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Yitro and Matan Torah Souls of the Righteous Sadikim, Which Bring Atonement for the Jewish People

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Yitro and Matan Torah Souls of the Righteous Sadikim, Which Bring Atonement for the Jewish People Parasha Tefilah FEB 6, 2021 Daily Bitachon 24TH OF SHEVAT, 5781 Embrace Shabbat Living Emunah Halachot YITRO Visit iTorah.com for: More than 20,000 shiurim given by our Community’s leading Rabbanim; Daf Yomi program; Tehillim; Tefilot; and much more. Manage subscriptions to receive daily Halachot, weekly Parasha insights, Tehillim and Levaya notifications. In loving memory of Stanley Chera A"h - Shlomo Ben Shoshana DEDICATED IN MEMORY OF MY BELOVED GRANDMOTHER ADINA BAT YOCHIDED - JEANETTE FELDMAN BY THE FELDMAN FAMILY DEDICATED IN MEMORY OF VICTOR CHEMTOB A"H REFUAH SHELEMAH TO KOL CHOLE AMO YISRAEL REFUAH SHELEMAH TO SHELOMO AMRAM BEN RACHEL - RABBI LANKRY Yitro and Matan Torah souls of the righteous Sadikim, which bring atonement for the Jewish People. (In our daily Amida prayer, we pray that Rabbi Eli Mansour Hashem accept "Isheh Yisrael" – "the fire offerings of Isra- el." Even though we do not have the Bet Ha’mikdash, and thus we do not offer sacrifices, we nevertheless pray that Rashi, in his commentary to Parashat our sacrifices should be accepted. Some commentators ex- Yitro, tells us that Yitro, Moshe’s father- plain that this refers to the sacrifices offered in the heavens, in-law, was given this name because a the offerings of the righteous Sadikim who have departed. paragraph in the Torah was added in his merit. The name We ask Hashem to mercifully accept these sacrifices and "Yitro" stems from the word "Yeter," which means "addition- atone for our sins in this merit.) Conversely, the Zohar adds, al," or "extra," and Yitro received this name because he ad- here in our world, the forces of impurity had a king and a vised Moshe to appoint a team of judges, and this story was Kohen Gadol. The king was Pharaoh, who arrogantly de- included in the Torah. He was given the great privilege of nied the existence of G-d, and regarded himself as the most adding content to the Torah, and so he was given the name powerful being in the world. And the Kohen Gadol of im- "Yitro." purity, the Zohar teaches, was Yitro. As our Sages teach, Yitro had been a pagan priest, who worshipped every form Why did Yitro earn this special privilege? Many people did of idolatry that existed. Just as Pharaoh, the evil king, rep- exceptional things without receiving this reward. Why was resented the polar opposite of G-d, the true King, likewise, Yitro given this specific reward – of having a section added Yitro represented the polar opposite of Michael, the Kohen in the Torah in his merit? Gadol in the heavens. Whereas Michael embodied the loyal service of G-d, Yitro embodied the loyal service of every power other than G-d. The Zohar teaches that before Hashem could give the To- rah to Beneh Yisrael, two evil forces needed to be eliminat- ed from the world. These forces were the evil kingship, and Before the Torah could be given, both these forces needed the evil priesthood. The Zohar explains that in the heavens, to be defeated. Pharaoh’s kingship was defeated through there is a King – G-d – and there is also a Kohen Gadol. The the process of the Ten Plagues and the Exodus from Egypt, angel Michael serves as the Kohen Gadol in the heavens, as a result of which Pharaoh acknowledged G-d as King and he brings as offerings on the heavenly altar the pure over the universe. Yitro, too, underwent a transformation, as described in our Parasha. Upon hearing about the great mir- 1 acles Hashem performed, he abandoned his pagan practic- use the term associated with the deceased? es and beliefs, and came to join Beneh Yisrael at Mount Sinai. Yitro’s transformation paved the way for Matan Torah, as it marked the elimination of the forces of impurity, which The Hafetz Haim explained that Yitro here actually refers was necessary so that the Torah could be given. After Pha- to peace in both worlds – this world and the next. If a per- raoh was humbled and subdued, and acknowledged G-d’s son leaves this world holding onto money or property that Kingship, the next step was Yitro, the high priest of the forc- does not lawfully belong to him, he does not experience es of impurity, abandoning his pagan beliefs and lifestyle. rest in the afterlife. He will have to return to this world in a different incarnation in order to return the assets. A prop- er judicial system thus ensures “Be’shalom” – that people This explains why Yitro’s reward was an additional section can enjoy peace in the afterlife and enjoy the delights of in the Torah. His courageous decision to transform himself the next world. If disputes are not properly handled in this is what facilitated Matan Torah. He is credited with enabling world, then the soul will have to return at some later point the Torah to be given, and so it was only fitting that he would to handle them. be rewarded by having an extra section of Torah added in his merit. H The Hafetz Haim’s powerful words should serve as an add- ed deterrent against dishonesty in our financial dealings. People might be tempted to think, “Well, it’s only a few dol- lars,” or “Look, this is how things are done,” and justify dis- Peace in This World and the Next honesty on this basis. The Hafetz Haim warns us that even Rabbi Eli Mansour “if it’s just a few dollars,” and even if “this is how things are done,” these factors will not help one in the next world. For those few dollars, he will be denied rest in the next world. We read in Parashat Yitro of Yitro’s suggestion that Moshe Rabbenu appoint a network of judges to work alongside him judging the people, rather than judge all the cases by him- Simply put, we need to remind ourselves that it’s never self. Yitro assures Moshe that if he follows his suggestion, worth it to act dishonestly. No matter how much money “Kol Ha’am Ha’zeh Al Mekomo Yabo Be’shalom” – “This we stand to gain or save through even a so-called “minor” entire nation will come to its place in peace” (18:23). By ethical breach, we will end up losing, either in this world or establishing an efficient judicial system whereby everybody the next. And the loss will always far, far exceed anything is guaranteed to have his disputes resolved promptly and we could possibly gain. H fairly, Moshe can help maintain peace and goodwill among Beneh Yisrael. When people know that all disputes are being handled properly, and that everyone is giving and receiving precisely what they are supposed to, there is no EMBRACE SHABBAT: resentment and people get along with one another in peace and harmony. Our Daily Portion of Manna While on the surface Yitro’s point seems clear, the Hafetz Rabbi David Sutton Haim (Rav Yisrael Meir Kagan of Radin, 1839-1933) notes a subtle point in Yitro’s choice of words that should draw our The Bet Ha'levi emphasizes that when it comes to our attention. Our Sages have taught that there is a distinction livelihood, although we must put in the effort, our work is between wishing somebody that he should go “Le’shalom” not what determines the outcome. Nothing we do can and go “Be’shalom.” The word “Le’shalom” is the term that change that which Hashem has decreed to give us. should normally be used when bidding somebody farewell, whereas “Be’shalom” is reserved for the deceased. We should use “Be’shalom” only when bidding farewell to a de- The Bet Ha'levi notes the example of the manna which fell parted person and wishing him or her a pleasant and peace- for Beneh Yisrael when they traveled in the desert. The ful afterlife. Why, then, would Yitro use the word “Be’sha- Torah says that no matter how much manna a person lom” in this context? He obviously wasn’t anticipating that collected, it always ended up being exactly the same everyone among Beneh Yisrael would die; the point he was amount - one omer for each member of the household. the manna - והמן היה סימן לדורות ,making was that an efficient judicial system would help en- The Bet Ha'levi writes sure a peaceful existence here in this world. So why did he serves as the model for all generations. No matter how 2 much we work, no matter how much effort we invest, the "I'm not going to hoard," the Brisker Rav replied. "I am end result will never be anything more or less than what hungry now, and now I have bread, so I am going to eat it." Hashem has decided to give us. Sure enough, the next day, a baker arrived with loaves of bread, which the Brisker Rav was able to purchase and In the desert, this was seen very clearly. A man would go eat. and spend a great deal of time collecting manna, but when The same man who brought the bread also had some fish he returned to his tent and gave it out to his family, - but as he made his way to the neighborhood, bombs fell, everyone always received an omer. In our lives, we don't and he dropped the fish. see openly how the end result is always what Hashem has "If I had more bitahon," the Brisker Rav said, "I would determined it should be, but this is what we know to be the have received fish, as well." Hashem has everything for case.
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