Aish Kodesh on Parshat Yitro

וַיִּשְׁמַע יִתְרוֹ כֹהֵן מִדְיָן חֹתֵן מֹשֶׁה אֵת כָּל אֲשֶׁר עָשָׂה אֱלֹקִים לְמֹשֶׁה וּלְיִשְׂרָאֵל עַמּוֹ כִּי הוֹצִיא יְקֹוָק אֶת יִשְׂרָאֵל מִמִּצְרָיִם: (שמות יח:א)

Yitro, the minister of Midian, the father-in-law of Moshe, heard everything that G-d did to Moshe and to Yisrael, His people—that Hashem had taken Yisrael out of Egypt. (Shemot 18:1)

The Torah tells us that it was after Keri’at Yam Suf, when Bnei Yisrael had officially begun their journey to Eretz Yisrael, that Yitro all of a sudden came to join the nation, bringing Moshe’s wife and children with him . The pasuk which relates Yitro’s arrival is tells us that he heard of what Hashem did and afterwards he came. One of the famous questions amongst the mefarshim is what exactly was it that Yitro heard which enticed him to come join Moshe and become an oveid Hashem? Rashi explains that Yitro heard about Keri’at Yam Suf and Milchemet Amalek. HaRav Elimelech of Grodzhinsk asks, why does Rashi even have the question of what was it that Yitro heard that brought him to Bnei Yisrael? The pasuk itself says “that Hashem had taken Yisrael out of Egypt.” Also, if this is the case, why does Rashi answer Keri’at Yam Suf and Milchemet Amalek when the pasuk gives us the answer that Yitro heard of Hashem taking Bnei Yisrael out of Mitzraim?

The Torah says “שמע ישראל ה' אלקינו ה' אחד. ואהבת את ה' אלקיך בכל לבבך ובכל נפשך ובכל מאדך. ”(Devarim 6:5) Rashi explains that when it says to “love Hashem with all your heart,” it means to say that your heart should not be divided with Hashem (מקום= Omnipresent) – “שלא יהא לבך חלוק על המקום”. The Beit Aharon understands this to mean that one should not say “in this place (מקום) it is possible for me to serve Hashem and in this place it is not possible.” Rather it is incumbent upon a person to keep the Torah and serve Hashem in whatever place or predicament in which he may find himself. Bnei Yisrael received the Torah in the Midbar; the Piaseczner Rebbe, HaRav HaKadosh Reb Klonimus Kalman Shapira הי“ד, writes that had the Torah been given in Eretz Yisrael, Bnei Yisrael would have thought that it was only while they were in their native land, their home, the place where they belonged, that they could uphold the Torah. However, while in galut where they are missing the atmosphere of the comfort of home and are distracted by the world surrounding them, they would not be able to properly serve Hashem. Therefore, HaKadosh Baruch Hu gave Bnei Yisrael the Torah in the Midbar, while they were travelling and unsettled, in order to show that they must uphold it wherever they are, be it settled at home or struggling on the road. 

We can now refine our understanding of what Rashi’s question was in order to understand its purpose and how it is answered. Rashi asked on Yitro, “מה שמועה שמע ובא”, what was it that Yitro heard to make him come? The emphasis it seems, is on why he had the desire to pick up from his home and join Bnei Yisrael where they were. Had he so desired, Yitro could have simply sent a request to Moshe to send some person from amongst Bnei Yisrael to Midian to teach Yitro the Torah and to help him convert, just as Yitro later did himself for his own family. 


This is the logic behind Rashi’s answer of Keri’at Yam Suf and Milchemet Amalek. Amalek wanted to “cool down” Bnei Yisrael, even though it would negate all logic to have gone up against them right after Keri’at Yam Suf when they were on the level that “even a maidservant saw that which even Yechezkel and Yeshaya didn’t see.” (Mechilta Beshalach 3) But Amalek thought that since Bnei Yisrael were “on the road” at the time and not yet in Eretz Yisrael, they could overcome them chas v’chalilah, even though the nation was on such a high spiritual level. This this is the meaning of the pasuk by Amalek “אשר קרך בדרך... ”, that they happened upon Bnei Yisrael on the way, for they were depending on this for victory. But it was Bnei Yisrael who were victorious! It didn’t matter that they were in the midst of journeying, for they still kept the Torah and retained their holiness even while they remained in such a state outside the borders of Eretz Yisrael.

With this in mind, Yitro realized that it was not sufficient to simply receive the Torah while relaxing at home; rather he had to go into the Midbar and also receive it there while on the road, ba’derech, by which means he could be proper Jew at home as well. Meaning that when Yitro heard of Amalek’s absurd assumption and attempt to attack Bnei Yisrael, he realized that to truly receive and internalize the Torah in a way that would remain true and strong even in the face of adversity and even on foreign soil, he had to receive the Torah for himself as the rest of Bnei Yisrael did– on foreign ground, while in the midst of a journey, outside of Eretz Yisrael.

Bnei Yisrael in the Midbar were not just mekabel the Torah for themselves but for all future generations as well. If so, then the Torah we have today is rooted within us in the same manner. We cannot be divided on Hashem and say that only in such-and-such a place can we be proper ovedei Hashem; no matter where we are in galut we have the obligation to uphold our the mitzvot and fend off the attacks of “Amalek” which try to weaken us while we are away from home. May we soon return home to Eretz Yisrael where we will no longer have to face adversity against our Torah b’yemot HaMashiach b’meheira b’yameinu.