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In last week's Parshah, Beshalach, the
Jewish nation completed their redemption from Egypt with
the splitting of the Yam Suf, crossing it on dry land,
and the death of the Egyptian army. In this week's
Parshah, Yitro, the Jewish nation receives the Torah at
Mount Sinai.
In the first aliyah, Yitro, Moshe's father-in-law,
having heard all about what G-d did for Moshe and the
Jews, comes to them in the desert bringing with him
Moshe's wife and two sons. Moshe and all the leaders of
the Jews go to meet Yitro (from this we learn how to
respect fathers'-in-law). Moshe tells Yitro all about
their being delivered from Egypt, the splitting of the
sea of reeds, the manna, the water, and the war with
Amalek. Yitro responds using the phrase: "Boruch Hashem"
(Blessed be G-d).
The second aliyah actually happens
after the giving of the Torah. Rashi explains that the
following section is written out of chronological order.
Here, Yitro finds Moshe sitting before thousands of
people from morning to evening and acting as a judge in
their disputes. He would tell them what the laws of G-d
say about their particular case. Yitro suggests a system
of delegating Moshe's responsibility where Moshe would
appoint heads of thousands, heads of hundreds, heads of
fifties, heads of tens; able men, G-d fearing men, men
whose word will be believed, for them to judge most
cases, leaving only the most difficult for Moshe.
In the third aliyah Moshe does
everything his father-in-law suggested, setting up a
hierarchical judicial system. Yitro returns to his own
land (Rashi says: to convert the members of his family
to Judaism).
In the fourth aliyah the Torah returns
to the subject of the Jewish people approaching Mt.
Sinai. The Torah says they arrived there in the third
month after leaving Egypt on the "same day". Rashi says
the term "same day", (literally, “today”) is used to
indicate that the Torah should be considered by each of
us as new as if it were given today. Moshe goes up the
mountain alone to talk to G-d. G-d tells Moshe to "tell
the Jews that they've seen what I did to the Egyptians
and how I bore you on eagle's wings. If you will keep My
covenant you will be My treasured people and a kingdom
of priests."
In the fifth aliyah G-d says to Moshe
to tell the people to sanctify themselves. They should
immerse in the mikvah, and husbands and wives are to
separate for three days. They should set boundaries
around Mt. Sinai, and no man or beast should go past the
bounds. On the third day (the sixth of Sivan), in the
morning, there is thundering and lightning and a thick
cloud. The sound of an exceedingly loud shofar is heard.
Mt. Sinai is seen smoking and shaking, and the shofar
grows louder and louder.
In the sixth aliyah the Ten
Commandments are given. G-d is revealed to the whole
world. The Jewish people looked to the east, west,
north, south, up, and down, and SAW the revelation of
G-d. As explained in the Zohar, there was no place from
which G-d did not speak to them. At every divine
utterance, their souls took flight, and G-d revived them
with the dew with which He will revive the dead when
Moshiach comes (may it happen speedily in our day). The
Ten Commandments are encapsulated in the first two
commandments, and all 613 commandments are encapsulated
in the Ten Commandments. It is a custom that we all
stand while listening to the 10 Commandments being read.
The seventh aliyah recounts how the
people trembled at the thunder and lightning, and at the
sound of the shofar and the smoking mountain, and were
afraid. They were also afraid because during the first
two commandments the people expired and were revived
because they couldn't take the Divine revelation. As a
result, they ask Moshe to be a go-between and get the
rest of the Torah for them. Moshe does so, and receives
the other 611 commandments on Mt. Sinai. It is
interesting to note that the gematria (numerical value)
of the word "Torah" is 611. The Jewish people heard two
commandments directly from G-d, and the other 611
through Moshe. The Parshah concludes with the
commandments forbidding the making of idols and the
building of an alter for sacrifices.
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