Every time I sit synagogue in and hear Parshat Yitro read, or study a piece of the parasha with a hevruta, I always find myself trying to imagine the scene as the Israelites stood at the foot of Mount Sinai, and how that scene attempted to imprint a message upon the Israelites and the generations that would follow. Indeed, God tells Moses to inform the Israelites the receiving of the Torah should be an everlasting vision for all future generations:
As I read this passage, I try to imagine how the words that God spoke to the Israelites on that day, and how I, a twenty-first century Jew, should keep this image with me in my everyday practice as a Jew, a question not lost upon our ancient and modern rabbinic commentators.
When our commentators imagine the scene at Har Sinai, they imagine that the equivalent of a spiritual wedding took place between God and the Israelites when the Torah was received. A midrash states the following:
In the midrash, the receiving of the Torah is seen as the culmination of a courtship between God and the Israelites, where the act of receiving the Torah becomes the moment in which the eternal relationship between God and the Israelites becomes officially sanctified.
However, while it would make sense for us to see the Israelites’ receipt of the Torah as an act of marriage between God and the Jewish people, the question remains as how we are to understand the way in which the relationship between the Jewish people and the God can remain meaningful, even generations upon generations after the moment in which the Torah was received. For this answer, we can turn to the early modern sage Rabbi Elijah ben Solomon, otherwise known as the “Vilna Gaon,” who writes that the Torah is meant to be the eternal sign of God’s love of the Jewish people, even when God appears absent. The Vilna Gaon writes:
In the Vilna Gaon’s commentary, while the giving of the Torah marked the moment God and the Jewish people became united for eternity, the Torah itself represents a piece of God that the Israelites can keep with them in order to remember that, no matter how distant God may appear, there is always a piece of God that is close to their hearts. By extension, the Vilna Gaon also wants us to understand that because the Torah is a piece of God given to us, Torah study becomes the way in which we can constantly cultivate an intimate relationship with the divine. Professor Eliyahu Stern explains the Gaon’s perspective on this matter in the following way:
Stern’s analysis brings to light the Vilna Gaon’s intent to remind us that Torah study is the only means that one regularly encounters God, as Torah study is the sole means by which a person can link themselves to the moment of consummation between God and the Jewish people that we read about in Parshat Yitro. Whether or not we agree with the Vilna Gaon’s perspective, the Gaon’s commentary does remind us that Torah study is a singularly unique aspect of Jewish practice, as learning a text linked to one of the Torah’s central moments places us back at the center of God’s ongoing revelation.
This Saturday night, the Schechter School of Long Island will be hosting a night of Jewish learning centered around the Conservative Movement’s publication of The Observant Life, a monumental work of scholarship focusing on Jewish life and living in the twenty-first century. Over twenty authors and rabbis from across the denominational spectrum will come to Schechter to teach about the ways in which Jewish living inspires and challenges us in every generation, providing an everlasting link to the revelatory union that took place in this week’s parasha. Today, when we study Torah, we are taking hold of that gift God gave us at Har Sinai, one that reminds each of us the way in which God remains present in our hearts, our souls, and minds. May each of us be worthy of making Torah a part of us, allowing us to cultivate a relationship to God that is powerful, meaningful and passionate.
Shabbat Shalom!
“Then Moses went up to God, and the Lord called to him from the mountain and said, “This is what you are to say to the descendants of Jacob and what you are to tell the people of Israel: ‘You yourselves have seen what I did to Egypt, and how I carried you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself. Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession. Although the whole earth is mine, you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words you are to speak to the Israelites”” (Exodus 19:3-6).
As I read this passage, I try to imagine how the words that God spoke to the Israelites on that day, and how I, a twenty-first century Jew, should keep this image with me in my everyday practice as a Jew, a question not lost upon our ancient and modern rabbinic commentators.
When our commentators imagine the scene at Har Sinai, they imagine that the equivalent of a spiritual wedding took place between God and the Israelites when the Torah was received. A midrash states the following:
“"And Moshe brought the people out of the camp to meet with God" (Shemot 19:17). Rabbi Yose said: Yehuda would expound: "And he said, The Lord came from Sinai" (Devarim 33:2). Do not read thus, but rather: "The Lord came to Sinai" – to give the Torah to Israel. Or perhaps you should not say this, but rather: "The Lord came from Sinai" – to receive Israel, like a bridegroom who goes out to meet his bride” (Mekhilta de-Rabbi Yishmael, Massekhet Ba-Hodesh, Yitro, Parasha 3).
In the midrash, the receiving of the Torah is seen as the culmination of a courtship between God and the Israelites, where the act of receiving the Torah becomes the moment in which the eternal relationship between God and the Israelites becomes officially sanctified.
However, while it would make sense for us to see the Israelites’ receipt of the Torah as an act of marriage between God and the Jewish people, the question remains as how we are to understand the way in which the relationship between the Jewish people and the God can remain meaningful, even generations upon generations after the moment in which the Torah was received. For this answer, we can turn to the early modern sage Rabbi Elijah ben Solomon, otherwise known as the “Vilna Gaon,” who writes that the Torah is meant to be the eternal sign of God’s love of the Jewish people, even when God appears absent. The Vilna Gaon writes:
‘What is the concept of the covenant [brit]? It is similar to one who loves another but is unable to embrace him. Because of this situation, the [lover] gives the beloved something that expresses his feelings for his beloved. The gift keeps them connected and bound together. And even though he is not present, all of his thoughts are placed in this object. This is what is meant by the term “brit,” for it is a promise based on this object that he will not “leave” his beloved” (Elijah ben Solomon, Sefer Yetzirah, Chapter 1, Section 8).
In the Vilna Gaon’s commentary, while the giving of the Torah marked the moment God and the Jewish people became united for eternity, the Torah itself represents a piece of God that the Israelites can keep with them in order to remember that, no matter how distant God may appear, there is always a piece of God that is close to their hearts. By extension, the Vilna Gaon also wants us to understand that because the Torah is a piece of God given to us, Torah study becomes the way in which we can constantly cultivate an intimate relationship with the divine. Professor Eliyahu Stern explains the Gaon’s perspective on this matter in the following way:
“[the Vilna Gaon] was not simply arguing for the centrality of Torah study in the context of the broader Jewish community in which some devote themselves to study while the overwhelming majority labor as tradesmen and merchants. Instead, Elijah [the Vilna Gaon] proposed that Torah study offered the sole means through which one could cultivate a spiritual relationship with the Divine” (Eliyahu Stern, The Genius: Elijah of Vilna and the Making of Modern Judaism, 93).
Stern’s analysis brings to light the Vilna Gaon’s intent to remind us that Torah study is the only means that one regularly encounters God, as Torah study is the sole means by which a person can link themselves to the moment of consummation between God and the Jewish people that we read about in Parshat Yitro. Whether or not we agree with the Vilna Gaon’s perspective, the Gaon’s commentary does remind us that Torah study is a singularly unique aspect of Jewish practice, as learning a text linked to one of the Torah’s central moments places us back at the center of God’s ongoing revelation.
This Saturday night, the Schechter School of Long Island will be hosting a night of Jewish learning centered around the Conservative Movement’s publication of The Observant Life, a monumental work of scholarship focusing on Jewish life and living in the twenty-first century. Over twenty authors and rabbis from across the denominational spectrum will come to Schechter to teach about the ways in which Jewish living inspires and challenges us in every generation, providing an everlasting link to the revelatory union that took place in this week’s parasha. Today, when we study Torah, we are taking hold of that gift God gave us at Har Sinai, one that reminds each of us the way in which God remains present in our hearts, our souls, and minds. May each of us be worthy of making Torah a part of us, allowing us to cultivate a relationship to God that is powerful, meaningful and passionate.
Shabbat Shalom!
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