YISRO 1999

In the Torah portion, Yisro, we learn about the Ten Commandments, and we also learn about the advice that Yisro gave to Moshe so that he could implement the Torah in the correct way in an organized fashion with organized courts.  The Torah says, "Vayichad Yisro -- and Yisro rejoiced in all the good which G‑d did to Israel, that He saved them from the hand of Egypt."

Rashi explains that the word Vayichad has a double meaning.  It means he rejoiced, but it also means he trembled° Yisro was of two minds.  He was very happy that the Jewish people were saved from the slavery of Egypt, and he was very happy that the Egyptian army was destroyed so that they could no longer recapture the Jewish people and make them slaves again, but on the other hand, he was sad.  Vayichad also means he trembled, that his skin was filled with goosebumps when he thought of the destruction that was dealt to Egypt and the deaths that were caused by the drowning of the Egyptian army at the Red Sea.  Yisro, according to the Medrash, had served for many years as an advisor to Pharaoh.  He grew very fond of Egypt and the Egyptian culture, even though he left his position in Egypt when Pharaoh did not listen to him and decided to drown all the Jewish boys who were born.  Yisro was opposed to this, and he resigned his position rather than go along.  He was filled with mixed emotions.  He was happy for the Jewish people, and that was his overriding emotion.  He was happy that the system of slavery had been overturned.  He was happy that G‑d had showed His hand, but he was also saddened that Egypt was ruined and so many Egyptians were killed.

This is similar to what happens when a person's relative dies.  They are overwhelmed with sadness, but, at the same time, many times they are also happy because, after all, a prince could not amount to anything, he could not become king until his father died.  The Shulchan Orech even says that when a close relative dies, to say Dayin HaEmes, that G‑d is the true judge, but if you have been left property, you also say Shecheyanu.  The Torah does not demand that you deny your emotions.  You are saddened by the death, but you are happy about getting that extra property.  In fact, many people scream and yell at doctors and nurses and nursing homes for not giving adequate care to their parents or relative, when actually what they are really doing it covering up.  Visiting the relative was taking a terrible toll on them.  The money was fast disappearing.  They were having trouble coping with their loved one's sickness.  They were really relieved that the person died, but they could not show it.  They had to go to the other extreme and blame somebody for his or her death.  It is like when someone has an inferiority complex.  They start to act superior.  We are filled with mixed emotions always.  Sometimes, we love and resent out spouse at the same time.  The same is true with our children.

In this Torah portion, the theme of mixed emotions is found throughout.  When the Jewish people are given the Ten Commandments, they say, "We will do them," but G‑d also holds the mountain over their heads according to the Medrash.  It says, "And they stood under the mountain."  G‑d held the mountain over them, saying, "If you accept the Torah, good; if not, I will drop the mountain on you," but, more than that, G‑d said to Moshe that he should "set boundaries for the people around the mountain lest they will go up to the mountain and touch its edge because anybody who touches the edge of the mountain will die."  G‑d mentioned even a second time, "Descend and warn the people lest they break through to Hashem to see, and a multitude of them will fall.  They shall not break through to ascend to Hashem lest He burst forth against them."  The image that people have of a benevolent, smiling, ho-ho kind of a G‑d is false.  We say that G‑d created not only the light but also the darkness, that G‑d is not only the G‑d of life, but also the G‑d of death.  He created death.  He could have created a different kind of world in which there is no death, but for His own reasons, H created death and suffering.  We do not understand why.  We have faith at the end of days we will, but now we do not understand.  We are only partners with G‑d in life.  We say that G‑d will revive the dead every day in our prayers, but it is G‑d Who created death and, in effect, caused them to die.  G‑d is not just the G‑d of love; G‑d is an awesome G‑d.

In America, we do not want to recognize this.  G‑d created death.  G‑d allowed the Holocaust to occur.  How and why, we do not know, although theologically, there was no real difference between the deaths of six million innocent people, and the death of one person.  Why do innocent children die for no reason?  Why are innocent people killed who were just caught in a crossfire?  The magnitude of the Holocaust make it unique.  Not only were people killed, but a whole culture was wiped out.  Children were not allowed to develop their talents, but, the truth of the matter is, almost everyone who died in the Holocaust would probably be dead by now.  After all, it is 60 years since the Holocaust.  There are terrible tragedies which occur every day.  Youngsters die from cancer and other diseases.

G‑d told the people, "Do not ascend the mountain lest He burst forth against them."  Life is difficult, and the better your parent was, the harder it is when that they pass away.
The Ten Commandments open by saying, "And Coed spoke all these things saying."  The word saying means that it was repeated usually, but here everybody hears it and all the souls that were going to be born heard it, so what does it mean saying?  The rabbis explain that this means that after each one of the Ten Commandments, the Jewish people nodded and agreed.  Rabbi Akiva said that to all the commandments, both the positive and negative, the people answered yes.  Rabbi Yishmael said that to the positive commandments they answered yes, and to the negative commandments they answered no.  Later on, it says, "And all the people saw the thunder and the lightning."  Rabbi Akiva explains that this means that they saw the thunder and heard the lightning.  Rabbi Yishmael said it is just a poetical expression.

What's the difference between Rabbi Akiva's views and that of Rabbi Yishmael?  Rabbi Akiva was a descendant of converts and was himself a Baal Teshuva.  He came late to the religion.  He was 40 years old before he learned to read and write.  Rabbi Yishmael was the high priest and came from a distinguished family, and, more or less, took his religion for granted.  Rabbi Akiva was so close to his religion that the embraced both the negative and the positive expressions of the religion.  Rabbi Yishmael said yes to the positive and no to the negative.  He did not really have any answers for the negative.  Rabbi Akiva, on the other hand, felt so close to G‑d that he accepted the negative as well as the positive.  The thunder really stands for the emotional part of Judaism and the lightning for the intellectual part.  We say that Shemia, hearing, is not like Reia, seeing.  If you saw something, no amount of counter evidence is going to make you change your mind.  That's why if you witness an event, you cannot be a judge for that event.  Sometimes there are optical illusions, and we see things that are not there, but if you see something, it is so real you can never be dissuaded from what you saw.  Hearing, on the other hand, is second hand, and you can hear many points of view and arrive at a correct decision.  To Rabbi Akiva, ad's presence was so real in his life, so overwhelming that he accepted both the positive and the negative with a resounding yes.  He even suffered martyrdom willingly for his religion.  To him, his spiritual attachment to G‑d was special and unique, and although he was a very intellectual person, the Talmud and the Mishna are based on his teachings, whether he could understand Gds ways was secondary.  He heard the lightning; he did not see it.  Rabbi Yishmael's approach, on the other hand, was to bring G‑d down to earth, a traditional Jewish approach.  He said yes to the positive and no to the negative.  He saw the lightning and heard the thunder.  He tried to justify G‑d's ways intellectually, but he did not embrace everything as completely as Rabbi Akiva.  To Rabbi Akiva, G‑d's ways were still a mystery just as they were to Rabbi Yishmael.  Death and suffering were real, but he still embraced G‑d, in spite of everything, with a great passion.  He saw the thunder.

In life, we do not have all the answers.  Rabbi Akiva embraced G‑d wholeheartedly, realizing that G‑d is not only beneficent and full of love, but also an awful G‑d inspiring fear and awe.  Rabbi Yishmael did not concern himself with these things.  He just wanted to do the mitzvahs knowing they would bring him close to G‑d and which would allow him to gain the strength to overcome life's problems.  Both approaches are valid.  It is difficult to deal with these problems.  So many people have mixed emotions.  We do not have all the answers.  G‑d has called upon us to live good and decent lives, in spite of the tragedies and sickness and death which will occur around us.  We know that He will give us the strength to overcome everything.  Let us hope and pray that we will all lead good and decent lives, in spite of life's ambiguity so the Mashiach will come quickly in our day.

I am reminded of the story of the man who was invited to his non-Jewish friend's house.  The friend offered him some appetizers.  He said, "I can't eat them.  They're not kosher."  The friend then brought out a roast and offered him a piece.  He said, "I can't eat non-kosher food."  The friend then asked him, "What would happen if you were on a desert island and there was nothing to eat but non-kosher food?" He replied, "In that case, if my life was threatened, I could eat it."  The friend took out a gun, put it up to his Jewish friend's head, and said, "Eat the roast or I'll shoot you."  He at a piece of the roast.  His friend put down and gun and said, "I was only joking.  I wanted to see whether you would eat it if your life was threatened.  I hope you're not mad at me for playing a trick on you."  The man replied, "I am mad at you, but I'11 forgive you.  Next time you play a dirty trick on me, make sure the roast his hot."