Parashas Beha'aloscha
The Rock of Jethro
Rabbi David Katz
"I guess you had to be there", the old
saying goes…in fact, amazingly, one can say that this is the underlying theme
of the entire Torah; for our very job description is to believe that somehow
spiritually we are/were there. The Torah was written and takes places in a very
small gap of time, detailing the struggles of a young and burdened budding
nation, striving to achieve and rise up to its identity; its essence would be
rooted in strands of history right up until their momentous date with destiny –
the redemption that rings synonymous with the Story within the Five Books of
Moses. By reading through her pages year after year - even millennia after millennia - Mankind has fallen in love with our selected heroes. We identify with
them, and - in the reservoirs of our hearts and souls – we secretly wish we were
there; or at least crave a belief that we are somehow connected in wormholes of
time. Yet reality is still undefeated, even among the likes of King David and a
Second Temple Era, in that "what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas"; i.e. the
Torah's contents are the very embodiment of the secret dimensions of the
Ancient Text. The job of Man is to live and learn life to the point that one
can experience the divine knowledge necessary to reveal the Godliness contained
within a lifetime of Moses. The Torah's simple and eternal message is clear: "you
had to be there" – otherwise, begin to learn exactly what it was like. The Torah tradition that emanated from the lips of Moses in that lifetime would
serve as the tools, keys, and code to unlock the mystery of the Word of God…a
Word that we all speak and argue every day. "O' ye Man, will he ever
understand even one simple dialogue amongst whispering men?"
The first major challenge in
deciphering the Torah's vast reservoirs of Light takes place in the area of
distinction amidst God's miraculous providence. The Ramban Torah commentary
distinctly points out two types of miracles: those that occur within nature and
through [mazal] the agency of God's power activated through Man via Divine
Providence. The second is through Hashem causing this World to stop in its
tracks to provide a novel outcome; the former is thus seen to "carry out
the original plan" whereas the latter allows for the Master of the Universe
to "Be as he may Be" and not subordinate to any system, [Perforce this
name of God is above logic, for it clearly goes against all that we know as our
fabric of existence – spiritually and physically]. The goal it would seem is
that the greater sanctification of God is to have Hashem's dwelling be among
Men, and for this we can look to the need and rationale of the Holy Temple, where
God's Presence shall rest. This however
is not devoid of debate; for since Torah analysis began, this question has been
debated – the nature of how to interpret God's providence; and all the more so
the details concerning the Word of God. The most literal expression of this
conundrum is no more than a desire of one's yearning to finally know with
confidence "just what reality is" – and that it would invariably be a
reality with God as a part of one's life. Whatever the answer may be, this is
the very definition of every man's existential angst, and is the qualitative
undertone that pulsates within every letter of Torah.
A great example of this duality
concept can be played out in a very practical sense – the performance of
Mitzvot. One particular Mitzvah that equals the entire Torah is that of
conquering the Land of Israel from the local Nations, namely the Canaanites.
The rationale of such a breathtaking expanse of this Mitzvah is in the mere
fact that all of the Torah's fruits depend on breaking through to the Holy Land
and erecting the prophesied temple; this is one of the few places that a
grandiose thought of Torah merit is easily perceived without veil to the mortal
man. The Ramban comes through again on this obligation of conquering the Land,
and he offers a novel view of how to perform successfully the Mitzvah, and he
bases it on logic, wisdom, and historical precedent. He states that only in the
Land of Israel are the Seven Laws of Noah a demand upon Israel's influence. Thus, one can conquer the Canaanites through these Laws, and one need not resort
to an AK47. The ramifications are resounding, for it relieves Israel of a
World-wide burden of being responsible outside the Land; and inside the Land
there is a radically shorter and more powerful path towards eternal peace. The Talmud
explains that the reason for the Noahide peace process is to ensure that the
Torah's edicts can run smoothly. Especially in areas of commerce, should
idolatrous currency exist, the Torah does not operate as well, for her harsher
decrees are evoked. Should the Nations achieve knowledge of God, they are embedded
into the Covenant of God with Israel [which is the basis of many modern and
religious claims resulting from a historical buildup through this precedent]
and shall enjoy a full Torah reality on the Land - one that echoes the true Word
of God, and consequently sheds Messianic Light on the sacred Land. It goes
without saying, that this would be a prescription of Light to the Nations
throughout the World.
As this topic dictates one still may
choose a lower sanctity, and take issue with an AK 47. But this would surely
require God's assistance, it would arouse a chilul Hashem throughout the World
[which is why this form of action is not found in today's active mainstream
Judaism], and by historical account through the Book of Joshua, the deeper
understanding was that they largely conquered with the Seven Laws. Two powerful
results come from this mode of action: we may let an Amalekite live by bringing
him through the Seven Laws of Noah [as a form of conquer and even "type of
death"; this was realized by King David] and Israel has always used Seven
Laws as its aggressive tone when command dictates. Israel has gone to war like
any other country, but when it comes to obliteration of a people and/or
conquering the Land, Torah is the antidote. From this course of action,
Humanity becomes the primal cause of Torah, which explains why King David was
able to master the Book and Way of Life through his experience on the Land. David
used his position to master the art of Humanity, the Torah's ultimate secret
into the life of Moses and the nature of God's miraculous hand, as witnessed in
the Book of Psalms.
Thus, in the Torah, under these
conditions, we must ascertain over every instance the nature of its reality,
like a natural Pardes/Orchard that is attended to by Gerim [i.e. exegesis on
every instance, avoiding making gross over generalizations]. Every miracle
told, every encounter between men, every story told – one must understand the
life-reality that God is telling through a vernacular that we must master,
through knowledge that came from the subject itself – Torat Moshe. One of the
Torah's greatest and deeply compelling encounters is the dialogue and exchanges
between Jethro and Moses, as takes place in our Parasha. The essence of what
has been conveyed thus far applies very nicely to these Men, and not only
explains their awkward moments well, but even sheds new light as to their soul
quality.
When Moses began his journey of
redemption, he was destined to meet Jethro his future father-in-law, as he is
passionately referred to in our Parasha. By the time Moses left the house of
Jethro, the Torah and commentary makes mention that Moses succeeded in
obtaining the staff of Jethro that was embedded upon his soil. This staff would
be revealed as miraculous, and be the impetus of which Moses would strike the
rock that gives water [the first time, as commanded by God]. The Midrash
relates that this took place at Sinai, and by means of Torah exegesis, the
verse says [Shemot 17:6] "Behold, I shall stand before you in the Rock of
Horeb" – it is learned that any place of a foot impression in stone is a revelation
of the Divine Presence, and we must remember that the rock was struck with a
"rod." If we are to apply the dynamics of miracles and art of
humanity in accordance with God's providence, perhaps one can draw a unique and
novel view of this enigmatic data on a seemingly benign passage of Torah.
One source of miracles among Men is
made possible by a lesser known reality that man can achieve the angelic quality
called "Cherubim" and the Torah's mighty stars all achieved this
elevated existence. This, perforce, challenges the reader to always fathom if
Hashem causes miracles or if the Men are simply miraculous, as Cherubim, and
still within the confines of Nature. To illustrate this point, with the story
of Moses, Jethro, and the rock – the Midrash states that the rock that has an
impression of the foot contains a resting place of the Shechinah. With that
said, this makes for a fantastic story, only does one find such a rock in the
World that fits the bill?
The answer is yes there is. At the
grave of Jethro in Tiberius lays a famous rock that bears an impression of a
foot, and the Druze who attend to the holy site have tradition that the imprint
is indeed that of Jethro. And we are to remember, the Torah is miraculous among
Man; a little bit of context and an eye that sees, just may yield that missing
details that we all need…one step for man really can be a giant leap for
mankind…right here on good ole planet Earth. God has said he shall dwell among
Man, and perhaps it is time to let go of what man and his creation isn't, in the face of what God and His Creation is.
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