Parasha & Times | Ṡabat Paraṡat Yitro יִתְרוֹ 15 February 2025 * 17 Ḣodeṡ Shevat 5785
י”ז שבט התשפ”ה Jerusalem - 4:45pm Candles; 6:03pm Havdala
Rehovot - 4:56pm Candles; 6:04pm Havdala
Austin - 6:01pm Candles; 6:56pm Havdala
Toronto - 5:29pm Candles; 6:32pm Havdala Miami - 5:56pm Candles; 6:49pm Havdala
Manhattan - 5:12pm Candles; 6:13pm Havdala Moscow - 5:14pm Candles; 6:31pm Havdala London - 4:56pm Candles; 6:07pm Havdala
Paris - 5:52pm Candles; 7:00pm Havdala |
Picture of the Week | 
“When will we be able to see all the small prints?” |
‘Am Yisrael Ḣazaq Ḣai VeQayam
עם ישראל חזק חי וקיים | The Tequma War entered its 71st week. We strengthen the hands of Am Yisrael and Medinat Yisrael, its defense and security forces, its citizens and residents; We pray for the remaining kidnapped, the injured, the displaced, and the bereaved; And we remember the perished. With prayers for absolute victory and lasting peace. |
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In the Beginning | The sea was split and returned, the people sang, Yitro heard the good news and was very happy. He along with Moshe’s family, wife and kids, came to be with the free Hebrews. A family reunion. On the next day, Moshe sat as magistrate, answering people’s questions and resolving disputes from morning until evening. Now, we know that Moshe was the humblest of all Man, as we read in Numbers 12:3: “Now Moses himself was very humble, more so than any other human being on earth - וְהָאִישׁ מֹשֶׁה עָנָיו מְאֹד מִכֹּל הָאָדָם אֲשֶׁר עַל פְּנֵי הָאֲדָמָה. That applies by the way for both men and women.
But to be a magistrate you need other traits, like savlanut and solvlanut.
The two words have close yet different meaning: savlanut סַבְלָנוּת means patience, the ability to wait for something or persist in something, while solvlanut סוֹבְלָנוּת means tolerance, acknowledging the existence and the right to exist of other opinions and other cultural conventions.
Thus, in the context of seating as magistrate, Moshe was certainly savlan, patient. Indeed, Rashi comments on Numbers 12:3 “And the man Moshe was very modest - וְהָאִישׁ מֹשֶׁה עָנָו מְאֹד” that עָנָו means ענו: שפל וסבלן - modest: lowly and patient. Sovlanut and sovlan are modern words, as a new type of savlanut was needed - the one of tolerating the other, and others’ opinions. Was Moshe also sovlan? It depends on the topic. Accepting the other is part of the Torah that Moshe knew very closely: “There shall be one law for the citizen and for the stranger who dwells among you” - we just read a couple weeks ago. But compromising with idolatry was totally unacceptable, a behavior that Moshe would not tolerate among his People, the Holy Israelite Nation that he was forming. Shabbat shel Shalom. tbs |
Cyril Zooms In | “The greater the tension, the greater is the potential.” - Carl Jung This week’s parasha, Yitro (Jethro), famous for containing God’s own utterance of the Ten Commandments, contains a palpable tension as you read the text. Indeed, Jethro’s arrival, his conversion, his analysis of the existing judicial system, the excitement of the Israelites awaiting the gift of the Torah are exceptional events that constitute a fundamental step in the evolution and destiny of the Jewish people. When God gives the Israelites, from the summit of Mount Sinai, the Ten Commandments, His voice is so strong and the pressure so imposing that they flee Mount Sinai before asking Moses to be their intermediary to receive the divine commandments. The spiritual potential of the Israelites, “converted” by their acceptance of the Torah, is thus revealed and enlarged. This week we celebrated Tu Bishvat, the New Year of the Trees. Now, it is still winter and the trees are bare, but their sap is starting to flow again after a long sleep, the first buds will appear next month, and their fruits much later. The analogy with man is perfectly appropriate insofar as our spiritual potential takes shape over time, in the same way that the tree, apparently dead in winter, is reborn in spring, resplendent in summer before giving its best in autumn. I wish you and your family an effective, restful and joyful Shabbat. Shabbat Shalom! C.B. |
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