Exodus - Cycle One - 1801-2023 - Yithro

Now we arrive at the ten commandments, or utterances…the Torah we depend on, that even the least reverent among us can hang a hat on.

Now we arrive at the ten vibrations of light, the Torah we yearn for, that even the most enlightened can’t see for absolute sure.

That’s why sound is important. It cries to you, whispers, laughs or moans. You sit there listening and discern the hierarchy of vibrations that sight can’t find and words don’t stir. If you think about it, sound gives us a free ticket to a light‐ride…a push through darkness to the boundary where radiance becomes eternal. On our way we not only hear the squeezing‐out of darkness but make it happen. How great to do this big job with such ease and joy! But, alas, even masterpieces fade away.

So, it would seem. But I think music can resonate in our souls. It’s our choice to bring it to our vision (from in‐sight to out) or not. Problem is, if you’re not a prophet or a saint, you aren’t going to embrace every vibration that exists right off the bat. Even Moses could only enter 49 of the 50 kabalistic gates to God. But we’re here to try. From body to body, we’re here to become the image of God.

I remember going to an outdoor concert with a friend of mine. The ticket was Tchaikovsky when I tend to prefer Stravinsky. It’s all good and I liked it well enough I guess. My friend though was enchanted. This was it for him, the filet mignon of music. In an odd way he set me free. By embracing it he helped me to appreciate a hierarchy of tones that had once seemed blown up beyond all proportion.

Yitro begins with the idea of hierarchy. Jethro, for whom the parasha is named, advises Moses to listen to his people through smaller groups. Moses, in other words, can’t sit and listen to (or judge) everyone about everything. Vibrations need to be discerned, separated, handed down and then re‐connected.

This leads us (in the parasha) to the appearance of God on Mt Sinai, to God’s ability to both create and destroy (the reference to the lime furnace here has a direct correlation to Sodom) beyond past present or future. Three times God warns the Israelites to discern and not overstep their boundaries.

Then, God speaks to Moses.

In the first utterance, there is the establishing of identity… and the whole picture…the one God. On the p’shat level, God wants to show authority (Rashi). On the vibrational level...let’s hear a loud horn…with many beginnings…many levels on one plane. As it is written, the upper heavens and the lower are bent down and spread. We can see this on a bed (Rashi) or we can imagine a spreading out of every vibration, placed within our reach.

Now, since this utterance is not negative or positive but a state of being, let’s observe it from far. Let’s see that which is audible (Mechilta). Let’s see where we are. Despite our freedom from Egypt, there is so much darkness! While the path (or birth canal) gives us direction, we clearly need to do more. We need to continue to push out, squeezing darkness out in a spherical motion, allowing the whole universe to rebirth. If one baby carries a celebration of pain and joy…think of billions.

Next, we have a negative utterance. We will not keep idols. We zoom in and focus on the first level, the first blast of the horn, the millions of tonalities, the first push into the sphere of darkness, an action forward in the release of negativity. How similar the structure here is to the Song of Freedom! These two sections seem to have more in common with each other than with the regular lines. This (my guess) is because they both show either the pushing through or the squeezing out of darkness. I like negative utterances. You can almost hear the idols breaking. When we arrive at a positive utterance (to observe Shabbat for example) we are holding the pose we have created. This, in my opinion, is a time of being, observing, creating the discerning lines , consolidating the necessary power to move forward later. It shows that all utterances are at first voiced as one (Midrash).

I could explore each utterance and try to write about the millions of tonalities, maybe from the flute, the drums, the voice of man, of fire (and of God). I could try to write about a symphony within one blast of horn, each getting louder until we break through the final barrier into the light. But when you write about a symphony you don’t really do it justice. What’s important to me are the layers of spherical light and darkness, that we are each a sphere within spheres within spheres forming one. What’s important to me is that our ten utterances mean more than thou shalt not kill but the millions of ways killing can happen, all in two words.

So, may we know when it is time to push to the next level and when to observe, discern, strengthen and define. May we see that we are each a unique sphere with own specific mix of vibrations, that there are therefore all levels of tzaddikim…good, great, beyond great, awesome….and that we can all heal each other. May love and joy shine through our eyes and ears as the ram’s horn is blasted from Mt. Sinai. May we join as one as the upper lights meet with the lower. And may we listen to the light as we say…Hear oh Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is One.