B"H
Thursday, Shevat 18, 5779 / January 24, 2019
The highlight of this week's Parsha, Yitro, is G-d's giving the Ten Commandments to the Jewish people at Mount Sinai. This great event took place seven weeks after The Exodus.
Q. Why did G-d wait 50 days after the Exodus to give the Torah?
A. During their enslavement in Egypt, a majority of Jews adopted the ways of the Egyptians. As a result, they had fallen to a very low spiritual level, even to the extent of worshiping idols. In order to receive the Torah, they had to elevate themselves spiritually. Only when they achieved that spiritual level did G-d give them the Torah. This process took seven weeks, as each day they were elevated to a higher level.
The Midrash gives another reason with the following parable: A king had a son who was sick for a lengthy time. When the young prince finally felt a bit better, his teacher asked the king to send the boy to school. But the king replied, "My son has not yet fully recovered. For the next few months let him stay home, eat and drink, until he fully recuperates, and after, when he is completely recovered, I will send him to school.
Similarly, G-d said, My children have just come out of Egypt where they were tortured and enslaved for over one hundred years. How can I give them the Torah so soon? Let them enjoy the Manna, the water of the well and the quail. I will wait until they have fully recovered. Once they are completely healed, then I will give them the Torah."
Q. There are 620 letters in the Ten Commandments. What is the significance of this number?
A. They correspond to the 613 Biblical Mitzvot plus 7 Rabbinical laws, which total 620!
The Torahs in synagogue have a crown on them. The "crown" on top of the Torah scroll is called "Keter Torah." The word "Keter" (crown) has the numerical value of 620 (20+400+200=620). This also alludes to all the Biblical and Rabbinical mitzvot, which together total 120.
Q. The first letter of the Ten Commandments is "Alef,” which has a numerical value of 1. The last letter of the Ten Commandments is "Chaf," whose numerical value is, 20. Together they total 21. What is the significance of this?
A. If we add up the first letter of each of the Five Books of the Torah, they come to the total of 21 (2+6+6+6+1). This teaches us that the entire Torah – all Five Books of the Torah, were given at Mount Sinai. According to Rabbi Sadiya Gaon, all the mitzvot of the Torah are encoded in the Ten Commandments.
HAVE A VERY GOOD, HAPPY, HEALTHY AND SUCCESSFUL DAY