5783/2023
The Gemara in Masechet Sanhedrin (94a) quotes the
following Pasuk from this week’s Parashah, Parashat Yitro: Yitro said“ ”ויאמר יתרו ברוך ה׳ אשר הציל אתכם מיד מצרים ומיד פר ֑עה“ ‘Blessed be Hashem who delivered you from the Egyptians and from Paroh, and who delivered the people from under the hand of the Egyptians’” (Shemot 18:10). The Gemara states that it is a גנאי, extreme embarrassment, for Bnei Yisrael, that they have yet to describe the miraculous קריעת ים סוף in last week’s Parashah using the words ברוך ה׳, and it is so embarrassing Yitro comes around and does it first.
What could the Gemara possibly be thinking?! Was it absent for the entire fourth Aliyah in last week’s Parashah? There is literally an entire שירה that we say every day in Shacharit dedicated to this incredible event! How could the Gemara render stanzas upon stanzas of gratitude expressed in Biblical poetry inferior to those two words Yitro used to sum it ?ברוך ה׳—up
If we take a second to appreciate who exactly Yitro was and what kind of life he lived up until this point, this whole debacle starts to clear up. Yitro was someone who had taken it upon himself to give a fair shot to all religions under the sun before finally landing on Judaism. He was someone who exhibited immense religious sensitivity and awareness. This idea is embodied in a Rashi just a few Pesukim earlier:
Rashi comments on the Pasuk describing Yitro’s immediate reaction to the story Hashem’s miraculous ו ֣יחד ית ֔רו ֚על כל הטו ֔בה“ :performance for Bnei Yisrael in Mitzrayim And Yitro experienced“ ”אשר ־ע ֥שה ה׳ לישר ֑אל א ֥שר הצי ֖לו מ ֥יד מצ ֽרים on all that he heard Hashem has performed for Bnei חדוה Yisrael in saving them from the hand of Mitzrayim'” (ibid. 18:9). Rashi comments on the word ויחד, and quotes a Gemara from the very same Daf as ours (Sanhedrin, 94a)! Two opinions are brought down in the Gemara: Rav interprets the word to mean that Yitro was so overjoyed that he grew goose bumps on his skin! Shmuel argues and says exactly the opposite: as someone who had taken part in many other religions and lived with a wide range of nations, Yitro was grieving over the loss of countless Egyptian soldiers at sea.
So far, no opinion has provided adequate enough support in favor of Yitro to answer our question. The Malbim, however, takes a unique approach.
The Malbim uses a Pasuk in Nechemiah which contains ואל“ :to reconcile these two opposing views שורש the very same of Hashem חדוה don’t cry, because the“ ” ֣תע ֔צבו ֽכי ־חד ֥ות ה׳ ֥היא ֽמעז ֽכם is in you” (Nechemiah 8:10). Bnei Yisrael had just heard the Torah read out to them and they started crying uncontrollably. Nechemiah responded to them, saying that they should quit crying because Hashem’s חדוה is within you. The Malbim defines חדוה as a happy medium between pure joy and deep sadness— חדוה is an overwhelming happiness that can only exist with a deep sadness inside. Yitro was sad for the death of the Egyptian soldiers, but simultaneously recognised that this gave rise to the birth of the entire Jewish nation.
With this approach in mind, we can now return to Yitro’s original statement: ברוך ה׳. This ברוך now takes a dual ,ברוך דיין אמת form— on the one hand, it functions as a sort of and laments the lost lives suffered by Mitzrayim. On the other, it praises Hashem for being able to let go of so many of his creatures to birth Am Yisrael. Yitro, in all his sensitivity, picked up on something that Bnei Yisrael completely missed: this wasn’t easy for Hashem. As much as He loves Bnei Yisrael, He had to kill thousands of Mitzri soldiers in the process of saving His nation, and Bnei Yisrael simply failed to recognize that sacrifice at all. For all of אז ישיר, they speak of the glory of Hashem and the great downfall of the Egyptian people, but not once do Bnei Yisrael recognize what Hashem gave up there.
Yitro’s profound sensitivity is something that we can learn a lot from. Oftentimes, we fail to recognize what toll our actions have on others, and what sacrifice they went through themselves to do things for us. Yitro’s incredible thoughtfulness should inspire us to take everything into consideration.