Rabbi Tendler Shiur Notes

Parashat Yitro

February 4, 1999

Yitro heard - Q: 1) Isn't this obvious and 2) When did it happen? A: First consider that Yitro came after Matan Torah. Gemara in Zevachim 116 says "What was this hearing? He heard came and converted" What made him come to convert? Remember that according to the Midrash, he knew all avoda zarah. Suddenly, he saw that they didn't have anything. He realized this before Moshe came along. He wanted to quit, and the other put him in herem, no one could work for him, thus his daughters had to do the shepherding.

Mehilta: When Moshe proposed to Tzipporah, Yitro had one condition - your first son must be for Avodah Zara. Moshe said ok and swore. Thus when Moshe was slow in giving the 2nd son a brit, the angel came to kill Moshe.

Who was the real Yitro?

Zevachim - Gemara is asking a specific question - what made a man come and change his religion. He already had trouble with his religions. 1) He heard about Amalek 2) matan torah 3) yam suf. Q: What came first - seems to be here out of order. Gemara is answering the question why he joined the Jewish people - what made him not be an athiest - what he could not get out of his mind.

1) The hatred of Amalek - according to the Midrash, Amalek had to go 1600 miles out of its way to attack the Jews. Yitro was impressed that there is evil in the world - and it came from his religions. The test of a religion is can you humanize man. Christianity died with the holocaust since it could not humanize man.

2) The fact that a religion fails, does not mean you jump to another religion - you would be an atheist. Here, Yitro heard something better - that bein adam l'haveiro gets equal billing with bein adam l'makom. All gods say "I am god" "kavod to name" etc. "Honor mother and father" not said before - new concept.

3) The fact that something sounds good isn't enough - since it could change. Therefore he heard Yam suf - the sound of the splitting of the sea. He saw a harmony in nature - that nature is subjugated by the moral force of nature. New unified concept of religion. All nature is controlled by religious force.

Put all together saw without proper religion there is evil. He saw that there is attempt of religion to get rid of evil. Finally, there is a universal power that has a right to impose will because he imposes his will on everything. Yam suf gave Judaism credibility.

Umoshe Allah el hashem... On this, tehilim says you went to heaven and took a captive - the torah. "The creator of the world" had 2 t'fachim, Moshe had 3 t'fachim and other 2 were left. In D'varim - says from those 2 unclaimed t'fachim, came the karnei hod. Parts of the torah are the foundation of the world. That top 1/3rd are immutable. The other 1/3 are halacha l'moshe m'snai - not the foundations of the world, but our foundations nonetheless. The remaining 1/3rd os the uncommitted territory - e.g should you or not give organ donations - take the two sets of foundations and answer the questions based on those. This is how you get glory - how would God answer these questions.

Vayishma Yitro again - mashal to a king that asks his servant to watch a glass kli. Be carefull of that one. There was a calf at the entrance to the palace. The servant had 2 cups, the calf bumped into it and broke it. The king came by and asked why the servant was trembling (from fear). The king said - be more careful with the second one. One torah was na'ase - broken. Therefore, be more careful with the nishma one. God says he gave up on Jew that he will do things because god says so - the commitment to do. However, God will then back it up with nishma, but they couldn't wait. They had their understanding, and failed. Therefore, if you have to study, study it well.

Back to Moshe's son going to Avodah Zarah. Yitro didn't want a son for Avodah Zara. There are two ways to teach a child. 1) expose child to Avodah Zarah and prove that it is false.

2) Never teach the child Avodah Zarah in the first place. Yitro favored the first - da mah l'hashiv. Yitro said I see where we have to go to train our children in order to survive. One son he could train with N'ase. You need a son that will have the nishma.