Shemot about redemption, and in this week’s parsha about revelation. Judaism is a set of beliefs, but it is not a community based on unanimity about the way we understand and interpret those beliefs. It recognises that intellectually and temperamentally we are different. Judaism has had its rationalists and its mystics, its philosophers and its poets, its naturalists and its supernaturalists: Rabbi Ishmael and Rabbi Akiva, Judah Halevi and Maimonides, the Vilna Gaon and the Baal Shem Tov. We seek unanimity in halachah, not in aggadah. Na’aseh, we act in the same way, but nishma, we understand each in our own way. That is the difference between the way we serve God, collectively, and the way we understand God, individually. What is fascinating is that this wellknown feature of Judaism is already signalled in the Torah: in the difference between the way it speaks about na’aseh, “as one,” “with a single voice,” and nishma, with no special collective consensus. Our acts, our na’aseh, are public. Our thoughts, our nishma, are private. That is how we come to serve God together, yet relate to Him individually, in the uniqueness of our being. These weekly teachings from Rabbi Sacks zt”l are part of his ‘Covenant & Conversation’ series on the weekly Torah teaching. With thanks to the Schimmel Family for their generous sponsorship, dedicated in loving memory of Harry (Chaim) Schimmel. Visit www.RabbiSacks.org for more.

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PROBING THE PROPHETS BY RABBI NACHMAN (NEIL) WINKLER

Faculty, OU Israel Center

l

Rabbi Winkler's popular Jewish History lectures can be viewed by visiting the OU Israel Video archive: https://www.ouisrael.org/video-library

Departing or Arriving? “Kadosh, Kadosh, Kadosh Hashem Tz’vakot…” What a powerful declaration! What a glorious revelation!! And what a remarkable introduction to Yishayahu’s divine mission!! Here, within the very first p’sukim of our haftarah, Hashem summons His prophet and shares with him the image of G-d’s divine throne, allowing the navi to hear the praises called out by the surrounding seraphim. Who could fail to feel overawed by such an experience?! So how will Yishayahu respond? How would he regard this overwhelming theophany he had just experienced? What WILL he say? And herein lies our bewilderment, for his very first words are: “Oy li - chi nidmeiti!” – “Woe is me – for I am doomed!” Why does he react in such a way? Simply because he sees himself as being unworthy for such a revelation, explaining that he is of “impure lips” and not deserving of such a revelation. And, at first, we might imagine that the reaction is quite understandable. Until the navi adds a troubling – even “bewildering” - comment: “and I dwell within a nation with impure lips.” 22 TORAH TIDBITS 1551 / YITRO

Why, after all, would Yishayahu open his first conversation with G-d with words of censure against Israel? Why would he speak ill of his own people? G-d had not yet told him anything negative about Israel - so why did Yishayahu speak negatively? Indeed, Rashi shares our bewilderment, commenting that the need for the angel to “purify” Yishayahu’s mouth with a burning coal was because he had criticized his nation. Additionally, the text itself indicates that very point (v.7), telling the navi that upon the touch of the coal: “your sin will be atoned” - and it was Yishayahu’s criticism that was considered his sin!! So, why did the navi start his conversation with HaKadosh Baruch Hu with a critique of Israel? Rav Shimshon Raphael Hirsch shares with us a salient point about the opening vision that, I believe, helps us understand the prophet’s behavior. The prophecy shown to Yishayahu, depicted Hashem’s glory sitting upon His throne but with only the “corners of His cloak” [“shulav”] filling the Temple. Rav Hirsch comments that the vision is speaking of G-d’s glory departing the Holy Temple with only the edges of His cloak still found in the Heichal. Yishayahu saw G-d’s shechina being “forced out” of His holy sanctuary due to Israel’s sins. It is THIS, therefore, that caused the navi to feel that he was “doomed” and why he expressed his negative thoughts about Am Yisrael. And yet, if this were so, why did G-d consider Yishayahu’s words a “sin” for which the prophet had to atone? Why would Hashem

number is 157,600. The total count of the regard His prophet’s disappointment with army age men is 603,550 without the tribe His people if that was exactly the purpose of of Levi. G-d’s vision - a message to the sinful nation The people travel and camp with the to repent or else find Hashem’s presence Mishkan in their midst. Physically and “departing” and distancing from them? metaphorically. We travel our history with I would humbly suggest that perhaps the G-d in our midst. While the distinct feelvision, as understood by the navi, was not ing you get in the detailed description of considered fully. Clearly, much of the prophecy where each tribe encamped is the feeling Yishayahu was to share was focused upon Israof an army encampment, there is another el’s turpitude and faithlessness to G-d. Many of layer of meaning. Yes, regimented. Specific. them were filled with warnings of the punishDetailed. Organized. But an army for which ments, defeat and exile on the nation. purpose? To fight the anticipated foes in But these were not the totality of Hashthe Land of Israel? Or to be the army of em’s mission for the navi. Not at all. Much Hashem? A fighting army with its G-d in of Yishayahu’s future messages would be its midst? Or both? ones of comfort, consolation and hope; 4th aliya (3:1-13) Aharon’s there would be depictions of remorse, sons’ names were Nadav, repentance and return as well as promises Avihu, Elazar and Itamar. of rebirth, restoration and redemption. But Nadav and Avihu died without children. Yishayahu saw in that vision only how the Elazar and Itamar serve as Kohanim with Shechina departed ... .and never considAharon. Take the Leviim: they are to serve ered that it might also have been arriving. Aharon. The Leviim are responsible for the And THAT was his sin. Mishkan: to support the Kohanim and the How do we see the difficult events that people, to facilitate the running of the Mishmight befall us? What do we think about kan. The Leviim shall take the place of the when we study the history of our people? first-born, who became obligated to me Only oppression? Suffering? Golus? when saved in Egypt. Is the story of our existence only a story There are 2 groups mentioned here: of Hashem departing? Kohanim and Leviim. The lineage of the Or can we also see – in so many ways – Kohanim is given. It just doesn’t take much G-d’s returning and arriving back to His room. Because Aharon is a Kohen and his nation? sons. But he only has 2. So the entire linI imagine that it all depends on our eage of the Kohanim is 3 people. The Leviim, vision! on the other hand, are an entire tribe,

Every person who was not born in Israel and lives in the Holy Land should celebrate his/her ALIYANNIVERSARY annually! REMEMBER! WITH ALIYAH BLESSINGS! The NEAMANS 14

TORAH TIDBITS 1516 / BAMIDBAR

descendants of Levi, son of Yaakov. Their lineage, at quite some length, is given in the next aliya. 5th aliya (3:14-39) Count the tribe of Levi by households, from 1 month and older: the households of Gershon, Kehat and Merari, the sons of Levi. The sons of Gershon, Kehat and Merari are listed. Gershon’s family, from a month and above, is 7,500. They camp to the west of the Mishkan. Their task was to transport and be responsible for the curtains and coverings. Kehat numbered 8,600, camping to the south. They were responsible for the vessels: Aron, Menorah, Earn a Degree Table, altars. Merari numbered 6,200, Designed in Responsible for the camping to the north. structure of the Mishkan; the walls, supPartnership ports and beams. The total of the tribe of with Bar-Ilan Levi is 22,000. On the front side, the east of University the Mishkan, Moshe and Aharon and famand Tel Aviv ilies camped. University The encampment around the Mishkan had 2 layers. The Leviim were in close, on 3 of the 4 sides of the Mishkan. The 4th side, the leading side, had Moshe and Aharon. Prepare for personal and professional The entirethrough 12 tribes fartherUniversity removed success thewere new Yeshiva Undergraduate Program! oninallIsrael 4 sides. The 3 sons of Levi were family groups; Combine world-class Torah studies with eliteKehat academics and tap into Israel’s Gershon, and Merari. They had full innovation hub while experiencing vibrant responsibility for the Mishkan. Their tasks student life on the scenic Ulpanat Chorev l’Banot Women’s Jerusalem campus. fell in categories. Gershon; textiles. Kehat; furniture. Merari; building. Gershon took care of the curtains and coverings. Kehat, the important main vessels of the Mishkan. Launching 2024 ofyu.edu/YUI And Merari theFall structure the building. 6th aliya (3:40-51) Count all the firstborn of the age of a month and above. The Leviim are to replace the firstborn. There were 273 more OU ISRAEL CENTER 23

RABBI SHALOM ROSNER

Rav Kehilla, Nofei HaShemesh Maggid Shiur, Daf Yomi, OU.org Senior Ra"M, Kerem B'Yavneh

Postscript to the Aseret HaDibrot At the end of Parshat Yitro we encounter three imperatives: (Shemot 20-20, 22, 23), each loosely translated below:

‫ׂש ּ​ּו‬ ׂ ‫לֵהי ֶכֶ ֶ​ֶסף ֵוֵ אֹל ֵֵֹהי ָזָ ָ​ָהב ֹל ֹא ַ​ַת ֲ​ֲע‬ ׂ ‫ֹל ֹא ַ​ַת ֲ​ֲע‬ ֵ ‫ׂשּוּן ִ​ִא ִ​ִּת� י ֱ​ֱא‬ :‫ָלָ ֶכֶ ם‬ Not to make images of celestial beings, nor any graven images of silver and gold.

‫ֹא־ִת ְ​ְבֶנֶה ֶ​ֶא ְ​ְת ֶ​ֶהן‬ ִ ‫ְוְ ִ​ִא‬ ִ ‫ם־ִמְזְ ַ​ַּב� ח ֲ​ֲא ָ​ָבִנִים ַ​ַּת� ֲ​ֲע ֶ​ֶׂש� ה־ ִ​ִּל� י ֹל‬ ‫ַנְַפ ָ​ָּת� ָ​ָעֶלֶ ָיָה ַוַ ְ​ְּת� ַ​ַחֲלֲ ֶלֶ ָ​ָה‬ ְ ‫ָ​ָּג� ִזִ ית ִ​ִּכ� י ַ​ַח ְ​ְר ְ​ְּב� ָ​ָך ֵ​ֵה‬ Not to use a sword while fashioning the stones for the Mizbeiach.

‫ֹא־ִת ָ​ָּג� ֶלֶ ה‬ ִ ‫ל־ִמְזְ ְ​ְּב� ִ​ִחי ֲ​ֲא � ֶ​ֶׁשר ֹל‬ ִ ‫ֹא־ַת ֲ​ֲעֶלֶ ה ְ​ְב ַ​ַמ ֲ​ֲעֹל ֹת ַ​ַע‬ ַ ‫ְוְ ֹל‬ ‫ֶ​ֶע ְ​ְרָוָ ְ​ְת ָ​ָך ָ​ָעָלָ יו‬ Not to have steps leading up to the Mizbeiach, but instead to have a ramp. Following the revelation at Har Sinai and the experience of Matan Torah, the Torah lists the three mitzvot cited above. One would expect a depiction of more glamorous mitzvot. Perhaps the mitzva of ‫ואהבת לרעך‬ ‫ ?כמוך‬In what way do the three prohibitions

Dedicated L’iluy Nishmat

‫ר’ דוד מאיר בן ר’ נתן ז”ל‬

Meyer Rich z”l

whose 13th Yahrtzeit is on ‫כ”ד שבט‬ 24 TORAH TIDBITS 1551 / YITRO

listed above serve as a fitting postscript to the epic event of the Ten Commandments? The three prohibitions listed above are actually included in the Aseret HaDibrot! The first relates to idolatry, the second to murder and the third to adultery. In fact, these are known as the “Big Three” upon which it is incumbent to sacrifice one’s life to avoid transgressing one of these cardinal sins. They are also all included in the ‫ שבע מצוות בני נח‬- three of the seven Noachide mitzvot. What is the purpose of their repetition at the end of the Parsha?

BROAD APPLICATION OF MITZVOT Rabbi Immanuel Bernstein in his sefer Dimensions in Chumash, offers the following insight. These three mitzvot appear at the end of Parshat Yitro, following Ma’amad Har Sinai to underscore that not only are the actual acts themselves forbidden, but they cannot even exist in trace form. • Not only is worshiping idols prohibited, even creating images of other celestial beings is not permitted. • Not only is murder prohibited but anything connected to bloodshed is not to be associated with the Mikdash and so even the Mizbeiach cannot be constructed with a knife, which is a tool that can be deadly. • Not only are certain physical relations prohibited, even engaging in a religious ceremony like ascending stairs to offer a sacrifice, can be perceived as immodest behavior if one’s body may become revealed while doing so. To avoid it, a ramp must be used.

Essentially, we are to understand that although many nations may abide by the Noachide principles, the Torah expands the breadth and depth of these edicts. This applies to other laws as well. Stealing is not just taking something that does not belong to someone. The Torah extends it to forcing another to hand over an object against their will or depriving someone of sleep (‫)גזל שינה‬. We are held to a higher moral standard.

ETHICS FROM SINAI Pirkei Avot opens with a statement ‫״משה‬ ‫ קבל תורה מסיני״‬to teach us that even the moral and ethical behavior discussed in Pirkei Avot was not “man-made”, concocted by a group of Rabbis. Our moral compass is dictated by the Torah. As seen above, even what appears in the Torah may be more broadly applied. During the war in Gaza, we seek to distinguish between civilians and terrorists, risking the lives of our own soldiers, because we have a higher moral standard, set by a Higher Authority. When ethics are interpreted by man, they can become flawed. When dictated by God, they remain pure and authentic with wide reaching applications. The repetition of the three mitzvot at the end of the parsha highlights the broader application of mitzvot. Each command should be viewed in a wider context. Rav Hai Gaon derived all 613 mitzvot from the 10 commandments. We should appreciate the unique nature of the Torah, see beyond its literal interpretation and fulfill the extensive application of all mitzvot.

Condolences to Akiva Andrews and family on the passing of his

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FATHER z”l

‫המקום ינחם אתכם בתוך שאר אבלי ציון וירושלים‬ OU ISRAEL CENTER 25

REBBETZIN SHIRA Faculty, OU Israel Center SMILES

Thirst for Torah “Bachodesh hashelishi letzeit Benei Yisrael mei-eretz Mitzrayim, bayom hazeh ba’u midbar Sinai – In the third month after the Jewish people left Egypt, on this day, they came to the desert of Sinai.” (Shemot 19:1) Rashi is bothered by the Torah’s use of the word “hazeh,” to describe which day they arrived at the Sinai desert. It seems that “bayom hahu – on that day,” would have been a sufficient expression. Thus, Rashi concludes that the text is conveying a present tense, i.e. that the words of Torah should always have the quality of something new, “ke’ilu hayom hazeh nitnu - as if they were given this very day.” How can we achieve this lofty level? After all, we received the Torah thousands of years ago, moreover, we have learned and reviewed parts of the Torah so many times. Is it even possible to encounter a Torah thought we are familiar with as if it is new?

Condolences to the family of

Rabbi Raymond Apple z”l on his passing Rabbi Apple was the senior Rabbi of the Great Synagogue of Sydney from 1972 to 2005 and a former writer for Torah Tidbits

‫המקום ינחם אתכם בתוך שאר אבלי ציון וירושלים‬ 26 TORAH TIDBITS 1551 / YITRO

The students of Slabodka offer an interesting comparison. Consider food. It is true that one wouldn’t be able to tolerate eating the same meal repeatedly every day, or even day after day. However, if one is very hungry, he will eat the same meal again and again with no qualms. If he is starving, he will feel the pleasure of having his appetite filled even if he just ate the same meal earlier. We can approach Torah with a ‘big appetite,’ devouring each lesson or verse as if it were the first time we came upon it. Rav Gifter zt”l offers a fascinating insight into a famous passage in the Talmud that deepens this idea. “Al mah avdah ha’aretz? … shelo barchu baTorah.” Why was the land destroyed? Since they did not say the blessing on the Torah before learning it. (Bava Metzia 85b) Our sages teach that Torah is compared to water, “all who thirst, go to water…” (Yeshaya 55:1) Just as one only says a brachah on water if he is thirsty and the water will quench that thirst, so too, since the Jews at that time did not have a ‘thirst’ for Torah, they could never say the birkat haTorah with genuine feeling! Indeed, Chovot Halevavot teaches that one must always approach Torah learning with fresh eyes. This is particularly imperative when learning the stories from Tanach that we learned as children. As we grow and learn more, we need to look at events and phenomena with new perspectives and depth. Rav Pincus zt”l recommended trying to have the attitude of one who is learning a story for the first time, with curiosity and

wonder. Because we have learned the story of creation so many times, for example, we take it for granted that the world was created. Yet, we ought to look at every aspect of creation with freshness and amazement. Rav Pincus quotes the Chofetz Chayim zt”l who would remark that there are no less than 15 descriptions of Hashem in the last brachah of birkat hamazon, do we even take notice? Birkat HaTorah begins in the past tense, “Asher bachar banu mikol ha’amim ve’natan lanu et torato - [Hashem] who chose us from all nations and gave us His Torah.” However, it concludes in the present tense, “Noten haTorah – Who gives the Torah.” When we say this brachah, let us pause to appreciate the gift of the present and the newness. May this lead us to approach our Torah learning and mitzvah observance with a hunger and thirst that can’t be satiated.

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OU ISRAEL CENTER 27

RABBI JUDAH MISCHEL

One People Reb Chaim Elazar Spira, the Munkatcher Rebbe, was a tzadik and gaon of unusual piety known after his multi-volume Minchas Elazar. An expression of his uncompromising zealotry was his fierce, outspoken opposition to political Zionism and the Agudat Yisrael. Rav Yechiel Yaakov Weinberg, zt’l, was one of the great roshei yeshivah and Jewish intellectuals of our century, heading the Hildesheimer Rabbinic Seminary in Berlin. An influential posek, he authored the collection of classic responsa entitled Seridei Eish. He was also wellversed in secular academic knowledge and had earned a PhD, uniting his great yiras Shamayim with cultural and intellectual openness. These two pillars of Eastern European Jewry maintained a close and ‘unlikely’ friendship. At the wedding of the daughter of the Munkacher Rebbe, at which many of the gedolim and great rabbanim of the generation were present, the Rebbe stood up and proclaimed that Rav Weinberg would be honored with leading the Bircas haMazon. Surprised murmurs rippled through the crowd. Could it really be that the leader of the most extreme kanayim is, at his daughter’s wedding, being mechabeid the modern rabbiner, with his trimmed beard and a doctoral degree? Sensing the surprise of his guests, Rebbe was taken aback. “Everyone here who has 28 TORAH TIDBITS 1551 / YITRO

Executive Director, Camp HASC Author of Baderech: Along the Path of Teshuva (Mosaica 2021)

joined us as an honored guest at our simcha is like family! For the kavod of leading us in bentching, I would indeed like to honor Rav Weinberg, who is not only mishpacha, but also my dear friend…”

‫ן־ָׁשם ִי ְְִׂש� ָ​ָר ֵ​ֵאל ֶנֶ​ֶגֶ ד ָ​ָה ָ​ָהר׃‬ ָ � ‫ַוַ ַּי� ֲֲַחנ ּ​ּו ַ​ַּב� ִּמ�ִ ְ​ְד ָ​ָּב� ר ַוַ ִּי� ִַַח‬ “...They encamped (plural) in the wilderness; Israel encamped (singular) there, in front of the mountain.” (Shemos, 19:2)

…‫ְ​ְּכ� ִ​ִאיׁשׁ ֶ​ֶא ָ​ָחד ְ​ְּב� ֵלֵ ב ֶ​ֶא ָ​ָחד‬ “Like one person, with one heart.” (Rashi on the pasuk) The tzadik Rebbe Naftali of Ropshitz was known for his sharp wit and pithy observations. ‘Why,’ he asked, ‘do we learn that Vayichan, they encamped like one person with one heart before Matan Torah? Because as soon as we received the Torah, everyone began to argue about whose way of understanding was more correct.’ This irony is, of course, not just a joke. When we are inspired by a compelling insight or perspective in Torah, a spiritual yetzer can arise, tempting us to assume that our teachers, lineage, favorite sefarim, or even ideas of our own mind, have a monopoly on truth. We may narrow our allegiance and interest to the path in Torah that we have deemed ‘more true’, and even begin to dismiss other paths and teachings. The great builder of Torah institutions and Judaism in America, Reb Shraga Feivel Mendlowitz, was also a builder of people. He defied definition and categorization, untethered to

any specific one of the shivim panim laTorah — instead, he embodied the infinite expansiveness and oneness of Yiddishkeit. Reb Shraga Feivel’s way of learning Torah revealed its awesome unity. He used to tell his students: “We are now studying the Torah that was given to us in the Desert, as expounded in the Oral Torah by scholars who lived in Babylonia. The Ramban, who wrote commentaries on both the Written and Oral Torah, lived in Spain, and Rashi in France. The Maharsha (who explains difficulties in Tosafos) lived in Poland. We, who drink from the water of all of them, living here in Williamsburg, are studying the very same Torah that was given at Sinai.” This was also one of the compelling elements stressed by the Lubliner Rosh Yeshiva, Rav Meir Shapiro in launching his revolutionary Daf Yomi campaign. This ongoing program unites Jews all over the world in studies that reflect our collective experience of Torah revelation. We must study Torah with an awareness of its context, how it was delivered: k’ish echad b’lev echad. In this way, recognizing every Jew as mishpacha, as connected to the truth in their own way and as worthy in their own right, is a prerequisite for the receiving of the Torah. Before the notion of sharing a common set of beliefs was cast upon us at Sinai, we developed together as a people, sharing the suffering of slavery in Mitzrayim, and emerging with a sense of nationhood that lies at the core of our identity. Our indivisible peoplehood is in fact the foundation upon which we study Torah at all. This perhaps is the reason that Gemara attributes the churban to sinas chinam, ‘causeless hatred’ and also shelo beirchu baTorah techilah, ‘that they did not make a blessing on Torah

before learning’. Clearly, when one’s Torah becomes a political affiliation or ideology that excludes others, or that tempts one to preach to others and win their agreement, it is an expression of ego. Torah comes from the Ribbono Shel Olam, not from us, and this is why we must make a blessing on Torah before learning: Blessed are You, Hashem Elokeinu…. When we recognize the root and purpose of Torah it both draws us closer to Hashem and to each other. We developed from an extended mishpacha into a group of related tribes, yet we remained identified by our common ancestry and familial relationship. Following the Exodus, when we accepted the Torah ‘as one person with one heart’, we expressed our collective aspiration to accept every individual Jew, regardless of their different personal beliefs and choices. Since then, anyone who is born a Jew or converts and joins Klal Yisrael is considered an irreplaceable part of that original mishpacha. As such, we are more ‘a people’ than a religion. In Sefer Hayom Yom (24 Teves), the Lubavitcher Rebbe quotes an essential statement of the Alter Rebbe: ‘The intention and goal in developing the “ways of Chassidus” is that one should recognize that we are ‫כמו‬ ‫משפחה אחת על פי התורה באהבה‬, “like one family, with affection, as Torah teaches.” May our reading of Parshas Yisro and the revelation at Sinai serve as a reminder that regardless of our opinions and level of observance — we are, indeed, one family! Wills • Probate • Pre & Post-Nuptial Agreements Guardianship • Durable Power of Attorney (Financial/Health/Personal Decisions)

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OU KASHRUT RABBI EZRA FRIEDMAN PAGE BY Director, The Gustave & Carol Jacobs Center for Kashrut Education

Introduction Bishulto Akum and BishulIntermarried Akum Jews The prohibition Our Sages decreed that one may not eat even According to Biblical law, food that is kosher food cooked by a non-Jew, a prohibition completely kosher and cooked by a noncalled bishul akum. This decree is intended to Jew is permitted. However, our Sages maintain distance between Jews and non-Jews decreed such food, even whenIncooked in order that to prevent intermarriage. previin kosher utensils, is prohibited for ous articles, we discussed cases in whichconthis sumption. This is known concern might be prohibition largely irrelevant, such asas a bishul akum. In the coming weeks we Catholic priest (who has no children.) The halawill discuss the parameters ofstill thisstands, rabchic conclusion is that the decree binic prohibition, including the reasons regardless of whether the underlying reason behind the decree, when it applies, applies to the individual case. This articleand will the practical halacha modern indusexamine the unique casefor of bishul akum with trial kashrut. regard to intermarried Jews. Food is a veryisconnecting element in Intermarriage unfortunately a very every society. That is theespecially basis behind the common phenomenon, outside decree of bishul akum. Our Sages were very of Israel. We have previously shown that concerned about relationships with non-religious Jews close are not part of the decree non-Jews sincesince intermarriage is a of bishul akum, it applies only to very nonsevere transgression. The prohibition effecJews. However, perhaps Jews who have tively limits Jews and gentiles dining with intermarried are considered completely out each although there isAdditionally, no specific of theother, fold, similar to a mumar. prohibition dining with aare non-Jew the childrenagainst of these marriages often per se. (See Rashi on add Avodah 31:b.) non-Jews, which might to theZara decree. Forbidding non-Jew’s cooking would THE STATUS the OF INTERMARRIED COUPLES beItenough to create an emotional distance is strictly forbidden for both men and such that families wouldn’t marry into women to have intimate relations with noneach other. Jews. This transgression is Biblical in nature (see Rabbeinu (Tosfot 38:a) Devarim 7:3).Tam Marriage to aAvodah non-JewZara and subseand (Ma’achalot Asurot debate 17:9) quentRambam relations is a grave sin. Authorities 52 TORAH TIDBITS 1516 / BAMIDBAR 30 TORAH TIDBITS 1551 / YITRO

maintain that the decree is based on this issue of closeness to non-Jews that could lead to intermarriage; this is the opinion of most early authorities. However, Rashi and others attribute a different reasoning to the prohibition of bishul akum, is that the halachic status of such Jewswhich in relation to non-Jews might mix poskim non-kosher ingrediother halachot. Many rule that Jews, ents kosher food. In intermarry future articles both into menthe and women, who lose we will discuss whether the of their status as halachic Jews (seeparameters Responsa Chabishul akum basedChatam on bothSofer, of these reacham Tzvi 38;are Responsa CM 195), sons or just one. However, it is clear from including being counted in a minyan and the numerous sources that the danger interability to testify in a Jewish court. Rav of Yitzchak marriage is the main reason behind the Zilberstein emphasizes that this status relates to prohibition (See Torat Habayit 3:7). both male and female intermarriage, despite the The is binding regardless the fact thatdecree the children of a Jewish motherof and a reason non-Jewish father are halachically Jewish (see Since Melachim the transgression of intermarShulchan p.895). riage was thebishul primary concern behind our Regarding akum, Rav Yosef Shalom Sages’ decree, their goal was to powerfully Elyashiv is quoted as being quite stringent, discourage thecooked possibility of developing prohibiting food by intermarried Jews emotional connections to non-Jews that (Shulchan Melachim 14:3). He argues that there could lead to in is no question thatintermarriage even today, Jewseither (especially that generation Accordingly, in Israel) are awareorofthe thenext. severity of the transearly authorities discuss whether the gression of intermarriage. This would prevent prohibition of bishul akum still applies the halachic claim of tinok shenishba (a halachic even inasituations where intermarriage term for Jew who was raised without sufficient is not technically possible. For example, knowledge and understanding of Judaism and Rashba, innot hiscompletely responsaat(1:248), examines therefore is fault for his actions.) the case of food cooked by a priest. Being While we are discussing Rav Elyashiv’s rulthat Catholic priests do not marry nor do ings about intermarriage, it is worth noting they have whom to interthat he waschildren also askedwith about the children of marry, is it permitted to eat food cooked a non-Jewish father and Jewish mother. He is by a priest even though the reason quoted as saying that if the children growfor up bishul akum seemingly does not apply to following the religion of their father, they are

ven the ilar Zara who, ited that y is shul son (YD cite s of

lands.

Kashrut Questions in Israel? Call or Whatsapp Rabbi Friedman at 050-200-4432

The OU Israel Gustave & Carol Jacobs Center for Kashrut Education was created to raise awareness The Israelthe Gustave Jacobs Center for Kashrut created to raise awareness and OU educate public&inCarol all areas of kashrut. Rabbi Ezra Education Friedman, was Deputy Rabbinic Administrator and educate the public in all areas ofdirector. kashrut. Rabbi Ezra Friedman, Deputy Rabbinic Administrator for OU Kosher Israel is the Center's for OU Kosher Israel is the Center's director. Meir 077-2050015 Golan 052-2678749 Meir Golan

Oldgolanechasim@gmail.com Katamon: 4-room apartment in a small and quiet street, 101

sqm, renovated, very bright and airy, master bedroom, Safe room (mamad), sukkahnew balcony,4view, elevator, 3,400,000 NIS 95m, master suite, RASCO: room apartment,

then considered non-Jews. This opinion is not him? Rashba answers that we have a rule accepted by allanswers rabbinic authorities (ibid). him? Rashba thatprivate we have a rule master suite, balcony, storage, Shabbat elevator, Old Katamon regarding rabbinic decrees: even when parking 3,250,000 NIS JEWISH AND NON-JEWISH FATHER regarding BAKA: New 4 room rabbinic apartment in a newdecrees: building, 88m, even when the reason does not apply, the prohibition master suite, storage, Shabbat elevator, private parking, Jews’ loss of Inreason addition to the intermarried the does not apply, the prohibition 3,950,000 NIS still stands. This is Suka a necessary element RECHAVIA: 4-room apartment, 92m, balcony, earlier, we can halachic status as mentioned still stands. This is a necessary element Shabbat elevator, fully accessible, private parking, storage in every rabbinic prohibition. Otherwise, 4,400,000 NIS also consider their children as a potential factor in every rabbinic prohibition. Otherwise, ARNONA: 5-room apartment, 120m, balcony, elevator, Rashba explains, people could rationalize for leniency. As we fully stringency accessible, private or parking, storage 4,350,000 NIS have seen, the Rashba explains, people could rationalize BAKA: 5-room apartment,why 140m, master suite, and findgarden reasons any decree should underlying reason for the decree is to should prevent private find parking, storage, full of light, airy, nice garden, and reasons why any decree 5,000,000 NIS not apply in their particular situation. intermarriage. If a Jewish man has children OLD KATAMON: Spacious new 5-room penthouse, 155m, not apply in their particular situation. terrace, great panoramicRashba view, underfloor heating, Shabat that even Accordingly, concludes from non-Jewish wife, the decree elevator, his 2 parking, + rental unit, 8,900,000 NISperhaps that Accordingly, Rashba concludes even FOR RENT: BAKA: nice 4-room apartment, 82m, beautifully food cooked by a Catholic priest has the of bishul akum should apply to his cooking, renovated, master suite, air conditioners, balcony, food cooked by a Catholic priest has the 2nd floor, elevator - fullyof accessible, storage, 8,000 NIS prohibition bishul akum. A similar lest other Jewsof come to marry his A non-Jewish prohibition bishul akum. similar ruling is The made byOURamban (Avodah Zara children. answer is no, since the original ISRAEL CENTER 53 ruling is made by Ramban (Avodah Zara 35:a) regarding non-Jewish royalty who, decreeregarding was only non-Jewish enacted towards non-Jews, 35:a) royalty who, because ofseverity their stature, aretransgression. prohibited despite the of this Jew’s because of their stature, are prohibited from marrying Jews. He maintains that A further proof for this He conclusion would be from marrying Jews. maintains that the fact that the non-Jews are royalty is the case of a convert whose biological children the fact that the non-Jews are royalty is irrelevant, and that the decree of bishul did not convert. andofmingling irrelevant, andAlthough that theeating decree bishul akum stands regardless of the reason with a convert might theoretically cause interakum stands regardless of the reason behind it. Taznon-Jewish (YD 112:1) , Shach (YD marriage to his children, it is behind it. Taz (YD 112:1) , Shach clear (YD 112:4) and Pri Megadim (YD 112:1) cite that poskim the decree irrelevant 112:4) and considered Pri Megadim (YD 112:1) cite these rulings as axioms of the laws of to him (see Bein Yisrael La’amim these rulings as axioms of 5:9). the Similarly, laws of bishul akum. the cooking of a non-Jewish man married to a bishul akum. Other examples Jewish woman is prohibited because of bishul Other examples Laterdespite authorities discuss similar cases akum, the factdiscuss that there would cases be no Later authorities similar where the logic behind bishul akum may transgression in marrying his children. In where the logic behind bishul akum may not apply. Responsa Shevet Kehati (6:273) bothapply. of the above cases,Shevet we seeKehati that the(6:273) decree not Responsa rules that even food cooked by a non-Jewapplies uniformly according to its original forrules that even food cooked by a non-Jewish child is considered bishul akum, despite mulation of prohibiting the food of non-Jews, ish child is considered bishul akum, despite the fact that the chances of marriage seem evenfact if the underlying reason does not pertain the that the chances of marriage seem remote. The same is true for food cooked to the individual situation. remote. The same is true for food cooked in a faraway country where Jews cannot RULING in a faraway country where Jews cannot travel -bishul akum still applies. Although many later authorities travel -- bishul akum still applies. rule that In summary: any intermarried Jew is included in the In summary: Our Sages prohibited food cooked by decree of bishul akum, thefood subject is quite Our Sages prohibited cooked by very90nice view Oldelevator, Katamonbalcony, : 4-room apartment, sqm, well split,2,950,000 bright, airy, NIS

sukkah balcony facing a magnificent panoramic view, 3 exp. Shabbat ARNONA: 4-room apartment, 90m, beautifully renovated, elevator, parking, 3,290,000 NIS : Spacious 3-room apartment in a very quiet street, 75 sqm, sukkah balcony facing a green and pastoral view, 3 exp. Shabbat elevator, private parking, storeroom, 2,690,000 NIS

ases may 273) Jewpite eem ked nnot

by

gentiles, even if the ingredients and utengentiles, even if the- Jerusalem ingredients and utenGershon Agron 24, Mamilla sils are kosher. Exclusive offers to our clients silsCall are kosher. 077-9973185 Thenow: reason cited by most authorities is The reason cited by most BAKA -NEW PROJECT 2-4brauthorities is the risk of intermarriage. conrisk tact us r pre-sa e ale o ers the of o intermarriage. Even with virtually no risk of AEven rnona-in n cases ne w Tama 38 b virtually uilding no with risk of Ein Gediinst.cases 3brthe +2b th-3. M prohibited, bafood 3.4 intermarriage, is still intermarriage, the food is still prohibited, Shats street, non-Jewish S a Rec a echavia\city t cen ce ter including royalty, priests, bal ony 2royalty, Renovated 2br, 3rdnon-Jewish floor, lift and balcon Mnis including priests, young children, and non-Jews from distant Holilandchildren, tower, 3band r, terrnon-Jews ace , g ymfrom distant young lands. 4elevators, 2 parking, gym-3. 3.05 5Mnis lands.

German Colony-New Project

!‫עם ישראל חי‬

Kashrut Questions in Israel?

132 sqm ,4br, garden apt , parking- 7.5M nis

Kashrut Questions in Israel? Old Kaor tamon -new P re-Sale Call Whatsapp Rabbi Friedman at 1-5Call br apor artmen ts , near hRabbi tibalachFriedman at Whatsapp

050-200-4432

Private house - 050-200-4432 Villa , one illa o e o a kind i Talbieh border German Colony David Crown complex

13 sq 136sqm ,15sq 1 sqm terrace, concierge ... 077-2050015 For a large selection of properties, go to: 077-2050015 052-2678749 Meir Golan www.daniels-assets.com 052-2678749 Meir Golan golanechasim@gmail.com usa# 5164675892 uk#and 2037697899 Old Katamon : 4-room apartment in a, small quiet street, 101

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golanechasim@gmail.com sqm, renovated, brightapartment and airy, master bedroom, Safestreet, room 101 Whatsapp : in052-2636656 Old Katamonvery : 4-room a small and quiet

(mamad), sukkahvery balcony, elevator, 3,400,000 NISSafe RASCO: new 4view, room apartment, 95m, sqm, renovated, bright and airy, master bedroom, roommaster suite, (mamad), sukkahnew balcony, elevator, 3,400,000 NIS 95m, 4view, room apartment, master suite, elevator, balcony, very nice view OldRASCO: Katamon : 4-room apartment, 90 sqm, well split,2,950,000 bright, airy, NIS elevator, balcony, very nice view 2,950,000 sukkah balcony facing a magnificent panoramic 3 exp. Shabbat Old Katamon : 4-room apartment, 90 sqm, view, well split, bright, airy, NIS renovated, ARNONA: 4-room apartment, 90m, beautifully elevator, parking, 3,290,000 NIS sukkah balcony facing a magnificent panoramic view, 3 exp. Shabbat

sensitive and might involve other factors. ItARNONA: isparking, essential to storage, consult with a competent 4-room apartment, 90m, beautifully renovated, master suite, balcony, Shabbat elevator, private elevator, 3,290,000 NIS Oldmaster Katamon : Spacious 3-room apartment in a very quiet street, 75 suite, balcony, storage, Shabbat elevator, private parking 3,250,000 NISapartment sqm, sukkah balcony facing a3-room green and pastoral 3 exp. Old Katamon : Spacious inview, a very quietShabbat street, 75 Orthodox rabbi in each individual case. parking NIS2,690,000 NIS elevator, private 3,250,000 parking, storeroom, sqm,BAKA: sukkah balcony a green apartment and pastoral view,in 3 exp. Shabbat Newfacing 4 room a new building, 88m, elevator, private parking, storeroom, 2,690,000 NIS in a new building, 88m, BAKA: New 4 room apartment

IN SUMMARY: master suite, storage, Shabbat elevator, private parking, master suite, storage, Shabbat elevator, private parking,

3,950,000 NIS •3,950,000 There is room to conclude that a Jewish NIS RECHAVIA: 4-room apartment, 92m, Suka balcony, father with non-Jewish children is not RECHAVIA: 4-room apartment, 92m, Suka balcony,storage Shabbat elevator, fully accessible, private parking, Shabbat elevator, fully accessible, private parking, storage 4,400,000 NIS included in the decree of bishul akum. 4,400,000 ARNONA:NIS 5-room apartment, 120m, balcony, elevator, •ARNONA: A non-Jewish father with Jewish 5-room apartment, 120m, balcony, elevator, fully accessible, private parking, storage 4,350,000 NIS chilfully accessible, privateapartment, NIS BAKA: 5-room garden 140m,4,350,000 master suite, dren (from a parking, Jewishstorage wife) is included in BAKA: apartment, 140m, suite, private5-room parking,garden storage, full of light, airy,master nice garden, the decree of bishul akum. private parking, full of light, airy, nice garden, 5,000,000 NIS storage, NIS Spacious new 5-room penthouse, 155m, OLD KATAMON: •5,000,000 According to many poskim, Jews (both OLD KATAMON: Spaciousview, new underfloor 5-room penthouse, 155m, terrace, great panoramic heating, Shabat men and women) who intermarry are terrace, great panoramic view, underfloor heating, Shabat elevator, 2 parking, + rental unit, 8,900,000 NIS elevator, 2 parking, + rental unit,apartment, 8,900,000 NIS FOR included RENT: BAKA: in nice 4-room 82m, beautifully the decree of bishul akum. FOR RENT:master BAKA: nice apartment,balcony, 82m, beautifully renovated, suite,4-room air conditioners, A rabbi should be consulted regarding renovated, master suite, conditioners, balcony, 2nd floor, elevator - fully air accessible, storage, 8,000 NIS 2nd floor, elevator - fully accessible, storage, 8,000 NIS individual cases.

OUOU ISRAEL CENTER ISRAEL CENTER 53 31 OU ISRAEL CENTER 53

32 TORAH TIDBITS 1551 / YITRO

OU ISRAEL CENTER 33

!‫עם ישראל חי‬

MARCH 8, 2024

34 TORAH TIDBITS 1551 / YITRO

OU ISRAEL CENTER 35

if it was given specifically to him. Before receiving the Torah at Mount Sinai, there were some Israelites that, of their own accord, already kept the entire Torah. Since this is the case, why is this day so important? On the day of Matan Torah 2 things changed. Firstly the Jews gained a connection to Hashem. Hashem put his essence into the Torah so when he gave it to us both those that had and had not kept the Torah before were now keeping it because of this connection to Hashem’s essence. Secondly, the Torah given at Mount Sinai is able to have an effect on the physical world whereas before Torah and mitzvot were considered strictly spiritual matters. The Talmud (Shabbat 88b) states that when the Jews heard G-D’s divine voice, they all died from its intensity and afterwards G-d brought them back to life. I think this emphasizes why Hashem cannot be openly present in this world. For if he was, the Jews’ free will would no longer be preserved and we would follow Hashem in everything. If his awe and will were so apparent, we would be compelled to follow him without having a real choice. JLIC at Tel Aviv University does amazing work in bringing Jews together and teachMonday Evenings 7:00-9:00pm ing us all about the torah we received Call to check at Mount Sinai. JLIC, I believe, helps us

DOROT - The OU Women's Intergenerational Choir Director Hadassah Jacob 052-384-7230

(JLIC) is creating and nurturing vibrant religious communities in Israel to support English-speaking college students and young professionals. JLIC Israel’s goals include: building a warm and welcoming Jewish community for students and young professionals; providing engaging and dynamic Jewish education; providing a supportive home environment for Olim; providing resources for personal and religious growth, including personal mentoring, Aliyah support, religious guidance and leadership development. Current JLIC programs in Israel include: Reichman University - Herzliya; Bar Ilan University - Givat Shmuel; Tel Aviv University; Tel Aviv for Young Professionals; and Jerusalem. Contact: Rabbi Jonathan Shulman, Director of OU-JLIC in Israel shulmanj@ou.org

For Sale: Ben Maimon, 4 rooms, 113m, 2 bathrooms, porch, 1st floor, elevator, 6.2 million NIS Smadar 050-3114040 // 02-642-4329 smadi_bida@walla.co.il Call to check

PRI HADASH

WOMEN'S WRITING WORKSHOP AT THE OU ISRAEL CENTER

Monday mornings 10.30-12.30 Tuesday For more details, call Ruth 02-628-7359 or Judy 054-569-0410 OU ISRAEL CENTER

Torah Tidbits distribution is looking for the right connection to help get TT to AFULA each week If you have an idea or connection, please call Toni at 0505-772-111 Thank you! 36 TORAH TIDBITS 1551 / YITRO

91

SHIUR SPONSORS TUESDAY, JANUARY 23RD - SHIRA SMILES SHIUR was sponsored by Hally Frist ‫לע"נ‬ ‫ סעישא בת חנוך ע"ה‬- Sosha bat Chanoch

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 1 - ALL LEARNING

today was sponsored for the ‫ רפואה שלמה‬of ‫יואב בן שרה‬

RABBI SHAI FINKELSTEIN'S SHIUR

is sponsored for this academic year by the Sondhelm and Wertenteil families in memory of Mel David z"l ‫מנחם מנדל בן אברהם מאיר וטויבא רבקה ז"ל‬

RABBI ADLER’S SHIUR

is sponsored for this academic year by the Frist family in memory of their beloved daughter and sister Elisheva Frist a"h - ‫אלישבע סימא בת זלמן ע"ה‬

RABBI GOLDSCHEIDER'S SHIUR

was sponsored for this Academic Year ‫לעילו נשמת‬ ‫מרים בת אברהם ע''ה ושם טוב בן שלמה ז''ל‬

REBBETZIN SHIRA SMILES SHIUR

was sponsored for this academic year by Dr. & Mrs. Menachem Marcus in memory of their parents, Rose & Dr. Emanuel Marcus z"l and Rosi & Ernest Strauss z"l ‫רייזל בת יוסף מאיר ומרדכי בן משה מרקוס ז"ל‬ ‫לימוד בת אברהם ודניאל בן דוד שטראוס ז"ל‬

RABBI BREITOWITZ'S TUESDAY SHIUR - MINCHAT CHINUCH is sponsored for this academic year by Rabbi Refoel & Sharon Auman in memory of their parents Edith & Reiner Auman z”l ‫יונה בן צדוק ז"ל ואסתר ע"ה בת רפאל הי"ד‬

and their son Rabbi Shmuel Eliyahu Auman z"l ‫הרב שמואל אליהו ז"ל בן הרב רפאל נ"י‬

RABBI GOLDIN'S SHIUR

was sponsored for this academic year by Dr. & Mrs. Menachem Marcus in memory of beloved aunts Irma Haas a"h and Hilde Myer a"h

RABBI MANNING'S SHIUR

was sponsored for this academic year ‫לעילוי נשמת‬ ‫ברנה בת ברנדית ע''ה וזליג בן קלמן ז''ל‬

RABBI TAUB'S WEEKLY THURSDAY PARSHAT HASHAVUA SHIUR is sponsored by The Jewish Legacy Foundation

‫רפואה שלמה‬ ‫אורה בת ראינה‬

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OU ISRAEL CENTER 37

is reluctant to send Yishmael away and Yitzchak seeks reconciliation with Yishmael and seeks to bless Esav.

SIMCHAT SHMUEL

BY RABBI SAM SHOR

6th Aliya (25:1-11) Avraham marries Keturah; they have 6 sons. All that Avraham has goes to Yitzchak; The are Torah us that when Moshe was these senttells eastward with gifts. Avraham born, thatbyhe was tovdies athis age mother 175; he issaw buried Yitzchak and good. The Torah Hakedosha is also called Yishmael in Ma’arat Hamachpelah. Yitzchak tov - good,bytherefore the Torah is blessed G-d: he lives in Beercould L’chaionly Roi. be transmitted at the hands or through The transition from Avraham the to ec voice of Moshe who is also called Yitzchak is complete. While G-dtov... has been tio Reb Tzadok MiLuba Similarly, silent partner in thisHaKohein parsha, here He lin zy’a, explains that this is why the written completes the generational transfer – He wo Torah is referred to asThe Torat Moshe,people as Hashem blesses Yitzchak. Jewish will an transmitted the Torah with Moshe’s voice. be Yitzchak and not Yishmael. be Beyond the supernatural phenomena that 7th Aliya (25:12-18) The generaeach of these teachings suggest occurred, that fa tions of Yishmael are HaKadosh Baruch Hu miraculously spoke th enumerated. Yishmael dies. His with or through Moshe’s voice, perhaps there hi descendants Assyria.to is a lesson fordwell each from of usEgypt as wetoprepare is brief. He has incredinumerreadYishmael’s once againstory this Shabbat of that ica ousmoment and powerful offspring. ble of Kabbalat HaTorah.The brevity th Rav Kook zy’a explained that Moshe BY RABBI Rabbeinu had reached such a heightened Rav, Beit Knes state of spiritual consciousness, that he merited to hear Hashem speak to him, and When Avraham addresses the people of Cheit, trying to for HaKadosh Baruch to be heard with “Ger V’Toshav AnochiHu Eimachem” (23:4) “A Stranger an Thisown seemsvoice. to be a contradiction. If one is a stranger tha Moshe’s is no longer a stranger. What did Avraham mean? Perhaps the message for each of us as The Magid of Dubno (Jacob ben Wolf Kranz 1741-1804) we this recall transcendent moment in and be tensethat situation in order to, both, state his truth said, on the one hand, “I am a Resident’ to G-d’s promis Jewish history when the JewishduePeople need your agreement to purchase a plot. In other words, Av stood at Sinai,while is tothey work to lift our spiritual “strangers”, understood him as saying that “the The peace kept, and Avraham remained true to his awareness, to was be more “plugged in” to see, Shabbat Shalom feel, and hear Hashem’s proverbial voice all around us each and every day.

Program Director, OU Israel Center

In the pesukim preceding the Aseret HaDibrot, we read of the incredible sound and light show that unfolded at that awesome moment when Klal Yisrael stood at Sinai.

‫ת־ָה ָ​ָעם ִלִ ְ​ְק ַ​ַראת ָ​ָה ֱ​ֱאֹל ִִֹקים ִ​ִמן־‬ ָ ‫ַוַ ּ​ּיֹוֹ ֵ​ֵצא ֹמ � ֶֶֹׁשה ֶ​ֶא‬ ֹ‫ַ​ַהַּמ�ַ ֲ​ֲחֶנֶה ַוַ ִּי� ְְִתַיְַּצ�ְ ב ּ​ּו ְ​ְּב� ַ​ַת ְ​ְח ִ​ִּת� ית ָ​ָה ָ​ָהר׃ ְוְ ַ​ַהר ִ​ִסיַנַי ָ​ָע � ַ​ַׁשן ֻ​ֻּכ� ּלּ ֹו‬ ‫ִ​ִמְּפ� ְ ֵנֵי ֲ​ֲא � ֶ​ֶׁשר ָי ַַָרד ָ​ָעָלָ יו ה’ ָ​ָּב� ֵ​ֵאׁשׁ ַוַ ַּי� ַ​ַ​ַעל ֲ​ֲע � ָ​ָׁשנֹוֹ ְ​ְּכ� ֶ​ֶע � ֶ​ֶׁשן‬ ‫ל־ָה ָ​ָהר ְ​ְמֹאֹד׃ ַוַ ְִיְִהי קֹוֹ ל ַ​ַה �ֹּׁש ָָֹפר הֹוֹ ֵלֵ ְ​ְך‬ ָ ּ�‫ַ​ַה ִ​ִּכ� ְ​ְב � ָ​ָׁשן ַוַ ֶּי� ֱֱֶח ַ​ַרד ָּכ‬ ‫ְוְ ָ​ָחֵזֵ ק ְ​ְמֹאֹד ֹמ � ֶֶֹׁשה ְי ְַַד ֵ​ֵּב� ר ְוְ ָ​ָה ֱ​ֱאֹל ִִֹקים ַי ֲֲַעֶנֶ ּ​ּנ ּ​ּו ְ​ְבקֹוֹ ל׃‬ Moshe led the people out of the camp toward G-d, and they took their places at the foot of the mountain. Now Har Sinai was entirely full of smoke, for Hashem had come down upon it in fire; the smoke rose like the smoke of a kiln, and the whole mountain trembled violently. The blare of the shofar grew louder and louder. As Moshe spoke, G-d answered him bakol... The Ohr HaChaim HaKadosh suggests that the word bakol is to be understood as follows: The ‫ קול‬with which G-d answered may have been the sound of the shofar mentioned in the verse... Based on this interpretation, Hashem miraculously spoke or answered Moshe through the sounds of the shofar. However our Chazal offer a particularly interesting interpretation in the gemara in Brachot (45a):

.‫״ְבקֹוֹ ל״ — ְ​ְּב� קֹוֹ לֹוֹ � ֶ​ֶׁשל ֹמ � ֶֶֹׁשה‬ ְ ‫ּו ָָּמה ַ​ַּת� ְלְ מּוּד לֹוֹ ַ​ַמר‬ What is the meaning of the verse: BaKol? In Moshe’s voice... The masters of Jewish thought offer profound interpretations of this maamar chazal. The Yismach Moshe zy’a, learns our gemara as follows: 38 TORAH TIDBITS 1551 / YITRO

is in th Jew len

A SHORT VORT

12

TORAH TIDBITS 1440 / CHAYEI SARA 5782

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OPEN INVITATION to SERIOUS SINGERS to join the RINAT JERUSALEM MEN'S CHOIR Musical Director: Jason Rosenblatt Weekly practices from 8.00 to 9.30 pm Please contact

Michael 054-4615014 George 054-7509235 OU ISRAEL CENTER 39

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Be’er Tziporah a"h Bottled Water Gemach Walking down King George St. in Jerusalem and want a cold bottle of water? Come help yourself to a bottle at 52 King George. In loving memory of Yoni’s wife Tziporah a"h, a true Eishes Chayil, always full of chessed, kindness and laughter, and brought life and strength to so many people, that she touched! She was like Aron, who loved peace and pursued peace. Yoni thanks Hashem for having the opportunity of having Tziporah in his life, to learn of her caring, patience and happiness, to overcome her challenges. May Tziporah's Neshama be a light onto the world, in a time of darkness, and may her Neshama shine to Gan Eden. Yoni misses Tziporah with tears in his eyes, as Hashem gave him a gift, a crown jewel, now he returns her to Hashem. With thanks and Toda. Love, Yoni To help refill the supply send tax deductible donations for Be’er Tziporah a"h Bottled Water Gemach to Chabad of Rechavia Rabbi Yisroel Goldberg email Rabbi@JerusalemChabad.org

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GEULAS YISRAEL YISRAEL BY RABBI MOSHE TARAGIN

Ram, Yeshivat Har Etzion

Dark Clouds Above, Yirat Shamayim Below At the Yam Suf we saw too much. At Har Sinai we saw nothing. Each time Yirat Shamayim surged. Our relationship with Hashem is riveted upon two emotions- ahava and yirah, love and fear. Human relationships are defined by love or fear but never both side-by side. Our relationship with Hashem, however, is a blend of these two dichotomous emotions. Ahava is a byproduct of understanding Hashem, His mitzvot and His role in history. We love Him most when we are able to identify the synchronicity between His will and human welfare. Realizing that His will enhances human experience, we appreciate Him and love him because adhering to His will improves our lives. As the Rambam summarizes, (Hilchot Teshuvah perek 10) ahava is the ability to embrace Hashem’s will, not for reward or not because we fear punishment, but because of Torah’s inner logic ‫את האמת מפני שהוא אמת‬. By uncovering the intersection between Torah and human welfare, we love Hashem. Similarly, when we are capable of deciphering history and discerning Hashem’s hidden hand, we understand and love Him. Ahava emerges when religion is logical, history is intelligible, and faith makes sense.

TWO ROUTES TO YIRAT SHAMAYIM By contrast, yirat shamayim materializes 42 TORAH TIDBITS 1551 / YITRO

when we are unable to understand Him. Standing in awe of the divine mystery and baffled by Hashem’s incomprehensibility, we submit to His higher authority. Ideal yirat shamayim isn’t fear, but awe and submission. Not trembling, or shuddering, but submission and surrender. Bowing to the divine mystery. There are two different paths to yirat shamayim. Along the first route, we encounter Hashem’s power and majesty which exceeds human capacity and surpasses the human imagination. We feel so incapable of processing the immeasurable divine grandeur that we surrender. We traversed this route to yirat shamayim at the Yam Suf:

’‫וירא ישראל את היד הגדולה אשר עשה ה‬ ‫במצרים וייראו העם את ה’ ויאמינו בה’ ובמשה עבדו‬ Watching the riotous oceans stilled by the voice of Hashem, and spotting our cruel Egyptian oppressors drowning to death was overwhelming. Overpowered by the power and the glory, we surrendered and achieved our first collective moment of yirat shamayim.

‫וייראו העם את ה’ ויאמינו בה’ ובמשה עבדו‬ In perek 8 of Tehillim, Dovid Hamelech maps this first route to yirat shamayim:

‫כי אראה שמיך מעשה אצבעותיך ירח וכוכבים‬ ‫אשר כוננתה מה אנוש כי תזכרנו ובן אדם כי תפקדנו‬ ‫ותחסרהו מעט מאלקים‬ By pondering creation and scanning the

heavens, Dovid Hamelech is awed by its splendor and force, recognizes the frailty of the human condition, and concedes: “What is Man that I should even mention him!”. His encounter with the vastness and beauty of the divinely-created cosmos provokes human surrender.

SEEING NOTHING At Har Sinai we took a completely different route to yirat shamayim. We didn’t see too much but saw too little. We stood, terrified, at the base of a quivering mountain, ablaze in infernal fire. We were petrified. A thick cloud cloaked the mountain from which we were barred passage. The mystery of Hashem was impenetrable. Chazal portray our souls as departing this world, immediately upon hearing the reverberating voice of Hashem. At the Yam Suf we “saw” the mighty hand of Hashem, but at Har Sinai there were no visuals, only sounds.

‫קול דברים אתם שומעים ותמונה אינכם רואים‬ ‫זולתי קול‬ Frightened and confused, we begged Moshe to intervene and mediate the word of Hashem, so that we could survive this overwhelming encounter. As Moshe summarizes after Har Sinai, this event was carefully choreographed to incite maximal yirat shamayim:

‫כי לבעבור נסות אתכם בא האלקים ובעבור תהיה‬ ‫יראתו על פניכם לבלתי תחטאו‬ Unable to see anything, and terrified by the darkness, the fire, and the smoke, we succumbed. Whereas Dovid Hamelech provided a roadmap for the first form of yirat shamayim, Iyov models the second variety of yirat shamayim. Though righteous and pious, he suffers miserably, and cannot reconcile what he perceives as divine injustice. He struggles to decode the divine mystery and, one by one, his friends descend upon

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his sick bed, postulating different philosophies to justify the ways of G-d to men. Finally, (perek 37) Hashem appears to Iyov in a storm, amidst the mystery and confusion of a hurricane, and reminds him that humans cannot fully grasp Hashem ‫כי לא מחשבותי‬ ’‫מחשבותיכם ולא דרכיכם דרכי נאם ה‬. Yirat shamayim is accessed through two very different routes. Sometimes we see “too much” and are smothered by the overwhelming majesty of Hashem. Other times we look straight into the teeth of the divine mystery, are perplexed, and submit. At Yam Suf we saw too much of Hashem. At Har Sinai we saw too little. Each generated lasting yirat shamayim.

THE MIRAGE OF CONFIDENCE The first form of yirat shamayim, where we encounter divine miracles, can be disorienting. When His logic and His hand in history are each on display, we often forget that we OU ISRAEL CENTER 43

are only witnessing a small glimpse of Him. Often, under conditions of historical clarity, we become too comfortable and too confident in assuming that we know Him and can predict the historical trajectory. Sometimes it takes the dark clouds of divine mystery to remind us of how little we know and to help us recalibrate our yirat shamayim properly. Over the past 75 years we lived through a kriyas Yam Suf-like experience. We saw Hashem’s presence descend into our world with clarity and radiance. The stunning resurgence of our nation after the Holocaust was a divine operation. We recovered our national wealth, built robust Jewish communities, achieved influence and affluence, and reconstructed a flourishing Torah world just a few decades after it had been eviscerated. To cap it all off, we returned to our Homeland and enjoyed a stunning succession of victories and triumphs. With exhilaration, we watched our tiny nascent country morph into a regional military, economic and political superpower. It all made sense. Our world was painted in bright redemptive colors. Hashem’s miraculous presence suffused our world, and everything made sense. Until it didn’t. Oct 7th changed everything. The past three months we have been covered by dark clouds, and we feel lost in a world without logic or clarity. Why is this happening to our people? What happened to the Brit Avot? Wasn’t the Holocaust the last and final nightmare of Jewish exile? Shouldn’t it be different back home in Israel? So many questions, so many mysteries.

So much pain and so much frustration. We must recalibrate. Perhaps we overshot. Perhaps we saw too much and forgot to surrender to the Unknowable. The war has made it patently clear that we don’t know, and we can’t fully know. We have to moderate over-confidence while bolstering faith. We must learn to speak with more modesty and more meekness rather than with blustering confidence implying that we know where and how history is turning.

‫ל־ְּת�ַּב ֵ​ֵהל ַ​ַעל־ִּפ�ּ ָיָך ְוְ ִלִ ְּב�ּ ָ​ָך ַ​ַאל־ְי ְַַמ ֵ​ֵהר ְלְ הֹוֹ ִ​ִציא ָ​ָד ָ​ָבר‬ ַ ‫ַ​ַא‬ ‫ל־ָה ָ​ָא ֶ​ֶרץ‬ ‫ַע‬ ‫ה‬ ‫ַא‬ ‫ִם‬ ‫ִי‬ ‫��ַׁמ‬ ‫ַּב�ָּּׁש‬ ‫ֹקים‬ ‫ֹל‬ ‫ֱא‬ ‫ָה‬ ‫י‬ ‫ֹקים‬ ‫ֹל‬ ‫ִלִ ְ​ְפֵנֵי ָ​ָה ֱ​ֱא‬ ָ ַ ּ�‫ַ ְוְ ַ ָּת‬ ֱ ָ ּ�‫ִּכ‬ ָ ‫ַ​ַעל־ֵּכ�ּ ן ִי ְְִהי ּ​ּו ְ​ְד ָ​ָב ֶ​ֶריָך ְ​ְמ ַ​ַעִּט�ּ ים‬

Don’t rush to speak, and don’t hurry to announce ideas. G-d is in Heaven, and you are grounded on Earth. Therefore, your words should be few. Faith yes, overconfidence no. We all need to speak with more tzniyut about the future.

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44 TORAH TIDBITS 1551 / YITRO

OU ISRAEL CENTER 45

HAFTORAH INSIGHTS

HAFTORAH

BY REBBETZIN DR. ADINA SHMIDMAN

Stepping Up ‫ת־ִמי ֶ​ֶא � ְ​ְׁשַלַ ח ּו ִִּמי ֵיֵֶלֶ ְ​ְך־ָלָ נ ּ​ּו ָוָ ֹא ַַֹמר ִ​ִהְנְִנִי � ְ​ְׁשָלָ ֵ​ֵחִנִי‬ ִ ‫ֶ​ֶא‬ Then I heard the voice of my Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? Who will go for us?” And I said, “Here am I; send me. Who shall I send and who will go for us? Hashem, in conversation with Yeshayahu, raises these questions. Why the double wording? What is the difference between being sent and going on behalf of others? Combining the interpretations of the Abarbanel and the Malbim, we see two concerns in choosing an emissary to fulfill the sacred role of prophet of Hashem’s nation. The person being selected needs to be qualified to fulfill the job description or role. He must be righteous enough that Hashem would desire His Divine Presence to rest upon this person. But beyond that, the person himself must feel a strong sense of purpose and commitment toward the mission. He must be prepared to endure suffering. Ultimately

46 TORAH TIDBITS 1551 / YITRO

Yeshayahu takes up this mantle of leadership. Yeshayahu assumes the leadership role, despite the cautionary tales of his colleagues, Micha and Amos, who faced adversity from the people. Nevertheless, Yeshayahu’s success lies in his patient and passionate advocacy for Klal Yisrael, demonstrating his commitment to both the mission and the people. Returning to the original text, Hashem’s questions encompass these qualifications. ‫את‬ ‫מי אשלח‬, “Whom shall I send?” signifies the capability to fulfill the Divine mission, while ‫ומי ילך לנו‬, “Who will go for us?” underscores the commitment required for the mission. The call to step up and serve, even more evident since October 7th, demands our individual contributions. Similar to Yeshayahu’s demonstration of fortitude and patience in navigating challenges, we must muster the inner strength needed to persevere and persist in our respective missions.

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OU ISRAEL CENTER 47

TOWARDS MEANINGFUL TOWARDS MEANINGFUL REBBETZIN ZEMIRA BY REBBETZIN ZEMIRAOZAROWSKI OZAROWSKI TEFILLA BY SHABBOS Director of OU Israel L’Ayla Women’s Initiative Director of OU Israel L'Ayla Women's Initiative

EKiddush

ven though we already concluded our study of Birchat HaMazon in the last article, I recently came across a remarkable story about bentching that I We organized along both sides of the road, thought would be important to share with a long and continuous line of tanks. At 22:00 you. The story illustrates a beautiful point - when we hadn’t received the order to enter brought down by the Sefer HaChinuch. The the city - I reached out to the command to Sefer HaChinuch writes – ask if there were changes to our orders. The ”‫ מזונותיו מצויין לו בכבוד כל ימיו‬,‫“כל הזהיר בברכת המזון‬ response was for us to continue to wait and to Anyone who is careful with their Bentchbe prepared for immediate entrance. Suddenly, ing, his livelihood will be provide for him with two tank crewmen appear and, in their hands, respect all of his days two bottles of wine. This is, after all, Shabbat! We spent a lot of time in our Birchat And the most reasonable thing to do at this Hamazon series discussing the meaning exact moment is to say the Kiddush over the and significance of all of the Brachot of the wine and bless the Shabbat. The tension and Bentching. But beyond understanding the fears from the anticipation are growing more deeper meanings, we also need to make intense by the minute, but those two bottles of sure to be ‫ זהיר‬with our bentching, to be carewine start making their way from tank to tank. ful how we recite the Bentching, the respect Each unit within its tank says the Kiddush, we give to it, and the way we concentrate answers “amen”, pours wine into the bottle’s and focus. If we do our bentching right, we cap, swallows, and passes the bottle on to are told that Hashem will reward us with a the next tank. Those were, I believe, the most good livelihood. moving moments of my life. At that moment, This story is told by Rabbi Yoel Gold and I thought of the miracle of the pitcher of oil has a profound message for us in our own from Chanukah and compared it to this bottle bentching. of wine which managed to suffice for this long Two years ago, after the tragedy in Meron, a line of tanks and the teams within them. In man named Chaim Ginz decided to try and be those moments of tension and excitement, Kidmenachem avel as many of the victims’ famidush was the thing that managed to unite this lies as possible. The first family he visited was random group of soldiers, a true cross-section the Zacbach family in Bnei Brak, who were of Israeli society really—city-dwellers and mourning their 24 year old son, Menachem kibbutznikim, religious and secular, right wing Asher. At the shiva house, the family gave out and left wing. (Moshe Feller, from: From You to bentchers with the inscription – “The last will/ You- the Book of Shabbat]

70 TORAH TIDBITS 1507 / TETZAVEH - PRE-PURIM 5783 48 TORAH TIDBITS 1551 / YITRO

While this account was written during request (‫ )צוואה‬of Menachem Asher is to bentch the Second Lebanon War, it’s a story which out of a bentcher”. The family explained that has recurred repeatedly over the course of at the age of 16, Menachem Asher had taken the last few months in Azza. Friday night on the practice of always bentching from a Kiddush has a certain power to it. No matter bentcher and never reciting the bentching where one is and what circumstances one by heart. He took this commitment very seriis in, as the Kiddush is recited, the Kedusha ously and would never wash and eat bread of Shabbos takes hold. What are we actually unless he was absolutely sure there was a doing when we recite the Kiddush? bentcher available in the vicinity. Chaim Ginz We begin by saying the words: heard this and decided to take on this prac‫ ַוַ ְיְַכַ ל‬:‫ ַוַ ְיְֻכֻ ּלּ ּ​ּו ַ​ַה � ָ​ָּׁש ַ​ַמִיִם ְוְ ָ​ָה ָ​ָא ֶ​ֶרץ ְוְ ָכָ ל ְ​ְצ ָ​ָב ָ​ָאם‬.‫יום ַ​ַה � ִ​ִּׁש � ִ​ִּׁשי‬ tice as well, l’iluy nishmat this young man. ‫ ַוַ ִּי� � ְְִׁשּבּ ת‬.‫ֱ​ֱאלקים ַ​ַּב� ּ​ּיום ַ​ַה � ְ​ְּׁש ִ​ִב ִיִעי ְ​ְמַלַ אְכְ ּ​ּתו ֲ​ֲא � ֶ​ֶׁשר ָ​ָע ָ​ָׂש� ה‬ About a month later, Chaim was feeling :‫ַ​ַּב� ּ​ּיום ַ​ַה � ְ​ְּׁש ִ​ִב ִיִעי ִ​ִמ ָ​ָּכ� ל ְ​ְמַלַ אְכְ ּ​ּתו ֲ​ֲא � ֶ​ֶׁשר ָ​ָע ָ​ָׂש� ה‬ pretty stuck. He was having trouble making The sixth day….The sky and the ground a living. He was a Sofer and he had just comwere finished being created. On the seventh pleted a project and was unable to find any day, Hashem had completed all the work more work. Day after day, he would show which He had done and He rested on the sevprospective clients samples of his work but enth day from all the work that He had done. they just kept turning him away. He was These words of ‫ ויכלו‬are so important that feeling very rejected and depressed. One we actually say them three times on Friday day, he was in a special apartment in Bnei night - once in the Shemoneh Esrei of Maariv, Brak which sofrim use as a place to do their once in the Chazan’s brief repetition, and a work. He had something to eat and was third time, at home as we recite the Kiddush. ready to bentch. He didn’t have a bentcher The Avudraham explains that when we on him so he was about to bentch by heart. recite these words, we are actually giving ‫עדות‬ But he remembered his commitment and (testimony) to all of mankind that Hashem began to search the apartment from top created the entire world. Because we are givto bottom. Finally, after many minutes, he ing testimony, ideally one should stand while located a bentcher hidden under a stack of reciting these words and if possible, should do papers on the top of a bookshelf. He noticed it in the company of at least one other person. that the bentcher was written in ‫כתב אשורית‬, But to take it one step further, Gemara the font used by sofrim. He admired the Shabbat 119b states – beauty of the writing and after bentching, ‫ כל המתפלל בערב שבת‬- ‫אמר רב המנונא‬ he decided to use the bentcher to help him ‫ואומר “ויכולו” מעלה עליו הכתוב כאילו נעשה‬ with his own writing. For three hours, he

!‫שותף להקב”ה במעשה בראשית‬

Rabbi Hamnuna says – whoever davens on Friday night and says ”‫“ויכולו‬, it’s considered as if he has become partners with Hashem in creation. This is astounding! How do we become partners in creation by reciting ‫ ?ויכולו‬The ‫ מתנת חיים‬explains that the whole purpose of the creation of the world was for man to appreciate what Hashem has done for Him. If no one recognizes the beauty and intricacy of the world, then there is no point in creation. We actually find this idea in the story of creation. The Torah (‫ה‬:‫ )בראשית ב‬tells us on Day 6 - ‫וכל שיח השדה טרם יהיה בארץ וכל־עשב‬

‫השדה טרם יצמח כי לא המטיר ה’ אלהים על־הארץ‬ ‫ ואדם אין לעבד את־האדמה‬The bushes and grass

has not yet sprouted because Hashem had not caused it to rain since there was no man to work the land. Rashi asks - How can this be? We know that all the vegetation was created on Day 3! He answers - ‫על פתח קרקע עמדו‬ ‫ עד יום ששי‬- it waited at the opening of the ground and only begin to really sprout on Day 6. Why? Because man was not created yet, ‫ – ואין מכיר בטובתן של גשמים‬and there was no one yet who could appreciate the importance of Hashem’s creation of rain. From Hashem’s perspective, only once man was created was there any reason to create rain and for the grass and plants to come up. And so we see that our testimony and appreciation of Hashem’s creation, in actuality, transforms us into partners in the creation process. After giving testimony to the creation of the world, we then make the Bracha over the cup of wine. But we don’t end there. We then go on to talk about how Hashem took us out of Mitzrayim and chose us to be His people.

‫קֶדׁשׁ ֵזֵ ֶכֶ ר ִלִ ִיִצ ַיַאת‬ ֶ ‫ִ​ִּכ� י הּוּא יום ְ​ְּת� ִ​ִח ָ​ָּל� ה ְלְ ִ​ִמ ְ​ְק ָ​ָר ֵ​ֵאי‬ ‫אוָתנ ּ​ּו ִ​ִקַּד�ַ � ְ​ְׁש ָ​ָּת� ִ​ִמ ָ​ָּכ� ל ָ​ָה ַ​ַעִּמ�ִ ים‬ ָ ְ‫ ִ​ִּכ� י ָ​ָבנ ּ​ּו ָ​ָב ַ​ַח ְ​ְר ָ​ָּת� ְו‬.‫ִ​ִמ ְ​ְצ ָ​ָרִיִם‬

:ּ‫ְנְַחְלְ ָ​ָּת� נּו‬ ַ ‫ְוְ � ַ​ַׁש ַ​ַּב� ת ָ​ָק ְ​ְד � ְ​ְׁש ָ​ָך ְ​ְּב� ַ​ַא ֲ​ֲה ָ​ָבה ּו ְְּב ָ​ָרצון ִ​ִה‬ Shabbos is the first of the holidays which was instituted to remember the Exodus from Egypt. For You chose us and separated us from the other nations and gave us the holy Shabbat with love and good will. This is based on Gemara Pesachim 117b where it says ‫צריך שיזכיר יציאת מצרים בקידוש‬ ‫ היום‬- that we are obligated to make mention of Mitzrayim in the Kiddush. But why is this? We’re celebrating Shabbat, not Pesach. Why bring in the Exodus from Egypt? What does that have to do with Shabbat? The Kuzari (1:11) explains that Yetziat Mitzrayim was in actuality a “modern-day” proof of Creation. The world was created a long time ago when none of us were around. So we don’t have actual proof of what happened and even if we agree that Hashem created the world, it’s possible to say that Hashem created the world and then left it. But when Hashem put into action all of the amazing miracles of the 10 plagues and the splitting of the sea, the entire nation and the entire world saw with their own eyes Hashem’s ability to control nature and that Hashem is still actively involved in what happens in this world. Additionally, we mention Yetziat Mitzrayim because it was at the time of the Exodus that Hashem selected us to be his chosen people. And He gave Shabbat as a special gift to us to remind us of this fact. ‫מתנה טובה יש‬

‫לי בבית גנזי ושבת שמה ואני מבקש ליתנה לישראל‬ (Gemara Shabbat 10b) So while on a cosmic level Shabbat is celebrated to commemorate the creation of the world, on a national level we celebrate Shabbat to remind us that Hashem chose us to be His nation. Finally, we close the Kiddush with the bracha ‫ברוך אתה ה׳ מקדש השבת‬. Blessed is OU ISRAEL CENTER 49

Hashem who sanctifies the Shabbat. In this one act of Kiddush, we have succeeded in recognizing that Hashem is the Creator of the world, understanding that He continues to be actively involved in our lives, and appreciating that He has specifically chosen us to be this nation. It’s no wonder the Kiddush is held in such high regard, ushering in a special sense of kedusha no matter where one is, be it Lebanon, Azza, or in the comforts of home.

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RABBI AARON GOLDSCHEIDER EDITOR, TORAH TIDBITS RAV, THE JERUSALEM SHUL - BAKA, JERUSALEM

A Heart Bursting with Love “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house… or whatever belongs to your neighbor” (Exodus 20:14).1 Of the Ten Commandments, this final one may be the hardest to fathom. How can God command man not to experience an emotion that overtakes us naturally, seemingly of its own accord? The medieval commentator Ibn Ezra contended that we can in fact control it, because this emotion is grounded in logical perception. He offered the following parable. No peasant in his right mind ever thinks he will marry the princess. Since the commoner knows beyond a shadow of a doubt that he will never be admitted to the aristocracy, he does not even covet the princess. She is the very definition of out of his league. Ibn Ezra explained that this is the mindset mandated by the tenth commandment. Everything we acquire in life comes from God; whatever others might have has been apportioned to them by God and is not within the realm of possibility for us. One who has proper faith recognizes this and consequently is not beset by feelings of envy.2 1. In some texts the verse is 13, depending on how the verses of the Decalogue are parsed and numbered. 2. Ibn Ezra on Exodus 20:13 (long commentary). 52 TORAH TIDBITS 1551 / YITRO

Rabbi Pinchas Eliyahu Horowitz approached this problem differently. He pointed out that we are enjoined to love God with “all of our heart” (Deuteronomy 6:5). The “all” here instructs us that to fulfill this mitzvah, the only thing we must have in our heart is love for God. And “if one’s heart is overflowing with love of God, then it is impossible to covet anything in this world… It is like a brimming cup to which not a drop can be added.”3 This is not some theoretical construct. These words were lived by Rav Avraham Yitzchak Hakohen Kook. In his poetic, mystical reflections, we discover a man in whom love for God, for his fellow man, and for the world, takes up so much space so as to leave not even a toehold for envy: I love everything. I cannot but love every person, every nation. From the depths of my heart I desire the resplendence of everything, the rectification of everything… I have no need whatsoever to force this feeling of love—it wells directly from the holy depth of Wisdom of the divine soul.4 We can overcome feelings of jealousy or 3. Sefer Berit ha-Shalem quoted by Ha-Ketav veha-Kabalah on Exodus 20:14. 4. Arpilei Tohar, §76.

begrudging others their good fortune by filling our hearts with boundless love. Then, we will naturally rejoice at their success without thoughts of comparison intruding. Covetousness will find no spot in our hearts to take root and produce its fetid flowers. The final utterance of the Decalogue communicates the divine conviction that man can transcend his selfishness and pettiness that all too often begets conflict. Rav Kook taught that with the Jewish people in particular, this love can be more readily accessed. While the members of other nations share an external identity, the Jewish people share an internal, metaphysical identity, because every individual Jewish soul is a piece of one greater, universal soul.5 When we are mindful of this, we are more likely to desire only good and happiness for our fellow Jew. Rav Kook’s love for fellow Jews, his ahavat Yisra’el, was not confined to the private stirrings of his spirit recorded in his notebooks. His extraordinary love of other Jews was legendary. One of Rav Kook’s closest colleagues and beloved friends was Rabbi Aryeh Levin, “the Tzaddik of Jerusalem.” Living in Jerusalem at the same time was a man who was vocally critical of Rav Kook and Rabbi Levin. One day this man became very ill and was brought to the local hospital. On hearing the news, Rabbi Levin rushed, as was his practice, to the hospital to visit the new patient. The patient was astonished to see the good rabbi at his bedside. “Rabbi Aryeh, you must know how I have attacked you and your rabbi over your deeds and practices. I cannot help but ask: From where do you 5. Orot Yisra’el, 2:3.

draw the strength to visit this patient and be so forgiving?” The Tzaddik of Jerusalem responded, “From that very same rabbi whom you oppose and have attacked, have I learned unconditional love.” He was referring, of course, to Rav Kook.6 The Chassidic master Rebbe Chanoch Henoch Levin of Aleksander once drew attention to the fact that in Ibn Ezra’s parable the poor villager stands for the Jew who is supposed to be satisfied with his lot and accepting of his station. The Rebbe adamantly asked, “Why compare the Jew to the peasant; after all, is not every Jew a child of the King? We should envision ourselves as the princess!”7 To be part of the royalty requires regal comportment with dignity, grace, and generosity. When our hearts overflow with warmth and affection for others, there is no room for small-mindedness or pettiness. What is more, we seek everyone’s good fortune, and even cheer them on in their achievements. Let us observe the tenth commandment by not only being satisfied with our own God-given lot, but by being happy about what those around us have as well. 6. See Dadon, Sichat Avot, 102–103. 7. See Si’ach Sarfei Kodesh ha-Chadash, 1:76, s.v. ‫לא תחמוד‬.

Rabbi Goldscheider is the author of the newly published book ‘Torah United’ (OU Press), featuring divrei Torah on the weekly parasha from Rav Kook, Rabbi Solovetichik, and the Chassidic Masters.

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HOLY SITES IN ISRAEL SHOSHANA JUDELMAN

Mikveh Am Yisrael The other day I had an unexpected opening in my schedule, so I drove to a tzaddik’s kever hoping to tap into the holiness of the place for some much-needed inspiration. And the kever was beautiful and meaningful, but what really moved me were the holy women I was standing amongst: the girl in jeans reading the whole book of Tehillim; the lady in sweatpants swaying next to me in silent prayer, tears pouring down her face; the expectant mother gesturing with her hands while she silently spoke to Hashem; the old woman who pushed her walker as close as possible and then fell upon the kever with broken-hearted pleas- I couldn’t understand the language that she was speaking, but I could understand her tears. Chassidus teaches that every concept in Torah is embodied in three dimensions: space, time, and people. Eretz Yisrael is the holiest of lands and is filled with places to tap into that sanctity. Shabbos is the holiest of times and every week we are given the opportunity to recharge through its exalted energy. And Am Yisrael are the holiest of people. But we often forget or don’t connect to that incredible force of strength. When we open our hearts to the reality 56 TORAH TIDBITS 1551 / YITRO

of Am Yisrael as a source of inspiration, the places become secondary to the people. And every gathering has the potential to change the world. At a shiva house last week, the courage and pride of the bereaved father speaking words in tribute to his fallen son empowered everyone in the room. His determination and sense of purpose galvanizes us to invest our own actions with greater intention. At a concert, the emotion behind our collective singing turned each song into a tefillah that soared upwards to shake the Heavens with our shared pain and enormous hope. Every video and picture shared in groups and online captures these holy moments, acts of courage, love and chessed: the fathers and sons returning home to the hugs of their families; the chayalim on base dancing, singing or just finding ways to look for the good in each other; the notes left by chayalim thanking the owners/proprietors of whatever apartment or public space they have lived in for the past 3 months, and the (seemingly) endless BBQ’s. And on the homefront: the army of cooks and bakers trying to fill in meals for families whose husband/father is serving; the efforts on behalf of evacuated families; the Tehillim groups and the hundreds of stories of people competing to pay for meals and groceries for chayalim. A story is told that when the Rebbe of Kossov was dancing with his Chassidim, he would dip his head down into the circle. When the Chassidim asked why, he responded that he

was immersing in a mikvah. The pasuk says, “Mikveh Yisrael Hashem,” (Yirmiyahu 17:13) and can be interpreted various ways, including that Am Yisrael are, themselves, like a mikvah. Being surrounded by holy Jewish souls can transform a person spiritually. May we be blessed to open our eyes and see that the inspiration for moving forward is you. Us. Am Yisrael. Shoshana teaches Chassidus for the Shirat David Community in Efrat as well as in Jerusalem for Midreshet Rachel v’Chaya. She is a guide in Poland with JRoots and co-leads inspirational trips to Ukraine and around Eretz Yisroel. Shoshana has also been a guide at Yad Vashem since 2014.

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Torah Tidbits distribution is looking for the right connection to help get TT to KARMIEL each week If you have an idea or connection, please call Toni at 0505-772-111 Thank you! OU ISRAEL CENTER 57

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TORAH 4 TEENS BY TEENS NCSY ISRAEL Allison Davidson Jerusalem Chapter Madricha

Keeping Boundaries

‫ת־ָה ָ​ָעם ָ​ָס ִ​ִביב ֵלֵ אֹ֔מ�֔ ר‬ ָ ‫ ״ְוְ ִ​ִהְגְ ַ​ַּב� ְלְ ָ​ָּת� ֶ​ֶא‬-‫ יב‬:‫יתרו פרק יט‬ ‫ל־ַהֹּנ� ֵֹגֵ ַ​ַע ָ​ָּב� ָ​ָהר‬ ‫ּו‬ ‫ה‬ �‫ָּכ‬ ַ ָ ּ ֑ �‫ִ​ִה � ָ​ָּׁש ְ​ְמר ּ​ּו ָלָ ֶכֶ ם ֲ​ֲעלֹוֹ ת ָ​ָּב� ָ​ָהר ּוְּנְ ֹג ַַֹע ְ​ְּב� ָ​ָקֵ֑צ‬ ‫מֹוֹ ת יּוָּֽמֽ ת״‬ "You shall set bounds for the people roundabout, saying, ‘Beware of going up the mountain or touching the border of it. Whoever touches the mountain shall be put to death" This is a very interesting Pasuk, how come Hashem is setting physical boundaries for us around Har Sinai? The Malbim brings in a ‫ משל‬to help us understand this. Four people went to an orchard. One climbed the mountain and got hurt, and one died because he could not handle the strong, bright light of the sun. The ‫ משל‬uses an example of someone entering an orchid with intense light – suggesting that just as our eyes can’t handle too much light, our minds have limits in understanding things that are too high or deep, especially complex things when it comes to Hashem. Hashem sets physical boundaries around Har Sinai because, even though the people are about to receive the Torah and experience His presence, they cannot come too close. This boundary represents the need for a clear distinction between our physical and spiritual connection to Hashem. It teaches us that we may not always 60 TORAH TIDBITS 1551 / YITRO

comprehend His ways, and there are limits to our understanding. Trying to go beyond these limits, symbolized by touching the mountain, can have serious consequences, emphasizing the importance of humility and recognizing our human limitations. The physical boundary established by Hashem serves as a lesson about the spiritual boundaries we must set for ourselves. The strong warning that “whoever touches the mountain shall surely die” underscores the potential confusion and negative outcomes that may arise from trying to exceed our limits in understanding God’s ways. It emphasizes the necessity of respecting those boundaries to maintain a healthy and humble relationship with Hashem.

Gershy Schwartz 11th Grade Rechovot

What We Learn From Yitro In Parshat Yitro, we encounter the monumental moment when the Israelites receive the Ten Commandments at Mount Sinai. Yitro, Moses’ father-in-law, plays a crucial role by advising Moses on how to delegate leadership responsibilities. This highlights the significance of collaboration and shared responsibility within a community. The commandments themselves serve as a moral compass, guiding individuals toward righteous living. The principles conveyed, such as honoring one’s parents and refraining from theft, transcend time

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and cultural boundaries, offering universal ethical guidelines. Parshat Yitro teaches us that a just society is built on the foundation of ethical behavior and mutual respect. Yitro’s counsel to Moses underscores the importance of effective leadership and the delegation of tasks. This is a valuable lesson for us as teenagers preparing to assume greater responsibilities. Just as Moses couldn’t bear the burden alone, we too must learn the art of collaboration and teamwork, recognizing that shared efforts lead to collective success. Furthermore, the divine revelation at Sinai reminds us of the need for spiritual connection. In our fast-paced busy lives, it’s crucial to carve out moments for connection with something greater than ourselves. Parshat Yitro encourages us to find balance, not only in our communal responsibilities but also in our personal and spiritual lives.

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Real Life Rescues

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Real Life Rescues Cycle of Lifesaving: Rabbi Donates EMT Saves Baby from Defibrillator to Commemorate Severe Allergic Reaction Anniversary of Double Rescue Following First Taste of Tahini

On a recent Tuesday in Jerusalem, A year ago, on a wintery Shabbos day,morning Rabbi B. parents were feeding their 6-month-old baby and introduced to tahini forin the Beitar first time. Within suffered a cardiac arrest in hishimhouse Ilit.minutes, the baby developed a severe allergic reaction. The His son urgently alerted emergency services infant's parents immediately and called emergency services, seeking urgent help. began to administer CPR. United Hatzalah volunteer EMT Shalom Klein, alerted toYaakov the emergencyWallach through his proximity alert United Hatzalah volunteer EMT system, sprang into action as the first responder on scene.street Arriving promptly, Shalomhe was confronted was davening at a shul acrossthethe when with a distressing sight - a baby boy with swollen lips received a notification on his communications and tongue, struggling to breathe, and covered in a worrisome rash. device. He quickly responded, ran across the street, Recognizing the symptoms as indicative of an anaphylactic shock, the volunteer knew immediate and arrived at the scene in under 90 seconds. intervention was crucial. Without hesitation, he administered a and life-savingwithout EpiPen injection, delivering Finding the patient not breathing a dose of epinephrine to counteract the severe a pulse, Wallach attached allergic a defibrillator and quickly reaction. The powerful medication took effect, and the infant's breathing became less administered an electric shock. Shortly labored. The swellingafterward, in the lips and tongue began to subside, providing much-needed relief to the child. United Hatzalah volunteer EMT Elkana Broyer As the symptoms continued to recede, the EMT arrived at the scene and assisted withthe arrival of monitored hisWallach condition while awaiting mobile intensive care ambulance. Several minutes resuscitation efforts until thealater, patient regained the ambulance team arrived andatransported the to infantthe to the nearest hospital pulse. Rabbi B. was transported hospital forfor further treatment and observation. further care and released a fewReflecting daysonlater. the incident, Shalom emphasized the importance of having an EpiPen readily available. Two weeks later, on Friday night, B. suffered a "It's Rabbi a great thing I had an EpiPen in second cardiac arrest. This time, the first my Broyer medical kit," was he stated. "An EpiPen to arrive at the scene. He attached a defibrillator can save a person's within minutes and administered three electriclife shocks, after which and is a huge help Rabbi B. regained consciousness andandwas again for both EMTs patients." transported to the hospital. Thankfully, despite suffering from multiple cardiac arrests within a short period, Rabbi B. made a full recovery. He is alive today due to the quick response of the United Hatzalah EMTs who revived him. Last week, a ceremony was held at the Beitar Ilit United Hatzalah volunteer center. During the event, deputy branch head Yossi Reinitz unveiled a brand new defibrillator that was generously donated to the branch. The donor was none other than Rabbi B., who chose to commemorate the anniversary of his double miracle by donating this vital piece of equipment to help save additional lives. “This defibrillator is donated on 13 Shevat, the anniversary of my first cardiac arrest”, said Rabbi B. at the ceremony. “It is being donated in honor of the dear United Hatzalah volunteers who helped save my life and for the merit of continued health and success of my family members.”

OU ISRAEL CENTER 63

BY WYNDHAM

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