Комментарий к Шмот 18:9

ויחד יתרו AND JETHRO REJOICED — This is its literal meaning. A Midrashic comment is: his flesh became full of prickles (חדודין — his flesh crept with horror) — he felt grieved at the destruction of Egypt. That is what people say (what the common proverb says): A proselyte even though his heathen descent dates from as far back as the tenth generation, do not speak slightingly of an Aramean (any non-Jew) in his presence (Sanhedrin 94a).

ויחד יתרו, he did not rejoice over the destruction of Egypt as a major power. This is what he should have done if he had been truly concerned with the honour and glory due to his Creator. We know this from Psalms 58,11. However, he did rejoice over the well being of the Israelites. He behaved like someone whose heart is moved by the tears of the oppressed.

ויחד יתרו על כל הטובה, Yitro rejoiced over all the goodness, etc." Onkelos translates the word ויחד as וחדי, the aramaic word for "he was glad." Why did the Torah have to use an aramaic word in this instance instead of using a Hebrew word familiar to all of us? Although we learned in Sotah 32 that certain sections of the Torah may be read publicly in any language, we still need to know why the Torah chose an aramaic expression here in the original.

ויחד, a word derived from the category חדה, similar to the word חדוה in Chronicles I 16,27 עוז וחדוה, “strength and joy.” The construction follows the rule applicable to all roots of the ב,ג,ד,כ,פ,ת group of consonants (letters which sometimes take a dagesh chazak). They also lose their last root letter as a result of this. (in our verse the letter ה) More examples are the root בכה and the construction ויבך, vayevk, “he cried.” Another well known example is the root שבה, and the construction וישב, vayashav, “he returned.”

ויחד יתרו, “Yitro rejoiced;” Our sages explain the word as describing that when hearing all that Moses told him, Yitro’s flesh broke out in goose pimples, [from the word חד, sharp, prickly, Ed.] It refers to a popular proverb according to which a proselyte, even a tenth generation proselyte, still experiences some kind of pain when hearing about tragedies that befall his former people. Some commentators reject this, saying that not only are we daily witnesses to proselytes and their offspring who are pious Jews in every respect, but Yitro was a first generation proselyte, so where is the comparison to that proverb? The sages who made that comment did not mean to refer to generations, literally, but merely to past associations, the impossibility to rid oneself completely of one’s past, so much so that one no longer feels a shred of sympathy for what has befallen the friends of one’s youth.

His flesh had חדודין חדודין . . . I.e., it became very creased. Rashi knows this because the Torah varied from [the usual term,] וישמח , and wrote ויחד instead.

"And Jethro rejoiced". The verse is saying the happiness of Jethro was because of the goodness to the Jews, and not because of the bad done to the Egyptians. It is based on this idea that the Sages say (quoted by Rashi) that 'his flesh became fulled with prickles, [presumably there is a distinction between Chedva and other languages that also depict happiness. Chedva paints a specific type of inner, spiritual happiness that overpowers an external sadness. This nuanced definition of Chedva is evident in the verse from Nechamia (8:10) "Do not be sad for the Chedva of Hashem is your strength".

(Ibid. 9) "And Yithro rejoiced over all the good": R. Yehoshua says: Scripture speaks of the good of the manna. They said to him: In this manna that the L rd has given us we savor the taste of the loaf, of flesh, of fish, of hoppers, of all the delicacies in the world, it being written "good," "the good," "all the good," "over all the good." R. Elazar Hamodai says: Scripture speaks of the good of the well. They said to him: In the well that the L rd has given us we savor the taste of old wine, of new wine, of milk, of honey, of all the sweets in the world, it being written "good," "the good," "all the good," "over all the good." R. Eliezer says: Scripture speaks of the good of Eretz Yisrael. They said to him: The L rd is destined to give us six good "measures": Eretz Yisrael, the world to come, the kingdom of the House of David, the new world, the (institution of) the Kehunah and that of the Leviyah, it being written "good," "the good," "all the good," "over (adding three to the first three) all the good." (18:10)

V. 9. ויחד von חדה, verwandt mit עדה, geschmückt sein. Während die übrigen Namen der Freude שיש ,שמה, die innere Empfindung bezeichnen, scheint חדה das äußere an den Tag legen der Freude auszudrücken, woher denn eine Ansicht (Sanhedrin 94. a) in diesem Ausdruck zugleich das schmerzliche Gefühl angedeutet findet, dessen sich der midjanitische Priester denn doch nicht über den Untergang Mizrajims erwehren konnte.

ויחד יתרו, according to Rashi, the word ויחד means that Yitro’s flesh broke out in goose-pimples when reflecting on what had happened to Pharaoh and his army. Rashi’s grandson, Rabbeinu Tam, pointed out that Rashi had scriptural proof to support this interpretation. We find the following verse in Chronicles I, 2,35: ויתן ששן את בתו לירחע עבדו לאשה, “Sheshan gave his daughter to his (Egyptian slave) as a wife.” [This Egyptian slave had of course converted before being given a Jewish wife. Ed.] If you count from the word ירחע until the word אלישמע in the verses following the above until verse 41 you will get to Yishmael ben Netanya ben Elishama that there were 13 generations. Deduct 3 generations when Egyptians are not allowed to convert to Judaism and you will find confirmation for the opinion quoted by Rashi, that a convert’s genes do not completely disappear for 10 generations until there is not a trace of his original character that surfaces on occasion. Rashi, quoting a Mechilta, had warned that in the presence of a convert we must not speak in derogatory terms about a gentile unless being certain that the Jew to whom we speak who had had pagan ancestry, was already at least the descendant of nine previous Jewish generations. Yitro, a first generation convert, clearly would feel discomfort when reflecting on the fate that had befallen Pharaoh.

ויחד יתרו, “Yitro rejoiced;” we find this root meaning the same in Psalms 21,7: תחדהו בשמחה, “You gladdened him with the joy (of Your presence)” [A reference to the Messiah having been gladdened. Ed.] [I have not understood what follows concerning the comparison with Numbers 21,1. Ed]

על כל הטובה FOR ALL THE GOODNESS — the goodness in giving the Manna and the well and the Torah — and he rejoiced above all these (more especially), אשר הצילו מיד מצרים THAT HE HAD DELIVERED THEM OUT OF THE HAND OF EGYPT — Until now no slave had ever been able to escape from Egypt because that land was closely shut in on all sides, but these had gone forth six hundred thousand in number (cf. Mekhilta d'Rabbi Yishmael 18:11:1).

And above all: That He had rescued them. . . [Rashi knows this] because otherwise, the verse should just say, “Yisro rejoiced,” [and stop there]. For it would refer to the previous verse, “Moshe told his father-in-law. . . all that Hashem had done.” But the phrase “Hashem had rescued them” of the previous verse does not teach us [that being rescued from Egypt was above all]. For there, it was speaking of the means by which they were rescued. [I.e., it was speaking of] what was done to Pharaoh and to Egypt.

It appears that Yitro was so overjoyed when he heard about the total liberation of the Jewish people that his skin broke out in goose-pimples. It is a well known fact that when a person experiences an unexpected overpowering feeling of joy he develops a physical reaction; sometimes he may pass out or even die from shock. Read what I have written on Genesis 45,26 about Jacob's reaction when told that Joseph was still alive. Although Yitro had previously heard part of the good news, the story Moses told him about the death of the guardian angel of Egypt made his skin crawl.