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Devar Torah - Yisro

Thursday, 16 February, 2017 - 11:00 pm

Through our Connection we will find a Way;
through Indifference we will find an Excuse
By Rabbi Shimon Raichik

In this week’s parsha we find that Yisro left his home in Midyan and traveled through the desert to meet with Moshe Rabbenu. Rashi explains what inspired this long and arduous journey.  He heard about the splitting of the Red Sea and the war with Amalek. What was it about these two things that pushed him to leave his comfort zone?

Amalek represents doubt (Amalek has the same numerical value as safek, doubt). Doubt creates coldness and indifference in the service of Hashem. Amalek made the Jews cold creating doubt, as it says; “Asher karcha b’derech, they made you cold on the way”.  When we need some warming up to the Torah and mitzvos what can we do? Some say the best thing to do is to learn a chapter of the Tanya or a Maamar Chassidus and little by little you will warm up. Anyone who’s ever been really cold knows that the only way to dispel the freezing cold and shivering is by stoking the flames turning up the heat high. Breaking through coldness requires strong and definitive action not a step-by-step process. In our service of Hashem we warm up when we throw ourselves away entirely from our present situation and its constraints into kedusha without reservation. In other words the way to annul the klipah of Amalek is not with our intellect and contemplation perse rather with wholehearted dedication and holy irrationality, shtus d’kedusha.

In this weeks parsha Yisro reappears. Before he went out into the desert he had already tried every form of idolatry in the world. Yisro learned an important lesson from the war with Amalek. He learned that he had to leave his home. He could not stay at home and use his mind to sift through to reach the message of Hashem and His Torah. He had to uproot himself entirely and go out into the desert and receive the Torah. This is what he learned from hearing about the war with Amalek.

What inspired Yisro about the splitting of the Red Sea that also caused him to go out to the desert?  An incredible series of miracles occurred during the splitting the Red Sea. Sometimes we can hear about all kinds of miracles and not be moved. Even though the world witnessed the splitting of the Red Sea Amalek remained unchanged and indifferent, just as cold as ever. They picked the moment right before the receiving of the Torah to attack. So to in our daily lives doubts arise the moment we are about to perform a mitzvah. These doubts come from the Amalek within.  The Torah teaches us how to nullify those thoughts. The Torah says; “Bachar lanu anashim, choose for us men (to go out and wage war with Amalek)” Rashi explains that the word (s) “for us” means anshei Moshe, the men of Moshe. Who are the men of Moshe? The men of Moshe are those that are dedicated and connected to Moshe, and in our times the Rebbe, the Moshe Rabbenu, the expansion of Moshe in our generation. The Rebbe once described this connection by saying that by connecting to the previous Rebbe we become connected with all of the Rabbeim including the Alter Rebbe, the Baal Shem Tov, Achia HaShiloni and thereby to Atzmus Ein Sof, the essence of Hashem’s infiniteness. One can also take a shortcut. They can be attached to the Nasi, the Rebbe of our generation and thereby to Atzmus u’M’hus,  to Hashem’s essence.

There are times when we cannot destroy Amalek but only weaken it. A pasuk say’s that Yehoshua weakened, not destroyed Amalek. Even though Yehoshua only weakened Amalek nevertheless it was sufficient inspiration for Yisro to come running. Even if we cannot destroy doubt nonetheless we can weaken it. We don’t have time for debates. As long as we weaken our doubts enough to say the words “naaseh v’nishma, we will do and we will hear” we are ready to receive the Torah.

Over thirty years ago Rav Yisroel Shimon Kalmanson was a Shochet of chickens at a facility on Pitkin Avenue. The owner was not religious. The owner’s wife and daughter had become more observant due to the involvement of the Shochtim and the Lubavitcher Chassidim that would frequent the facility. One day the owner took ill and was in a coma.  The wife and daughter went to the Ohel of the previous Rebbe to daven for his recovery. The owner woke up soon thereafter with a story. He said that the previous Rebbe came to him in a dream and told him that if he wants to get better he needs to give the Rebbe $1000. For every $1000 he will be granted a year of life.  He sent the Rebbe $1000 with an explanation of his dream. The Rebbe sent him a response explaining that the $1000 is not physical dollars rather it means that he should keep kosher.  He started keeping kosher and got well for a few years. But after some time feeling confident that he would be okay he became lax in his observance of kosher. His wife and daughter begged to not waiver in his observance but he felt confident. Sometime later he got sick again and did not recover. Sometimes person can have his own splitting of the Red Sea, his own personal miracle but still not overcome Amalek.

May Hashem give each and everyone of us the strength to weaken the Amalek, the  doubts complacency and coldness of our time. By being “anshei Moshe” connected to the Rebbe  the leader of our generation and journeying into the desert merit to ultimately destroy Amalek once and for all and receive the Torah Chadasha of Moshiach immediately.

A Good Shabbos

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