by Avi West.
Special to the Washington Jewish Week, all rights reserved.

I love word play and puns.  They build castles of meaning on a deceptively simple foundation.  Some even appreciate the humor or irony that they can generate.    The Hebrew language is particularly rich with potential word play because most words are built on a three letter root to which prefixes and suffixes are added.   Rabbinic commentaries were extremely sensitive to the way words echoed through a text, and used these patterns to learn lessons about individuals, society and the human condition in general, and their relationship to God. 

An example from the past few Torah portions is the repeated use of the word kaved, from the root chaf-vet-daled, which usually means heavy. The pattern begins by describing Moses as “heavy mouth and heavy tongue.”  In this case, the word kaved could mean heavy as in difficult, which creates one profile of why Moses hesitated to be a spokesman between God and Pharaoh. But “heavy mouthed” may also be “deliberate of speech.” As the 80 year old he was, with the wisdom of so many life experiences, it is not hard to imagine a Moses who now slowly and carefully thinks through the words and ideas before speaking them - a noble characteristic for a sage, but perhaps a liability when debating a stubborn head of state.  On the other hand, the ironic solution would be to turn the word kaved = heavy into clout or gravitas, which is exactly what Moses needs to confront Pharaoh. And, actually, may be why God calls Moses Elohim (God or Judge), with Aaron being his Navi, prophet.

The word play continues through the plagues, some of which are described as heavy= deadly, and cause Pharaoh’s heart to become heavy= stubborn.  Kaved is also the name of the organ made heavy with blood, the liver.  And in the ancient world, the heart was considered the seat of wisdom, and the liver was the throne of life or emotion.  It is more interesting to think that Pharoah’s heart/wisdom was turned into a liver, and his emotions trumped his wisdom to disastrous effect. 

This week’s portion, Yitro, bears the name of Moses’ father-in-law Jethro, who arrives at the Israelite camp around Mount Sinai.  The Torah narrates that Jethro came to the camp because he heard about the triumph over the Egyptians, and appreciated the covenantal relationship between God and the people. He also understood the burdens that his son-in-law faced leading the nation.  Jethro’s first teaching for Moses was to check his priorities, bringing Moses’ wife and children back into the camp.  His second teaching was to fix a systems issue with Moses’ hands-on leadership. He observed how Moses sat in judgment from morning to night. Jethro remarks that Moses alone cannot possibly shoulder the responsibility of reflecting God’s will for the people, warning that the work load is too heavy/kaved (18:18), and will wear Moses down.   He suggests a system of courts where only the most complicated issues come before Moses.  Moses, the leader and teacher, listens to his father-in-law, a Midianite priest and outsider.  But now we appreciate the narrative space the Torah gives for all those details I mentioned; they are all building an environment within which Jethro’s advice will be heard and appreciated as an insider, one who has valued the triumphs of the people and their leader, and wants what is best for them.  A kaved = heavy message is more acceptable in an atmosphere of kavod= honor or dignity.  Same root, great pun! 

Jethro’s suggestion was to delegate some of the judging (or counseling/national administration) to “men of caliber, holding God in awe, men of truth, hating gain (18:21).”  This could be the very definition of people who are worthy of kavod=honor, and people whose words would be kaved= have gravitas.  Think about that as you are choosing candidates next election day. 

The Torah portion continues with the revelation at Sinai.  God’s presence is symbolized by a heavy/kaved cloud.  And the commandment which bridges the mitzvot between people and God, and the interpersonal imperatives asks us to honor/kabed our parents.  We now see the basis for our tradition which states (Ethics of the Sages 4:1) “Who is honored/mechubad? One who honors/mechabed others.” 

Discussion Questions

Adults:

How do you decide to whom you will listen for important advice?

What is the learning or the life experiences that gives a person the heaviness or gravitas so that people will listen to their advice?

What makes the advice itself heavy or significant?

When did you seem to be heavy-handed or overly deliberate in making a decision?  How would you know if your hesitation was out of wisdom/caution or heavy heart stubbornness?

Families:

What was the best piece of wisdom you received? Talk about the person from whom you heard it (after all, Jethro gets his name on the portion in perpetuity).

How could you make sure that discussions and debates would take place in an atmosphere of respect and dignity?

Visualize the words LISTEN and SILENT.  They both use the same letters!  How does this word play help you appreciate good communication skills?

How could you help make sure every family member’s voice is heard and valued?  Can you apply this to your friends, classmates, teammates?

Avi West is the Director of the Shulamith Reich Elster Resource Center at the Partnership for Jewish Life and Learning in Rockville, MD