Parashat Yitro
Torah Reading: Exodus 18:1 - 20:23 (some chumashim use different verse
numberings)
Haftarah Reading: Isaiah 6:1 - 7:6, 9:5-6 (Ashkenazim); Isaiah 6:1-13
(Sephardim)
Shevat 20, 5786 / February 6-7, 2026
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This d'var torah is offered in memory of my aunt, Shirley
Schack, whose yahrzeit falls on Thursday, Shevat 25/February 12. Y'hi zekherah liv'rakhah
- Her memory is a blessing.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lunch and Learn meets Mondays at 12:30 PM on Zoom and Facebook Live. On Monday, February 9, we'll continue our learning at BT Pesachim 102a. You can find it online at:
"... תנו רבנן בני חבורה שהיו מסובין" - "The Sages taught: members of a group who were reclining ..."
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Rabbi Van Leeuwen has a blog which you should read at:
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Please feel free to pass this on to a friend, and please cite the source
----------------------------------------------------------------
SAME AS IT EVER WAS
"In the third month, when the Children of Israel had gone forth out of the
land of Egypt, the same day they came to the wilderness of
Sinai." Exodus 19:1
Rashi: "What is the meaning of 'the same day'? That the words of the Torah
should be as fresh to you as if they had been given today."
We learn in the Zohar that when reciting Shirat Hayam (the
Song at the Sea), which is read from the Torah on Parashat Beshalach (we
read it last week) and on the seventh day of Passover, and in the siddur every
morning, that we should rise and sing it with great joy, as if we ourselves
were standing at the shore, witnessing the great miracle. Similarly, when Aseret
Hadibrot (The Ten Statements [aka Commandments]) are read from the Torah,
as we will be doing this Shabbat, we rise and listen with great intensity, as if
standing at the foot of Mt. Sinai, hearing them for the very first time.
This is explained in Miginzeinu Ha'atik (“From
Our Ancient Genizahs”, quoted in Itturei Torah). "You
should not say that the Torah was given in the wilderness nearly 3,000 years
ago, and it was only appropriate for that time and the conditions which existed
then - 'The same day' - as if they had been given today - the laws of the Torah
and our traditions are eternal, and they are relevant in every place and at
every time."
This idea that they might be irrelevant is often applied to any number of Torah
laws, such as kashruth, Shabbat, and tefillin. And yet, one never hears
anyone say that "honor your father and mother" or "you shall not
murder" have gone out of fashion. Not to mention loving and caring for the stranger, which appears at least 36 times in the Torah. (Although, to be honest, in some
quarters, even those commandments seem to be regarded as optional.) Why is
that? The discussion often turns on notions of personal freedom, the
needs of society, and the desire not to stand out - and sometimes, sheer cruelty.
I would suggest that the whole of Jewish law and tradition is a complete,
unitary system, subject to debate and changes in circumstances (like the
destruction of the Temple), but never irrelevancy. God gives the Torah to
the Jews for a very specific reason - "You shall be to Me a kingdom of
priests and a holy nation." (Exodus 19:6) We Jews are here, and
we receive the Torah, specifically to minister to the world by acting in
accordance with its teachings, and to sanctify ourselves and others
through that ministry.
Stand up at Sinai! The Torah, which is your
blueprint and your job description, is being given, and it hasn't changed!
Shabbat Shalom!
Rabbi Richard A. Flom, DD (HC)
Rabbi Emeritus
Temple B'nai Hayim
"שתיקה כהודאה דמיא"
"Silence in the face of wrongdoing is consent"
BT Yevamot 87b
---------------------------------
Cyber Torah list management (no salesperson will call!):
To subscribe to Cyber Torah, send an e-mail with the subject heading
“Subscribe Cyber Torah” to: ravflom@sbcglobal.net
Send requests for dedications of Cyber Torah in honor of a simchah,
in memory of a loved one or for a refuah shleimah to: ravflom@sbcglobal.net
To unsubscribe from Cyber Torah, send an e-mail with the subject heading
“Unsubscribe Cyber Torah” to: ravflom@sbcglobal.net
