This Monday I visited Mount Sinai...hospital and I returned with a precious gift, a new daughter. Thank God she and her mother and older brother are doing great.
In this week's parsha the Ten commandments are given. You might have seen the movie- this is the book. Perhaps I have babies on the brain, but the birth motif is abound in Sefer Shemot. The book begins with heroic midwives who aid in the birth of the nation. The Jewish people place blood on the door post and leave Egypt- this is the birth canal. Crossing the red sea is the water breaking and Har Sinai is the birth. At Har Sinai the sound of a shofar grows louder and louder, the Shofar is likened to a baby crying. Har Sinai is the birth of the nation.
This week's parsha is named Yitro. Why is the parsha with the Ten Commandments named after Yitro? Yitro is Moshe's father in law and according to many commentaries Yitro converted. The Gemara tells us that Har Sinai was a national conversion. Everyone immersed in the Mikvah and accepted the laws of God. Many laws regarding conversion are derived from this section relating to Har Sinai including going to the Mikvah and accepting the Mitzvot as being part of the conversion process. One reason the parsha with the Ten Commandments and the birth of the nation is called Yitro is to teach us that we all descend from converts. Let me explain to you what I mean by that.
Conversion is a form of birth, or more precisely rebirth. When you go in to a mikveh you must have a minimum amount of water, 40 Seah (a measurement) for it to be a kosher mikveh. The mikveh is a womb like experience , when you leave you are a new person. 40 seah of water is like the 40 weeks of pregnancy in this womb that is the mikveh. We see this in the Noach story when it rains for 40 days, the world is cleansed by soaking in water and a rebirth ensues.
These two ideas of birth and conversion have a nexus point in the story of another famous convert Ruth. Ruth's name is within Yitro. Yitro יִתְרוֹ is spelt Yud-Taf-Raysh-Vav, the name Ruth רוּת Raysh-Vav- Taf is within the name Yitro, the same letters minus the Yud for the ten commandments. The story of Ruth involves her conversion and is where we also get information about halachot for conversion. The book of Ruth was written by Shmuel Ha Navi. Davids lineage was questioned and so this book is the back story which proves he is kosher. David represent a new start a rebirth of Judaism after a very low period in Shoftim.
The conclusion of the book of Ruth deals with the birth of Oved who is King David's grandfather. We read this story about King David's lineage on Shavuot. Shavuot is the holiday which we celebrate the receiving of the Torah. We also read part of this week's parsha, Yitro, with the section involving the Ten Commandments on Shavout. Both stories deal with Jewish origins steeped in conversion .
So why is this message relevant? That we are descended from converts... Conversion simply means a change of status, similar to when a baby is born. That Torah is about birth and rebirth, this is also the idea of conversion, that is why converts get a new name. The message we take from Ruth and Yitro is we have a chance every day to reinvent ourselves.
Every day is a rebirth, our soul is returned to us, this is why we say Modeh Ani. We thank God for returning our soul to our body, similar to brith. Imagine each day in your life was a complete life. You are born in the morning and you die at night. You have a chance to make each new life what you make of it. Each day is a new chance to give birth to yourself. The commentaries tell us Yitro worshipped every form of idol worship, yet the parsha with the Ten Commandments is named after him. He reinvented himself. He converted. He experienced a rebirth and that is the essence of Torah.
In this week's parsha the Ten commandments are given. You might have seen the movie- this is the book. Perhaps I have babies on the brain, but the birth motif is abound in Sefer Shemot. The book begins with heroic midwives who aid in the birth of the nation. The Jewish people place blood on the door post and leave Egypt- this is the birth canal. Crossing the red sea is the water breaking and Har Sinai is the birth. At Har Sinai the sound of a shofar grows louder and louder, the Shofar is likened to a baby crying. Har Sinai is the birth of the nation.
This week's parsha is named Yitro. Why is the parsha with the Ten Commandments named after Yitro? Yitro is Moshe's father in law and according to many commentaries Yitro converted. The Gemara tells us that Har Sinai was a national conversion. Everyone immersed in the Mikvah and accepted the laws of God. Many laws regarding conversion are derived from this section relating to Har Sinai including going to the Mikvah and accepting the Mitzvot as being part of the conversion process. One reason the parsha with the Ten Commandments and the birth of the nation is called Yitro is to teach us that we all descend from converts. Let me explain to you what I mean by that.
Conversion is a form of birth, or more precisely rebirth. When you go in to a mikveh you must have a minimum amount of water, 40 Seah (a measurement) for it to be a kosher mikveh. The mikveh is a womb like experience , when you leave you are a new person. 40 seah of water is like the 40 weeks of pregnancy in this womb that is the mikveh. We see this in the Noach story when it rains for 40 days, the world is cleansed by soaking in water and a rebirth ensues.
These two ideas of birth and conversion have a nexus point in the story of another famous convert Ruth. Ruth's name is within Yitro. Yitro יִתְרוֹ is spelt Yud-Taf-Raysh-Vav, the name Ruth רוּת Raysh-Vav- Taf is within the name Yitro, the same letters minus the Yud for the ten commandments. The story of Ruth involves her conversion and is where we also get information about halachot for conversion. The book of Ruth was written by Shmuel Ha Navi. Davids lineage was questioned and so this book is the back story which proves he is kosher. David represent a new start a rebirth of Judaism after a very low period in Shoftim.
The conclusion of the book of Ruth deals with the birth of Oved who is King David's grandfather. We read this story about King David's lineage on Shavuot. Shavuot is the holiday which we celebrate the receiving of the Torah. We also read part of this week's parsha, Yitro, with the section involving the Ten Commandments on Shavout. Both stories deal with Jewish origins steeped in conversion .
So why is this message relevant? That we are descended from converts... Conversion simply means a change of status, similar to when a baby is born. That Torah is about birth and rebirth, this is also the idea of conversion, that is why converts get a new name. The message we take from Ruth and Yitro is we have a chance every day to reinvent ourselves.
Every day is a rebirth, our soul is returned to us, this is why we say Modeh Ani. We thank God for returning our soul to our body, similar to brith. Imagine each day in your life was a complete life. You are born in the morning and you die at night. You have a chance to make each new life what you make of it. Each day is a new chance to give birth to yourself. The commentaries tell us Yitro worshipped every form of idol worship, yet the parsha with the Ten Commandments is named after him. He reinvented himself. He converted. He experienced a rebirth and that is the essence of Torah.
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