CHOCHMAS NASHIM: YISRO: THE RESPONSIBILITY OF “I”
By: Suri Davis
In this week’s Torah portion, the Ten Commandments are given to Moshe on Mount Sinai, which raises several questions. If the Ten Commandments were given to Moshe, how does it reflect the entire Five Books of Moses. Additionally, Moshe was on Mount Sinai for 40 days, what is it that he was doing for those days. We’ll add to this the question of women’s obligations to do the commandments.
As to the question of how the Ten Commandments evolved into the entire Torah itself. Chabad.org The first words of the Ten Commandments are Anochi Havaya Elokecha, “I am G‑d your G‑d.”1 The Midrash2 says that the word anochi is from the Egyptian language.
The reason the Ten Commandments have 620 letters, representing the 613 biblical mitzvot and seven rabbinical mitzvot.4
In the Ten Commandments itself, every one of us heard the first two, “I Am G‑d your G‑d…” and “You shall not have any other gods before Me,”5 directly from G‑d.6 The first two commandments themselves encapsulate all of the mitzvahs. “I Am G‑d your G‑d…” which is an imperative command, represents the 248 positive commandments. And “you shall not have any other gods before Me,” which is a prohibition, represents the 365 negative commandments.
Moshe remained on Mount Sinai to learn the oral law, or what we now call Talmud, the Mishnah and Gemara. The Talmud is the grout for the bricks of the commandments in the Five Books of Moses, it binds them into practical commandments.
This week we, who learn Daf Yomi, completed Masechet Megillah and started Moed Katan. On Moed Katan Daf 3, we start learning about the laws of Shmittah/resting the earth during the seven year cycle. Israel is now celebrating Shmittah, so it’s very relevant today.
We learn that women are exempt from those positive time-bound commandments in the Torah. This is so because we women have an internal biological clock, which keeps us aware of the passing of the months. This is why we did not sin in the sin of the golden calf, and why women have a special holiday on the first of every Jewish month.
Rabbi Shalom Rosner: There are restrictions on plowing the land, Charishah, during the Shmittah year, which is included in the positive command of Shabbos shabbason l’aretz/ there is rest for the land.
Minchas Chinuch questions that if plowing is a positive time-bound commandment, which has no negative restriction connected to it, does this mean that women may plow the land during Shmittah? The Ritvah responds in Masechet Kiddushin with regard to the question of whether a woman has an obligation to circumcise her son, after all it is a positive time-bound mitzvah, with no negative prohibition.
Says the Ritvah, this exemption for performance of positive time-bound mitzvahs for women relates to those mitzvoth which are personal to her, like hearing the shofar and sitting in a sukkah. Since there is an obligation for the baby to be circumcised, which is not personal to the mother, she is obligated in circumcising her son even though it is a time bound mitzvah. The Minchas Chinuch 114, learns from this Ritvah, that “V’shavsah Haaretz/the land should rest,” is not personal to the woman, and therefore is included in the prohibition of plowing the land, even though there is no negative prohibition connected to it.
Additionally, Rabbi Rosner elaborates on the precepts which G-d taught to Moshe on Mount Sinai, which were handed down orally. Once concept is “Perush Hamekubal Mimoshe rabbeinu/commentary on that which was received from Moshe” v. “halachah m’moshe m’sinai/laws from Moshe at Sinai.” The difference, says the Rambam, is that those details of the Torah understood from Perush is something that we could have figured out over time, whereas halachah m’moshe m’sinai is something we could have never figured out on our own.
There is no dispute as whether the Torah verse “an eye for an eye” was meant literally, i.e., that if one knocks out an eye of another, his eye is taken out, this is not how Jews carry out this law. Another example of a Perush is when the Torah says “pri etz hadar/an above average fruit.” There is no dispute that this refers to an Esrog on Sukkoth.
Examples of Halachah M’moshe is “kzayes/the size of an olive,” a measurement for measuring out food or Nisuch hamayim/pouring of water process. There is no dispute for what the measurement is or how the process is done, it is accepted that the details of these commandments were given to Moshe on Mount Sinai, and handed down, transmitted throughout these thousands of years from teacher to pupil.
Judaism is an active “I” religion. The first commandment starts with “I am your G-d,” It is G-d who created us in His image, and transmitted the obligation of “I.” I am responsible for learning commandments and obeying them. I am responsible for my brothers and sisters in the world. I am responsible for sanctifying G-d’s name in this world, and bringing ethics and morality into the world. I am to repair the world. It is this responsibility of the “I” which was G-d’s first direct words to His children and nation and the world. The responsibility of “I.”
Shabbat shalom.
-Suri