Light Lines - Yisro

27 Shevat 5759 February 13, 1999 Parshat Mishpatim

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Déja Vu

Déja vu. We've all had the feeling. Someone's talking and you know exactly what they're going to say. Or you're about to walk into a room and you visualize it exactly as it turns out to be. Nobody really understands déja vu. One theory is that the brain experiences a kind of short-circuit. Information coming from the senses, rather than being recognized by the brain as "live" information, is re-routed directly to the memory. The result is that even though you think you've seen it all before, in reality you are seeing something for the first time.

"And these are the statutes which you will place before them." (Exodus 21:1)
Rashi writes that the conjunction "and" tells us that just as the supra-logical commandments like kashrut were given at Sinai, so too the "logical" commandments like the prohibitions against theft and murder, with which every civilized society upholds, are also from Sinai. One might think that the "logical" commandments were not of Divine origin, for we see that every society legislates them. For this reason, the Torah employs the conjunction "and" to tell us there is no difference. All the mitzvos are the word of G-d; the logical no less than the supra-logical.

There's a kind of déja vu at work here. Civilized cultures believe that it is our own native logic that teaches us the societal prohibitions against killing and theft. We deem these concepts self-evident. The truth is that we are re-living a sense-memory implanted in our psyche by the Creator of the psyche itself. G-d didn't create the world to be a bleak and empty post-nuclear landscape with nothing but the sound of the wind whistling through a barren tundra. He created the world to be populous, to teem with life.

The reason that these commandments seem logical to us is because they are the fundamental basis of society. Without these fundamental principles, society descends instantly into barbarism and self-destructive anarchy. G-d created within us an ability to recognize these laws as common sense precisely because He wanted society to thrive.

How great is the mind of man that, though housed in a merely mortal frame; it can aspire to G-d's Torah! And how important is it to realize that everything to which the intellect can aspire is only because G-d created that power within us.

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Selections from classical Torah sources
which express the special relationship between
the People of Israel and Eretz Yisrael

Haifa

Haifa, home of Israel's largest port, is first mentioned in the Talmud in an unusual context which may shed light on the history of a community whose source is otherwise obscure.

The residents of Haifa, say our Sages may not lead the services in the synagogue nor may its kohanim bless the congregation. This is because they are unable to distinguish between the different guttural sounds in Hebrew, and their mispronunciation may turn a blessing into a curse. Some historians suggest that this language defect was the result of the exposure of Haifa's Jews to the many foreigners who settled on the coast for commercial purposes.

These historians also suggest that the name Haifa is a contraction of two Hebrew words: Hof Yafe - beautiful coast. A major feature of its beauty is Mount Carmel, site of the famous showdown between the Prophet Elijah and the idolatrous prophets. Much of the modern city has developed on that mountain.

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Robert Samuels wrote:

Dear Rabbi,
How could Moses write that he himself was "the most humble person on the face of the earth?" (Numbers 12:3) Isn't that itself a contradiction to being truly humble?

Dear Robert,

Your question reminds me of a story: When the practice of kosher slaughter was under attack in Great Britain, the famed Rabbi Yechezkel Abramsky was called to court in its defense. The judge read from the deposition which lay before him: "Rabbi Abramsky," said the judge, "it says here that you are the foremost authority of Jewish Law in the British Empire. Is that true?"

"That is true, your honor."

"And that you are the most eloquent spokesman for Jewish Law in the British Empire?"

"That is also true, your honor."

"It also says here that you are the most senior rabbi in the British Empire. Is that correct?"

"That is correct, your Honor."

Taken aback by the Rabbi's straight-forward responses, the judge said, "Rabbi Abramsky, how do you resolve your answers with the Talmudic teachings of humility?"

"It is indeed a problem, your honor," said the Rabbi. "But I'm under oath."

Moses was commanded by G-d to write that he was the most humble person, so he had no choice but to write it.

However, knowing the extent of one's abilities and talents is no contradiction to humility. On the contrary, ultimate humility may be achieved by a person who excels in good attributes when he takes no credit for his greatness. He realizes that all his achievements come from G-d, not merely as a result of his own efforts, and therefore he isn't conceited or self-congratulatory.

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