You See?

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11 years ago
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in Sobol Says

You See: Used when you hope someone else will understand what you are saying. Dictionary.Cambridge.org 2012

In perhaps the first recorded instance of unsolicited advice from an in-law, this week's parsha recounts Yisro's suggestion to Moshe that he revamp the sole-arbiter system he was employing to judge the people. After viewing that "Moshe sat to judge the people, and the people stood [in] Moshe['s presence] from morning until evening" (18:13), Yisro chides Moshe that the arrangement is untenable, cautioning him "You will surely wear yourself out-you as well as this people that is with you-for the task is too hard for you; you will be unable to accomplish it alone." (18:18)

Moshe was actually performing a treble-function while receiving the people daily: offering prayers and blessings, adjudicating disputes, and teaching and clarifying Halachos. (18:15-16) Proffering what seemed to be brilliant and practical advice, Yisro recommends that Moshe formulate a multi-tiered court system comprised of lower courts, higher courts, appeals courts, etc., with Moshe serving as a one-man Supreme Court. Unable to find men that had all the necessary characteristics to serve in those judicial roles, Moshe nonetheless implements the proposal. So seemingly sound is the advice, that the parsha is named after its architect. And, as Rashi tells us, the name Yisro (pre-conversion name-Yeser) stems from the fact that "he added-Yeeter-a section to the Torah [with his advice]." Wow! Amazing! Yet............

Perhaps this was not the best advice. Practical? Yes. Constructive? Undoubtedly. In the best interest of the people? Maybe not.

While the Torah does give great acclaim to Yisro for his recommendation, a careful reading of the passukim reflects an ambivalence on the Torah's part as to whether this was the proper path to follow. After relating the advice, the Torah simply states: "Moshe heeded his father-in-law's [words] and did everything he had said." (18:24) It then describes Moshe setting up the system and moves on to the next topic. No approbation. Nothing indicating that it was good and proper in the Eyes of Hashem. The Torah just moves on; a sort-of "No Comment".

There is an unusual emphasis on "seeing" in this week's parsha. Hashem commands Moshe to tell the people-as a prelude to receiving the Torah-"You have seen what I did to the Mitzrim..."(19:4). Rashi, commenting on the words "you have seen", tells us "It is not a tradition which you have received...you [yourselves] have seen..." In the final preparatory instructions for Bnei Yisroel to receive the Torah, Hashem tells Moshe that He will descend on Mount Sinai "for all the people to see" (19:12). Rashi also comments on those words, apprising us "that there was no blind person among them, for they all had been healed."

After delineating the Aseres HaDibros (the "Ten Commandments"), the Torah tells us "And all the people were seeing the sounds and the flames..." (20:15) Three successive Rashis on this passuk inform us that "[once again] this teaches us that there was not even one blind person among them"; seeing the sounds means "they were [actually] seeing what was [normally just] heard"; and that the sounds "were emanating from the mouth of the Almighty."

Why the peculiar preeminence on seeing, to the point that Bnei Yisroel even sees sounds? Why was it important that everyone was able to see?

My wife's father, Rabbi Jeremiah Wohlberg (speaking of fathers-in-law), related a story to me about his father, Rabbi Harry Wohlberg, a"h, the longtime Rav of Shomrei Emunah in Boro Park. In the late 1950s he was part of a Rabbinic consortium that traveled to the Soviet Republic to clandestinely seek out and assist fellow Jews living behind the Iron Curtain. Barred from entering any of the main cities, they were relegated to the desolate seaside town of Sochi, Russia, to seek out their brethren. In deference to the religiously-intolerant climate, he was told to stand on a street corner holding a Yiddish newspaper and, if so inclined, Jews would approach him. After fruitless hours spent on the street corner, a man approached. Head unadorned, and otherwise displaying no outward signs of Yiddishkeit, the man struck up a conversation with him in Yiddish. Within minutes he was regaling my grandfather with profound Divrei Torah, citing incredible sources and offering in-depth analysis. Stunned, Rabbi Wohlberg commented that the man was a great Talmid Chochom, and asked how he was able to study under such an anti-Semitic regime. The man responded that in fact he was just a simple Jew with no time or ability to learn.

"How then are you able to give over such a deep Dvar Torah with so many sources?" Rabbi Wohlberg asked. "Ah", said the man, "as a child I was a talmid (student) of Rav Elchonon Wasserman (the great Rosh-Yeshiva in pre-World War II Europe, and one of the main talmidim of the Chofetz Chaim). That which I just told over to you I learned from him over 50 years ago! And I can still see that holy man's face now! I can still see him, and I can still see him telling me that Torah!"

Rebbi Yehudah HaNasi (the redactor of the Mishna, more commonly known as "Rebbi") said "the reason I am sharper than my colleagues is that I saw [the great Tanna] R' Meir from behind (I attended his lectures but had a bad seat), and if I had seen him from his front, I would be even sharper." Eruvin (13b)

When the Bnei Yisroel are initially told that Moshe would be telling them the Ten Commandments, they responded that they wished to hear the mitzvos directly from Hashem: "For one who hears the command from the messenger cannot be compared to one who hears [it] from the king [himself]. 'Our wish is to see our King!'" (Rashi, 19:9, quoting the Mechilta) The Mechilta elucidates their statement further: "We wish to even see our King, for just hearing is not the same as seeing."

Yisro's advice, while wise and pragmatic on its face, may have been misguided. In fact, it may have been a terrible mistake to heed it. Here the people had an opportunity to interact with Moshe himself-the greatest prophet to ever live!! The only man to have spoken face-to-face (so to speak) with G-d! You don't give up a moment like that! So you have to stand on line for a few hours-BIG DEAL!! The Bnei Yisroel blew it. They should have said "No way Moshe-we'll wait," but instead they said "ok".

Qualitatively there is absolutely no comparison between that which we merely hear versus that which we see and hear. And the greater the person speaking, the more valuable our seeing them becomes. That is why it was imperative that we see the sounds accompanying the giving of the Torah. That is why we needed to see the sounds "that were emanating from the mouth of the Almighty." Of course we could not see Hashem, but we needed a vision nonetheless if the teaching was to last.

That is a monumental message for us all. While learning Torah from books is great, learning from Chavrusas (colleagues) is better. And while Chavrusas are important, they do not compare to teachers and Rabbeim. And if given the chance to learn from an Adom Gadol (a Great Man) or even better, a Great Sage, then we must leap at the opportunity, for that is a learning of superior quality that could last a lifetime.

That is the moral we glean from the man from Sochi...that is the lesson that Rebbi was teaching......that oftentimes the most effective and everlasting way for us "to see" is for us to see. YOU SEE?

Good Shabbos.

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