Special Meal – Parshas Yisro 5770
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Loading ...ויקח יתרו חתן משה עולה וזבחים לאלקים ויבא אהרן וכל זקני ישראל לאכול לחם עם חתן משה לפני האלקים (יח:יב).
“Yisro offered sacrifices to Hashem; Aharon and the Elders came to eat with Yisro in front of Hashem ” (18:12).
Two questions. What does the beginning of the verse have to do with the end? There should be two separate verses, one describing Yisro’s offerings and the second about the meal they ate “before Hashem”?
Rashi states that this meal was considered sacred because “one who joins a meal which includes Talmidei Chachomim is considered to have beheld the Divine Presence (Berachos 64a). What does this mean and why is it taught specifically here?
The answer to all of these quandaries is one. The Maharal explains that only Jews are allowed to bring a Korban Shalomim offering. The gentiles can only bring an Olah. Why? The gentile sees spirituality and physicality in the world as two separate entities; they cannot fathom the ability to bring them together. Hence, when they come to the Temple to offer a sacrifice to God, they are only allowed to bring an Olah which is slaughtered and then totally given over to God, by its complete burning upon the altar. To them, the Shalomim is unfathomable. How could humans (the owner and Priest) eat part of a sacrifice, while only part is burned for God?!
The Torah does not command us to negate the human body, only to control it and to elevate the physical experience. This is the foundation of Torah. So much of Judaism revolves around the actions of the body. Our Shabbos and Yom Tov is celebrated with wine, bread and an abundance of delicious food!
We take in the physical enjoyment and use it to sing heartfelt praises to Hashem. We enjoy this world as a means to elevate it and give thanks to its Creator! That is the foundation of the entire Torah.
The eating process is sacred and holy. This is why it is stressed in our Parsha specifically. We find the giving of the Torah described here. It is thus important to precede it with this message.
Indeed, the first (בראשית) and last (ישראל) letters of the Torah itself, together spell the word לב, heart. The heart represents human passions and desire. The Torah is found surrounded by these to letters in order to express that the goal of Torah is not to negate the physical world, rather it is to utilize it properly for the service of Hashem. (Why the letters appear backwards is beyond the scope of this essay.)
It is thus most appropriate that our Parsha which contains the awesome event of the giving of the Torah, is named after Yisro. He was a convert and thus brought with him an appreciation of the outside world. He was an example in using the physical world and channeling it to Hashem. Hence, it comes as no surprise that Rashi tells us that he also brought a Korban Shalomim!
Our verse ends by expressing that he ate a meal before Hashem. This is the exact theme of the Parsha, elevating the physical. The beginning and end of the verse is the same. Just as the Chachomim elevated their meals to serve Hashem, so too Yisro brought a Korban which stood for making holy the mundane.
May we all merit to enjoy life to its magnificent fullest!
