Yisro Essays

[Reuven Chaim Klein]

🤱🏻 Baurch Hashem, my daughter Brocha Shprintza bas Shira Yael is developing nicely, but she is still hospitalized in an incubator for the next few weeks. 🍼 Please continue to daven for her.🙏🏻

Quick update: Thanks to the generosity of many supporters, the crowdfunding campaign for my upcoming book The Divine and the Dumb: Jewish Perspectives on Idolatry is now well over 50% of our goal (including donations sent offline). If you’d like to help push it over the finish line, U.S. donations are tax-deductible, and even small contributions make a real difference. I’d also be grateful if you could help spread the word to interested friends via email, WhatsApp, or social media.

Campaign link: https://gofund.me/f38674fa0

Essays on Hebrew synonyms from my "What’s in a Word?" series related to Parshas Yisro:

• G-d's Best Friend - About יתרו, יתר, רעואל, חובב, קיני, פוטאל, and חבר.
• Heat with the In-laws - About חמי and חותן.
• Just Winging It - About כנף, אבר, and אגף.
• Laundering and Cleaning - About כביסה, מריקה, שטיפה, רחיצה, הדחה, and קינוח.
• Myself and I - About אני and אנכי.
• Murder He Wrote - About הריגה, קטילה, and רציחה.
• Write it down - About כתיבה, חקיקה, גליפה, חריטה, חריתה, and פיסול.
• Stairs to Above - About מעלות, מדרגות, and סולם.

Pirkei D'Rabbi Eliezer Shiurim related to this week's Parsha (available on many platforms including: YouTube, Google Music, Spotify, Amazon Music, TorahDownloads, OUTorah.org, Archive.org):

• Episode 84: Chapter 41a - Receiving the Torah at Sinai = Descending on Mount Sinai (Yeridah #6) / Lifting the Mountain / The Nations of the World reject the Torah / Esau lives by the sword, Ishmael by theft & promiscuity / Multitudes of Angels at Sinai / The Fiery Religion (Aish Das) / The Torah is given with endearment & an oath / Who swore at the reception of the Torah (God or the Jews)? / Is a Noahide obligated to keep his word? / The Torah is said to the Jews' left ear / Which shoe do you take off first on Tisha B'Av? / The Jews unite when camping at Mount Sinai / Horeb = Sinai (Sneh) / 5 Names for Mount Sinai (Har HaElokim, Bashan, Gavnunim, Chorev, & Sinai) / Why do we eat cheese on Shavuos?
• Episode 85: Chapter 41b - Receiving the Torah at Sinai = Mabit: Individual gentiles who didn't reject the Torah become converts / Shavuos: Two Oaths / Images of the sneh on rocks from Mount Sinai / Separate Seating at Matan Torah / Do the men always follow the women? / Sleeping extra on the summer day of Shavuos / The Sinaitic Revelation is like a wedding / Staying up the whole night of Shavuot / Hashem betroths the Jews through the Torah & other similarities to weddings / God speaks to Moses / Abstinence in preparation for Matan Torah / Moshe adds an extra day to prepare / Hashem wants Moshe off the mountain before revealing Himself / The Jews died & were resurrected at Sinai
• Episode 86: Chapter 41c - Receiving the Torah at Sinai = Death & Resurrection at Sinai / Moses hesitates to enter the Arafel (dark cloud) / At Sinai, the souls returned to God / When the Jews came back to life at Sinai were they like new people? / Commanding the Jews indirectly / Punishing those who worshipped the Golden Calf / A prophet can temporarily suspend any prohibition except for idolatry / Which commandments did the Jews hear directly from God? / Forseeing the Jews' betrayal at Sinai with darkness at the mountain / Hearing & seeing God's voice / Habakuk distills 613 Mitzvos down to 1 idea
• Episode 92: Chapter 45a - Receiving the Torah at Sinai = God swears that He will do whatever Moses wants (except for entering the Holy Land & immortality) / The Jews want to imitate Egyptian idolatry (Apis Bull) / Did the Jews intend to replace God or use an intermediary to worship Him? / Chur is Moshe's nephew (son of Miriam & Calev) / What does Efrati mean? / Did Jewish women or Erev Rav women resist giving their jewelry for the Golden Calf? / Rosh Chodesh is a special holiday for women / A minhag that woman don't work on Rosh Chodesh
• Episode 93: Chapter 45b - Receiving the Torah at Sinai =  Jewish Men wore earrings like Egyptians / Throwing God's name into the fire & a calf emerges / How was Aharon allowed to erase Hashem's name? / The Cow Moos / The Satan possesses the Golden Calf / God tells Moshe about the Golden Calf & Moshe descends the mountain / Moses gets weak & throws down empty tablets (Luchos) / Aaron defends his actions / The Levites did not participate in the Golden Calf & and help mete out punishments to the idolaters / Moshe defeats 5 angels sent to destroy the Jewish People (Ketezef, Af, Cheimah, Mashchis, & Charon) / Mose is buried across from Baal Peor to neutralize Charon-Af
• Episode 94: Chapter 46a - Receiving the Torah at Sinai = What day of the year was Matan Torah (6 Sivan or 7 Sivan) & what day of the week (Friday or Shabbos)? / Eating dairy on Shavuos because the Torah was given on Friday / Moshiach will come in 1990 / How long did Matan Torah take? / The Jewish Men return to their wives ("tents") / Moshe separates from his wife / Studying the Written Torah during the day (male, sun) & Oral Torah at night (female, moon) / Moshe breaks the Luchos on the 17th of Tammuz / Moshe spends 40 days wiping out idolatry from amongst the Jews / Seder Olam: Moshe Rabbeinu spends 3 periods of 40 days atop Mount Sinai / Blowing the Shofar on Rosh Chodesh Elul amp; the entire month of Elul / Not blowing Shofar on Erev Rosh HaShanah / Tekiah-Teruah-Tekiah: Sounding the Shofar "sweetens" the Din (Elokim) into Rachamim (Hashem) / Rachamim begins after Chatzos (Midnight) / The Torah makes man free
• Episode 95: Chapter 46b - Receiving the Torah at Sinai = Who wrote the second pair of Luchos (Tablets)? / The number 40 represents a new creation / The angels are jealous of the Jews receiving the Torah & Moshe's response / The angels wanted the esoteric parts of the Torah without its simplest, literal meaning / Supernatural remedies / Investigating the Letters of the Torah / Blowing the Shofar on Motzei Yom Kippur / When does Yom Kippur offer its atonement? / Why is Yom Kippur called Shabbaton? / Dying on Erev Yom Kippur, Yom Kippur, & Motzei Yom Kippur / Yom HaKippurim = Yom Kippur = The One Day of the Year / Yom Kippur & Purim will always continue to exist

Kol Tuv,

Reuven Chaim Klein

Beitar Illit, Israel

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