A Thought On Parshas Yisro
A Thought on Parshas Yisro
"...Va'yichad Yisro..."
"...and Yisro had a reaction..." (18:9)
When Moshe Rabbeinu advised his father in law Yisro of the struggles and the triumphs of the young Jewish nation, the Torah writes that Yisro reacted. The actual meaning of the word "va'yichad" is ambiguous, which is why I took the easy way out and kept it generic. Yisro had some type of reaction to the news, yet the Torah has selected a word which might take on different (and opposing) meanings.
Many of us are familiar with the selections offered by Rashi, in the name of Chazal. The word's root might be chedva - glee; it might also be chad - sharp or pointed. This is why Rashi brings two views. On the one hand, Yisro was happy to hear the news of Jewish survival. Va'yichad Yisro means that he was overjoyed to learn of their miraculous escape. In turn, Yisro was a convert, and one who formerly had taken a strong supportive role in the deeds of the heathen world, of which Egypt was a member. Some of those Egyptians had once been known to him, so upon learning of their defeat and demise, Yisro had a strong reaction to this form of "bad news." His earlier history was still a part of him, and he could hardly have felt glee for the destruction of his erstwhile colleagues. Thus, Rashi offers two views of the word, each of which addresses the verse from a different angle. According to Rashi, if the word is referring to his reaction to Jewish events, he was happy. If it refers to his response to Egyptian events, he was troubled. Rashi's first interpretation is, he says, pshat - the overt message of the verse. He adds that his second interpretation is midrash aggada - a more homiletic perspective of a less obvious or sub-textual nuance.
The Bechor Shor, however, employs the word's ambiguity in what seems like a more deft usage of it's pshat in covering two aspects of the verse's overt context. How does he find a simple meaning at the level of pshat of the two conflicting facets of the word va'yichad?
The Bechor Shor offers that Moshe had just described the suffering and bondage of the Jews in Egypt, as well as their miraculous salvation (verse 8). This news had two features: the Jewish people had been enslaved; they were later saved. Yisro was reacting to both features simultaneously. He was overjoyed to hear that everything had worked out, yet he was deeply troubled to learn of the cruelty of the Egyptians who had singled out this small nation for years of torture and oppression.
Sometimes, when we hear about how horrible things come to a safe close, we do not know whether to cheer or to cry. We can shift rapidly between feelings of relief that the problem has ended, and feelings of anguish in knowing how bad the problem was. I remember how my great rebbe Rav Simcha Wasserman zt'l used to anticipate our probable reaction when golus comes to a close: we will beam with joy and relief yet we will puzzle and struggle with why we had to endure so much for so long. Dovid HaMelech writes in Tehillim (126:5) that we will plant with tears and sow with joy. This was the reaction of Yisro: he was elated with the good tidings yet disturbed with the woe and agony that we had endured.
Wishing you a contemplative Shabbos. D Fox
"...Va'yichad Yisro..."
"...and Yisro had a reaction..." (18:9)
When Moshe Rabbeinu advised his father in law Yisro of the struggles and the triumphs of the young Jewish nation, the Torah writes that Yisro reacted. The actual meaning of the word "va'yichad" is ambiguous, which is why I took the easy way out and kept it generic. Yisro had some type of reaction to the news, yet the Torah has selected a word which might take on different (and opposing) meanings.
Many of us are familiar with the selections offered by Rashi, in the name of Chazal. The word's root might be chedva - glee; it might also be chad - sharp or pointed. This is why Rashi brings two views. On the one hand, Yisro was happy to hear the news of Jewish survival. Va'yichad Yisro means that he was overjoyed to learn of their miraculous escape. In turn, Yisro was a convert, and one who formerly had taken a strong supportive role in the deeds of the heathen world, of which Egypt was a member. Some of those Egyptians had once been known to him, so upon learning of their defeat and demise, Yisro had a strong reaction to this form of "bad news." His earlier history was still a part of him, and he could hardly have felt glee for the destruction of his erstwhile colleagues. Thus, Rashi offers two views of the word, each of which addresses the verse from a different angle. According to Rashi, if the word is referring to his reaction to Jewish events, he was happy. If it refers to his response to Egyptian events, he was troubled. Rashi's first interpretation is, he says, pshat - the overt message of the verse. He adds that his second interpretation is midrash aggada - a more homiletic perspective of a less obvious or sub-textual nuance.
The Bechor Shor, however, employs the word's ambiguity in what seems like a more deft usage of it's pshat in covering two aspects of the verse's overt context. How does he find a simple meaning at the level of pshat of the two conflicting facets of the word va'yichad?
The Bechor Shor offers that Moshe had just described the suffering and bondage of the Jews in Egypt, as well as their miraculous salvation (verse 8). This news had two features: the Jewish people had been enslaved; they were later saved. Yisro was reacting to both features simultaneously. He was overjoyed to hear that everything had worked out, yet he was deeply troubled to learn of the cruelty of the Egyptians who had singled out this small nation for years of torture and oppression.
Sometimes, when we hear about how horrible things come to a safe close, we do not know whether to cheer or to cry. We can shift rapidly between feelings of relief that the problem has ended, and feelings of anguish in knowing how bad the problem was. I remember how my great rebbe Rav Simcha Wasserman zt'l used to anticipate our probable reaction when golus comes to a close: we will beam with joy and relief yet we will puzzle and struggle with why we had to endure so much for so long. Dovid HaMelech writes in Tehillim (126:5) that we will plant with tears and sow with joy. This was the reaction of Yisro: he was elated with the good tidings yet disturbed with the woe and agony that we had endured.
Wishing you a contemplative Shabbos. D Fox
posted by Rabbi Dr. Fox at 8:21 PM
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