5785 - "And Yisro heard": What report did he hear that caused him to come? There are three opinions on this in the Gemara. What is the root of the disagreement? By Rabbi Shimon Zonnenfeld, at the conclusion of the daily Daf Yomi class of Rabbi…

00:01 Speaker 1 The weekly parsha says, “Yisro, the priest of Midian, heard all that Hashem had done for His people Israel,” and then he comes to Moshe Rabbeinu. The Gemara asks: What did he hear that made him come? What news brought him? The Gemara gives three opinions. Rabbi Yehoshua says he heard about the war with Amalek. That is what brought him. Rabbi Elazar Hamodai says he heard about the Giving of the Torah. And Rabbi Eliezer says he heard about the Splitting of the Sea. What is their disagreement? What brought Yisro to Mount Sinai, to Moshe Rabbeinu, to receive the Torah and convert? There is a beautiful explanation. It says that in the future, when Moshiach comes, converts will not be accepted. Why? Because someone might come not out of a genuine desire to draw close to Judaism and to Hashem, but because the Jewish people will enjoy royal honor. That would not be a genuine conversion. For the same reason, converts were not accepted in the days of David and Shlomo, when the Jewish people were in a very elevated position: perhaps a person wanted to join them for their royal status, rather than because he truly wanted to attach himself to Judaism. So, seemingly, how could Yisro come to convert? The Jewish people had left Egypt and were on their way to receive the Torah. How could Yisro come to convert at such a time? This is where the three opinions come in. What made Yisro’s decision to come and convert different? Rabbi Yehoshua says he heard about the war with Amalek. What did he learn from that war? It says that Amalek came to fight the Jewish people despite all the miracles

02:28 Speaker 1 that Hakadosh Boruch Hu had performed. Why did he come to fight them? Because his grandmother had wanted to convert, but had not been accepted. He therefore hated the Jewish people and came to fight them. Yisro reasoned that if he came to convert now, they would certainly accept him. After all, refusing Amalek’s grandmother had led Amalek to fight the Jewish people; surely they would not do the same thing again and cause even more hatred toward them. That is Rabbi Yehoshua’s opinion: Yisro heard about the war with Amalek. Rabbi Elazar Hamodai says he heard about the Giving of the Torah. What was it about the Giving of the Torah that made him think he could come and convert? It says, “Moshe would speak, and G-d would answer him with a voice,” and that voice traveled from one end of the world to the other. The whole world heard it. The Gemara relates that all the nations gathered around Bilaam and said, “Is Hakadosh Boruch Hu going to bring a flood upon the world and destroy it? What are these sounds?” He answered that Hakadosh Boruch Hu had sworn not to bring another flood. “Then what are these sounds?” they asked. Bilaam told them, “Hashem is giving strength to His people”—He is giving the Torah to the Jewish people. They responded, “May Hashem bless His people with peace.” Yisro reasoned that at a time like this, when the voice of Hakadosh Boruch Hu was reaching from one end of the world to the other, they would certainly accept him if he came to convert. Why else would Hakadosh Boruch Hu perform such a miracle? That is what Rabbi Elazar Hamodai means when he says Yisro heard about the Giving of the Torah. But Rabbi Eliezer says that what he heard was

04:29 Speaker 1 the Splitting of the Sea. What about the Splitting of the Sea brought him to convert? It says that a maidservant saw at the sea what the prophets did not see in their visions. Yisro said: At a time like this, when even a maidservant—someone of the lowest standing—saw such a revelation of G-dliness at the sea, surely they would accept me too. So that explains the three opinions about what Yisro heard. There is another Chassidic interpretation of the two things Rashi says he heard: the Splitting of the Sea, followed by the war with Amalek. What is the connection between those two things in particular? Chassidim would explain it this way: After the Splitting of the Sea, “The nations heard and trembled; the chiefs of Moav were seized with trembling.” The whole world had heard about it. How, then, could Amalek come and fight the Jewish people? Was he not afraid? Yisro reasoned: If, after the Splitting of the Sea and such a revelation of G-dliness, Amalek could still arise, then I must come and convert. I must come to Moshe Rabbeinu and connect myself to him, if such a thing is possible. Have a good Shabbos, and may we hear good news.

05:48 Speaker 2 Amen. Good Shabbos.