>Parashat Yitro
>From the book ‘Me’ever Lamefursam’:
> “You shall not covet your neighbor's house. You shall not covet your neighbor's wife, his manservant, his maidservant, his ox, his donkey, or whatever belongs to your neighbor."
>The Holy Torah forbids us to covet and desire something that is not ours, the question is: how do we do it?
>Rabbeinu Ibn Ezra explains - many people would wonder about this mitzvah - how can there be a person who does not covet something beautiful in his heart nor anything that looks good? Here is a parable: once a simple villager heard that the king had a daughter who had reached puberty, would it occur to him to marry her? would he covets to marry her? Certainly not, why would she choose him? After all, he is a villager, and she is the daughter of a king.
>Nowadays, a practical example is asking: "Does man covet to fly in the air?" Certainly not, we have no wings, so our heart does not begin to covet it. Thus, a man should know that God has forbidden him the wife of another - he should think that she is more sublime [not reachable] than the king's daughter to a villager. Therefore, the man will rejoice in his lot, and will not put in his heart to covet and lust for something that is not his, for he knows that the will of God is to withhold it from him. We must work on ourselves, not to covet things that are not ours, simply because it does not belong to us, and it should be clear just as a man does not covet wings to fly. However, if you deserve it - you will get ‘wings’, and if not - you won’t. And if you have a hard time with it - then you need to strengthen your faith.
>[Here are some questions about this Parasha:]
> “Mount Sinai was all in smoke, for the L>ORD> had come down upon it in fire; the smoke rose like the smoke of a kiln, and the whole mountain trembled violently.” [Exodus 19:18]
>How does a mountain tremble [anxious in Hebrew]?
>At Mount Sinai, fire controlled the body of the mountain, and its stones were burned, as a kiln in which Limestones would be made into lime. That’s why it’s written that the whole mountain was >anxious/trembled,> because when the fire in the furnace dominates the stones - >they will be shaken> [by the heat] and will make >a voice of anxiety/tremble.
>“I am the Lord, your God” [Exodus 20:2]
>What is the connection between the Ten Commandments, and the verse “Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth” [Song of Songs 1:2]?
>As God began to speak, the heavens and earth roared, and Israel could not stand on their own two feet. What did God do? He sent to each one of Israel two angels, one laid his hand on the Israeli’s heart so that his soul won’t go away [=so he won’t die], and the other raised the Israeli’s head so that he can look at the glory of God, and >all could see the voice> of God go to their ears. And the Divine speech was circulating each and every one of the Israelis and saying to each: "Do you accept me upon yourself? Such and such commandments are within me, such and such punishments are within me, and such and such rewards are within me." And the Israelite responds and says: "Yes, Yes!" Immediately >the Divine speech kissed him> on his mouth, as it is what is said: "Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth."
>“You shall not swear [/carry] falsely by the name of the LORD your God” [Exodus 20:7]
> How can a person swear falsely by the name of God in vain, without mentioning the name of God at all?
>For example, a person carries upon himself the name of God in a false way - if the person tells people that he is a servant of God, and he shows himself to be righteous, but in his heart, it’s not the case [he doesn’t do it for God] - this is [also] carrying the name of God in vain!
>[falsely swear = carrying in vain =>> >are written the same way in Hebrew ‘>לֹא תִשָּׂא>’>]
>Copyrights Approval
>The book: Me’ever Lamefursam
> Author: Rabbi Yaakov Maavri
> Number to purchase the book [in Hebrew]: +97250-7523086
Email: >meeverlamefursam@gmail.com
Translated with the approval of the book’s author.
Translator: Dor Graydi