Yisro - 5th Portion

Join as we learnish for today, which is the fifth Torah reading for Thursday, the fifth Torah reading of Paris Israel. Yesterday, we began as Moshe tells the Jewish people. And God tells Moshe to prepare the Jewish people for the giving of the Torah, calling them his cherished, treasured nation, as well as calling them a kingdom of nobles. And today we continue as Moshe gets the Jewish people ready for the giving of the Torah. Chapter 19 verse 7. And Moshe came and he summons the elders of the people and he presented before them all these words that God has said that God has commanded him. Uh verse 8. And all the people responded together and they said everything that God said we shall do and Moshe conveyed the words of God words of the people back to God. That means he went back to God not that same day on the next day which was now the third day of went in the morning. The question is why did Moshe even have to go back and tell God? The Torah tells us over here to teach us the way of respect from Moshe. He doesn't say since he knows anyway, why should I tell him if I don't have to respond? But because he was told to God in a question, so too Moshe answered him. So therefore, Moshe taught us how we have to respect that if somebody asks you something, you don't say, "Well, they're going to find out anyway." You should go tell them and respond to them. Verse nine, God said to Moshe, I am about to come to you in the thickness of the cloud so that all the people will hear when I speak to you and they will believe in you as well as in the prophets that succeed you for eternity. And Moshe then reported the people's response to God. What does it mean in the thickness? The thickness of the cloud. This is later on when we find the terminology means thickness of the cloud. What does it mean? And also, as we learned previously, whenever the Torah uses the word also, it's coming to include somebody that's not mentioned. including the prophets that will come after you continues. When does he continue the following day which is Wednesday the words of the nation Moshe is responding to God an answer to this that God tells Moshe here I come to you in the thickness of the cloud that the people should hear. So what's the pro response? What's he responding to? I heard from them. I heard that they don't want to hear it through any messenger. Why don't they want to hear any messenger? And God and why? Because there's no there's a there's a there's you can't compare listening to a messenger than hearing it from the king himself. And therefore, they continue to say they want to see the king himself. It shouldn't be only through Moshe, but all the people want to be able to see the greatness of God. And therefore, as the Jewish people said, as it says to the eyes of all the people that God, they want to see, all of them want to experience that godly presence. Therefore, as God responds, so God said if so, if that's the case that the Jewish people want to see it, they want to see the king. They are the ones that we they want to be able to see the king himself. They don't want to get it through a messenger. Then what do they have to do? Go to the people. They have to sanctify themselves. They have to prepare themselves. Not only today and tomorrow and they should wash their clothes, ritually immerse their clothes. If that's what they really want that they want me to talk to them in the highest level then they need a higher level of holiness and therefore go to the people get them ready they should prepare themselves today the fourth day and the fifth day of the month they should prepare themselves for the giving of the Torah verse 11 they should be ready they should be ritually they should be ready for the third day because what's going to happen on the third day because then on the third day which will be the time of the sixth of God will come down in front of all the people on Mount Si verse 11 what does it mean to be prepared they're going to have to separate themselves from their wives the third day of preparation which would be the sixth of the monthish and on the fifth the day before that built the altar beneath the mountain and 12 different monuments all this is already discussed will be discussed in the upcoming Torah readings of ah you're going to tell me didn't this happen before the Torah was given before the ten commandments were given as Rashi already said before there is no chronological order in the Torah Things that are mentioned later happened earlier. Things that are mentioned earlier can happen later. And therefore, the Torah specifically does not put things in chronological order. What does it mean before all the people teaches us to the eyes of all the people? But there were no blind people. Everybody was healed. The next instruction was verse 12. And then you shall make a boundary for the people around the nation around around the mountain saying be careful do not come about going up onto the mountain. Nobody should touch one who touches even the edge of it. Whoever comes close, whoever ascends the mountain will be liable of capital punishment. What does it mean? Making a boundary. He made a boundary for a sign. Do not go after this boundary and onward saying this boundary tells you this boundary tells you be careful from getting close from here onward and you will tell them as follows and you will warn them. Not only does if somebody goes on the height of the mountain even if he just touches the edge of it then he will liable of capital punishment. Verse 13, no hand shall touch it because they will be stoned will be thrown off the he will be cast down whether it's an animal whether it's a man will not make will not survive will not live when the ram's horn sounds a long blast only then may they ascend the mountain rash Yik from here we learn why does it talk about the terminology will a double terminology will be stoned and be cast down. It teaches us and anytime capital punishment was done that the person was thrown down that first they were pushed down they were cast down from the from the roof of the place where they would uh cast the person down where they would stone them from. How tall was it was tall? two stories high as it's discussed in the track date of Sanhedrin and if the person would not die because of being cast down only then would they stone him as well was thrown down to the ground as it says like we learned previously that the Egyptians were thrown into the sea when that long blast of the long blast that will be a sign that now the divine presence has left the Once the uh the the sessation of the sound be starts that means there's no longer a sound of the chauffeur that means that the divine presence has left the mountain then they're allowed to go up onto the mountain. What does it mean? Why does he call the chauffeur here the yo this is a ram's horn. This is because in the Arab lands they would call a ram. This was the chauffeer of the ram of Isaac that was there on bound on by the bond of Isaac. Verse 14 and Mosha came down the mountain to the people and he prepared them. He sanctified them. They ritually washed their clothing. As soon as he came down the mountain, he quickly went to do his business to help the Jewish people. He didn't go deal with whatever he had to do with other issues for things for himself. He was completely subservient to taking care of the needs of the Jewish people. Allah straight to the Jewish people. Verse 15. And he told the people, "Hey, you should prepare yourselves now for three-day period, do not approach a woman." Verse 15, Moshe was telling them now in the third day, meaning the three days, at the end of three days, this would be the fourth day from the preparations. And from here the rabbis learned that Moshe added a day on his own according to that says the Torah was given on the seventh of however according to the opinion that it was given on the sixth of Moshe did not add any days and over here the word means on the third day. So over here we have two opinions. What this word two third two three days does it mean to the end of three days that means one two and three from now and therefore the Torah was given on the seventh of seven so that means the fourth the fifth and the sixth and then on the seventh the Torah was given and Moshe added one day on his own or does he mean the fourth the fifth and the sixth and at the end of the sixth meaning at the end of the third day that's when the Torah would be given all these three days these three days they should not engage in marital relations together with their wives because that the women should also be pure when it comes to get the Torah because if they were to be together with their wife within these three days there's a concern that they may become tame and therefore they have to again ritually purify themselves and therefore however once three days passes And therefore because then it's not considered something which is viable and once it's not viable it's considered pure and therefore it doesn't make the person impure whoever it disseminates from verse 16 verse 16 was on the third day now that they prepared themselves for three days the Torah tells us we prepare for the giving of the Torah was on the third Early in the morning and broke him and there was a thunder and lightning sounds the cloud on the mountain and there was extremely loud blast of a ram's horn and all the people trembled that were encamped there in the morning that God came early. This is not usual that the teacher should be waiting for the student to come. But over here God came there early waiting for the Jewish people. This is what we find that the prophet Ezekiel talks about that God the prophet says that God tells the Jewish people say come out to the valley and I'll speak to you and I went out to the valley to speak to God and God was already there. Meaning using the humility that God got there before the Jewish people, God got there before the prophets talking to him. Verse 17 brought led the people out of the camp towards God from the camp and they took their places at the foot of the mountain. What does it mean towards God? Why does it mean that Moshe took them out towards God? It comes to teach us that the went out the divine presence went out to greet the Jewish people like when the groom leaves the or stands to greet the bride. As it says, God came from Sinai. Came to Sinai. Did he came from Sinai to greet the Jewish people as they were coming? As a groom comes to greet the bride on the foot of the mountain simple interpretation. However, the med says over here God was saying the Torah is telling us something deeper that the actual mountain was removed from its place. was held over the Jewish people like a pot like a like a like a pot that was holding on top of them and he said if the Jewish people accept the Torah good but however if you refuse to accept the Torah I will make the world backed into nothingness over here actually if you look later on and this is why the Jewish people as we see in the time of Esther Gilla says that the Jewish people accepted and did the Jews accepted and did meaning they accepted what they already accepted previously that during the time of the giving of the Torah it was forced upon them God said if you don't accept it I dropped the mountain on you however in the time of Esther is when they accepted it willingly even though it was under the greatest persecution and as explained the cassidas that only during that time of persecution was revealed by the Jewish people that great light that pure oil that they were able to achieve a level that was even beyond the level of the giving of the Torah. Verse 18. And the whole mount s was in smoke because God has descended upon it in upon it fire and the smoke rose up like the smoke of a lime kilm and the entire mountain quakd violently. this word here meaning it is a noun meaning the entire thing was smoke not the word smoking it doesn't mean that smoke it was smoke as a noun but a verb it was smoking something that was happening every time it's when it's smoke that's a noun but in this case it's that it was smoking what is like seed of a lime kil I would think will be like this kil and not more therefore the Torah continues to say the words in the book of Deuteronomy it says was burning fire into the heart of the heaven then why does it tell me like a kil the Torah uses terminology that the ear should be ble to understand. The Torah gives the human beings that studying the Torah definitions that they should be able to understand and relate to. We find in for example like a lion that roars or one that gives a lion. The Torah continuously uses terminologies for the human being what it's able to understand and listen to what the ear is able to hear and understand and comprehend. So too we find in uses the terminology that his voice was like loud water and is God's voice like water but the only reason why he compares it to water is only that we should be able to have some type of relationship some type of inkling and understanding of what was going on in this larger than life type of way. So therefore, the Torah uses these metaphorical ways to be able to give us the ability to understand it. Verse 19, and the sound of the ram's horn increasingly louder, very loud would speak. And God responded by voice, by amplifying Moses's voice. As Rashi explains, generally an ordinary person, a regular person, the longer he blows, his voice continues to get softer. When it comes to God, the voice was getting louder and louder. Why does the Torah use this terminology? Why does it have it this way? Why did God make start off soft and only get loud? So that they should not all of a sudden get shocked and be thrown off. So it starts off that they should get used to what their ear is able to hear. And then as it progressed, they got louder and louder. When Moshe was talking, we're talking about the last eight commandments because the first two commandments God said himself. So the last eight commandments that Moshe said, Moshe would speak it and tell the Jewish people because they heard from God only the first two of God would help. We give him the strength of that his voice should be strong and it should be able to penetrate that everybody should be able to hear it. What does it mean? Respond. God responded. What does that mean? That God responded to Moshe's request that Moshe wanted that his voice should be loud that everybody should hear it. God amplified his voice that everybody should hear it. Did the same before that he answered about the fire. So doesn't mean invoice means about his voice that his voice should be able to be heard by everybody. This concludes the humish for Thursday the the fifth Torah reading of Pares Israel.