YISRO 1986

In the Torah portion Yisro we learn how the Jewish people accepted the Torah.  We learn how they received the Ten Commandments on Mount Sinai.  It says, "And Moshe brought out the people to greet G‑d from the camp and they stood Besachtis Hahor" which is usually translated "at the foot of the mountain" but literally it means "underneath the mountain."  Rabbi Dimi explains that G‑d held the mountain over them like a cask.  If they would accept the Torah then He would bring the mountain back to its original place.  If not He would allow the mountain to cascade down upon them.  Many of the rabbis ask, how could this be the explanation since in the Torah portion we learn how the Jewish people said, "We will do what G‑d has commanded."  The rabbis explain that actually there are two Torahs: the written Torah and the oral Torah, and they compare the written and the oral Torah to a person's father and mother.  They explain that when it says, "Honor your father and mother" it means not only your parents but also the written and the oral law.

The Jewish people were willing to accept the written law.  It was short.  It was composed of principles, but when it came to applying them to life they balked.  It is very difficult to apply these principles to life.  It takes a lot of study and hard work, dedication and devotion.  The written law is compared to the father.  He initiates the birth process, but it is the mother who carries the baby for nine months and nurses it and cares for it the first few years.  That's why in Jewish law whether or not you are Jewish goes by the mother.  Other nations, too, have accepted the Bible, or written law, but it is the oral law, the implementation of its principles, which gives the Jew his Jewish personality.  It is hard to implement these principles.  It takes a lot of effort and thought.  You cannot just say in Judaism you believe in such and such and that is it.  You have to live your life in all its aspects according to these principles, and this takes a lot of study and hard work.

The tragic events of the past week demonstrate this.  It is not enough to have a goal to conquer space and to fly in orbit.  You have to meticulously check everything over.  You have to work hard at every detail.  If you make a mistake the results are disastrous.  That's why also in this Torah portion we learn how when G‑d's presence came down on the mountain to give the Ten Commandments, the Jewish people were told not to get too close.  They were to set boundaries lest they be destroyed.  Religion is a dangerous thing.  In the name of religion so many atrocities have been committed.  Look what is happening now in Iran.  Religious principles, unless they are implemented correctly, can lead to disaster.  We in the United States have the kind of government we have because of the disastrous religion wars in Europe, especially the Thirty Years War in which almost all the males of Germany were killed.  The Catholic church had to condone polygamy for many years because there were not enough males and the population would otherwise have decreased too much.  Since that time the intellectual climate of the west has actually been anti-religious.  It stresses nationalism and beauty, the arts and science.  The Holocaust, too, has taught us that beauty and nationalism and science also are deadly.  They are very dangerous.

What stunned me the most as I watched the videotape of the astronauts being blown up was its great beauty.  All of us have been giant fireworks displays on the Fourth of July, and this was a giant firework display with the two booster rockets going in different directions and the brilliant white sky.  It was a beautiful display.  It was a deadly display, though.

That's why I believe this Torah portion was named after Yisro because Yisro gave advice to Moshe on how to conduct the administration of the Jewish people.  It says, "Vanee Mocharas - and it was on the morrow," and the rabbis explain that this means it was on the morrow of Yom Kippur.  Moshe came down with the oral law and the Ten Commandments and was judging the people.  Yisro pointed out to him that his method of administering justice was wrong.  Moshe accepted his suggestion.  Beauty and progress should also be combined with the Torah.  Those Jews that are only interested in beauty and progress are wrong, and those Jews who are only interested in Torah are wrong.  The Torah must always be combined with beauty and progress.  Beauty alone is deadly and the written Torah alone is deadly.  We all must learn to apply them in the correct way otherwise they can turn out, as happened to the astronauts, in catastrophe.  Dedication, devotion, hard work are needed to implement the principles of beauty and the principles of Torah.  When they are combined we can live a good and a satisfying life.

I am reminded of the story they tell about a man who marries the daughter of the owner of a big business.  The man, to please his daughter, gave him 40% of the business.  He then put him in the shipping department.  All the packages went awry.  He then put him in the sales department.  All the sales got mixed up.  He then puts him in the billing department and all the bills get mixed up.  Finally, he takes him into the office and says, "What should I do with you?"  His son-in-law answered, "Buy me out."  People want to have the benefits of religion and beauty without hard work.  This is impossible.  It will only lead to tragedy.