This parashah Yitro has a lot of meat and meaning.  Interestingly, this portion in which we received the Ten Commandments or Sayings is named after a Gentile priest These Ten Words are Israel’s Constitution as well as for the entire world. There is so much to learn from the Bore Olam’s revelation, but sadly His principles have been warped by elitists who have separated themselves from the rest of the people not out of a sense of serving others but out of pride.

Although I grew up in a Jewish home where we knew there was a Creator, it was all superficial. As a professor in university, I was a proud atheist believing that only people with limited mental capacity could believe in a Superior Being, that we humans have conquered the world, and that we can do everything on our own. I was puffed up like a peacock about my knowledge, but I had many experiences that slowly changed the direction of my belief system without realizing it. Then suddenly tragedy hit my family forcing me to search for answers to the deeper questions of life and death and if there was something greater than me. I am so glad that at the age of 22  as a Professor of Thermodynamics, through the simple law of entropy, I was finally able to find some answers to my questions about the existence of a Creator. He made me aware of His Presence within and I saw Him guiding me, but it was not easy. The path of following the Creator is never easy because there are things within us that must be changed. I call this “a Paradigm Shift”. We know we need to change but we don’t always know how. It can be quite painful because our minds lead us in one direction while the Creator leads us in the opposite. We tend to want to return to our former way of thinking. Thankfully the Creator is greater than we are and slowly directs us on how to follow Him. When we finally find Him, we learn to be humble, stop running against the current, and start heading in the right direction.

Humbling ourselves means that we have to acknowledge our limitations, that we no longer deny the obvious and we listen to that quiet inner voice reminding us that we are responsible for our actions. In the final analysis, we are the only ones who can make decisions and think for ourselves. If others make decisions for us, we are dependent upon them and are not truly free. The Torah gave us the Ten Commandments or utterances for our good. Our people who received them at Mount Sinai were not supposed to keep them for themselves but were to disseminate them to all humanity. Sadly, the opposite has happened. The people at Mt. Sinai were not only Israelites; people from other nations who heard them and accepted these sayings were also there. We may not want to acknowledge that, but it is a fact. This elitism makes people think that they are better than others but the opposite happens when we have a true relationship with the Creator. For the first time, we learn how small we are compared with the GOD and that’s when we humble ourselves before Him and something special happens…we become the best we can be and start to learn not to compare ourselves with others.  The Ten Words are all that we need.

If you examine any constitution, there are libraries filled with laws. Israel is the greatest at creating new laws however, a social system of justice that is predicated upon “precedence” is an unjust system. Judging by precedence means that we are not judged by what we have done but according to what others have done.  Law upon law is added based on previous cases to the point that we no longer know how to apply the law. This causes the essence of God’s principles to be lost in the mire since so much has been added to the Word of God. God’s clear revelation is far simpler and is about how to live and walk with Him.

This modern-day society is so sad.  We have lost the idea of basic human decency and morality. It pretends to be a “free society” where everyone can do whatever they want without consequences. History repeats itself and, in every era, people think they are in the so-called age of enlightenment. We have once again eradicated the simple direction the Creator has given us to walk with Him. Today humanism is the religion of choice, and having erased the Ten Commandments, they are no longer under God and He no longer plays a role in their lives. If they think that they are so much more advanced than those of us who believe in God, why do they get so upset when you speak to them about a relationship with the Creator? Something within their soul, their neshama is being affected. Sadly, most of the world is reacting against the Creator because of the “religions”.

There are two similar types of people – religious leaders and politicians. If you give them your support to get into power, they promise you the moon; that if you follow them and do what they tell you, you will be in paradise very soon. But which paradise!? But if you have the chutzpah to disagree with them, they attack you and try to destroy you, to stop you from speaking. This is happening right here in this “free” country of Canada. The Ten Commandments have been removed from our schools, resulting in the moral turpitude of the people. Today’s parents of young children have a challenging job because they have to fight against the morality of society going down the drain. I believe that I do not have the right to impose morality upon others, but those with immoral values do not have the right to impose them upon me or anyone else.  People can perform their immorality in private. However, today if we speak against it, we’re told it’s a hate crime.

In this community, we are not popular because the world does not want our message. People ask me “If you have the answer why aren’t you more popular, why aren’t you growing”?  We can’t legislate morality; people need to be moved in their souls by the Creator.  They need to understand the difference between right and wrong.  It is not about being judgmental or looking down on others and living apart. We need to humble ourselves. The Ten Commandments, of which most people are ignorant, raise us to a higher standard; they are simple yet profound.  Each of us has the right to understand them in our way,  communicate and share them with others.  You would be surprised how many people are ignorant of these basic commandments.

I have a theory. I believe that every human being has received the Ruach, the breath, the Spirit of God at conception; each soul is embedded with a Divine spark because we are created in His likeness and image. This is how GOD’s Word becomes implanted within us. Anthropologists know that even the most primitive people have a set of standards and morals by which they live. That tells us that we all come from the same Creator. Many civilizations (like Sumerian, Akkadian, Hammurabi, Hittite, etc.) had a very developed system of laws and codices long before the Creator revealed His Ten to Moses. That shows me that the Creator shared His Presence with all humanity, but humans have distorted His Principles. That’s what religions do. They tell you that they are interpreting the Word of God and then they invent and impose distortions upon others in the guise of enlightenment bringing us back to darkness.

There are only Ten Words or Sayings. They are divided in Mitzvot ( Commandments ), Chukkim (Ordinances which we may not fully understand but are there for our good)  and Mishpatim (The rights between our fellow man). One of the greatest crimes of religious people was to call the Torah – Law or Nomos in Greek. The Torah is not the law; it is a book of principles by the Creator on how to live, not to be enforced by penalty but willingly accepted.  When they were given the people at Sinai, they said, “Yes we will do it” and later said, “We will do, and we will obey”. They accepted it. It is a two-way relationship not forced upon anyone. We could have refused.

Now in the 21st century, humanity has advanced so much that we can destroy ourselves with the push of a button. One of the motivations of society is Selfishness. God gave us free will – bechirah chofshit, after which comes kavanah (intention).  If we could see into the hearts of the people around us, to see their kavanah (intention), we would see how selfish humanity has become. The Creator wants the opposite for us – that humanity be one in which we would help each other instead of destroying each other. We don’t need to compare ourselves with others, but rather to see where we are and be active in this society in a positive way.

We are living in perilous times, on the brink of self-destruction. Not only with weapons but with worldwide epidemics. Everyone is afraid and more will come. We parents don’t know what to do with our children because good values that used to be taught in schools are being destroyed. Children think that teachers know more than their parents. Our governments are pushing values that go against the Torah upon us. Those in this so-called free society who speak out about the Truth suffer the consequences. Our free speech is being muzzled.

It is time to awaken from this nightmare. It’s time that we start expressing ourselves and speaking out when we disagree with the opinions of others. We can say, “I don’t agree”.  It’s time they know where we stand. Let us not look to be accepted by man but only by the Creator. Are you with the Creator or are you against Him?

My prayer is that we accept the Ten Commandments for what they are – principles of life that the Creator gave us – not more laws and not by being a legalistic person, but rather by being flexible, open-minded, and understanding of others. If we want to justify our behaviour, justify it with the Truth, not wishful thinking. Let us not twist the truth for our benefit. If GOD is with us, who can be against us?  Finally, Yitro is not in chronological order, and even he had words of wisdom for Moses.  We can find truth in many ways.  All humanity is GOD’s creation. We are all one because He made us one. He gives us possibilities. Here in this community, we follow GOD not people. Don’t be afraid to read and search everything. Take what is good and throw away what is not. The Truth comes from the Creator, and He will never lead us on the wrong path.

Shabbat Shalom

Ranebi z”l