QUESTIONS FOR THE SHABBOS TABLE

PARSHAT YISRO, EXODUS 18:1-20:23

God appears to the entire community of Israelites.  He speaks directly to us.  It is considered a founding moment in the history of the Jewish people and the most important section of the Chumash.  God’s words in the Book of Exodus at 20:1-14 have been summarized for us in the Ten Commandments.  However, look at the text itself.  Three verses are set out regarding the One God (3-5), and three verses are set regarding the Sabbath (8-9).  However, three prohibitions- Murder, Adultery and Stealing are set out in a single verse (12).  There is a lot to think about here.

Here is the text:

1- “God spoke all these words, to respond:

2- "I am the Lord, your God, Who took you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.

3-  You shall not have the gods of others in My presence.

4- You shall not make for yourself a graven image or any likeness which is in the heavens above, which is on the earth below, or which is in the water beneath the earth.

5-  You shall neither prostrate yourself before them nor worship them, for I, the Lord, your God, am a zealous God, Who visits the iniquity of the fathers upon the sons, upon the third and the fourth generation of those who hate Me,

6-  And [I] perform loving kindness to thousands [of generations], to those who love Me and to those who keep My commandments.

7-  You shall not take the name of the Lord, your God, in vain, for the Lord will not hold blameless anyone who takes His name in vain.

8- Remember the Sabbath day to sanctify it.

9- Six days may you work and perform all your labor,

but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord, your God; you shall perform no labor, neither you, your son, your daughter, your manservant, your maidservant, your beast, nor your stranger who is in your cities.

10- For [in] six days the Lord made the heaven and the earth, the sea and all that is in them, and He rested on the seventh day. Therefore, the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and sanctified it.

11- Honor your father and your mother, in order that your days be lengthened on the land that the Lord, your God, is giving you.

12- You shall not murder. You shall not commit adultery. You shall not steal.

13- You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.

14- You shall not covet your neighbor's house. You shall not covet your neighbor's wife, his manservant, his maidservant, his ox, his donkey, or whatever belongs to your neighbor."

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The Haftorah portion for Parshat Yisro concerns parts of Chapters 6, 7 and 9 (for Ashkenazim).   At 7:1 Isaiah introduces us to the Judean King, Achaz.  Most of us do not know him, but are familiar with his son Hezekiah and his great-great grandson Josiah.  Ahaz ruled in Judah between 734–714 BCE.

He is viewed as a wicked King, but from a historical perspective, Achaz was one of the strongest and most determined leaders of the kingdom.  In the north the Assyrian Empire was on the rise, and two local kingdoms, Aram and Israel (that’s right Israel, the northern kingdom) tried to force Achaz to join an alliance in opposition to Assyria.  According to Isaiah 7:6, when Achaz refused, they attempted to force Judah to join their anti-Assyrian coalition, or annex it and put their own man on the throne. 

“Let us go up against Judah and provoke it, and annex it to us; and let us crown a king in its midst, one who is good for us.”

נַעֲלֶה בִיהוּדָה וּנְקִיצֶנָּה, וְנַבְקִעֶנָּה אֵלֵינוּ; וְנַמְלִיךְ מֶלֶךְ בְּתוֹכָהּ, אֵת 

Long story short: Achaz appealed to Assyria for help; Judah lost its independence and became a vassal kingdom of Assyria.  For the next 600 years until the Maccabees, we were a subject kingdom or province of Assyria, Egypt, Babylonia, Persia, Ptolemy and Seleucid.
It sure is good, now, to be free in our Land.

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In the Parsha at 18:2:

So Moses' father in law, Jethro, took Zipporah, Moses' wife, after she had been sent away,

וַיִּקַּח, יִתְרוֹ חֹתֵן מֹשֶׁה, אֶת-צִפֹּרָה, אֵשֶׁת מֹשֶׁה--אַחַר, שִׁלּוּחֶיהָ

To be sent away has the connotation of divorce or banishment much in the way at Genesis 21:18 where Abraham sends Haggar away.

If this is so, some questions are raised:

What event would have precipitated Moshe to take this step?

Could there be a connection related to the action of Zipporah instead of Moses circumcising their infant son at Exodus 4:24?

When Jethro brings back Zipporah and the two boys did Moshe have to pony up back alimony and child support payments?

Lots of questions here for your table.