Hearing and Comprehending
Although every- one heard about and even saw the miracle of the Splitting of the Sea, only Yisro took a lesson from it and was motivated to join the Bnei Yisrael.
This concept is discussed by Rabbeinu Yonah in Shaarei Teshuvah (2:26), where he notes that often, when people hear a very moving lecture or are shaken up by terrible news, they are prompted to change their ways. However, the impact does not last long, for the yetzer hara tries hard to make the person forget the lesson. In just a few days, he will be back to normal.
The only way to insure a lasting message from an inspiring incident or the like is for a person to consciously “wake himself up” and discern what lessons can be learned from that incident, and how those lessons can impact upon and change his life.
He quotes the words of Hillel (Avos 1:14): אִם אֵין אֲנִי לִי מִי לִי, If I am not for myself, who will be for me? This means that although a person can hear speeches and lectures given by others, nothing will become a part of him unless he is actively involved in internalizing the message, utilizing his own understanding and intellect.
This is what Yisro did. He did not simply hear the facts of the great miracles as everyone else did; he took it a step further. He asked himself: “What does my knowledge of those miracles obligate me to do? What lessons do they teach me? Who is really in charge of everything in this world? And what can I do to become close to the true God?”
In the Yiddish language there are two very similar words, whose meanings are worlds apart. One is הערען, heren, which means hearing, and the other is דערהערען, derheren, which means comprehending. Someone can talk in a foreign language and he will be heard by everyone in the room, but not everyone will understand and comprehend what is being said.
This is why so many times, even after being exposed to clear indications of the hand of Hashem (such as the hurricanes and tsunamis of recent years), it does not take long for us to shake off our inspiration and go back to our regular routine. If we only hear current events, but fail to understand their messages and internalize their lessons, then the yetzer hara will do a fine job of helping us to forget the initial impact.
Rav Chaim Shmulevitz put it so perfectly. The Midrash (Yalkut |sechead|244) tells us that a maidservant saw at the Sea what even the great Yechezkel the prophet did not see (this refers to visions of Hashem’s Throne). He asks: Why, then, did the maidservant not become a prophet like Yechezkel? And he answers: Because even after she saw the great vision, she remained a maidservant; she did nothing more than see. Thus, while she may have indeed seen great things, this did not motivate her to grow spiritually and change her ways.
This is an excerpt from the Daily Dose of Torah, an 18-minute-a-day learning program.
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