The Sound and The Stillness

#yitro #parshatyitro #sefershemot #shemot #Aserethadibrot #mtsinai #givingofthelaw #thetencommandments

I guess I can’t separate this particular blog post from the fact that our world is so full of noise. The noise of the news each day and the subsequent feeling that this constant noise surrounding us creates a sense of fear and foreboding.

Parshat Yitro is named for Moshe’s wise and insightful father-in-law, but central to this Parsha is the giving of The Aseret Hadibrot. What struck me when reading the Parsha this particular year are the vivid sounds and sensory experiences that dominate the giving of the law. After crossing the sea, being released from slavery, the experience at Sinai had to be not just awe inspiring , but absolutely terrifying to those who stood and witnessed.

And so the news of the daily news cycle blended with the sensory overload of Sinai so I wanted to pair a text full of sound with one that had within it quiet and peace.

Here are two biblical texts, one from this week’s Parshat and one taken from the book of First Kings. The first is the narrative of receiving the Aseret Hadibrot and the second is a conversation between Gd and Elijah the Prophet from the book of First Kings. Both focus on sounds, but their messages are very different. One preface's the stern Gd of law while the other asks us to look in the quiet of our deep interiors for Gd.

There are moments in our lives where the noise of life is powerful and overwhelming and this can be sometimes electrifying and exhilarating, but can also be overwhelming. There are other moments that speak to us in a still small voice and these moments are essential for our well being. Our task in this dance between noise and stillness is to find the delicate balance between the two poles.

Wishing you and yours that balance.

Shabbat Shalom,

Leann

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Two texts to juxtapose:

The first:

Exodus 19:16-19

On the third day, as morning dawned, there was thunder, and lightning, and a dense cloud upon the mountain, and a very loud blast of the horn; and all the people who were in the camp trembled.

Moses led the people out of the camp toward God, and they took their places at the foot of the mountain.

Now Mount Sinai was all in smoke, for GOD had come down upon it in fire; the smoke rose like the smoke of a kiln, and the whole mountain trembled violently.

The blare of the horn grew louder and louder. As Moses spoke, God answered him in thunder.

and this text.....

1 Kings19:8-12

He arose and ate and drank; and with the strength from that meal he walked forty days and forty nights as far as the mountain of God at Horeb.

There he went into a cave, and there he spent the night.

Then the word of GOD came to him: “Why are you here, Elijah?”

He replied, “I am moved by zeal for the ETERNAL, the God of Hosts, for the Israelites have forsaken Your covenant, torn down Your altars, and put Your prophets to the sword. I alone am left, and they are out to take my life.”

“Come out,” He called, “and stand on the mountain before GOD.”

And lo, GOD passed by. There was a great and mighty wind, splitting mountains and shattering rocks by GOD’s power; but GOD was not in the wind. After the wind—an earthquake; but GOD was not in the earthquake.

After the earthquake—fire; but GOD was not in the fire. And after the fire—a soft murmuring sound. *a soft murmuring sound In contrast to others “a still, small voice.”  

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From both of these texts we can learn lessons similar to the words of Kohelet.

There is a time for rolling thunder and a time for silence.

There is a time both for howling winds and yet, also a time for soft breezes.

There is a time for violent trembling, but also exists a time for stillness deep within.

There is a time to look outwards, witnessing the spectacle,

and a time to look inward at a scene only you can see.

There is a time for fear of what is to come

and time where the calm settles like a warm blanket

We are like magnets,

each day teetering

between The Thunder

and

that

Still,

Small

Voice;

always seeking balance.

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PS. What if someone asked you to write a score for this week's Parshat Yitro? How would a musician portray the highs and the lows? How would the composer integrate the terror, drama and sheer speed and magnitude of the time? Well, if you are old enough, you recall the film The Ten Commandments, with the illustrious Charlton Heston as Moshe. I know that much of my own knowledge of this story as a child came from watching that film so many times, as I believe that in the long ago past (!!!) it was screened each year around the Easter holiday.

Given that today is about sound and the different sounds associated with the parsha of Matan Torah, it is interesting to go back, listen and ask ourselves if Elmer Bernstein got it right. I think that he did. What about you?

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Other Posts in Words Have Wings On Parshat Yitro

 Sinai Pianissimo

 As God's Mountain Trembled

 Breaking Bread

One Snowy Morning

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וְקֹ֥ל שֹׁפָ֖ר חָזָ֣ק מְאֹ֑ד

ק֖וֹל דְּמָמָ֥ה דַקָּֽה