Last week’s Geshmake Question:
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This Week’s Geshmake Question:
It says "Yisro heard." Rashi says he heard about the splitting of the sea and about the war with Amalek, and he became a Yid. Why was it only Yisro who heard and became a Yid? Didn’t anyone else hear about the miracle Hashem did for Klal Yisroel?
This Connects To This Week’s Parashah:
One of the reasons Yisro became a Yid was because he heard about the splitting of the sea.
Question: What inspired him about this?
Answer: It didn’t only split in half, but it split in twelve separate parts, one for each shevet to go in their own path. Hashem understands and celebrates that everyone is different, that each person is special and unique.
When Yisro heard this, he was excited and inspired. He was also different, with an interesting past. He wanted to convert to become a Yid now since he saw Hashem understood each person. In life, sometimes all one needs to help another person is to understand them.
Rabbi came to Rav Moshe Feinstein zt"l and asked
"I feel a lot of pressure to fit everything into the limited time I have to teach, the Gemara, and Chumash.
Sometimes there are kids who ask silly or not so smart questions. Can I just ignore them?"
Reb Moshe said, "No. Don’t ignore them. If they ask it, do you think they think it is a silly or a wrong question? You can correct them in a nice way.
That’s the lesson. Don’t make questions away, because then, you are making away the person."
Each person is special and unique.
Every person is important enough to be respected; yes, every person deserves respect.
This Connects To This Week’s Parashah:
Yisro also asked Moshe a question. He saw Moshe judging and taking care of every case in Klal Yisrael.
Yisro told him, "You cannot do it alone; you will burn out. Make a Beis Din and smaller courts."
Moshe could have said, "Thank you for your feedback, but I’m a gadol, I am Moshe Rabbeinu."
But Moshe said, "I hear you and I will ask Hashem."
Hashem said that Yisro is right. Yisro’s advice changed the way everything ran.
In life, never make away anyone; they can change the world forever without you realizing how great their point is. Be nice to everyone because they are special and holy.
Understand Another Person
A father came to Rav Shmuel Kamenetsky zt"l and said, "I don’t know what to do, my bachur wanted to do karate/martial arts, and I allowed him to go.
The problem is that he is busy with this the whole day and night. What should I do?"
Rav Shmuel said, "I want to speak with the bachur directly; please send him to me."
The bachur came, and Rav Shmuel asked why he was so into it. The bachur said he doesn’t really know; maybe because he likes the feeling.
Rav Shmuel explained to him that nothing was wrong with him and that he wasn’t bad, and that every person has a body and soul. The more one focuses on the body, the stronger the desires will become. The soul has a difficult time to focus on spiritual things and serve Hashem when the body is always busy with different physical things.
If you start focusing more on the soul and serving Hashem, e.g., learning davening, you will automatically not be busy with karate the whole day and night.
When the bachur came out of the room, he told his father, "Rav Shmuel is the first person who understood me. I don’t want to be an animal, focusing only on my body."
That’s the lesson: 1) He felt understood. 2) Focus on your inner soul and do something good because you have it.
Every person is important.
Avrum Rosenblum Answers:
Hashem wanted to make sure that he jumped into the sea because he had complete emunah that Hashem will help him, and not because he had no other option. When the water reached his nose and he still stayed there, it was obvious he believed completely that Hashem will save him.
Pinchas Holender Monsey Answers:
Hashem wanted to be able to give nachas on the reward for doing it even when it was difficult. He was waiting for nachshon to place his full trust in Him.
Anonymous Answers:
To show that even when the situation feels unbearable and lost and over Hashem could still perform and miracles and show us that he is in charge
E.H. Answers:
Because Hashem wanted to see his emunah.
S.R. Answers:
When one shows they trust Hashem completely, like nachshon, that’s when one receives help.
Hashem split the water only when Nachshon ben Aminadav, had the guts to jump in. But the water only split after it reached his nose, and he couldn't breathe. Why did Hashem wait until that moment when he couldn't breathe for the sea to split?
