OU TORAH Parshas Yisro By Rav Moshe Twersky, HY"D
The fact that Yisro and Mishpatim – two of the parshiyos in the Torah that describe Matan Torah (the giving of the Torah on Sinai) – are read in the middle of the winter is quite advantageous. It affords us the opportunity to reassess our commitment to the mandates of the Torah well before the Yomtov of Shavuos. That said, it is appropriate to clarify and examine the purpose of Matan Torah. There is a well-known statement of the Gra in his commentary on Mishlei (22:19) which has aroused a great deal of curiosity amongst the later commentators. The Gra asserts that the goal of Matan Torah is to facilitate acquiring the attribute of bitachon (trust in Hashem). This seems to be a tremendous chiddush! One would certainly have thought that the primary aim of Matan Torah is to enable Jews to learn Torah, or perhaps to become fully-committed servants of Hashem. And, of course, these rationale are indeed true; yet, the Gra nevertheless singles out bitachon! Perhaps we can understand this as follows. Essentially, Torah is the declaration of ratzon Hashem, the will of the Almighty Creator of the Universe. It is our reference book, if you will, of the Divine will. What it is that Hashem wants out of this whole creation that He created. Torah is the guidebook of instructions for how Hashem wants us to act in this world. But not only in this temporal realm. Equally, it is the expression of the will of Ha’Kadosh Baruch Hu in all of the olamos, for every realm and level of existence that He brought into being and sustains constantly. Rav Chaim Volozhiner, in Nefesh Ha’Chaim (4:27), writes that the Torah travelled down through all the upper worlds until it was given to us as in its this-worldly version. Nevertheless, elaborates Rav Chaim Volozhiner, the Torah retains its essential purity and loftiness that finds expression in the higher worlds. One could thus sum up the basic definition of Torah with the phrase “Torah is ratzon Hashem”. In the higher, spiritual worlds, ratzon Hashem refers to Hashem’s absolute sovereignty. In our physical world, in addition to Hashem’s absolute kingship and control, ratzon Hashem is directed at us. Namely, in terms of the instructions it provides regarding the myriad specifics of how we are meant to utilize our free will to become the best servants of Hashem that we can possibly be. The fact that we don’t always perceive the ratzon Hashem in this world is a function of Hashem deliberately hiding His presence which creates a limitation on our perception of Hashem’s involvement in the world, which, in turn, ensures there will in fact be room for man to exercise his power of free will choice. So, in essence, as one internalizes the overarching missive of the Torah, he is in fact thereby becoming a baal bitachon, a person who trusts in Hashem. True Torah there cannot be without bitachon. Torah is synonymous with the reality that ratzon Hashem encompasses the entire world. Hashem is pulling the strings in every detail of this world and in all of the cosmos, and higher spiritual realms. In a very real sense, then, the basic message that the Torah conveys is that everything that happens to us is with an all-embracing hashgacha pratis (Divine providence). The Torah is one hundred percent, from the beginning until the very end, conveying ratzon Hashem. To not grow in one’s bitachon as one learns and upholds the Torah is to be missing out on an integral part of what Torah is all about. (Audio recording)
The fact that Yisro and Mishpatim – two of the parshiyos in the Torah that describe Matan Torah (the giving of the Torah on Sinai) – are read in the middle of the winter is quite advantageous. It affords us the opportunity to reassess our commitment to the mandates of the Torah well before the Yomtov of Shavuos. That said, it is appropriate to clarify and examine the purpose of Matan Torah. There is a well-known statement of the Gra in his commentary on Mishlei (22:19) which has aroused a great deal of curiosity amongst the later commentators. The Gra asserts that the goal of Matan Torah is to facilitate acquiring the attribute of bitachon (trust in Hashem). This seems to be a tremendous chiddush! One would certainly have thought that the primary aim of Matan Torah is to enable Jews to learn Torah, or perhaps to become fully-committed servants of Hashem. And, of course, these rationale are indeed true; yet, the Gra nevertheless singles out bitachon! Perhaps we can understand this as follows. Essentially, Torah is the declaration of ratzon Hashem, the will of the Almighty Creator of the Universe. It is our reference book, if you will, of the Divine will. What it is that Hashem wants out of this whole creation that He created. Torah is the guidebook of instructions for how Hashem wants us to act in this world. But not only in this temporal realm. Equally, it is the expression of the will of Ha’Kadosh Baruch Hu in all of the olamos, for every realm and level of existence that He brought into being and sustains constantly. Rav Chaim Volozhiner, in Nefesh Ha’Chaim (4:27), writes that the Torah travelled down through all the upper worlds until it was given to us as in its this-worldly version. Nevertheless, elaborates Rav Chaim Volozhiner, the Torah retains its essential purity and loftiness that finds expression in the higher worlds. One could thus sum up the basic definition of Torah with the phrase “Torah is ratzon Hashem”. In the higher, spiritual worlds, ratzon Hashem refers to Hashem’s absolute sovereignty. In our physical world, in addition to Hashem’s absolute kingship and control, ratzon Hashem is directed at us. Namely, in terms of the instructions it provides regarding the myriad specifics of how we are meant to utilize our free will to become the best servants of Hashem that we can possibly be. The fact that we don’t always perceive the ratzon Hashem in this world is a function of Hashem deliberately hiding His presence which creates a limitation on our perception of Hashem’s involvement in the world, which, in turn, ensures there will in fact be room for man to exercise his power of free will choice. So, in essence, as one internalizes the overarching missive of the Torah, he is in fact thereby becoming a baal bitachon, a person who trusts in Hashem. True Torah there cannot be without bitachon. Torah is synonymous with the reality that ratzon Hashem encompasses the entire world. Hashem is pulling the strings in every detail of this world and in all of the cosmos, and higher spiritual realms. In a very real sense, then, the basic message that the Torah conveys is that everything that happens to us is with an all-embracing hashgacha pratis (Divine providence). The Torah is one hundred percent, from the beginning until the very end, conveying ratzon Hashem. To not grow in one’s bitachon as one learns and upholds the Torah is to be missing out on an integral part of what Torah is all about. (Audio recording)
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