Yisro and the Ten Commandments and the Kli Yokor

YISRO AND THE GIVING OF THE TORAH

DOVID EIDENSOHN

The Sedra of Yisro is noted for HaShem speaking to all of the Jews about basic Torah commands. These are two separate things. Yisro, the name of the Sedra, is the name of the father-in-law of Moshe. He was a pious person who was a senior advisor to Pharoh but renounced idols and fled away from Egypt. When Moshe himself had to flee from Pharoah, he went to around Mt. Sinai and eventually found himself near the house of Yisro. He saved the daughters of Yisro near a well as they came to water their sheep and the shepherds who hated Yisro for renouncing idols always tormented his daughters and their sheep. Now Moshe drove away the shepherds and watered the sheep. Yisro was impressed with this and had Moshe invited to the house, which he did, and eventually married the daughter of Yisro, Tsipor.

Yisro who renounced idols worshipped HaShem, but when he realized that Moshe considered Jews superior to Jews in the eyes of HaShem, he locked Moshe up without food to kill him. But Tsipor fed Moshe and finally had her father release Moshe from his jail. When Yisro realized the miracle of the Jews escaping from Egypt and the Egyptian army wiped out at the sea, and he heard of HaShem speaking the words of Torah to the Jews, he brought Moshe’s family to him near Mt. Sinai and brought sacrifices to HaShem. The event was a major event for everyone.

The Kli Yokor brings that the Ten Commandments listed in the Sedra is a machlokess. Some say that only the first two commandments were said by HaShem and heard by the Jews, and some say all ten of the Ten Commandments were heard by the Jews when HaShem spoke.

The Kli Yokor explains the first opinion that the first two commandments HaShem spoke “I am the L-d etc.” He speaks about Himself. The Second command is “You shall have no other deity than Me” again, speaking about Himself. But the latter eight commands are not about HaShem but about the basic mitsvah. “Don’t make an idol” and “Don’t utter HaShem’s Name in vein” is about people not doing it, not a direct statement of HaShem speaking. “Remember the Shabbos” is also about a mitsvah not about HaShem. “Honor your father and your mother” is again not HaShem speaking directly but about listing of a command. Also “Do not murder” and “do not commit adultery” and “do not steal” and “do not claim false testimony” and “do not covet that of another” is not  HaShem speaking directly but simply listing a command.

So the first opinion holds that the Jews heard only the first two commands. But the second opinion holds that the Jews heard the entire Ten Commands from HaShem and died, so it was necessary for Moshe not HaShem to recite the entire Ten commandments. Perhaps listening to HaShem and dying was so terrifying that the Jews couldn’t recall clearly what HaShem said. So HaShem spoke, Moshe heard it, and the Jews did not or heard it but could not store it properly because if they were terrorized by thunder and lightning and died, surely HaShem speaking would terrorize them. So Moshe had to repeat the Ten Commandments.

The first opinion holds that HaShem spoke to the Jews the first two Commands and they all died except Moshe so they asked him to say over the last eight commands. And the second command holds that they were terrorized by thunder and lightning and asked Moshe to speak instead of HaShem.

Perhaps Moshe said the whole Ten Commandments after the Jews complained about the thunder and lightning. But since the Jews detected a change in the first two commands as if Moshe was speaking the command in a way to frighten the Jews that this was a phrase indicating HaShem’s direct description f the command without Him saying anything. This realization frightened the Jews so Moshe had to repeat all of the Ten Commandments.

Note that the passage about begging HaShem to allow Moshe to give the Ten Commandments has nothing to do with the first two commands, but has to do with the terror the Jews had from the thunder and lightning. (See chapter 20 posuk 15) If so, it would seem that the terror came before HaShem spoke anything to the Jews. And if so, He never said a command to them.

And perhaps when HaShem spoke to the Jews He spoke only as loud as Moshe spoke, as we don’t find that the Jews were terrorized by HaShem speaking. But the experience of listening to HaShem speak so upset the Jews that they needed Moshe to repeat it. Some say he repeated the last eight commands only and some say that he said the whole thing. Because perhaps the hearing HaShem speak was also to ruin the ability to know the commands. Or perhaps as the passage above indicates, their fear was only from thunder and lightning, but from that they asked Moshe to save them from further fear by saving them from listening to HaShem speak at all. But some say that the fear was from only the first two commands, and some say the fear was HaShem speaking the entire amount of commands. But everyone holds that there was fear from thunder and lightning.

Thus we have  two opinions if HaShem spoke two commands or twelve commands. And we have opinions about what frightened the Jews about HaShem, HaShem speaking the first two commands to all Israel, or HaShem speaking all commands to Jews but since they were terrified by   thunder and lightning, they also become disoriented from listening to HaShem speak all ten commands.