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Parshas Yisro - Listening to Your Messages – and Acting Upon Them

By Avraham Cohen

Posted on 01/28/16

Parshas HaShavua Divrei Torah sponsored by
Dr. Shapsy Tajerstein, DPM - Podiatry Care.
(410) 788-6633

Va’yeeshma Yisro … es kol asher asah Elokim l’Moshe u’l’Yisrael amo … • And Yisro heard … all that G-d had done to Moshe and to Israel, His people … Exodus 18:1


What exactly did Yisro hear that had such and great effect on him that he came to seek out Moshe and the Jewish people in the wilderness? He heard about the splitting of the Sea of Reeds and the subsequent war with Amalek.Rashi zt”l (on this pasuk).


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Consider the following narrative from the Talmud:


The Gemara [Taanis 21a] relates the story of Ilfa and Rabbi Yochanan; both Ilfa and R’ Yochanan suffered from abject poverty while they were immersed in Torah learning, spending all their days and time in the great Yeshiva in Jerusalem. When their financial situation became unbearable, they both decided to leave the Bais haMidrash and go out into the business world to earn some money (in fulfillment of the verse, “There will be no destitute among you” Deuteronomy 15:4).


In the course of their journey, they stopped and sat down alongside a dilapidated wall. While they were eating bread, two ministering angels happened to stop by and R’ Yochanan overheard one of them saying to his fellow, “Let’s topple this wall on them (i.e. they deserve to be killed) because they are forsaking the pursuit of life in the World to Come (Torah study) and are planning to become involved in more mundane endeavors.” However, the other angel replied, “Leave them alone – there is one among them whose hour is at hand (i.e. who will soon become great)!”


R’ Yochanan overheard this conversation between the angels and, turning to Ilfa, asked him, “Did you just hear anything?” When Ilfa answered in the negative, R’ Yochanan reasoned to himself, “Well, since I overheard these angels’ conversation – and Ilfa did not – then they must have been talking about me!” He therefore decided to return to Yeshiva - despite his poverty - and continue learning (in fulfillment of the verse, “The poor will never cease from the midst of the Land” Deuteronomy 15:11). So, R’ Yochanan returned to Yeshiva to continue his learning, while Ilfa continued on his journey to begin a new business venture.


By the time Ilfa returned successful from his travels, R’ Yochanan had been crowned as Rosh Yeshiva (a position of great prestige and wealth – Rashi). Upon seeing Ilfa, many of his former students and colleagues said to him, “Master, if you had not left and had you continued to study here – you would have been named as Rosh Yeshiva, and not R’ Yochanan!”


There is much to be discussed within the words of our Talmud, and we simply cannot cover all the bases! However, let’s try to address a one issue that seems to be asking for resolution:


* “R’ Yochanan reasoned (that the angels) must have been talking about (him).” Were they? Was he really the chosen one who was destined for greatness – or perhaps it was Ilfa? After all, at the end of the story we learn that Ilfa himself was very great; perhaps if he had returned instead (or even with) R’ Yochanan, he would have become the new Rosh Yeshiva …


* Agreeing that this may be true (even just for the sake of argument), what was it that opened the door of opportunity to R’ Yochanan instead, that paved his way to greatness, prestige, and renown among the Jewish people? We know that he returned to Yeshiva at this pivotal point in time … but what was it that prompted his return?


Well, the answer seems pretty straightforward from the Talmudic narrative: he overheard the conversation of the ministering angels, while Ilfa did not.


We must think about this: Even though R’ Yochanan overheard their conversation – there was nothing forcing him to act upon it, to make him change his mind and give up the business venture. In fact, if he was really set upon going out into the business world, he could have alternatively reasoned, “Those angels must be talking about Ilfa (in deference to his Torah acumen); I must tell him that he should return to Yeshiva immediately!” But he did not; instead he heard what the angels were saying, and decided that if that was his future they were talking about – then a change of plans was in order. He heard, and listened, and acted upon this message that came to him out of the spiritual ether. R’ Yissocher Frand shlit”a pithily reminds us to ‘Listen to Your Messages’ [see that Artscroll publication] – but do we? From the Talmudic narrative, the message to R’ Yochanan seemed crystal clear; but when we are in the driver’s seat, too often we avoid the handwriting on the wall and come up with alternative understandings.


And what about Ilfa – why didn’t he hear the angels’ conversation? Maybe he just wasn’t listening hard enough; maybe he was already so invested in their new road venture, the spiritual ‘reception’ afforded R’ Yochanan was not made available to him. In fact, when Ilfa saw that R’ Yochanan had changed his mind and was going to return to Yeshiva (despite not having heard the ‘message’ directly), he also could have resolved to return together with his friend – but he did not. Conversely, maybe R’ Yochanan was already thinking that this trip didn’t sit well with him (despite their poverty), and he was listening just a little bit harder for a heavenly message that would lend him insight as to which path to follow.


At any rate, it seems that two things were instrumental in determining R’ Yochanan’s future greatness: not only was he listening for and to his messages; he also acted wisely upon hearing them. The rest, as they say, is history.


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 “And Yisro heard … all that G-d had done to Moshe and to Israel, His people …” Yisro, the first Jewish convert, also ‘heard’ what G-d had done for the Jews – but he heard better than most; and what he heard moved him to leave his comfort zone in Midian and to cast his lot with the Jewish people in the desert. At this point in time, the whole world had heard of the Jews’ miraculous emancipation from Egypt and all the Plagues executed there, as well as the splitting of the Sea and the destruction of the Egyptian army [Rashi; Zevachim 116a].


And yet, how could it be that none of them were moved to come closer to and join with G-d’s chosen people? They heard the message – but did not act upon it. Amalek also must have heard the news; and yet, they chose not only to ignore what they heard and observed, but chose instead to make war against the nascent Jewish people – for Amalek, it was national insanity to ignore the reality of G-d’s might and of Israel’s greatness! And yet, it is truly amazing what alternative reasoning the mind may present to the recalcitrant observer and uninformed listener. Yisro’s bid for greatness was due to his ability to act upon his observations and conclusions, as opposed to the spiritual lethargy of his contemporary world.


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With regards to Moshe Rabbeinu, just before he ‘meets’ G-d, we are told that “An angel of Hashem appeared to (Moshe) in a blaze of fire from amid the bush. (Moshe) saw and behold! the bush was burning in the fire, but he bush was not consumed. Moshe thought, ‘I will turn aside now and look at the great sight – why the bush is not consumed” [Exodus 3:2-3]. Moshe observes the world around him … and he resolves to investigate. The bush is on fire; the Jewish people are aflame and enslaved – how is it that they are not consumed? Perhaps it was Moshe’s ability to observe and listen to his messages (once again from an angel, one of G-d’s messengers) that enabled him to be chosen as G-d’s ambassador and henceforth as the greatest prophet of all time. If one cannot take the time to listen, to see … and to investigate, then what good is prophecy to such an individual? When we are privileged to see amazing things that transpire every day in the world around us, do we take the time to investigate and ask ‘why’? Or do we just walk on by, too busy with the mundane world to notice?


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The antithesis of this imperative to be observant (sic.) and listen to our messages is embodied in the early career of the Prophet Yonah:  When he is enjoined by G-d to go to the people of Ninveh and warn them of their impending doom, he tries to flee from this responsibility on board the first ship leaving port. G-d casts “a mighty wind toward the sea (becoming) a mighty tempest threatening to break apart the ship. The sailors become frightened and cry out each to his own god … But Yonah had descended to one of the ship’s holds and had laid down and fallen fast asleep. And the captain approached him and said to him ‘How can you sleep…?’” [Yonah 1:4-6]. The world is coming apart at the seams, crashing down all around us – and you are sleeping? Why aren’t you listening? Why aren’t you seeing? Too much is at stake to ignore what is happening.


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It seems that in the eyes of the Torah, the difference between greatness and ordinariness is the ability listen to our messages and to act upon them. In truth, this ability is the first small step which opens the door to eternity and gives meaning to our otherwise mundane lives.