Torah This Week
Welcome to Torah This Week, where you will find thoughts and reflections by CLAL faculty and associates on the Torah portion of the week.
PARASHAT YITRO
(Exodus 18:1 - 20:26)
Parshat Yitro centers on the establishment of the covenant between God and the Jewish people. Less than three months after leaving Egypt, the Israelites enter the wilderness of Sinai. They encamp there, and Moses ascends the mountain as instructed by God. Though God maintains that the Israelites are not to touch or climb the mountain, God specifically instructs Moses to sanctify all the Israelites and to let them wash their clothes. All of them are to prepare themselves spiritually and physically for God's revelation, for all of them are to enter into a covenantal relationship with God.
God does not indicate why they have been chosen. According to a midrash, God chose the Israelites only after every other nation had refused, unwilling to assume the responsibilities incumbent upon God's chosen people. As the midrash explicitly maintains, chosenness entails responsibility. As the Ten Commandments that God reveals in Exodus 20 underscore, the worship of God, though essential, is not in and of itself sufficient. What is expected of the Israelites, and of us, as members of the covenant, is respect for ourselves, other human beings and their possessions, and the earth. We are to show this respect through our actions: resting on the Sabbath and extending this day of rest to those in our household, and honoring our parents; refusing to murder, steal, commit adultery, or be consumed by envy; and refraining from leveling false accusations against others.
While the first three of the Ten Commandments focus on the nature of true worship, the last six focus on our responsibilities to others. Preceding them is the injunction to honor the Sabbath, a commandment that focuses on all of our obligations. Included among them is the obligation to rest or, literally, to refrain from work, thus respecting our own physical and mental needs. Perhaps this commandment precedes the last six to serve as a reminder that in order to respect others we must begin by respecting ourselves.
(Ellen Umansky)
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