YISRO – SANCTIFYING G-D’S NAME

Perhaps the most famous of all converts is Yisro, the father in law of Moshe Rabbeinu. Yisro is widely praised by Chazal and the commentators for his sincere dedication in finding the truth and ultimately rejecting all forms of Avodah Zara to serve the one G-d. Yet with close analysis of the Medrashim another aspect of Yisro’s greatness emerges. When the Jewish people were poised to enter Eretz Yisrael Moshe Rabbeinu asked his father in law, who had arrived from Midian nearly a year before, to accompany them to the land. Yisro refused Moshe’s offers and insisted on returning to his native land. The Medrashim give a number of reasons as to why he insisted on returning: “I will go to my country and relatives [where] I will bring them to Torah study and draw them under the wings of the Shechinah.” The Medrash continues that Yisro indeed succeeded when his descendants joined the tribe of Yehuda. This teaches us that a prime concern of Yisro was to share his newfound belief with others. Another Medrash stresses this point: “Yisro told [Moshe], “A candle is of benefit only in the dark. Of what benefit is a candle between the sun and the moon? You are a sun and Aaron a moon.” Yisro realized that he was not needed to influence the Jewish nation because they already had such righteous leaders and Moshe and Aaron. Rather he could give off his small light in areas of total darkness where they had no exposure to the truth of the Torah. Chazal continue with a different line of reasoning that Yisro employed to justify returning to Midian: “Yisro thought, “this has been a year of drought and I borrowed [money which used to] support the poor. If I do not go and pay my debts I will be desecrating the Name of Heaven.” Another Medrash stresses Yisro’s fear of chilul HaShem (desecration of G-d’s name): “Yisro thought; all these years people left things in my trust because I was the most reliable person in town. If I go away from them, they will say, ‘Yisro has fled with all the trusts and has given them to his son-in-law’. Thus I will be defaming you and me. Rather I will go back and return all [the trusts].” These sources again demonstrate Yisro’s concern for how his actions will affect other people – in these instances he was concerned about the possible negative repercussions of not returning to Midian. Moshe Rabbeinu argued that Yisro should remain; the commentaries note that his arguments were also based on Yisro’s overriding concern of how his actions would affect the way the world viewed the G-d of the Jews. Seforno explains that Moshe argued that if Yisro would return to his land, then the people of the world would say that there was nothing Godly about this nation, for if there were, then Yisro would surely have stayed with them. We have seen how Yisro cared deeply about how his own acceptance of Torah could help bring the other nations to recognition of its truths. Indeed the Be’er Yosef writes that Yisro’s very decision to convert was driven by the factors of Kiddush HaShem. He comes to this conclusion based on the various opinions of Chazal as to which event prompted Yisro to join the Jewish people. One opinion is that it was the Splitting of the Sea (krias Yam Suf), another that it was the Giving of the Torah (Mattan Torah), and the third is that it was the battle with Amalek. The Be’er Yosef asks that it is understandable that Krias Yam Suf and Mattan Torah inspired Yisro to convert. Both were momentous events in which HaShem’s presence was revealed through open miracles. However, the battle with Amalek was far less inspiring – although Divine Providence was apparent, it was far less earth-shattering than the other miracles. Moreover, there were times in the battle when Amalek was on the ascendancy, with the result that this battle seemed more ‘natural’ than the other events of the Exodus (Yetsias Mitzrayim). If they were insufficient to arouse Yisro to convert, how could this battle achieve anything more?! He begins his answer by acknowledging that it was not the miraculous nature of the battle with Amalek that inspired Yisro. In fact it was the detrimental effect this battle had that prompted him to join the Jewish people: The nations of the world were greatly moved by the miracles of Yetsias Mitzrayim, as it says in the Song of the Sea, “Then the chieftains of Edom were confounded, trembing gripped the powers of Moav, all the dwellers of Canaan dissolved.” However, when Amalek attacked they reduced the feelings of awe that the world had towards the Jewish nation. They now did not see the Jews as invincible, and their respect for G-d’s people cooled down. This is expressed by Chazal in their analogy of a boiling hot bath that no-one will jump into. Suddenly a man jumps in and gets burnt, but he cools down the water. Even though Amalek were defeated, they did have moments when they were successful, and seeing such a regular kind of battle succeeded in diluting the effects of the miracles of Yetsias Mitzrayim. Thus the attack of Amalek had the opposite effect of the miracles. How did that prompt Yisro to convert? The Be’er Yosef continues that Yisro’s overriding consideration was the effect that the battle with Amalek would have on HaShem’s name in the world. Had Amalek not attacked then Yisro may have sufficed with being a Noachide Jew (Ben Noach) and observing the Jews with admiration and he surely hoped that the rest of the world would do the same. However, after this attack Yisro felt the need to publicly join the Jewish people to demonstrate that the nations should still have great awe for the Jewish nation. He was a very well-known figure in the world and he realized that his journey from Midian to the desert would be widely viewed. In addition Chazal tell us that he went to great lengths to publicize his joining the Jews. Yet The Medrash tells us that HaShem Himself told Moshe that Yisro’s intentions were totally pure. The Be’er Yosef explains that the purity of his intentions was manifest by his desire to counter the negative effect that Amalek had. The question remains; did Yisro succeed in all his efforts to sanctify G-d’s name among the nations of the world. The Zohar answers this: “When Yisro, who was the high priest of idolatry, said, ‘Now I know that HaShem is greater than all gods,’ the honor of the Holy One, Blessed is He, rose and was given dominion over all. Because [Yisro] served the Holy One, Blessed is He, everyone immediately distanced themselves from their idolatry, [for they] realized that there was no truth in it. Then the Name of the Holy One, Blessed is He, was sanctified throughout the world.” Yisro taught us a great lesson in his journey to becoming a Jew. It is not enough to think about one’s own relationship with HaShem but how one can effect others as well. In this vein Rav Chaim of Volozhin zt”l writes that in the Shemoneh Esrei of Rosh Hashana we say that Hashem judges the “maaseh ish upekudaso”. Maaseh ish means a person’s own actions, but what does ‘pekudaso’ refer to? He explains that each person has a sphere of influence beyond himself, which includes his family, his students, and any people that come into contact with him. The way he influences these people through his own actions is ‘pekudaso’ and he is judged in that area as well. If, by observing his behaviour, they learn to improve their avodas Hashem then he will receive much reward but if the opposite occurs then he will be judged for his part in their aveiros just as he is judged for his own . A person’s actions do not take place in a vacuum, we are always being noticed by others, consequently we must constantly be aware of the possible effect we can have on others without even directly communicating with them. Yisro recognized this fact and acted upon it – thus he stands as a shining example to us all. We have seen how Yisro cared deeply about how his own acceptance of Torah could help bring the other nations to recognition of its truths. Indeed the Be’er Yosef writes that Yisro’s very decision to convert was driven by the factors of Kiddush HaShem. He comes to this conclusion based on the various opinions of Chazal as to which event prompted Yisro to join the Jewish people. One opinion is that it was the Splitting of the Sea (krias Yam Suf), another that it was the Giving of the Torah (Mattan Torah), and the third is that it was the battle with Amalek. The Be’er Yosef asks that it is understandable that Krias Yam Suf and Mattan Torah inspired Yisro to convert. Both were momentous events in which HaShem’s presence was revealed through open miracles. However, the battle with Amalek was far less inspiring – although Divine Providence was apparent, it was far less earth-shattering than the other miracles. Moreover, there were times in the battle when Amalek was on the ascendancy, with the result that this battle seemed more ‘natural’ than the other events of the Exodus (Yetsias Mitzrayim). If they were insufficient to arouse Yisro to convert, how could this battle achieve anything more?! He begins his answer by acknowledging that it was not the miraculous nature of the battle with Amalek that inspired Yisro. In fact it was the detrimental effect this battle had that prompted him to join the Jewish people: The nations of the world were greatly moved by the miracles of Yetsias Mitzrayim, as it says in the Song of the Sea, “Then the chieftains of Edom were confounded, trembing gripped the powers of Moav, all the dwellers of Canaan dissolved.” However, when Amalek attacked they reduced the feelings of awe that the world had towards the Jewish nation. They now did not see the Jews as invincible, and their respect for G-d’s people cooled down. This is expressed by Chazal in their analogy of a boiling hot bath that no-one will jump into. Suddenly a man jumps in and gets burnt, but he cools down the water. Even though Amalek were defeated, they did have moments when they were successful, and seeing such a regular kind of battle succeeded in diluting the effects of the miracles of Yetsias Mitzrayim. Thus the attack of Amalek had the opposite effect of the miracles. How did that prompt Yisro to convert? The Be’er Yosef continues that Yisro’s overriding consideration was the effect that the battle with Amalek would have on HaShem’s name in the world. Had Amalek not attacked then Yisro may have sufficed with being a Noachide Jew (Ben Noach) and observing the Jews with admiration and he surely hoped that the rest of the world would do the same. However, after this attack Yisro felt the need to publicly join the Jewish people to demonstrate that the nations should still have great awe for the Jewish nation. He was a very well-known figure in the world and he realized that his journey from Midian to the desert would be widely viewed. In addition Chazal tell us that he went to great lengths to publicize his joining the Jews. Yet The Medrash tells us that HaShem Himself told Moshe that Yisro’s intentions were totally pure. The Be’er Yosef explains that the purity of his intentions was manifest by his desire to counter the negative effect that Amalek had. The question remains; did Yisro succeed in all his efforts to sanctify G-d’s name among the nations of the world. The Zohar answers this: “When Yisro, who was the high priest of idolatry, said, ‘Now I know that HaShem is greater than all gods,’ the honor of the Holy One, Blessed is He, rose and was given dominion over all. Because [Yisro] served the Holy One, Blessed is He, everyone immediately distanced themselves from their idolatry, [for they] realized that there was no truth in it. Then the Name of the Holy One, Blessed is He, was sanctified throughout the world.” Yisro taught us a great lesson in his journey to becoming a Jew. It is not enough to think about one’s own relationship with HaShem but how one can effect others as well. In this vein Rav Chaim of Volozhin zt”l writes that in the Shemoneh Esrei of Rosh Hashana we say that Hashem judges the “maaseh ish upekudaso”. Maaseh ish means a person’s own actions, but what does ‘pekudaso’ refer to? He explains that each person has a sphere of influence beyond himself, which includes his family, his students, and any people that come into contact with him. The way he influences these people through his own actions is ‘pekudaso’ and he is judged in that area as well. If, by observing his behaviour, they learn to improve their avodas Hashem then he will receive much reward but if the opposite occurs then he will be judged for his part in their aveiros just as he is judged for his own . A person’s actions do not take place in a vacuum, we are always being noticed by others, consequently we must constantly be aware of the possible effect we can have on others without even directly communicating with them. Yisro recognized this fact and acted upon it – thus he stands as a shining example to us all.