This week we start reading the portion of Yitro, which contains the story of Matan Torah, Hashem giving us the Torah. Basically, the principles and the first ten sayings, and the entire Torah revolves around the ten sayings—the Luchos (tablets) that we received.
The Parsha begins sort of with an introduction, and it tells us about Yitro, who was Moshe Rabbeinu's father-in-law, coming to the desert. Later on, he advises Moshe Rabbeinu that he won't be able to handle it all by himself and he should get help; he suggests a structure in which he should be able to accommodate all the needs of all the Jewish people.
But something comes out right in the beginning when you read the Parsha, I was thinking. It tells us that Yitro didn't come by himself, but rather Yitro came with his daughter and his daughter's two sons. Of course, his daughter Tzipporah was the wife of Moshe Rabbeinu, and she comes along when Yitro decides to come to the desert. It says that he brings along his daughter Tzipporah, Moshe Rabbeinu's wife, and also the two sons.
But the Torah doesn't just say, "Okay, the whole family came along," or even "Tzipporah and the two sons." The Torah goes and articulates and specifically says the names of the two sons and also what they were called. So it says she had two sons: one's name was Gershom and one's name was Eliezer.
And it says: why was he called Gershom? Gershom was called because he said that... Moshe Rabbeinu said, "I was a stranger in a strange land." That's why he calls him Gershom—"Ger" meaning a stranger. Why is he called Eliezer, the second one? The Posuk (verse) says, "Ki Elokei avi be'ezri," because the God of my father was my help. Eli-Ezer: Eli meaning Hashem, Ezer meaning help. "He is my help," and that's why he called him Eliezer.
Now, one wonders: why do we have reasonings here for the names? I mean, we're not talking here about when they were born; we're not talking about when they were named. This is not the place where we're talking about that. This is just telling us that they took them along back to be with Moshe Rabbeinu to visit him in the desert, because they'd earlier left and now they're back. So why would the Torah over here all of a sudden give us such details—their names, and then give us why they were called what they were called?
So I was thinking that you see, perhaps you can say, there's a difference in the two names. What's the difference in the two names? The first name actually describes a level which is not satisfactory. The first name of Gershom says, "I am a stranger in a strange land." I mean, this was Moshe Rabbeinu describing his situation when he came to Midian, because he ran away. His home at the time was in Mitzrayim (Egypt); he was born in Mitzrayim and he was a part of the establishment. He was in the government; he was in the house of Pharaoh, who appointed him with a high appointment over there. So that was his place.
But because he had stood up for the Jewish people at the time—for the one who was... they were fighting, and the Egyptian who was beating up on the Jewish person—so they went and they told Pharaoh, and he had to run away at the time. So where does he end up? A strange person in a strange land. So that's basically describing his "nebach" situation, that he's a stranger. That's the name of Gershom: "I am a stranger over there in a strange land."
But then, on the other hand, the name of Eliezer is a name of hope; it represents hope. But it actually refers to the very same incident, really, what made him a stranger there. What does he say? "God was in my help and He saved me from Pharaoh's sword." What does it mean, Pharaoh's sword? And again, Rashi articulates over here: because when they slandered him in front of Pharaoh and they told Pharaoh that he killed the Egyptian, Pharaoh wanted to kill him. And a miracle happened, as Rashi explains; they tried to use the sword to decapitate him and his neck became like a stone and it broke the sword—"v'yatzileini micherev Paroh."
So here we see we're talking about the same incident. Really, what made him a stranger in a strange land is talking about the same incident. But here he's describing the strange land in a way that is lacking—that he is in a not-good place. But then on the other hand, in the second name, he describes "v'yatzileini micherev Paroh"—that God saved me from Pharaoh's sword. "So I'm in a strange land, but look, you know, they were chasing me, I had a place to run away and now I'm safe."
And perhaps this is what the Torah is trying to tell us over here. It says he heard that Hashem has taken the Jewish people out of Mitzrayim. And this is the unfortunate history of the Jewish people: they experience a lot of times Mitzrayim. They experience a lot of times being exploited, being taken advantage of, being wronged, being humiliated, being put to work in situations as Pharaoh did to the Jewish people.
And that is Mitzrayim—those are the limitations. And you know, if you want to take this to the spiritual level, a lot of times we look at ourselves and think, no, we're in limitations. You know, this world is a world of limitations and our minds are limited and our hearts are limited. A lot of times we wish that we were more open, that our hearts were more receptive to being fired up unto Hashem. A lot of times we wish we could understand more and be more connected to Hashem instead of having to struggle to overcome challenges.
So we're in a kind of Mitzrayim. So the first approach maybe we have is like the first son, is like Gershom. We see, "Okay, look, we're in Golus (exile) and it's bad, and it's really something which we have to bemoan and we have to feel." But the Eibeshter (The Almighty) is telling you, this is the way; it's Mitzrayim, Hashem takes us out of Mitzrayim. That really within the Golus, within our difficult challenges, there's actually the ability to go out.
"Elokei avi be'ezri"—that you see that actually being in a strange land in that way, you're able to see this is Hashem's plan. Hashem saves you and Hashem provides for you and gives you that extra that you need so that in Mitzrayim, with the challenges and the difficulties, the Eibeshter places us in these situations not for us to give up—not to be left with the Gershom to feel that we're strangers—but rather to give us the impetus so that we should learn from this and we should sort of recognize that "Elokei avi be'ezri," that it's God, our Father, in our help.
This is something that can give us power and energy, and this is important, I guess, before we go and receive the Torah—you know, going out of Mitzrayim. And this is what's happening: that time that we spent in Mitzrayim that the Yidden were in, that sort of prepared them. That allowed for them to later on reach their greatest level of Matan Torah, of Hashem giving them the Torah. So it was a Mitzrayim, it was a Golus for a purpose.
But as the Rebbe said many times, we've already accomplished everything that Mitzrayim has to offer, everything that the Golus has to offer; everything has been already achieved and accomplished. So now the only thing is for Hashem to bring Moshiach and zoche to it bimheira biyameinu, Amen.