Yisro - 1st Portion

Join me as we learn together for paras. Sunday, the first Torah reading of Pares Isra last week's Torah reading of Paras Bashal, we concluded with the war that Moshe waged against Amalik. The Torah now continues to tell us about the Jewish people's traveled travels from Rifidim as they jo journey a short distance to Mount Si verse oneish and Isra Moses's father-in-law who was a ruler in Midian he heard he heard everything that God has done to Moshe and to the Jewish people's nation. that God has brought the Jewish people out of Egypt. Verse 18, when the Torah tells us and he heard what did Israel hear that caused them to come. So Rashi tells us what did he hear was Yamsuf the crossing the splitting of the sea and the war against Amalik. Who is this fellow Israel? And Rashi tells us that this fellow Isra had many different names and different places we see that he has different names. He was called by seven different names in the Torah which is in this case. He was called which because he added another extra Torah reading in the Torah which is as we're soon going to learn about in the second Torah reading of Isra and the word that he came Isra also comes from the word added because when he then converted and accepted upon himself the commandments they added a to his name which then became why was he called because he loved the Torah and then converted. How do I know that is because if you look later on in the book of Judges, it says from the children of Kov, who was the father-in-law of Moshe as well as we find and one of the reasons why Rashi mentions it here is because when we learned about Moshe's father-in-law before in chapter 2, when the daughters came back to them and said, "This Egyptian man helped us." They went to their father. So he tells us is also Israel of Israel. However, there are those that say that was the father of Israel. So then why does it say that they came to their father? Says that many times children call their grandfather father and therefore he calls they came to their father. But in that case according to that opinion Rool was not Yro himself but was the father of Yro and was the grandfather of Moshe's wife the father-in-law of Moshe over here Isra would call himself would honor himself by the very fact that he is the father-in-law of Moshe that I'm the father-in-law of the king. However, in the past when Moshe was living in the place of Midion over there, he would say of Moshe would say, "I am Israel's son-in-law as we learned in chapter 4 in the book of Exodus." Yes. That he returned to Yeser his father-in-law. So, we see as well that at times Yes would identify himself and pride himself with his son-in-law and at times Moshe would pride himself with his father-in-law who was Israel. Israel to motion the Jewish people. If you notice that over here, he puts Moshe individually and the Jewish people individually. Why does he do that? To teach us. Moshe was as equal as all the Jewish people. And just like all the Jewish people were worthy to have these miracles happen to them, so to Moshe himself. If he would have been on his own, he also would have been worthy to have these miracles happen to him as well. He's kash everything they did. And the fact that it tells us the exodus of Egypt on its own, as he's going to say later, as he tells us over here, this happened to the Jewish people after they already left Egypt with the fact that the man came to them in the desert and that they had the well-knites. This idea inspired Israel to come and convert it with the Jewish people as well. >> [snorts] >> And the main inspiration even though many things occurred was the splitting of the sea and the war against the Maliki. Why does he not include them in the hearing that he heard that means and the things that are not identified? Why is the exodus of Egypt specifically numerated? Because out of all the miracles that happened, this was the greatest of all. Verse two. Andra, the father-in-law of Moshe took the Mosha's wife after she had been sent away. What does it mean been sent away? When God came to Moses and Mid by the burning bush and he told him go back to Egypt as it says then Moshe went to get his wife and children to bring them down with them to Egypt. But then went out to greet him and he met him by the mountain of God. Omari. So Aaron saw Moshe with his family and wife and children. So he said to Moshe, "Who are all these people?" So Moshe said to Aaron, "Uh, this is my wife that I married in these are my two sons." So Aaron says to Moshe, his younger brother, "And where are you taking your wife and children?" Omar say told him, "I'm bringing them down to Egypt with me." So Aaron tells to Moshe, "Why are you bringing them to to Egypt? We already worried and we see the pain and suffering that the Jewish people that are already in Egypt are going through. You're bringing more Jews to Egypt." So therefore, he turned to his wife and said, "Go and return back home. She took the two sons and returned home." Therefore, the Torah says after he sent her away that she shouldn't be part of the slavery of Egypt, now she came back to rejoin her husband and the Jewish people. Who were the sons? Verse three, now and her two sons, Germ, one of them, his name was Germ. Why was he called Gersomar? Because Moshe said, I have been a stranger in an alien land. Verse four and the her second son whose name was Elazar because God of my father was at my aid and he rescued me from the sword of Pharaoh. What was this that Moshe was in danger? That the sword of Pharaoh was upon him that God had to save him. when told Pharaoh and slandered Moshe about the fact that he killed the Egyptian taskmaster and at that time Pharaoh wanted to kill Moshe. His neck became like a pillar of marble and at that time he was not able to be killed and therefore he was saved from the sword of Pharaoh and he was able to escape. Verse five. Israel, the father-in-law of Moshe and his sons and his wife came to Moshe to the desert that he was resting there that he was encamped there in the mountain of God by the mount which was Mount Si Hamidbar. Why does he have to tell us that he was by the desert? Don't we know the Jewish people were in the desert? We know that they were in the desert. The Torah is telling us about the greatness and the praise of Israel of the verse wants to extol was sitting and he was a chief in the city of Midion. He was at the height of his people that he was the ruler of the people of Midon and still in all he decided to leave his place which was very comfortable and come to the desert a place of emptiness to come hear the words of Torah from Moshe. Verse six and was told to Moshe your father-in-law came to you and your wife and her two sons with him. What does it mean? It was told to mo through a messenger came to tell him why did he have to say I your father-in-law is here and your wife and your two sons that if you're not going to come out in my honor come out in the honor of your wife. If you're not going to come out in the honor of your wife at least come out in the honor of your children. Verse seven. Moshe went out to greet his father-in-law and he bowed him and he kissed him. They inquired about each other's welfare about how they're doing and they entered into the tent. Great honor and respect was given to Israel at that time because once Moshe were left to greet him and to bring him in then followed him then followed the children of who would ever see these people leave the clouds of glory and go out to welcome this guest that would not follow out follow them and go greet them as well from this language I don't know who bowed to was the Mosha that bowed to Isra was a Israel that bowed to Moshe. However, when the Torah uses the terminology that they bow the man to his fellow who is the man tells us who is called the man is this must be referring to Moshe as we know that in the book of numbers it says the man Moshe. So when the Torah tells us the words and they bowed one to each other, I don't know necessarily it's referring to, but by the very fact by the Torah says man to his fellow man is referring to Moshe. Verse eight, Moshe and Moshe told his father-in-law everything that God has done to Pharaoh and to the Egyptians all for the sake of the Jewish people and as well as all the travails that have befallen them. have befallen them along the way and how God has saved them. Verse eight, why did Moshe told all the stories about what happened to the Jewish people to bring him and to extend him the idea and teach him about the greatness of God that he should be impressed and he should be able to enjoy and uh become close to Torah. What was all the travailes that happened to Jewish people? The very fact that the Egyptians were pursuing them shalom. The fact that Egyptians he pursued them by the sea and the sea had a split for them and as well as the war of a malik. The word the word is the actual root word of the word t the tough beforehand is not from the root word. It is only giving to tell me to make it sound well. This is something we have very a lot of times. And over here Rashi gives us examples. For example, which the word is and you put a before the word is no and you put a tough before means come which is stand up and there's a tough beforehand as well. Tenu with the word is n and there's a tough beforeand as well. So here she's telling us that the word as well is and the tough beforehand is just there to make it sound proper. Verse n and rejoiced about all the good that God has done for the Jewish people that he saved them from the hands of Egypt from the authority of the Egyptians. Rashi with the word means and he rejoiced. This is the simple interpretation. The med says, "Why does the Torah use a special terminology not which would be regular to me to mean to rejoice?" Because his skin became like he had goosebumps from the very fact that he heard he was distressed about the fact that Egypt was destroyed because as we know Jethro Isra was from the ministers in Egypt and therefore when he hears about his own country being destroyed it gave him a little bit of a goosebumps there. That's why we know that's what people say a convert even after 10 generations that he's converted do not embarrass his nation before because since he still has some feeling for the people that he came from even though he converted so too just by Israel even though he converted to the Jewish people but because he originated from Egypt he still felt some closeness or some feeling for what happened in the people of Egypt alcohol for all the good. What's the good beyond everything we've mentioned the exodus of Egypt which is this is the fact that God gave them the mana and the well and the Torah that he's giving them all of them what was the greatest of all achievements that he saved them from the hands of Egypt because knew better than anybody else until this point in time no slave was ever able to escape from Egypt It was a place that was really closed off. Well, over here in the middle of broad daylight, 600,000 men plus women and children all walked out of Egypt. This was the greatest event and miraculous event that happened at the time. Verse 11, verse 10 said, "Blessed is God that he saved you. He rescued you from the hands of the Egyptians. from Pharaoh that he liberated the people from the authority and the slavery of the Egyptians. Verse 10 and over here Israel enumerates number one. It was a difficult nation. a nation who made strenuous and harsh decrees from Pharaoh who is a melash a difficult king with harsh decrees from under the hands of Egypt meaning like the explains from the backbreaking authoritarian labor that they did to them from the hand which presses down which would press down upon them and make things difficult. This was the work that was forced upon the Jewish people. Verse 11, Israel continues to say, "Now I know that God is greater than all dietes." Deities because the very scheme that they plotted against the Jewish people happened to them. What does it mean now? I know. I knew about God. I heard about God previously. But now that I have come to identify and I see it from up close, I now more verified and understand and appreciate the greatness that God has done for the Jewish people. What does it mean from all deities? It comes to teach us was somebody who was thorough and knowledgeable with all the different types of idolatries in the world. There was not an idolatry that Israel did not serve. That's why if you recall in the beginning of book of Exodus why they didn't like Israel's daughters was because Ysro tried out every single one of these idols idol worshiping uh methods and he became a minister of them and then left them. So all of them hated him. Now he says I come to appreciate what God is because I've experienced and I've tried them all out and I know that God is greater than all of them. Like the says they tried to annihilate the water with water. And they themselves were killed with water as they drowned in the sea. Asher zodu. What does the word asher zodu mean? Asher. They planned. They were wicked that they wanted to devise plans against them. The same way we have with Jacob cooked up a stew again for his father. It also uses the terminology vayazed meaning that God does measure for measure with the same dish that they were ready to cook the Jewish people so to speak. They were cooked in meaning that the very same plan that they planned against the Jews happened to them. Verse 12. And Israel, the son, the father-in-law of Moshe took he offered the scent offerings and peace offerings to God and all the elders of the Jewish people came to break bread to eat bread with the father-in-law of Moshe in the presence of God. [snorts] What does it mean? A offering kula kal an offering which will be completely consumed on the altar. This is a peace offering that also part of it was eaten by the owners who brought the sacrifice and came to eat with Moshe. Where did Moshe go? Didn't Moshe go out and greet him and he's the one that caused us all honor? Ella. This comes to teach us that Moshe was doing something at the time that Moshe was there serving them and he himself went to welcome his guests as it was there in the presence of God. Why does it tell us in the presence of God? If Moshe was the one that was eating it there, it tells us and from here the sages have learned that one who enjoys from the meal that sages and scholars are eating at as if he's enjoying from God's greatness and God's presence. This concludes the first Torah reading of Parius Israel.