The very beginnings of both this parsha and last week’s parsha present a contrast.
In last week’s parsha, the parsha opens up saying וַיִּשְׁמַ֞ע יִתְר֨וֹ,“Yitro heard,” and as Rashi explains, that which caused Yitro to join the Jewish nation was hearing of the Splitting of the Sea and the war with Amalek. The question is, the Splitting of the Sea was public knowledge—everyone heard of it—so why was it that only Yitro came to join the Jewish people? Rav Dovid Levover explains that although everyone heard, only Yitro understood what was to be taken from this miracle, and he connected to it. Indeed, the Alshich says that Yitro’s success is in one word: “וַיִּשְׁמַ֞ע” (and he heard). Yitro was a person who was willing to listen and learn.
Although everyone heard, Yitro inculcated. Although everyone listened, Yitro implemented. The difference between Yitro and everyone else was that everyone else related to the miracle on an academic level, with just their intellect. They simply heard about it and knew the information. Yitro, on the other hand, took it to heart, and made something of it.
In this week’s parsha, the parsha opens up with the subject of the “eved ivri”—the Jewish servant. At the end of six years of work, the Jewish servants go free from their masters. If a Jewish servant does not want to leave his master at the end of the six years, he is taken to the doorpost and his master bores a hole through his ear, upon which he can thus remain in servitude (Shemot 21:5-6). Why is it that we drill his ear? The Gemara (Kiddushin 22b) explains: “Hashem says, ‘the ear that heard my voice on Sinai when I said ‘you are to be slaves to Me and not slaves to slaves’ and nevertheless chose to sell himself into slavery (acquiring a different master for himself by voluntarily deciding to remain in servitude) should have his ear peirced.’”
The Sefat Emet asks even further, why do we drill specifically his ear? After all, the ear just hears! What sin did the ear do? The Sefat Emes explains that it’s specifically the ear’s fault because since he did not put into action that which his ear heard (i.e., Hashem’s proclamation of “They shall be slaves to Me; not slaves to other slaves”), it is better that he not have the faculty of hearing. Thus, we make an injury to his ear.
We see from here that the faculty of hearing is a function that we can be in control of. There are some things we hear that can remain in just the ear without being brought into the function of the brain in order to understand the information. We can also bring that which we hear into the brain and indeed understand that which was said, but not implement it in a practical sense. But it all starts with the decision that occurs at the ear. In life, there are many things that we hear and do us no good; they can stay in the ear and can be forgotten. Then, there are things that are worth considering; they can be brought into the brain and understood. If we decide it makes sense and they are words of truth, then we need to put the information into action. While the eved ivri personifies one who does not take control of his hearing, but just lets information stay and sit, Yitro on the other hand personifies one who takes control of his hearing, letting it enter his mind, to eventually affect his actions.
Binyamin Benji is a graduate of Yeshivat Rabbeinu Yitzchak Elchanan and Wurzweiler School of Social Work. He currently learns in Brooklyn and is the author of the Sephardic Congregation of Paramus’ weekly Torah Talk. He can be reached at [email protected].
