Torah Teasers
Parshas Yisro
1. Yisro heard all the stories of Yetzias Mitzrayim, but only after hearing them from Moshe does the Torah attest that he realizes the greatness of Hashem. Why? “Ki BaDavar Ashe Zadu Aleihem.” Unkeles says that this means that Hashem paid back Mida K’Neged Mida because he drowned the Mitzrim just like they drowned the Jewish children. The Mitzrim committed many evils starting with enslavement. Why was the drowning the sin that they were held accountable for and punished with? Ans… The Ramban says that the word Zadu means, “sinister intentions”. He explains that Hashem decreed that Bnei Yisrael would be enslaved. With regard to the slavery, the Mitzrim were not going against Hashem’s will. The reason why they were punished was because their intentions were evil. This was evidenced by the fact that they did far more than what was required. In their evil, they wanted not to enslave the Jews, but rather to annihilate them. To this end, they plotted to throw the baby boys in the river. Since their punishment was for the evil that was not part of the Gezeira, their end came through drowning which was the main crime they were guilty of. That Hashem understood the wickedness deep in their hearts and punished them accordingly, was what impressed Yisro.”
2. “V’Chol Ha’Am Ro’im Es HaKolos; The whole nation saw the sounds.” (Yisro 20:15) Rashi brings the Mechilta that says they saw things that are normally only heard. What does this mean? Ans…The Maharsham explains with the Drashos HaRan who says that the reason why our animal instincts win out over our intellectual character is because the tool of our instincts are the eyes who see and desire. The intellect is driven by the spoken words of truth and internalizing them, which is a far more difficult process. By Matan Torah, says the Maharsham, Bnei Yisrael reached such a high level of Kedusha that all senses were focused solely on Kedusha and nothing else. Their eyes were only able to see and process kedusha. At that time, they were able to develop character both by seeing and hearing. This is what it means that they were able to see the spoken word.
3. When Moshe went up to Shamayim to take the Torah, the Malachim told Hashem that humans cannot have the Torah. Hashem told Moshe to answer them back. Moshe was afraid, so Hashem told him to hold on to the Kisei HaKavod. Moshe then asked them if they went to Mitzrayim, a major theme of many mitzvos. Before Moshe asked his questions, what were the Malachim thinking? Did they not know already that Torah is all about being human and not meant for Malachim who don’t have any physicality? Ans…The Chasam Sofer answers that the Torah as it is before Hashem, is a collection of unconnected letters. Each world combines the letters in a manner that is relevant to that world. The Malachim cherished the Torah in their own way and did not want to see it on earth with sinful people. They wanted the Torah to be kept in a Heavenly realm, and not sullied by man who can never reach the Heavens. Hashem told Moshe to answer them but first hold on to the Kisei HaKavod. What this represented was that while man can learn the Torah in an earthly manner that the Malachim cannot, still, man can reach great heights and learn the Torah in a Heavenly manner. Man can grasp Torah as it is interpreted in Shamayim near the Kisei HaKavod. Man can learn Torah way down below on earth and still ascend all the way to the top. To this, the Malachim had no answer and Moshe took the Torah.
4. The parsha starts, “Vayishma Yisro.” Yisro came to the midbar because he heard about all the miracles that Hashem performed for Klal Yisrael…their exodus from Mitzrayim, Krias Yam Suf, and Milchemes Amaleik. Yet, we find after Moshe greets him, it says, “Vayisaper Moshe L’Chosno Es Kol Asher Asah Hashem.” Why did Moshe need to tell him again? Ans…Rav Elyashiv says that there are two ways to hear something. One way is through the headlines which dramatize the most outwardly exciting aspect. These events make news around the world, and Yisro heard this version. But Moshe explained to him the deeper meaning and the lessons learned from these event. That surely was not published in the local press of that day. “Similarly,” says Rav Elyashiv, “this is why it calls Yisro by two titles: Kohen Midyan and Chosein Moshe. This corresponds to the two things he heard. With regard to Krias Yam Suf, even the Kohen Midyan can see the hand of Hashem in this open miracle. However, with regard to the war with Amalek, a simple view would interpret it as natural victory. Only Chosein Moshe, the father-in-law of Moshe can grasp the magnitude of this event and attribute the victory to the hand of Hashem.”
5. Moshe called his first son Gershom because he was Ger in a foreign land. His next son, Eliezer, was called that as a thank you to Hashem for saving him from Paroh. Rav Moshe Feinstein asks two questions. “First, shouldn’t the salvation and the name Eliezer be used first? Second, why was Moshe thanking Hashem that he was a Ger in a foreign land?” Ans… Rav Moshe answers that when Moshe came to Midyan, his vast talents and capabilities were immediately recognized by the local population. They wanted him to lead them. Moshe, however, preferred the private life, and the ability to concentrate on his Avodas Hashem and raise his children apart from the culture of the Midyanim, so he declined. The fact that he was able to remain a Ger in Midyan was Moshe’s main point of thanks to Hashem, and, therefore, his first son became Gershom. Once he set a life path of Avodas Hashem even in Midyan, he then thanked Hashem for saving him from death in Mitzrayim, because now he had a life worth living.

The Bostoner Rebbe was famous for helping Baalei Tshuva stay grounded even as they soared to spiritual heights. It is told that once a Baal Tshuva told the Rebbe that he doesn’t eat steak unless he has bread so he can wash. He explained that a good juicy steak deserves more than a mere Shehakol before and Borei Nefashos afterward. He wanted to make sure that after eating steak, he can amply thank Hashem with a full Birchas HaMazon.
Expecting the Bostoner Rebbe to be pleased with his logic and tzidkus, he was taken aback by the Rebbes negative response to this practice. The Rebbe explained that when instituting brachos, Chazal knew good and well the meaning of a nice piece of meat. Despite this, they instituted the bracha of Shehakol and a Borei Nefashos. One must trust Chazal and not veer from their words based on one’s own personal feelings and findings.
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Rav Chatzkel Levenstein said that he heard from the Mirrer Mashgiach, Reb Yeruchom Levovitz how Rav Hirsch Broide, the son in law of the Alter of Kelm, would take a great deal of care in manicuring his nails perfectly with beautiful round edges every Erev Shabbos. Reb Yeruchom asked him the meaning of this seemingly uncharacteristic behavior for a man who didn’t even really belong to this world.
Rav Hirsch explained that when he uses someone else’s sefer, he wants to ensure that if he inadvertently scratches it with his nail he will not leave a mark. This was the great degree of care that this tzaddik was sensitive to, not to ever so slightly damage something belonging to others.
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One Purim after the Seudah, Rav Tzaddok HaKohen told the following story, with his face aflame from the Kedusha of the day. He related that one day he was walking with his Rebbe, Rav Mordechai Yosef of Izhbetza, and suddenly he stopped and told him the following story.

One Shabbos, I was in Peshischa. Right before Havdala, as Rav Simcha Bunim picked up the Kos, he said the following: I am peering into the future of Klal Yisroel, in the days preceding the coming of Moshiach. It will be a time when Yehudim will accustom themselves to extravagant luxuries and unnecessary expenses. Their normal income will not suffice them. They will be forced to find side jobs and additional sources of income. They will run day and night to earn what they need to support this lifestyle. They will invest their entire lives in a sea of toil and sweat. My hair stands on edge and my nails cut into my flesh as I imagine to myself what will be the fate of the Yehudim at that time. (Zichronam L’Vracha from “HaKohen”) One part has already come true, now we await the other – Bimheira Biyameinu Amein!
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When Rav Shraga Feivel Mendelovitz embarked on a fundraising mission to finance his Yeshiva, his first stop was in Scranton, to a wealthy former talmid who had left practicing Judaism behind. Rav Shraga Feivel hoped that he would lavish some of his incredible wealth on the Yeshiva where he spent his childhood.
The wealthy Talmid greeted his old Rebbi graciously. He was expecting a warm bracha despite his wayward path. After all, Rav Shraga Feivel came to get money from him. To his shock, Rav Shraga Feivel took one look at him and said, “Woe is unto me. I am destined to burn in Gehinom for raising a Talmid that turned out like you!”
The wealthy former talmid was taken aback and deeply moved by his rebbi’s sincerity and honesty. Even for money, he would not show false favor. The Talmid then gave a generous donation to the Yeshiva. (Shlucha D’Rachmana)

We wonder … whether this kind of cooperative spirit would be extended to some other countries that are not as close to some of the major powers in the world.” UN Human Rights Council President Remigiusz Henczel, on Israel’s boycott of the council’s mandatory review of Israel’s yearly human rights record.

“Whatever the intention, the danger of such images is that they reinforce a great slander of our time: that Jews, victims of the Holocaust, are now perpetrators of a similar crime against the Palestinians.” British Chief Rabbi Lord Sacks, condemning a cartoon published in London’s The Sunday Times showing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu building a wall cemented with Palestinian blood.

“She told the parents in the room how she had been in Eichler’s, shopping for a Chanukah party, when she saw the book, brought it home and read it to her children. At the very same Chanukah party, a great uncle started fondling her six year old daughter. Having read the book, the girl looked at the great uncle calmly and told him he was making her uncomfortable and then ran to get her mother–exactly what the book’s suggests.” Rabbi Yakov Horowitz, founder and director of Project YES, on how a 32 page hardcover picture book entitled “Let’s Stay Safe” geared toward young children that discusses general safety topics as well as stranger danger and child safety/abuse prevention (ArtScroll) saved a reader’s child from abuse.
“This episode boils down to a warning by Israel to Syria and Hezbollah not to engage in the transfer of sensitive weapons” A regional security source describing why Israeli jets bombed a convoy on Syria’s border with Lebanon on Wednesday, apparently targeting weapons destined for Hezbollah.
“I agree with the president that the United States should take no options off the table in our efforts to prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon” nominated Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel, in written answers to policy questions posed by the Senate Armed Services Committee.
≈ Great Sayings By Great People ≈
“When bending over to get into a taxi, Reb Aharon of Belz quipped that you can learn from here that in order to get anywhere in life, a person first must lower himself completely.” – Rav Moshe Aharon Stern, the Mashgiach of Kaminetz
“Selflessness is considering another person’s needs. Selfishness is using other peoples’ needs as a way to satisfy your personal desires, whatever they may be.” – The Chason Ish
“Hashem says to Bnei Yisroel, you caused Me to destroy My house and to exile My children.
Ask how they are faring and I will forgive you. – Derech Eretz Zuta
Do you know why Jews fight about everything? Because every moment in life and every aspect of life, matters. — R’ Eliyashiv, shlita

Know Your Gedolim…

Talk the Talk — Walk the Walk
Talk the Talk….Walk the Walk

A plane leaves Los Angeles airport under the control of a Jewish captain. His copilot is Chinese. It’s the first time they’ve flown together and an awkward silence between the two seems to indicate a mutual dislike. Once they reach cruising altitude, the Jewish captain activates the auto-pilot, leans back in his seat, and mutters, “I don’t like Chinese.” “No rike Chinese?” asks the copilot, “why not?”
“You people bombed Pearl Harbor, that’s why!” “No, no,” the copilot protests, “Chinese not bomb Peahl Hahbah! That Japanese, not Chinese.” “Japanese, Chinese, Vietnamese… doesn’t matter, you’re all alike!” There’s a few minutes of silence. “No rike Jews!” the copilot suddenly announces. “Why not?” asks the captain. “Jews sink Titanic.” “Jews didn’t sink the Titanic!” exclaims the captain, “It was an iceberg!”
“Iceberg, Goldberg, Greenberg, no mattah… all same!”
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An elderly man in Miami calls his son in New York and says, “I hate to ruin your day, but I have to tell you that your mother and I are divorcing. Forty-five years of misery is enough.”
“Tatte, what are you talking about?” the son screams. “We can’t stand the sight of each other any longer,” the old man says. “We’re sick of each other, and I’m sick of talking about this, so you call your sister in Chicago and tell her,” and he hangs up. Frantic, the son calls his sister, who explodes on the phone, “No way they’re getting divorced,” she shouts, “I’ll take care of this.” She calls her father immediately and screams, “You are NOT getting divorced! Don’t do a single thing until I get there. I’m calling my brother back and we’ll both be there tomorrow. Until then, don’t do a thing, DO YOU HEAR ME?” and hangs up.
The old man hangs up his phone and turns to his wife. “Okay,” he says, “They’re coming for Pesach and paying their own airfares.”

≈ The Geula — What to Expect ≈
Why does everyone get so excited about miracles? Because when we see a miracle, we see Hashem.
We live our lives in the dark. We’re told to believe, but it’s all blind faith. Hashem is hidden from us but we’re expected to demonstrate (or pretend) that we see Him with every move we make.
So life can be hard. We ask, What are we here for? Is there really a G-d? Have I been duped? It’s like working and working and working at a job and never getting paid. We can exist on “I will get paid someday,” but it wears thin after a while. We wonder if there’s really someone behind the door of the boss’s big corner office.
And then it happens. We see Him. We get so excited because seeing G-d is the ultimate for us. Seeing the manifestation of His infinity (the Ohr Ein Sof) gives us a shot of adrenaline. There is something to all this! Our souls soar. We are overwhelmed in this greatness. Everything drops away and there’s just our soul standing with the infinite greatness of G-d.
Now revealed miracles of this magnitude don’t happen every day. In fact, a revelation on the level of Ohr Ein Sof happened just two times in our entire history. Once at Kreyas Yam Suf, and then at the Kabolas HaTorah. And look how these revelations have affected us. It’s over 3300 years later and we’re still talking about it! We cling to this experience with everything we’ve got. It’s food for a starving body and soul. It’s payday for the working man. But 3,300 years is a long time to wait. So what do we do in the meantime?
We try to experience the Ohr Ein Sof in other things, like seeing the miracles in the stories of Purim and Chanukah. There’s just one catch. We have to work at it. Then there are miracles we call “chance” and “coincidence.” You miss a bus and the course of your life is forever changed; you call a wrong number and find a long lost friend – miracles so seamless that even the person they happen to doesn’t fully comprehend what really occurred.
And then there’s the constancy of nature. Isn’t it unbelievable that since the creation of the world, a day is exactly 24 hours and a solar year is always 365.2… days?
But is witnessing that kind of miracle like seeing Kreyas Yam Suf? No. It requires applying our intellect and meditating on it. It doesn’t overwhelm you. It doesn’t fill you. You think about it and then it’s gone.
In the Future Redemption we will experience Ohr Ein Sof all the time. We will see it, feel it, taste it, breathe it. It won’t matter if the Ohr Ein Sof splits the sea, spins the earth on its axis, makes a parking space for you on a busy street, or has you open a book to a page that just happens to address and give advice for an urgent issue in your life, we will see Ohr Ein Sof everywhere. We won’t have to meditate on it, we won’t have to believe it, we won’t have to convince ourselves. The veil will be lifted and we will be vessels to receive it.
Remember when we saw Ohr Ein Sof at Mount Sinai and our souls left our bodies because it was too much for us? Well, it won’t happen this time. Not only will we see it, but we will withstand it, understand it, and become one with it.
G-d’s miraculous infinity is here, was here, and has always been here. We’ve just had blinders on. There’s one way to see it now. How, you ask? We just have to open our eyes. Im Kol Zeh Achakeh Lo B’Chol Yom SheYavo!
Halacha Trivia ­ Naming a Child a Peculiar Name
Rav Shlomo Zalman Auerbach was asked about naming a girl after a man but using the feminine form. Rav Shlomo Zalman replied “Ein Ta’am V’Ein Rei’ach”, it is not very tasteful. He was against making up names of any sort, and felt people should name after their ancestors rather than originate.
When pressed about a particular name, Rav Shlomo Zalman looked for it in a sefer of names but didn’t find it. The petitioner told him that the name is mentioned in Sefer Ezra. To this Rav Shlomo Zalman responded, “So what if it is written in Tanach. Misushelach is also written in the Tanach. Does that mean you will name your son Misushelach?”
At the end Rav Shlomo Zalman said, whatever name you give him, he should be zocheh, to Arichas Yamin V’Shanim! (Aleihu Lo Yibol YD 161)
This Week in History….
20 Shvat: In 1523, the first printed edition of Tzror HaMor, a chumash commentary by Rav Avrohom Sebag, was published in Venice. He had been expelled from Spain in 1492.
21 Shvat: In 1948, a car bomb exploded in front of the Palestine Post (later the Jerusalem Post) on Havatzelet Street in Jerusalem.
22 Shvat: Yahrtzeit of Rav Menachem Mendel of Kotzk, Poland (1787-1859), the great chassidic leader known as the Kotzker Rebbe.
24 Shvat: In 354 BCE, the Navi Zechariah predicted the rebuilding of Tzion, as recorded in sefer Zechariah (1:7).
25 Shvat: Yahrtzeit of Rav Yisroel Salanter (1810-1883), founder of the Mussar movement of spiritual growth.

This week’s Torah is B’Zchus: All those with father-in-laws like Moshe Rabeinu, who felt he was working too hard.

Distributed by the Chevre Marbitz Torah D’NMB

Created By Rov Allen Sherman
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