This week’s sedra describes one of the most important,
seminal moments in Jewish history - the giving of the Ten
Commandments at Mount Sinai. So it is interesting to ponder
the significance of the sedra being named after Moses’
father in law – Yitro – who opens the sedra with his advice
on establishing a system of justice.
When Yitro sees large numbers of people bringing their
disputes to Moses from morning until night he asks him why
he alone is the judge. Moses explains that he acts both as
judge to deal with the disagreements and as teacher,
instructing the people in God’s laws. Yitro tells Moses that
he is wrong and sets out instructions to establish a
judicial system based on precedent, with judges appointed
from the people and Moses as the senior judge.
The rabbinic commentators note Yitro’s deep concern when he
sees Moses acting as sole judge from morning to night. What
concerns them is not that Moses is overworked and at risk of
exhaustion, but that Moses is exhausting the people. By
insisting that he is the only one who can solve the
disputes, he is forcing the people to wait for many hours
waiting for him to reach their case. The Ramban comments
that the trouble with Moses’ decision to hear all the
disputes himself was not simply the frustration it caused
the people, but the danger of increasing violence and
injustice amongst them. As the people lost faith in Moses’
ability to hear their cases, they would start to take the
law into their own hands. Rough justice would be the result.
Yitro’s advice to delegate authority and share the
leadership meant that justice could be dispensed more
quickly with the result that the people would be less
frustrated and more willing to have their cases heard. The
system established the rule of law and most legal systems
today are loosely based on Yitro’s counsel to Moses.
This judicial system delegates and shares leadership amongst
the people and puts responsibility on them to establish a
fair system. The establishment of a judiciary drawn from the
people leads to a more egalitarian system, with maximum
access and "ownership" of the Torah by the people. Having a
strong and wise leader such as Moses is important, but so is
having people to help, because without all of that combined
help, Moses’ efforts alone could not succeed.
I
suspect it is no coincidence that we are reminded of the
importance of justice and our responsibility in maintaining
that system just before the revelation at Sinai.
The order of
this sedra suggests that we had to first establish and
accept Yitro’s idea of a society based on a justice system
before we were ready to enter the covenant with God. We had
to acknowledge the fundamental principle of human
responsibility to establish and maintain a fair and
equitable justice system. Supporting such a justice system
allows us to live a moral life and makes us worthy of our
relationship with God.
Vicky Fox is a member of NNLS
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"You shall not swear falsely by [literally, lift
up/carry] the name of the Lord your God; for the Lord
will not clear one who swears falsely by His name."
(Exodus 20:7)
Note: Traditional translation: You shall not take the
name of the Lord your God in vain; for the Lord will not
hold him guiltless that takes His name in vain.
-
“You shall not swear falsely by My name” (Leviticus
19:12) What need was there for this text, when it has
already been stated: “You shall not swear falsely by the
name of the Lord your God”? You might have thought that
one is not culpable except when His specific name [the
Tetragrammaton] is involved. From where do we learn that
the prohibition applies to all the names of God? The
text adds: “By My name” – whatever name I have. (Sifra)
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In any case, one who invokes God and does not keep his
promise is as if he is denying God’s existence. For the
point of mentioning God’s name is to say, “Just as God
is truth, so is my word.” (Rabbi Abraham Ibn Ezra,
1092-1167, Spain)
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The text has been interpreted by our Sages to mean that
it is forbidden to swear by the hallowed Name in vain,
as for example, he that swears that something is or is
not so, where the matter is self-evident – that the
pillar is made of marble and he is standing by, and all
can see that it is so. (Ramban [Rabbi Moses ben
Nachman, 1194-1270, Spain])
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The text also implies that he should not bear the name
of the Lord who is his God in vain, indicating to all
that he is a Jew and a servant of the Lord implying that
he is one of His servants – when such is not the case.
This prohibition also includes the one who regards
himself as more righteous than he really is. (Or
HaHayyim [Rabbi Hayyim Ibn Attar, 1696-1743, Morocco and
Israel])
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Do not take God’s name in matters which are in vain or
false. Do not place an imprint of holiness on things
which are totally repulsive, which appear as positive
commandments but which are in reality serious sins.
Indeed, it is the way of the Evil Inclination to deceive
people by depicting grievous sins as the most sanctified
commandments. Our Sages said (Shevuot 39a) that the
entire world trembled when God said at Sinai, “You shall
not take the name of the Lord your God in vain,” because
all the most terrible crimes and murders are carried out
under the cloak of truth, justice, and uprightness. (Duda’ei
Reuven [Rabbi Reuben Katz, 1880-1963, Lithuania, United
States, and Israel])
Sparks for Discussion
The translation of this verse found in Etz Hayim limits the
commandment to the prohibition of false oaths, but our
commentators understand it much more broadly. Surely false
oaths are prohibited, but so are meaningless ones. Why? How
is pretending to be more righteous than one actually is
“carrying” God’s name in vain? Duda’ei Reuven warns against
presenting sins as if they were mitzvot. How do you
understand this? What examples can you think of?
