TorahSweets- Special Meal

Guest post by JewishByte Contributor, Rabbi Yosef Tropper of CloseToTorah.com

Two questions. What does the beginning of the verse have to do with the end? There should be two separate verses, one describing Yisro’s offerings and the second about the meal they ate “before Hashem”?

ויקח יתרו חתן משה עולה וזבחים לאלקים ויבא אהרן וכל זקני ישראל לאכול לחם עם חתן משה לפני האלקים (יח:יב).
“Yisro offered sacrifices to Hashem; Aharon and the Elders came to eat with Yisro in front of Hashem ” (18:12).

Rashi states that this meal was considered sacred because “one who joins a meal which includes Talmidei Chachomim is considered to have beheld the Divine Presence (Berachos 64a). What does this mean and why is it taught specifically here?

The answer to all of these quandaries is one. The Maharal explains that only Jews are allowed to bring a Korban Shalomim offering. The gentiles can only bring an Olah. Why? The gentile sees spirituality and physicality in the world as two separate entities; they cannot fathom the ability to bring them together. Hence, when they come to the Temple to offer a sacrifice to God, they are only allowed to bring an Olah which is slaughtered and then totally given over to God, by its complete burning upon the altar. To them, the Shalomim is unfathomable. How could humans (the owner and Priest) eat part of a sacrifice, while only part is burned for God?!

The Torah does not command us to negate the human body, only to control it and to elevate the physical experience.

This is the foundation of Torah. So much of Judaism revolves around the actions of the body. Our Shabbos and Yom Tov is celebrated with wine, bread and an abundance of delicious food!

We take in the physical enjoyment and use it to sing heartfelt praises to Hashem. We enjoy this world as a means to elevate it and give thanks to its Creator! That is the foundation of the entire Torah.

The eating process is sacred and holy. This is why it is stressed in our Parsha specifically. We find the giving of the Torah described here. It is thus important to precede it with this message.

Indeed, the first (בראשית) and last (ישראל) letters of the Torah itself, together spell the word לב, heart. The heart represents human passions and desire. The Torah is found surrounded by these to letters in order to express that the goal of Torah is not to negate the physical world, rather it is to utilize it properly for the service of Hashem. (Why the letters appear backwards is beyond the scope of this essay.)

It is thus most appropriate that our Parsha which contains the awesome event of the giving of the Torah, is named after Yisro. He was a convert and thus brought with him an appreciation of the outside world. He was an example in using the physical world and channeling it to Hashem. Hence, it comes as no surprise that Rashi tells us that he also brought a Korban Shalomim!

Our verse ends by expressing that he ate a meal before Hashem. This is the exact theme of the Parsha, elevating the physical. The beginning and end of the verse is the same. Just as the Chachomim elevated their meals to serve Hashem, so too Yisro brought a Korban which stood for making holy the mundane.

May we all merit to enjoy life to its magnificent fullest!

Extra Short and Sweet -The Start of Knowledge

Yisro suggested that judges should be appointed in order to relieve the people and Moshe from waiting all day for judgement. Hashem agreed to the idea and commanded Moshe to establish it. What is strange is the order in which it was both suggested and implemented.

1- “The hard questions go to Moshe”,

2- “and the small things will be decided by the judges”.

Logic dictates that it should have been phrased in the opposite order? It should have first said that the minor judges should decide the cases which are fit for them and then go on to say that the hard things which are beyond their abilities should be brought to Moshe. Why is Moshe’s department mentioned first?

I believe that a most important lesson is being taught here. The judges must know that they don’t know everything! This is a vital introduction to Torah law. One who thinks he knows it all, will be a terrible judge and will decide incorrectly because of his ego preventing him from asking his superiors.

Hence, the introduction given to the new judges stressed the fact that the hard matters should be brought to Moshe. Only after recognizing their own limitations were they then ready to judge matters fit for them.

Rabbi Yosef Tropper is a Rebbi at the New Baltimore Yeshiva; Personal tutor and mentor; and a weekly contributor at Closetotorah.com. We are proud to bring his Divrei Torah and words of inspiration to the greater Baltimore Jewish Community as a guest on JewishByte.info.

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