Parsha Q&A - Yisro « Ohr Somayach

Parshas Yisro

For the week ending 18 Shvat 5758; 13 & 14 February 1998

Contents:

Parsha Questions

What's Bothering Rashi?

I Did Not Know That!

Parsha Questions

Answers | Contents

Yisro had 7 names. Why was one of his names Yeser?
News of which two events motivated Yisro to come join the Jewish people?
What name of Yisro indicates his love for Torah?
Why was Tzipora with her father, Yisro, and not with Moshe when the Bnei Yisrael left Egypt?
Why does verse 18:5 say that Yisro came to the desert - don't we already know that the Bnei Yisrael were in the desert?
Why did Moshe tell Yisro all that Hashem had done for the Jewish People?
According to the Midrash quoted by Rashi, how did Yisro respond when he was told about the destruction of Egypt?
Who is considered as if he enjoys the splendor of the Shechina?
On what day did Moshe sit to judge the Jewish People?
Who is considered a co-partner in Creation?
"Moshe sat to judge the people, and the people stood before Moshe…." What bothered Yisro about this arrangement?
Why did Yisro return to his own land?
How did the encampment at Sinai differ from the other encampments?
To whom does the Torah refer when it uses the term "Beis Yaakov"?
How is Hashem's protection of the Jewish People similar to an eagle's protection of its young?
What was Hashem's original plan for Matan Torah? What was the response of the Jewish People?
How many times greater is the "measure of reward" than the "measure of punishment"?
How is it derived that "don't steal" refers to kidnapping?
In response to hearing the Torah given at Sinai, how far backwards did the Jewish people retreat in fear?
Why does the use of iron tools profane the altar?

Rashi never just comments; something in the text always impels him to do so. Rashi’s comments are answers to unspoken questions and difficulties arising from a thoughtful reading of the Torah. Therefore, anyone who wants a true understanding of Rashi’s classic Torah commentary must always ask

"What’s Bothering Rashi?"

"And Yisro, priest of Midian, Moshe's father-in-law, heard all that (asher) G-d did for Moses and for Israel, His people, that (ki) G-d took Israel out of Egypt." (Exodus 18:1)

Rashi: "What report did he hear that motivated him to come? The splitting of the Red Sea and the war with Amalek."

Why does Rashi ask what Yisro heard, when the Torah states that he heard that "G-d took Israel out of Egypt?" Isn't this event, Hashem taking them out of Egypt, specific enough for Rashi?

What's bothering Rashi? Answer

I Did Not Know That!

"Zachor es Yom HaShabbos L'kadsho - Remember the Shabbos day to sanctify it."

This verse, which commands us to honor the 7th day, is the 7th verse of the Ten Commandments. It begins with "zayin", the 7th letter of the Hebrew alphabet. In the following verses, 7 entities are commanded to rest: "You, your son, your daughter, your manservant, your maidservant, your animal, and the sojourner within your city gates." Corresponding to these 7 are the 7 expressions of menucha - tranquillity - in the "atah echad" paragraph of the Shabbos afternoon prayer.

Answers to this Week's Questions

Questions | Contents

All references are to the verses and Rashi's commentary, unless otherwise stated

18:1 - Because he caused a Parsha to be added to the Torah. Yeser means addition.
18:1 - The splitting of the sea and the war against Amalek.
18:1 - Chovav.
18:3 - When Aharon met Moshe with his family on their way down to Egypt, Aharon said to Moshe: "We're pained over the Jews already in Egypt, and you're bringing more Jews to Egypt?" Moshe, hearing this, sent his wife and children back to Midian.
18:5 - To show Yisro's greatness. He was living in a luxurious place, yet he went to the desert in order to study the Torah.
18:8 - To draw Yisro closer to the Torah way of life.
18:9 - He grieved.
18:12 - One who dines with Torah scholars.
18:13 - The day after Yom Kippur.
18:13 - A judge who renders a correct decision.
18:14 - Yisro felt that the people weren't being treated with the proper respect.
18:27 - To convert the members of his family to Judaism.
19:2 - The Jewish People were united.
19:3 - The Jewish women.
19:4 - An eagle carries its young on top of its wings to protect them from human arrows. So too, Hashem's cloud of glory separated between the Egyptian and the Jewish camp in order to absorb Egyptian missiles and arrows fired at the Jewish People.
19:9 - Hashem offered to appear to Moshe and to give the Torah through him. The Jewish People responded that they wished to hear the Torah directly from Hashem.
20:6 - Five hundred times.
20:13 - Because it is written immediately after "Don't murder" and "Don't commit adultery," it is derived that "Don't steal" refers to a crime carrying the same penalty as the first two - namely, the death penalty.
20:15 - They backed away from the mountain twelve mil (one mil is 2000 cubits).
20:22 - The altar was created to extend life; iron is sometimes used to make weapons which shorten life.

Answer to "What’s Bothering Rashi?"

Question Contents

The verse presents two apparent problems:

First the verse mentions what was done for "Moshe and the Children of Israel" and then it says "that Hashem took Israel out of Egypt." Why is Moshe left out of the second phrase?
Furthermore, the verse uses two different words, "asher" and "ki," both of which can mean "that." Less often, they can both mean "when." If here both words mean "that," why did the verse not use one term consistently - why did the verse switch from "asher" to "ki"?

Rashi, sensitive to these subtle changes, therefore translates the word "ki" as "when." Now the verse reads, "Yisro heard all that G-d did when He took the Jews out of Egypt." With this reading of the text, the verse is not specific about any particular event. Therefore, Rashi says "Yes, Yisro heard everything G-d did, but what specific event actually motivated Yisro to come join the Jewish people."

Hashem didn't "take Moshe out of Egypt" because Moshe was never enslaved there. But G-d did many things for Moshe when Israel went out of Egypt. The splitting of the sea and the war with Amalek were things done for both Moshe and the Jewish People. (Part of Yisro's motivation may have been that Moshe was Yisro's son-in-law, explaining why no other leader came to join the Jewish People.)

(Based on Dr. Avigdor Bonchek's book "What's Bothering Rashi?" Feldheim Publishers)

Written and Compiled by Rabbi Eliyahu Kane & Rabbi Reuven Subar
General Editor: Rabbi Moshe Newman
Production Design: Lev Seltzer
HTML Design: Eli Ballon
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Parsha Q&A - Yisro

Parshas Yisro

Parsha Questions

"What’s Bothering Rashi?"

I Did Not Know That!

Recommended Reading List

Answers to this Week's Questions

Answer to "What’s Bothering Rashi?"