Although the Revelation at Sinai and the narration of the giving of the Aseres HaDibros is certainly the dramatic pinnacle of this week’s parsha, the parsha begins on a very different note. Yisro, the father-in-law of Moshe, arrived; he observed the situation that Moshe Rabbeinu was busy the whole day adjudicating between people; he advised that this was not a good system and he recommended a system of higher and lower courts. Therefore, Chazal say that Moshe’s father-in-law (who had multiple names) was given the additional name of Yesser because a portion was added to the Torah in his merit (“Yesser, al shem she’yiter parsha achas b’Torah”).
The prelude to the acceptance of the Torah is the narrative of Yisro coming and giving Klal Yisrael this “novel plan” of establishing a hierarchical court system. Why is this the beginning of the story of “Kabalas HaTorah”? Why is our parsha not known as “Parshas Kabalas HaTorah” or why is not this Shabbos known as “Shabbas Kabalas HaTorah”? Why is it “Parshas Yisro” and “Shabbas Parshas Yisro” as if somehow the message of Yisro’s coming almost overshadows the significance of Matan Torah?
The Ohr HaChaim HaKadosh suggests a very novel answer to this question. In truth, the Ohr HaChaim writes, Yisro’s idea is not “rocket science”. The idea of the efficiency of a division of labor and the practicality of implementing a hierarchical court system is something that Klal Yisrael should have no doubt figured out on their own without Yisro. However, the Almighty wanted to send a message to the Jewish people of that generation and of all future generations that wisdom DOES exist amongst the nations of the world and that “there are some wise gentiles out there.” The lesson is that the Jews should not think that Hashem chose them because they are the wisest of all nations. We were not the nation to whom Hashem chose to give the Torah because we necessarily have higher IQs than non-Jews. The reason why the incident with Yisro is the introduction to Kabalas HaTorah is to teach this lesson.
Why then were we Chosen? We were chosen because of Divine Kindness and because of Hashem’s love for the forefathers. It was because of the merit of Avraham, Yitzchak, and Yaakov. Granted, they may have been smart, but that is not what the Almighty valued in them. Hashem valued the fact that Avraham was the Master of Chessed [kindness] par excellence. He valued Yitzchak because he was the Master of Gevurah [spiritual strength]. He valued Yaakov because he had the attribute of Emes [truth]. G-d values the forefathers because of their respective attributes and because those were the attributes they passed on to their descendants. This is why “He Chose us from all the nations.”
Unfortunately, there is sometimes a perpetual misperception in certain segments of our society. The misperception is that the nations of the world are stupid. This is an inappropriate Jewish outlook. There are in fact very bright people from the nations of the world. The last time I checked, Bill Gates is not Jewish. When my computer crashes, I do not know what to do and he does. Therefore, he is at least smarter than I am! Warren Buffet has made billions of dollars in the stock market and most of us have not. He too is smarter than we are. I am sure that there are brilliant doctors who are non-Jewish and there are brilliant lawyers who are non-Jewish and there are brilliant scientists who are non-Jewish.
Our Chosen-ness has nothing to do with brains. It has to do with middos [character traits]. This, the Ohr HaChaim HaKadosh is teaching, is the reason we were chosen. At the end of the day, this is what it is all about.
Rabbeinu Bachaye points out that when the Torah talks about the greatness of Avraham, Yitzchak, Yaakov, Moshe, and Dovid, it never comments about how smart they were. Moshe is praised for his modesty, not for his brains. Noach is praised for his righteousness. Because of his tzidkus, he was saved, not because of his brains. Yaakov is described as a simple person (ish tam). Nothing about brains or intelligence or IQ is mentioned.
The bottom line is that the central challenge of Judaism is working on a person’s character traits (middos). The Vilna Gaon says on the pasuk, “Hold fast to discipline (mussar / character); do not let go. Be careful with it; watch it for it is your life.” (Mishlei 4:13): The reason we are here in this world is to improve a character trait, which we have thus far not perfected. Therefore, a person must always work hard on this, for if one does not improve on his middos while here, what is the purpose of life?
This is an important idea to remember in raising our children. We value brains so much, we value grades so much, we value success so much. But when our children come home from school with a report card that says they are polite, they are kind, they are helpful to others, we should make as big a deal about that as we do when a child gets straight A's. At the end of the day, this is what it is all about – Hold fast to character discipline, do not let go.
R’ Zusha and the Rav
In the town of Anipoli there were two Rabbis, Rebbe Zusha the Chassid, and the town Rav, a Misnagged. R’ Zusha was always happy despite the fact that he had nothing but troubles, poverty, and ill health. The Rav on the other hand, despite his honorable position in the community, was always unhappy, depressed, bitter, and angry. He could not bear others, or even himself.
One night, bitter and frustrated he went to ask R’ Zusha for help. He sneaked out of his house at an hour when he would not be seen and secretly made his way to the hovel which R’ Zusha called home. When he arrived, the lamps were still burning, so he knocked hesitantly. Almost immediately R’ Zusha appeared at the door with a smile and an invitation to enter.
“How is it that you are so happy and content and I am always angry and cursing everybody?” asked the bewildered Rav.
“Let me give you an example,” offered R’ Zusha. “Take the wedding of R’ Moshe’s daughter. When Reb Moshe, the local philanthropist, made a wedding for his daughter recently, he dispatched a messenger to personally invite the special citizens of Anipoli. When the messenger came to your house, you demanded to see the guest list. You saw that you were 14th on the list.”
‘“Chutzpah!’ you shrieked, and decided that you would attend, but come late. When you arrived, all the guests were already sitting at the tables and eating the festive meal. When you arrived, there were no empty places to be found. “Soon, Reb Moshe the philanthropist saw you looking for a place to sit. ‘Rabbi,’ he called out, ‘where have you been?’ He brought you to the head table, but there were no more empty places. They brought you a chair, but you sat behind somebody else. You were furious, looking for somebody to lash out at, but nobody was paying any attention to you. The waiter did not even see you. By the time the host noticed that you were not eating, all the food was gone.
“R’ Moshe went into the kitchen to find something, but there was nothing befitting the Rav of Anipoli. Everything had already been picked through. By this time, you were cursing the host, the waiters, the guests, and even the bride and groom themselves. When it came time for the Birchas HaMazon and the Sheva Berachos, you had been all but forgotten. You went home broken, angry, and bitter, cursing the Master of the World Himself.
“When the messenger came to the house of R’ Zusha (he always referred to himself in the third person), Zusha was taken aback. What a kind gesture! Reb Moshe is inviting Zusha to the wedding of his daughter?! What has Zusha ever done to deserve an invitation to their wedding?! “So Zusha went two hours early to the wedding. Zusha asked what he could do to help set up. Zusha officiated at the ceremony. Zusha ate a full
