YitroArtscroll p.394 | Hertz p.288 | Soncino p.445HaftarahArtscroll p.1154 | Hertz p.302 | Soncino p.464

Volume 30No. 20

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In loving memory of Harav Yitzchak Yoel ben Shlomo Halevi

"They journeyed from Refidim, and arrived at the desert of Sinai, and they encamped in the desert, andIsrael encamped there, opposite the mountain" (Shemot 19:2).

3 February 2018 18 Shevat 5778

Shabbat ends London 5.43pmJerusalem 5.53pm

Sidrah Summary: Yitro

United Synagogue Daf Hashavua

Produced by US Living & Learning together with the Rabbinical Council of the United SynagogueEditor: Rabbi Chaim Gross Editor-in-Chief: Rabbi Baruch Davis Editorial Team: Ilana Epstein, Michael Laitner, Sharon RadleyAvailable also via email US website www.theus.org.uk ©United SynagogueTo sponsor Daf Hashavua please contact Loraine Young on 020 8343 5653, or lyoung@theus.org.uk

If you have any comments or questions regarding Daf Hashavua please email rabbigross@theus.org.uk

1st Aliya (Kohen) – Shemot 18:1-12Yitro, Moshe’s father-in-law and a Midianitepriest, hears about the miraculous Exodus fromEgypt. He comes to meet Moshe in the desert,together with his daughter (Moshe’s wife)Tziporah and Moshe’s two sons. Moshe greetsYitro and relates to him what has happened to theIsraelites. Yitro and Moshe bring offerings.

Question: Why did Moshe call his first sonGershom? (18:3)

2nd Aliya (Levi) – 18:13-23According to Rashi’s commentary, the narrativenow skips forward to an incident after the givingof the Torah. Moshe is busy making halachicrulings from morning to evening. Concernedabout this being too much for Moshe, Yitroadvises him to set up an alternative system ofjudging the people, involving the appointment ofa cascading system of judges. Only the majorissues would be brought directly to Moshe for hisjudgement.

3rd Aliya (Shlishi) – 18:24-27Moshe accepts Yitro’s advice and appointsjudges over sub-groups of 1000, 100, 50 and 10men. Yitro returns to Midian.

Point to Consider: Why did Yitro choose to returnto Midian? (see Rashi to 18:27)

4th Aliya (Revi’i) – 19:1-6The narrative switches back to Rosh ChodeshSivan, one and a half months after the Exodus,prior to the giving of the Torah. The people travelfrom Refidim and arrive in the Sinai Desert (seep.3 article). Moshe ascends Mount Sinai. Godtells Moshe to inform the people that if they listento His voice and keep His covenant, they willbecome “a kingdom of priests and a holy nation”.

5th Aliya (Chamishi) – 19:7-19:19The people agree to God’s offer. God tells Mosheto instruct the people to wash their clothing,refrain from marital relations (Rashi) and not to

encroach onto the mountain for the next threedays. Moshe relays this to the nation. God’sPresence descends on the mountain; there isthunder, lightning and shofar blasts; the mountainis covered in smoke.

6th Aliya (Shishi) – 19:20-20:14God ‘descends’ upon Mount Sinai and Mosheascends again. God once again tells Moshe towarn the people not to encroach onto themountain. After Moshe descends, God speaksthe Ten Commandments:

1. Faith in God’s existence 2. Prohibition of idol worship 3. Prohibition of swearing false oaths 4. Keeping Shabbat 5. Honouring one’s parents

Prohibition of: 6. Murder7. Committing adultery8. Stealing 9. Bearing false testimony 10. Coveting what others have

7th Aliya (Shevi’i) – 20:15-23Trembling from this awesome experience, thepeople retreat and ask Moshe to be God’sconduit, instead of God speaking to them directly,lest they die. Moshe reassures them. God tellsMoshe to warn the nation not to carve certainimages (see Rashi). The commandment is givento build a designated altar upon which offeringsto God should be brought.

HaftarahThe prophet Yeshaya sees a vision of theheavenly court, occupied by God and His angels.Whilst the angels assure Yeshaya that he ispersonally free of sin, God tells him to warn thepeople of their eventual exile, due to theirstubbornness and iniquities. The evil king Achazascends the throne; he will be shown Divinemercy in order to save his righteous son, thefuture king Chizkiyahu.

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3In memory of Chaya Rachel bat Moshe Ben-tzion

The Right Timeby Rabbi Baruch Davis, Chigwell & Hainault United Synagogue

From the moment that Godcreated the universe, Helooked forward to the daywhen Israel would come toMount Sinai to receive theTorah (see Rashi to Bereishit1:31). This is why the Torahdescribes Israel’s arrival at

Mount Sinai with such excitement: “In the thirdmonth of the children of Israel's departure fromEgypt, on this day they arrived in the desert ofSinai” (Shemot 19:1). The excitement was sogreat that this verse is actually out of sequence;only in the following verse do we learn about theirjourney to Mount Sinai (see commentary of OhrHaChaim, Rabbi Chaim ibn Attar d. 1743).

If this was such an important, momentousoccasion, what took so long? Why only in thethird month, seven weeks after the Exodus?

The Sages of the Talmud compare the giving ofthe Torah at Mount Sinai to a wedding; God wasthe groom and Israel the bride. At weddings, weoften hear how the couple met and it sometimesturns out that they had met earlier, but “it wasn’tthe right time”.

So why, in the weeks before the people’s arrival atMount Sinai, was it “not the right time”?

The Kli Yakar (Rabbi Shlomo Luntschitz d. 1619)gives the answer in one word: shalom (peace). In fact, in response to several questions on thefirst two verses of chapter 19, he says that theseverses are “proof that Israel was not worthy ofreceiving the Torah until there was peace betweenthem”.

The Kli Yakar notes that the sign of the zodiac forthe third month, Sivan, is Gemini, identical twinsholding hands, representing closeness and love,i.e. peace.

The stop before Mount Sinai was Refidim, a placefull of arguments and bickering, both with Godand with each other. This had caused the peopleto loosen their grip on Torah values. The Kli Yakartherefore understands the phrase “they journeyedfrom Refidim”, in verse 2, as informing us thattheir journey away from Refidim was not onlygeographical but also spiritual; they left thearguments and bickering behind and came toSinai, in readiness for accepting the Torah.

Finally, the Kli Yakar brings the well-knownMidrash that the people camped at the mountain‘as one person with one heart’ (see Rashi to ibid.19:2). The entire nation is referred to in thesingular form (“vayichan”), reflecting unity. He also says that the people understood that God had chosen Mount Sinai, a low, ‘humble’mountain, on which to give the Torah. The way topeace is through humility, not an inflated ego.

The Ohr HaChaim, who described the greatexcitement of the arrival of Israel at Sinai,identifies three pre-conditions for them to receivethe Torah. Two of these echo the thoughts of theKli Yakar, humility and unity. The third pre-condition is that it takes great strength anddetermination to learn and keep the Torah. Thejourney from Refidim to Sinai represents theresolve to leave behind their weaknesses.

It was “time” to receive the Torah!

4In memory of Yehuda ben Yaakov HaCohen

Bein Adam Lechaveiro Part 25: Honouring Parents(Kibud Av V’eim) VIby Rabbi Daniel Fine, Community Rabbi, Stanmore & Canons Park United Synagogue

Continuing our theme ofhonouring parents, in the lastarticle we began to study the Kaddish prayer, usuallyrecited by children (amongstother relatives) of the recentlydeceased.

The Aruch Hashulchan (Rabbi Yechiel MichelEpstein d. 1908) devotes several paragraphs to explaining the meaning of the Kaddish prayer. Here is a summary of what he says,concentrating mainly on the start of the prayer:

Kaddish is structured as a call-out and responsebetween the person saying Kaddish and thecongregation. The Kaddish-sayer prays for God'sName to be enhanced (through His Presencebeing felt more and the world's purpose beingrealised) and the congregation responds in kind:

Yitgadal ve'yitkadash Sh’meh rabbah – 'mayHis great Name be increased and sanctified’.These words are taken from verses in the book ofYechezkel (Ezekiel 38:23) which refer to theMessianic era.

Be'al’ma di v’ra chirutei – this is a continuationof the request. We are asking that this KiddushHashem (sanctification of His Name) occur “inthe world that He created according to His will”.In essence the world is perfect. Similarly, we tooare internally perfect – our souls are pristine. Anyproblem in the world (or within us) is effectivelycaused by subsequent errors of choice that we(or others) might have made. Yet since the worldis essentially perfect, it will one day return to thatstate, as things naturally return to their essence.This is what is meant by the world being “createdaccording to His will”.

Ve'yamlich malchutei – this is a slight additionto the previous request. We are asking that the Kiddush Hashem be substantial, that Hiskingship (His overt presence) be manifested.

Bechayechon uvyomechon uvechayei decholbeit yisrael – this is a plea that the request befulfilled ‘in our days’ and ‘in the days of theJewish People’ as a whole.

Ba-agala uvizman kariv – we now ask that therequest be fulfilled “speedily and in our days”.Sometimes we ask or pray for events to occur,but we may not want to experience themourselves. Asking for a Kiddush Hashem to occur‘in our days’ means that we are truly invested inthe idea – we want to experience it ourselves.

Veimru amen – the mourner calls upon thecongregation to respond in kind by saying‘amen’.

The congregation now responds with ‘amen,yeheh sh’meh rabbah mevarach le-alam ulal’mei al’maya’. This has the same meaning asthe opening yitgadal request of the Kaddish-sayer, just this time it is in pure Aramaic (theyitgadal ve'yitkadash opening two words are inHebrew). The congregation add that His greatName be blessed forever. They add this word toemphasise that the Kiddush Hashem not berescinded, unlike the glory of the first and secondTemple periods, which came to an end.

The Kaddish-sayer then underlines this requestby adding a further eight words asking for God’sName to be blessed and increased. Togetherwith the opening two words of Kaddish (Yitgadalve'yitkadash) this makes a sum total of ten,corresponding to the Ten Commandments.

5In memory of Yisrael Shmuel ben Yirmaya Yehoshuah

Rabbinic Innovators of the Medieval Period Part 6: A New Code by Rabbi Meir Shindler, Richmond United Synagogue

During the latter half of the 13th century, an astounding number of exceptional scholars and leaders emerged, who produced a wealth of literature: Talmudiccommentaries, Torah

commentaries, responsa (written halachicrulings) and books on Jewish philosophy. Theoutstanding leader of Spanish Jewry wasRabbeinu Moshe ben Nachman, known as theRamban (or Nachmanides 1194-1270). Hegreatly influenced the leaders of the followinggenerations due to his revered stature andcomprehensive writings.

After the Ramban’s death, the acknowledgedleader of Sephardi Jewry became Rabbi Shlomoben Avraham Aderet, referred to as the Rashba(1235-1310), who wrote over 10,000 responsato Jewish communities all over the world. At asimilar time, the leading authority of AshkenaziJewry was Rabbeinu Asher ben Yechiel,(referred to as the Rosh c. 1250-1327).

Ashkenazi Jews during that time faced physicalthreats, which caused the Rosh to flee to Spainin 1303. He was received in Barcelona by theRashba, with whom he had already had muchcorrespondence. The Rosh settled in Toledo,where he became the Rabbi. This turn of eventsmeant that the Rosh served as a bridgebetween the Sephardi and Franco-Germanschools of Torah study.

Among his numerous literary works, his magnusopus was most definitely Hilchot Rabbeinu Asher,a halachic code based on that of the Rif (whomwe discussed in Part 2), but providing moreelaborate explanations and drawing heavily fromother opinions such as those of Rashi, theRambam, the Tosafists, the Ramban and manyothers. The work of the Rosh ‘bridged’ that of allof these scholars to a new phase, marking afundamental milestone in the halachic processby providing the backbone for what was later tobecome a new structure and method inestablishing a universal halachic code.

One of the sons of the Rosh was known asRabbeinu Yaakov Ba’al HaTurim. He was bornin Germany in 1270 and fled with his father toSpain. He completed several works, but by farthe most monumental was the Arba’ah Turim,which organised halacha in a novel way. Arba’ahTurim means ‘four rows’, named after the fourrows of precious stones on the breastplate ofthe Kohen Gadol (High Priest). It categorises allhalachic material relevant to Jewish life in thepost-Temple era into four major sections, eachwith its own name. Their main contents aresummarised below:

(1) Orach Chaim: Daily routine, including prayer,blessings, Shabbat and festivals.

(2) Yoreh Deah: Including dietary laws, familypurity, charity, circumcision, mourning andagricultural laws.

(3) Even HaEzer: Relationships, marriage anddivorce.

(4) Choshen Mishpat: Civil and criminal laws including loans, damages, theft,partnerships, ownership and inheritance.

In order to ensure that this code would notsuffer from the two main issues that manyscholars saw in the Code of the Rambam (whodid not identify the sources of his halachicrulings and rarely quoted dissenting opinions),Rabbeinu Yaakov instead brought a broad rangeof opinions (both Sephardi and Ashkenazi) in hisdiscussions of each law. In addition, he quotedeach source by name. This masterpiece,consisting of a total of 1714 chapters, soonbecame universally recognised as a milestonein halachic transmissionand became the prototypefor a new format used tocreate the Shulchan Aruch,which we will discuss nextweek, in the final article ofthis series.

First page of the third bookof the Arba’ah Turim, written

in Mantua in 1435. Housedat the Vatican Library.

6In memory of Yaacov ben Shmuel

Insights into Jewish History Part 94: The Phariseesby Rebbetzen Ilana Epstein, Cockfosters & N Southgate United Synagogue; Head of Project Development, US Living & Learning

The sectarian rivalrybetween the Sadducees,Essenes and Phariseesplayed a central role in the background to thedestruction of the secondTemple. In fact, there is awell-known view that it

was internal fighting that ultimately led to thedestruction and the nation’s exile.

Who were these sects? The Sadducees were theheirs to the Hellenists. They believed only in theWritten Torah and were from the upper echelonsof Judean society. They included many Kohanimin their ranks. The Essenes, who we will discussin next week’s article, were perhaps an off-shootof the Sadducees.

The Pharisees were the precursors of theTalmudic Sages and the Judaism we practisetoday. The word Pharisees is a translation of theHebrew word Perushim, meaning ‘separate’ or‘apart’. As part of their identity they adheredstrictly to the laws regarding ritual purity (tahara).They endeavoured to remain ritually pure at alltimes, while the common people would just purifythemselves three times a year, when making thepilgrimage to the Temple for the three festivals(Pesach, Shavuot and Succot). The Phariseesstrictly adhered to the Oral Torah, not just theWritten Torah.

John Hyrcanus (known in Rabbinic literature asYochanan Kohen Gadol) switched allegiance fromthe Pharisees to the Sadducees towards the endof his life and decided to disband the Sanhedrin(Rabbinic high court). By the time Yochanan’s sonAristobulus came to the throne in 104 BCE, thecontrol and power balance had shifted into thehands of the Sadducees.

Aristobulus was hostile towards the Sages. Hewas the first Hasmonean to change the form ofgovernment from a constitutional semi-monarchyto a full monarchy, with himself as king. Josephus

(the Roman Jewish first-century historian) writesthat Aristobulus was tricked into having hisbrother Antignus murdered. Within a year oftaking the throne, suffering from mental healthissues, Aristobulus died.

The next in line to the throne was his wife,Shlomtzion HaMalka, or Queen Salome. She wasthe sister of the great Pharisee Sage Shimon ben Shatach. Alexander Yannai, the brother of Aristobulus, then married the childlessShlomtzion, thus fulfilling the mitzvah of leviratemarriage (yibum). Shlomtzion’s political acumenand relationship to Shimon ben Shatach meantthat the Pharisees found themselves once more incontrol; the persecution against them was haltedfor a time. The Talmud (Berachot 48a) relates thefollowing story:

King (Alexander) Yannai and the Queen sat at abanquet. Since Yannai had killed the Sages, therewas no one to lead Birkat Hamazon. Yannaiturned to his wife and said: “who can get us aman to recite the blessing?” She answered:“swear to me, that if I bring you such a man, youwill not cause him anguish”. Yannai agreed andswore. The Queen then brought her brother(Shimon ben Shatach). He sat down between theKing and the Queen. The King said to him: “doyou see what honour I show you?” He bravelyresponded: “It is not you who honours me; it isthe Torah that honours me”.

Answer: It refers to Moshe "being a sojourner ina strange land"

Image published in 1553 by Guillaume Rouille