You shall not covet

 Yitro

Ex. 18:1 - 20:23

 

Précis:  Following last week’s trip through the Red Sea, Moses is reunited with his father-in-law Jethro (“Yitro”) and with his family. Yitro acknowledges God, gives wise advice to Moses about delegating responsibility, and Moses appoints assistants (judges). The Israelites come to the foot of Mount Sinai where, in the ultimate transcendental experience, Revelation takes place as the “Ten Utterances” (Commandments) are spoken to the People by the very Voice of God.

 

 

Ex. 20:14 “You shall not covet…”

 

This last of the 10 Commandments we read this week is a powerful statement about the human condition.

            I admit I covet much. I covet those whose families enjoy complete health. I covet those who freely travel around the world. I covet those who seem to be care-free.

            Most of us covert things: relationships, prosperity, success and many other matters which others seem to have. Most of the commandments relate to actions between God and humans, or between humans; this command is one which relates to an individual’s internal need to believe and act in a certain, highly difficult way.

            Coveting is explicitly banned, even though it is part of human nature. While we may feel guilty about being covetous, what can (and should) disturb us most is that one is the victim of one’s coveting. In so doing, one robs oneself from the joy and satisfaction one can feel in one’s life. As noted in Pirke Avot (4:1), “Who is wealthy? One who is happy with one’s portion.” But how do we achieve this?

            In my life, I find satisfaction in my contributions to my shul and to my community, in my own health, in the love of my wife and children, in my relative financial security, and in my ability to study and write. I find satisfaction with the guys I work out at the gym, and with my softball teammates. While I am certainly not looking at life through rose-colored glasses, and while I do face real challenges, I can also be "wealthy" in the words of Pirke Avot, being happy with what blessings I do have.

            Our Biblical tradition is thick with coveting, from Adam and Eve through the sibling rivalries of Genesis, to the rivalries between the kings of Judah and Israel and their descendants. Coveting begets unhappiness and leads to a host of dangerous if not fatal consequences. We need to recognize that much unhappiness is self-imposed through failing to abide by this commandment. We need to find the things in life (great or small) in which we can rejoice. We need to find joy.  

            This, too, is not an easy task, especially when so much of the world poses dangers to the Jewish People. But finding joy in our lives is the only way in which this important mitzvah can be observed.

One little word

 B’shalach

Ex. 13:17-17:16

 

Précis: And when Pharaoh “had let them go” (b’shalach), the story of the Exodus from Egypt is almost concluded. Carrying with them the bones of Joseph and the “spoils of Egypt,” Moses leads the Israelites by way of the Red (or Reed) Sea. They cross the sea ahead of Pharaoh’s pursuing army, which subsequently drowns in the returning waters. Moses sings his triumphant Song of the Sea, and Miriam’s song of joy follows. The Israelites begin to murmur against Moses and Aaron because of a lack of food and water. God provides heavenly “manna” to eat and provides water as well. The Shabbat is introduced as a day of rest, even before it appears in the Ten Commandments. In their first battle led by Joshua, against Amalek, the Israelites are successful as long as Moses’ hands remain in the air, and with the help of Aaron and Hur (who support Moses’ arms), they prevail.

 

 

Exodus 16:32-34 “Let one omer of it be kept throughout the ages, in order that they may see the bread that I fed you in the wilderness when I brought you out from the land of Egypt.’ And Moses said to Aaron, ‘Take a jar (tsintsenet), put one omer of manna in it, and place it before Adonai, to be kept throughout the ages.’ As Adonai had commanded Moses, Aaron placed it before the Ark, to be kept.’”

 

Jonathan K. Crane has written about the importance of a single word: tsintsenet (10 Minutes of Torah,1/30/23) meaning “jar.”

            He notes that the impulse to preserve things is profound. As our narrative tells us, the Israelites wandered through the desert, eating the miraculous manna provided by God.  As the manna was initially provided, God issued this command regarding a jar. What was that jar? What was its purpose? What happened to it?

            The Hebrew word tsintsenet appears only here in the entire Bible, and thus there was a great opportunity for the Sages to discuss its details. An early translation of the Bible into Aramaic indicates that the jar is made of clay.  The Septuagint, the earliest translation of the Bible into Greek, states that it is made of gold. Medieval midrashists seemed divided, with some admitting that they had no idea of its composition. Others come down on clay, silver, gold or iron. One suggestion is that because the command requires the omer to be “seen” the jar must be translucent and be made of glass.

            Crane suggests that this mysterious tsintsenet is like our lives. We are all unique, we have bodies that are stiff and malleable, we are both opaque and translucent. We demonstrate God’s wonders “throughout the ages.” The Ark contained not only the second set of Tablets, but also the fragments of the first set smashed by Moses. We human beings can be whole or broken. When Moses says, ‘Take a jar (tsintsenet), put one omer of manna in it, and place it before Adonai, to be kept throughout the ages’ he speaks not of some dusty object lost in time. Moses speaks of you and me and our responsibility to remember what has happened to us and to transmit that memory to others.