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This week’s parsha of
Yisro contains our arrival at the wilderness of Sinai followed by the
climactic revelation at Mount Sinai.
On the third month of
Bnei Yisroel {the Children Of Israel} leaving Mitzrayim {Egypt}, on this
day they came to the wilderness of Sinai. And they traveled from Refidim
and they came to Midbar Sinai {the wilderness of Sinai}, va’yachanu {and
they camped} in the wilderness. Va’yichan Yisroel {and Yisroel camped}
across from the mountain. [19:1-2]
These passukim
{verses} seem to be quite out of order and redundant. Firstly, shouldn’t it
have told us of the departure from Refidim before telling us of the arrival
at Midbar Sinai {the Sinai wilderness}?
The Ohr HaChaim
explains in a beautiful fashion. THIS was the moment that all have been
waiting for. Since the time of creation, Hashem, the Torah and the entire
world stretching from the spiritual realms down to the physical realms,
have been waiting in anticipation for this very purpose of the world to be
realized. When will Hashem’s children come to Midbar Sinai to receive the
Torah? When, at last, it did happen, the Torah didn’t, so to speak, waste a
second! They came to Midbar Sinai! They made it! That having been said, the
Torah only then revealed the details of how they got there. They traveled
from Refidim and came to.
The Kli Yakar points
out that the passuk seems to be redundant. All that needed to be said was:
They left Refidim and camped in Midbar Sinai across from the mountain.
He explains that the
passuk is not merely teaching the stages of physical travel; rather it is
revealing the spiritual odyssey that needed to be navigated before we could
actually receive the Torah.
Refidim was a place
where there was strife and arguments amongst Bnei Yisroel. This led to a
situation of ‘raff yadayim {the hands became weak}’ in their ability to
receive the Torah. Bnei Yisroel needed to travel, to extricate themselves
from this state of Refidim, and to arrive at Midbar Sinai.
The desire for honor
and power lies at the root of strife and arguments. Arriving at the
wilderness of Sinai and seeing the low, humble mountain Hashem had chosen
to speak from brought out a sense of humility in Bnei Yisroel. This led to
the shalom {peace and brotherhood} that they needed between them. All along
they were being referred to in the plural due to their lack of unity–They
traveled from Refidim, they came to Midbar Sinai, they camped in the
wilderness. However, once they reached the mountain, the passuk says:
va’yichan Yisroel. Yisroel, in the singular, camped across from the
mountain. In the words of the Sages: K’ish echad b’lev echad–Like one man
with one heart.
In order to receive
the Torah–to clearly perceive the presence of Hashem and hear Him proclaim:
I am Hashem your G-d–there had to be absolute unity. K’ish echad b’lev
echad.
The Nesivos Sholom,
based on the Zohar, explains that the letters of the Torah correspond to
the souls of Israel. The receiving of the Torah was a wedding, a unity
between Hashem and Bnei Yisroel. Just as a Torah that is missing a single
letter is rendered invalid, had a single member of Yisroel not been there
ready to receive the Torah, the wedding would not have taken place.
Furthermore, just as a Torah which contains all of the letters but has
spaces between them is rendered invalid, so too if there would have been a
‘distance’ between the members of Bnei Yisroel, if they weren’t in a state
of k’ish echad b’lev echad, then the Torah could not have been given.
The Sabbath prayers
state: He is our G-d, He is our Father, He is our King, He is our Savior
and He, in His mercy, will let us hear a second time, in the presence of
all living (His promise) to be for you a G-d: I am Hashem your G-d!
[Kedusha Musaf].
In order to
realistically aspire for that, we must leave Refidim and come to unity.
K’ish echad b’lev echad.
The story is told [In
the Footsteps of the Maggid] of a woman, living in Eretz Yisroel {the land
of Israel} during a very difficult financial period. Jobs were scarce,
evidenced by the fact that both her husband and her brother were out of
work. Though she felt very fortunate that she was gainfully employed, she
was concerned about her future. Expecting her first child in three months
she was unsure if her job would still be there when she’d be ready to
return.
One afternoon, the
employer was having an informal lunch with the employees with the
conversation drifting from one topic to the next. She brought up her
predicament at home and voiced her concerns about the future. Unwilling to
commit himself, the employer gracefully sidestepped the issue and the
conversation turned to past histories and families.
When she mentioned
the neighborhood that her family was from, he turned to her suddenly,
wanting to know exactly when they had lived there. Though she was somewhat
unsure, he tried to jump start her memory, searching for all and any
details about her parents, grandparents, their professions and where they
prayed. He then suddenly left the room, later returning with eyes red from
tears and told the following story.
Many years ago, two
electricians lived in the same neighborhood. One, a union member, was quite
successful, while the other, a non-union man, barely scraped by on odd
jobs. The two men prayed at the same synagogue and were somewhat friendly
but the families hardly knew each other.
One day, the
non-union electrician suffered a massive heart attack and passed away a few
days later. The other electrician came to console the mourners and couldn’t
help but noticing the impoverished state that the family was in. He asked
the widow if she had enough food for the family. Her claim that she did was
contradicted by the empty refrigerator and cupboards.
That afternoon, he
bought enough food to fill the fridge and some of the cabinets. Each day of
the mourning period he arrived and added to the supply of food, even as the
widow half-heartedly tried to dissuade him.
Almost two months
after her husband had passed away, the widow called the electrician. Her
basement was filled with electrical materials for which she had no use. For
a hundred dollars I’ll sell you whatever is down there, she offered.
The next evening, the
electrician came to her house and began to work in the basement. For three
weeks he spent his evenings sorting, organizing and arranging all of the
various electrical paraphernalia that had accumulated over the years.
He then called all of
the electricians and carpenters he knew, informing them of a sale that
would be well worth their while to attend. That sale brought in thousands
of dollars, all of which was given to the widow and her family.
As the employer
finished telling the story to the spellbound audience, he turned to this
woman and said, The union electrician was your grandfather–I was one of the
orphans. It was my father who passed away and my mother, my siblings and
myself who benefited from your grandfather’s tzidkus {righteousness}.
He paused for a
moment and then continued, You will always have a job in my company.
Tomorrow morning, if your husband and brother come to my office, I will
have jobs for them as well.
K’ish echad b’lev
echad. Such a nation will merit to once again hear the words: I am Hashem
your G-d!
Good Shabbos,
Yisroel Ciner
Copyright © 2000 by Rabbi Yisroel Ciner and Project Genesis,
Inc.
The author teaches at
Neveh Tzion in Telzstone (near
Yerushalayim).
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