At first glance, the plain meaning and the Midrash seem contradictory: Was Yisro joyful over the Jewish people’s redemption and all the miracles that Hashem performed for them, or was he distressed over the destruction of Egypt? Additionally, does “Vayichad” refer to a sense of joy on the part of Yisro or to his body reacting with goosebumps?

It seems to me that not only is there no contradiction between the simple explanation and the Midrash, but they actually complement each other. Regarding whether “Vayichad” refers to Yisro’s joy or to his body reacting with goosebumps, there is no question at all,  for when emotions are deeply stirred, the body reacts from the intensity of it—whether it is an emotion of love and joy or, G-d forbid, an emotion related to distress, as we see clearly.  Therefore, there is no contradiction here: “Vayichad” refers simultaneously to both the emotion and the physical reaction resulting from the intensity of the emotion. 

After this insight occurred to me, I discovered that my interpretation aligns with the words of the Holy Ohr Hachaim, who says as follows:

“Vayichad Yisro”—Onkelos translates this as “rejoiced,” but we need to understand why the verse uses an Aramaic term here instead of the more straightforward Hebrew expression. And although the Sages said (Tanchuma Yisro 11) that the Torah was given in seventy languages, nevertheless, something is implied by the change in wording. It seems the verse is telling us that from the intensity of the joy, his flesh became prickly.  For when someone experiences an extraordinary joy, beyond the usual measure, he feels a sensation in his physical composition, sometimes even to the point of fainting or real danger. Refer to what I explained on the verse,  “…saying, Yosef is still alive” (Bereishis 45:26). Yisro, although he had prior knowledge of the good news, when he heard the full details of the miracle—especially how the angel pursued the Egyptians, as I explained (above, on verse 8, on the words, “Moshe recounted”), and how Hashem saved them, his flesh prickled. This is a physical response experienced by all living, feeling, beings.”

“And he rejoiced” – A combination of conflicting emotions

Regarding the contradiction in emotions— whether Yisro was joyful about the Jewish people’s salvation or distressed about Egypt’s destruction—this poses no difficulty at all. On the contrary, this is how it should be! He should rejoice over the Jewish people’s  salvation while also lamenting  Egypt’s destruction, as Hashem said to the ministering angels when they wanted to sing at the splitting of the Sea: “The works of My hands are drowning in the sea, and you wish to sing?!” This aligns with what we wrote earlier—that Yisro, who came from outside into the Jewish nation, was able to recognize and be awed by the miracles Hashem performed for the Jewish people even more than the Jewish people themselves. Similarly, because he came from the nations of the world, he could be more sensitive to Egypt’s destruction and feel the true pain of “The works of My hands are drowning in the sea.”

“Vayichad” allusions

Let us  preface the explanation for this based on what we recite on the holy Shabbos: “And the Bnei Yisroel shall observe the Shabbos … and on the seventh day He ceased and ‘rested’ (‘vayinafash’)” The commentators posed a question based on the Talmudic interpretation (Taanis 27b) of the word “vayinafash,“ as an acronym for ווי [אבדה] נפש, “Alas, the soul is lost!”—referring to Motzei Shabbos, when the extra soul we possess on Shabbos departs.  Why, ask the commentators, do we mention at the beginning of Shabbos something that pertains to its end—the lament of “Alas, the soul is lost”?

In answer to this question, the Bostoner Rebbe of Lawrence, shlita, explained to me (in the conversation with him I mentioned earlier) that human nature is such that when a person knows they currently possess something that they will, in time, no longer possess, their desire for it intensifies, because they know that their possession of it is temporary.  Knowing that the present moment is the only opportunity to enjoy it heightens their yearning. Similarly, at the beginning of Shabbos, to enhance a person’s love and longing for Shabbos, we already mention the lament of “Alas, the soul is lost,” which relates Shabbos’s conclusion, thus intensifying our desire for Shabbos.

It later occurred to me that all of this is hinted at in the very word “Vayichad“ itself. It is an Aramaic word, as noted earlier, and can be divided into two parts in Aramaic: “Vay”—meaning “Alas!”—and “chad”—from the root “chadi,“ meaning “rejoiced.” Yisro was  both distressed over Egypt’s destruction and joyful over  the Jewish people’ salvation, as previously explained.

“Vayichad” – repentance out of fear

Alternatively, “Vayichad” can be interpreted as follows: “Vay“—”Alas!” as explained earlier, and “chad“—”one,” referring to the “Unique/Exclusive One” of the world,” blessed be He.

Yisro was astounded by all the goodness and miracles he saw that Hashem had performed for the children of Israel, and he felt “woe!”—regret and sorrow—for his previous life, during which he had worshipped every form of idolatry that existed in his time. Through his newfound revelations, he came to believe that Hashem is one, unique, and unparalleled in Heaven and earth, and there is none beside Him. He thus accepted upon himself the yoke of Hashem’s oneness (see Rambam, Sefer Hamitzvos, Positive Commandment 3), just as we do when reciting “Shema Yisrael, Hashem Elokeinu, Hashem Echad” (“Hear O Israel, Hashem is our L-rd, Hashem is One”).

In truth, this is a profound mystery that has puzzled great sages—namely, why the “dalet” in “Vayichad “is emphasized (dagesh). In the words of Ibn Ezra:

I do not know of any other instance in the entire Scripture where a letter is emphasized at the end of a word…” (see there). I would humbly suggest that this may hint at the enlarged dalet in “Echad” (“One”), which symbolizes our complete acceptance of Hashem’s unity in the Heavens above and on the earth below and in all four directions of the world. We thus have “vay,” signifying a cry of pain and regret for the past, for having served all forms of idolatry in the world, and yet through this, Yisro drew closer and accepted the yoke of the kingship of “chad”—the Unique One of the world. Indeed, this is the level of repentance out of fear.”

(And the discerning reader will understand that there is no contradiction between interpreting “chad” as “joy” or as “One,” referring to Hashem’s uniqueness, for surely, “the nearness of Hashem is my good” and “rejoice in Hashem”—i.e., even one who repents out of fear will ultimately rejoice in Hashem, which is the concept of “tremble with joy. Reflect on this.)

Explanation of the Sfas Emes regarding how Tefillin draws down an Illumination in the face and heart:

The Sfas Emes writes (Yisro 5647/1887) as follows:

We are commanded every day to remember the Giving of the Torah, as it says, “and you shall make known… the day you stood before Hashem, your G-d, at Chorev” etc., for the Torah transcends time. Therefore, there is always renewal here, just as at the time of the receiving of the Torah, etc. Similarly, when Hashem uttered, “I am Hashem, your L-rd,” G-dliness rested upon the souls of the Jewish people. After the sin, they fell from that level, but through the mitzvos that Hashem gave us, we have the power to draw illumination down into our souls. It is taught that on Shabbos, Moshe Rabbeinu gives the Jewish people the two crowns of “we will do” and “we will hear,’ and it can be said that these are the two illuminations mentioned above: the illumination of the face and the purity of the heart. Through the mitzvah of tefillin, even on weekdays, these illuminations are drawn down, albeit temporarily.”

Hashem returns the crowns to us under the law of “You shall surely return the collateral to Him”:

I propose the following novel idea: On Shabbos, the reason we do not need tefillin is that Shabbos itself is a sign, as we say in “Veshamru”: “אות היא לעולם” (“it is a sign forever”). This is stated in the verses near the incident of the Golden Calf (in Parashas Ki Sisa, Shemos 31:16-17). It is possible that the message is that on Shabbos, when we have the two crowns of “we will do” and “we will hear” returned to us, we do not need to be concerned about the sin of the Golden Calf.

Shabbos itself is a sign, and therefore Hashem, as it were, is obligated to return the crowns to us under the law of “you shall surely return the collateral to him as the sun sets” (Devarim 24:13). If we owe a debt of repentance and atonement due to the sin of the Golden Calf, and Hashem took the crowns as collateral, He is obligated to return them to us on the holy Shabbos as a “night garment.” For how can we attain “sleeping on Shabbos is a delight” without the crowns and the additional soul?

This way, one will cherish shabbos more throughout the week:

This is the meaning of “and on the seventh day, He ceased and rested”— that on Shabbos itself, we have the crowns, and we do not have to worry about the sin of the Golden Calf. But the whole time there gnaws at us the thought of “Alas, the soul is lost” regarding Motzei Shabbos, when we lose the two crowns. This makes one cherish Shabbos more throughout the day, knowing that right now he has the two crowns and these illuminations.

On Shabbos, I was studying a book by the Maharal Tzintz and fell asleep. When I awoke, I thought of another way to encode the first two words of Sefer Shemos, “V’eleh shemos.” Let us treat these two words as a single unit. We’ll skip the letters vav and tav of the word “shemos” for now, which leaves us with the letters shin and mem. If we reverse their order, we get mem-shin (מש). Adding the letter heh from the word “V’eleh,” and we get “Moshe” (משה).

ו

א

ל

ה

ש

מ

ו

ת

A hint for the Jewish people in the letters of the Torah about their healing, which will come through the appearance of Moshe Rabbeinu

Let’s go back to the beginning. In Parashas Shemos, we explained that the first letter, vav, serves as a connection to Sefer Bereishis, so we’ll skip over the vav. We are left with the two letters aleph and lamad, which can be read as “El Moshe” (‘to Moshe”)—the most common expression of communication between Hashem and Moshe Rabbeinu. Hashem speaks to Moshe, and through Moshe, He speaks to the entire Jewish People.

What is the significance of this code? After all, Moshe hasn’t even been born yet?! But that’s precisely the point! Even at this early stage, in the first two words, “V’eleh shemos,” it is hinted that Moshe will be the redeemer. The cure precedes the affliction. Moshe is already here—’El Moshe.’

The verse, “These are the names of the children of Israel who came to Egypt” can thus be read as follows: ו׳אל משה ות[ורתו]. That is, “V [the connection to Sefer Bereishis] el Moshe v’t[oraso]” (“And to Moshe and his Torah the children of Israel who came to Egypt”).

As we explained, the initial vav is the vav of connection that links “V’eleh shemos” to Sefer Bereishis. The Giving of the Torah in this parashah is the foundation of Bereishis—it is what guards Bereishis from descending into chaos. This is the secret of existence through “the sixth day.” How do we sustain the world? Through Moshe having received the Torah for all of Israel. Where and when? On the sixth of Sivan, in this very book, Shemos, in our parashah. And all of this is already alluded to at the beginning of Sefer Shemos—that this book will support Sefer Bereishis through the connection of “el Moshe,” which reaches its peak in this parashah.

The letter vav hints at the day the Torah was given:

Moshe is the one, the messenger. The Torah will be given to Moshe in Sefer Shemos, and through him, we will receive it. The Tablets are given “el Moshe,” (“to Moshe”) on the sixth (vav) of Sivan as an emissary on behalf of the Jewish people. Moshe is on the level of an angel—he can ascend to Heaven without food, drink, or sleep. Just as an angel has one mission, so too does Moshe have one mission: to transmit the Torah to the Jewish people. It is no coincidence that Moshe is the humblest of men. Because Moshe has no ego at all, there is nothing to obstruct the transmission of the Torah. One hundred percent of what Moshe receives is passed on to all of the Jewish people.

I learned this concept from the Maharal Tzintz in his novel insights on Parashas Beshalach. The verse, “and they believed in Hashem and in Moshe, His servant” indicates that faith in Hashem comes through faith in Moshe as the intermediary. Through belief in “Moshe, His servant,” we arrive at belief in Hashem.

The letter vav is the connection to the world’s existence:

The letter vav is not just a connective letter; it is a supporting pillar that prevents Bereishis from descending into chaos (tohu vavohu), Heaven forbid. It is the only letter that looks like a strong and stable pillar, supporting Bereishis and ensuring it does not, Heaven forbid, collapse into chaos.

II

At the Giving of the Torah, there were multi-sensory experiences:

In the Torah, in our parashah, chapter 20, verse 15, it states: וְכָל־הָעָם֩ רֹאִ֨ים אֶת־הַקּוֹלֹ֜ת וְאֶת־הַלַּפִּידִ֗ם וְאֵת֙ ק֣וֹל הַשֹּׁפָ֔ר וְאֶת־הָהָ֖ר עָשֵׁ֑ן וַיַּ֤רְא הָעָם֙ וַיָּנֻ֔עוּ וַיַּֽעַמְד֖וּ מֵֽרָחֹֽק: “And all the people saw the thunder and the lightning and the sound of the shofar and the mountain smoking; and the people saw and trembled and stood at a distance.”

Rashi comments on the words, “And all the people saw”: “This teaches that there was not a single blind person among them. But how do we know there was no mute person among them? For it says, ‘And all the people answered.’ And how know there was no deaf person among them? For it says, ‘We will do and we will hear.’”

I would add that not only were they healed of any physical impairments they had, but each person experienced a multi-sensory event. They saw the words (see Rashi there). It was an auditory-visual, multi-sensory experience.

According to our Sages, each utterance spread a pleasant fragrance throughout the world:

The Talmud, Shabbos (88b), teaches that with each of the Ten Commandments uttered at  Sinai, there was also an experience of a wonderful fragrance. All the senses were engaged—the experience encompassed all the senses. This event was engraved in our souls and in the souls of all future generations forever. This impression contributes to the eternal bond, the source of holiness: “Israel and the Torah are one”; “Who is like Your people Israel, one nation on earth?” At that moment, you were as one person with one heart and thus were able to receive the designation of “I am Hashem, your L-rd, who brought you out of the land of Egypt.” We were able to fulfill the first two commandments. Not only did we say, “We will do and we will hear,” but we also heard them directly from the Al-mighty.

May it be His will that we merit all these virtues, and hear the words of Hashem, “I am” and “You shall have no other gods” directly from the Al-mighty, and sense His G-dliness, as the Sfas Emes says, with perfect faith. And as the Maharal and others teach, that the entire Torah is included in these two commandments. And may we fully repent for the sin of the Golden Calf, recover the collateral—the two crowns—and ascend to Jerusalem to rebuild the Beis Habechirah speedily in our days. Amen.

Maharal Tznitz