Parshat Yitro: Divine Signs – The Good, the Bad, and the Forbidden

Parsha Halacha – Parshat Yitro

Divine Signs

The Good, the Bad, and the Forbidden

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The Torah portion of Yitro contains the story of the giving of the Ten Commandments and the Torah. This experience is the single most important event for the Jewish people as it established us as G-d’s people, obligated us to observe His Torah, and enabled us to study its rich depth. In addition, as a result of this, it became clear to the Jewish people that Moshe was G-d’s true prophet.^[1]

Thick Cloud, Thunder, Lightning, and Shofar Blasts

The Torah was given in a dramatic fashion, as the verse says,^[2] “There was thunder and lightning. A heavy cloud was on the mountain, and there was a very loud sound of the shofar. All the people in the camp trembled… The entire Mount Sinai was enveloped with smoke, for G-d had descended upon it in fire. Its smoke rose like the smoke of a [lime] furnace, and the entire mountain trembled violently. The sound of the shofar grew louder and louder… All the people saw the sounds, the flames, the sound of the shofar, and the mountain emitting smoke. The people saw this, and they trembled and stood at a distance.”

The commentaries explain that the clouds and storm were only on Mount Sinai and on no other mountain, indicating that they (as well as the shofarless shofar blasts) were supernatural [Ibn Ezra and Ibn Ezra Hakatzar] while the thunder and lightning prepared them for the prophetic experience of hearing G-d uttering the Ten Commandments.^[3]

What Do the Eight Matters Signify?

The Abarbanel points out that there were eight natural and/or supernatural effects that took place at that time.

“Kolot” – thunderbolts,
Bright lightning,
Thick cloud on the mountain, as it says, “A heavy cloud was on the mountain,”^[4]
Light rain (see Judges 5:4 “O, G-d, when you came forth from Se’ir… Also, the clouds dripped rain”),
The ever-increasing sound of the Shofar,
The powerful yet humanlike Divine voice uttering the Ten Commandments,
The smoke on the mountain, as it says “The entire Mount Sinai was enveloped with smoke,”^[5]
And the quaking of the mountain, as it says, “… and the entire mountain trembled violently.”^[6]

The point of these signs was to emphasize the difference between wisdom attained through human intellect (i.e., philosophy and the sciences) versus wisdom received from the Divine through prophecy.

The Limitations of Human Intellect

Specifically,

· The kolot – (thunderbolts) which can also be translated as “voices” refers to the various opinions of intellectual thinkers. Although each opinion seems powerful, it is soon contradicted by other opinions.

· The lightning represents human intellectual accomplishments, which are bright and illuminating, but fade quickly when they are supplanted by a different theory.

· The thick clouds and light rain represent the fact that most of the workings of the world remain shrouded in mystery and are beyond the comprehension of the scientists. (The thick clouds represent a lack of understanding while the light rain represents the small percentage of matters which have been fathomed.)

The Prophetic Voice

· In contrast to the thunderbolts, which were many sounds that boomed and faded, the sound of the shofar was one sound which “grew louder and louder.” The shofar represents Divine revelations via the prophets, which is beautiful and flawless. (See Isaiah 58:1 where the prophet is told to “Raise your voice like a shofar,” Gen. 45:21where shefer means “pleasant” [the words shofar and shefer are related], and Psalms 16:6 where it means lovely.) This sound is unified as the words of one prophet’s revelations never contradict the words of another prophet. In addition, this sound doesn’t die down but instead gets stronger and stronger as G-d’s message only becomes more revealed and apparent as time goes on.

· The fire represents the Divine presence, as Isaiah 66:15 says, “See, G-d is coming with fire.” It also indicates that G-d will protect us with His Divine fire, as Zechariah 2:9 says, ‘I will surround them like a wall of fire.”

· The smoke and the trembling mountain represent that being chosen comes with responsibility and that, once we accepted the Torah, everything we do or don’t do, has serious consequences.

Sign of Moshe’s Enduring Prophecy

The Sinai revelation was a sign to the Jewish people that Moshe was G-d’s prophet and that his teachings came from Above. As the Rambam writes,^[7] “What is the source of our belief in him (Moshe)? The revelation at Mount Sinai. Our eyes saw, and not a stranger’s. Our ears heard, and not another’s. There was fire, thunder, and lightning. He entered the thick clouds; the Voice spoke to him, and we heard, ‘Moses, Moses, go tell them the following…’ The verse says,^[8] ‘Behold, I will come to you in a thick cloud, so that the people will hear Me speaking to you, [so that] they will believe in you forever.’ It appears that before this happened, they did not believe in him with a faith that would last forever, but rather with a faith that allowed for suspicions and doubts.”

The rest of this article will discuss signs and omens, some of which are considered positive and some of which are considered negative.

Forbidden Signs

The Torah forbids us to pay heed to meaningless signs as this is considered a pagan practice, as the verse says,^[9] “There shall not be found among you… a diviner” and “You shall not act on the basis of omens.”^[10] As the Rambam writes,^[11] “It is forbidden to practice soothsaying as idolaters do. What is meant by a soothsayer? For example, those who say: Since my piece of bread fell out of my mouth, or my staff fell from my hand, I will not travel to this place today, since if I were to go, I wouldn’t be able to accomplish my desires. Since a fox passed on my right side, I will not go out of my door today, since if I were to go out, I would meet a deceiver.”

Despite this, the Talmud and later Rabbinic literature list many things which are considered either a positive or a negative sign. The commentaries explain^[12] that this isn’t considered pagan practice since these signs are logical rather than random and that (in most cases) the signs don’t dictate our actions but are rather our understanding of Divine blessing or displeasure.

Below is a partial list of occurrences which our sages viewed as either positive or negative signs. With G-d’s help, we will discuss the nuances of why some signs are permissible and others are forbidden, in a future article.

Signs

● A Mistake in One’s Prayers

The Mishnah says^[13] that if one prays and makes a mistake in his prayers, it’s a bad sign. If he is a chazzan and he makes a mistake in his prayers, it’s a bad sign for the community that appointed him which he is representing. The reason for this is that, by allowing him to err, it is considered as if G-d is rejecting his prayers (either on his own behalf or on behalf of the community).^[14] One should therefore do teshuvah so that he is once again in G-d’s good graces.^[15]

● A Mistake in One’s Shabbat Prayers

“If a person erred and began reciting a weekday Shemoneh Esreh on Shabbos, it is an undesirable omen for him (as this is considered a denigration of the Shabbat). He should examine his conduct (during the coming week) and think thoughts of teshuvah.”^[16] Some say^[17] that if one mistakenly only recited the first blessing of the weekday amidah – Chonen hada’at, the blessing for wisdom – this isn’t a bad sign since even on Shabbat we need wisdom for our prayers. It’s only a bad sign if one also mistakenly recited the next blessing of the weekday amidah (hashivenu) or more than that.

● Passing Away on Friday

The Talmud says^[18] that if one passes away on Friday it’s a good sign as it means that he’s going straight to Gan Eden (since Gehinnom is closed on Shabbat).^[19]

● Passing Away on Motzoei Shabbat

On the other hand, if one passes away on Motzoei Shabbat which is when Gehinnom reopens, that’s considered a bad sign.

The Lubavitcher Rebbe pointed out^[20] that the Tzemach Tzedek (the third Lubavitcher Rebbe) noted that his grandfather, the Alter Rebbe (author of the Tanya), passed away on Motzoei Shabbat of Parshat Shemot. This despite the Talmudic teaching (mentioned above) that it is a bad sign. He explains that it’s a bad sign for the individual but that a leader of the Jewish people forgoes on a sign that is beneficial for him and prefers to pass away on a Motzoei Shabbat in order to elevate his followers.

Matzoei Shabbat is considered a difficult time as we need to begin our mundane activities and, as such, need spiritual encouragement, which is why we smell the fragrant spices during havdalah and say prayers to assuage our fears (al tirah avdi ya’akov). Since the passing of a tzadik brings Divine revelation and salvation to the world, many Jewish leaders prefer to pass away on a Motzoei Shabbat to give this spiritual elevation to their followers at the difficult start of the week.

It is noteworthy that the fifth Lubavitcher Rebbe as well as the seventh Rebbe (the rebbe of this generation) also passed away on Motzei Shabbat.

● Passing Away on Erev Yom Kippur

If one passes away on Erev Yom Kippur it’s a bad sign as he passed away just before receiving atonement on Yom Kippur.

Despite this, since a tzadik does teshuvah every day, and certainly achieves forgiveness on a daily basis, if he passes away on Erev Yom Kippur it’s not considered a bad sign for him.^[21]

● Passing Away on Motzei Yom Kippur

On the other hand, if one passes away on Motzei Yom Kippur that’s a good sign as he achieved atonement just before his passing.

May we merit to see the Signs of Moshiach immediately!

Wishing you a Shabbat Shalom Umevorach!

[1] Exodus 19:9. See Rambam, Laws of Yesodei HaTorah 8:1, quoted below.

[2] Exodus ibid, verse 16 – 20:15

[3] Seforno as explained in the Biur Seforno (Oz Vehadar 2011) on Deut 4:36.

[4] Exodus 19:16.

[5] Verse 18.

[6] Ibid.

[7] Laws of Yesodei HaTorah 8:1.

[8] Exodus 19:9.