Parashat Yitro
February 6, 2010
22 Shevat 5770
Vol. 19 No. 18

This week's Halacha file: Halachah and Copyright Laws

Are You Listening?
by Dr. Joel M. Berman

At the beginning of this week’s Parashah, the Torah writes, “VaYishma Yitro,” "And Yitro heard" (Shemot 18:1). The Midrash teaches us that as Bnei Yisrael crossed the Red Sea, not only did the Red Sea split, but all waters around the world split. We also learn that the sounds generated during the giving of the Torah at Har Sinai were so awesome that they were not only heard but were also seen throughout the world. The nations asked their prophet Bilam to explain these frightening phenomena. He told them that Bnei Yisrael were receiving Hashem's Torah. Every person around the world knew what was transpiring, yet how many converted to Judaism? Only one – Yitro. How could this be? Everyone knew! No one was skeptical! Why did more people not hear and convert to Judaism like Yitro?

Many years ago, I was soldier in the Israeli mechanized infantry. We often had reservists, usually medics, join our unit for a few weeks at a time. One such reservist told me the following story:
Around 1969, during the War of Attrition, he was serving in an artillery unit close to the Suez Canal. One night the unit received orders to shell Egyptian targets on the other side of the canal. They carried out their orders. Soon afterwards, intelligence informed them that all targets were hit, and their unit was off alert for the remainder of the night. Seizing this opportunity, our hero grabbed his sleeping bag and ran to sleep in a nearby abandoned chicken coop. He told me how he was filthy, exhausted, and quite fed up with the primitive living conditions. He had only a few days of reserve duty left, and all he wanted to do now was to be left alone and sleep uninterrupted.

He woke up the next morning to a lunar landscape. There were giant craters everywhere. Vehicles were destroyed. Artillery pieces were strewn about on their sides. His base was in shambles. As he emerged from the chicken coop, his friends ran over to him hugging and kissing him. "We thought you died," they told him. (Soon after he went to sleep, the Egyptians shelled the Israelis. It was a murderous barrage that lasted for some time.) His friends asked him, "How could you have slept through that?!"

We can learn from this that if a person does not want to hear something, no matter how important, obvious, or loud it is, he will not hear it.
It is quite possible to sleep through life. How many of us hear but do not listen? How many of us listen but fail to act? As a result, how many of us stand for nothing and fall for everything? “VaYishma Yitro” – Yitro heard, Yitro listened, and Yitro acted. Yitro finally stood for something after falling for every form of idol worship. Students' years in high school are among the most formative. Their Rebbeim teach them how to evaluate the world and integrate appropriate parts into their lives. We too can learn to listen so that when the time comes, you too will be properly prepared to stand and act.

Chamadah vs. Ta’avah
by Jonathan Karp

In Parashat Yitro, the Aseret HaDibrot, the Ten Commandments, are mentioned for the first time. The last of the commandments, “Lo Tachmod” or jealousy, troubles many commentators, as they ask how Hashem can command us to control and restrict our thoughts. The Mechilta explains that there is a difference between Chamadah, coveting, and Ta’avah, desiring (The words “Lo Titaveh” are used only in the second appearance of the commandments in Sefer Devarim). He explains that desiring is just in the mind and heart, but coveting can actually lead to stealing. The Mechiltah says that the words, “VeChamadu Sadot VeGazlu,” “They will covet the fields and steal” (Micah 2:2), prove that coveting leads to stealing.

The Rambam (Hilchot Gezeilah Va’Aveidah 1:9-13) follows the Mechilta that Ta’avah and Chamadah are different. He states that Ta’avah is when one wants an object that belongs to someone else, and Chamadah is when one takes practical steps to misappropriate it. He crystallizes the difference by stating that if one desires an object that he sees in his friend’s house and plans how to appropriate it, he violates Lo Titaveh. If his jealousy leads to him urging his friend to sell it against his will, he violates Lo Tachmod.

On the other hand, some commentators disagree with the distinction between Chamadah and Ta’avah. The Sefer Mitzvot Gadol asserts that both prohibitions must be the same because when the Ten Commandments are listed in Devarim, the Torah states that you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife and you shall not desire your neighbor’s house, suggesting that these two sins are on equal footing. If this Pasuk is interpreted according to the Rambam’s position, that Chamadah is worse than Ta’avah, it would suggest that the Torah regards desiring your neighbor’s house as a more serious violation than coveting your neighbor’s wife. However, because the two are grouped together, it is logical to contend that the prohibitions are of equal status. Therefore, Ta’avah and Chamadah must be synonyms.

The Malbim offers a different explanation of the difference between Chamadah and Ta’avah. He says that on the one hand, Chamadah is when one desires something that he can presently see before his eyes. Ta’avah, on the other hand, is when one has a longing for something that may not be in front of him. The Torah uses the language of Chamadah for one’s neighbor’s wife because one can only covet her once he sees her with his eyes. However, one can desire his neighbor’s property without seeing it, and as such, the Torah uses the language of Ta’avah.

Still, a problem with this explanation exists because it leaves our original question of how we can be commanded not to do something with our thoughts unanswered. Ibn Ezra explains that a thinking person knows in his heart that it is not reasonable to covet another person’s possessions because Hashem forbids his neighbor’s possessions, and therefore, he knows it is impossible for him to acquire them. He uses this reasoning to control his thoughts. In this way, it is possible for us to explain the commandment of Lo Tachmod.
Hopefully, with the help of Hashem, we will not violate “Lo Tachmod” and “Lo Titaveh” but rather will be satisfied with our possessions and Semeichim BeChelkeinu.

A Name of Peace
by Andy Epstein

In Parashat Yitro, Bnei Yisrael smoothly travel from Refidim to Har Sinai where they receive God’s Torah and accept His Mitzvot; however, after Kabbalat HaTorah, Bnei Yisrael cannot continue their journey into Eretz Yisrael to establish the Beit HaMikdash, where Hashem’s presence in this corporeal world would rest. What caused the delay between Bnei Yisrael receiving the Torah and entering Israel?

The final section of this week’s Haftarah may shed light on this question when describing the criteria that Bnei Yisrael must meet to deserve the Beit HaMikdash, “VaYikra Shemo Pele Yo’eitz Eil Gibor Avi Ad Sar Shalom,” “He Who is Wondrous Advisor, Mighty God, Eternal Father shall give him [King Chizkiyahu] the name, ‘Prince of Peace’” (Yeshayahu 9:5). In order to find a leader to rebuild the Jewish nation after the destructive reign of King Achaz, Hashem must recognize his successor (and son) as a “Prince of Peace.” But why does the Jewish leader need this status to retain the Holy Sanctuary?

The purpose of the Beit HaMikdash and the Davidic dynasty is to be Mekadesh Et Sheim Hashem, to sanctify God’s name. Therefore, when we sanctify Hashem’s name by striving to achieve peace and being a “Or LaGoyim,” “light unto the nations,” we will have the Holy Sanctuary to spread our message. When we accept the Mitzvot in Sefer Shemot, however, we still fail to elevate ourselves to the point where we are able to promulgate Hashem’s greatness to the nations. Without that prerequisite, merely having the Torah is not enough to build the Temple in Israel. When we Jews are able to show the world the greatness of Hashem’s name we will be worthy to rebuild the Beit HaMikdash. Therefore, our challenge is to follow in the ways of King Chizkiyahu and prove our worthiness by striving to be leaders in peace.

Nisht Shabbos Gerret
by Tzvi Silver

In this week’s Parashah, the Kli Yakar (20:13) notes that the first five of the Aseret HaDibrot parallel the last five commandments. This is seen in the fourth commandment (to keep Shabbat), which lines up with the ninth commandment (not to testify falsely), because one who defiles Shabbat is considered as if he testified falsely against Hashem. The Kli Yakar then continues to delve into the prohibition of speaking about prohibited acts on Shabbat. Because Hashem made the world through speech – as we see in our daily morning prayer, “Baruch SheAmar ViHaya HaOlam,” “Blessed is He Who spoke, and the world came into being” – rather than through physical actions, it behooves us not only to refrain from the actual physical activities that are prohibited on Shabbat, but also from speaking about them. This helps remind us how Hashem created the world in six days, and rested on the seventh.

This lesson applies very well to contemporary jobs, which are not limited to just physical labor. If we speak about prohibited actions on Shabbat, we fail to separate ourselves from the creative work that we take part in during the other six days of the week, and therefore aren’t truly demonstrating the concept that Hashem created the world in six days and rested on the seventh, as we are commanded to do on Shabbat.

The Seforno (Shemot 20:10) explains that the prohibited acts on Shabbat aren’t just a remembrance or testimony to what Hashem did, but rather a means to come closer to Him by being Holeich BiDrachav, walking (i.e. imitating) his ways. By guarding the matters of our speech on Shabbat, we are not only truthful witnesses to Hashem’s seven day cycle of creation, but also emulating Hashem’s separation of creation and rest.

Based on a Dvar Torah given by Rabbi Aryeh Brueckheimer