It is hard to describe the emotions Ashirah and I felt when we heard the news. Our friend Rabbi Charlie Cytron-Walker and the three congregants being held hostage with him in Colleyville, Texas, were free. As a colleague wrote me, we were both “relieved and drained.” Mostly we were just happy that Charlie could return home to his wife and daughters. Even better than the Bills win, was knowing our friend was safe.
In this week’s Torah portion, Yitro, Moses’ father-in-law Jethro has a similar reaction in hearing the full story of the Exodus from Egypt. How amazed he must have been to see Moses alive. The Torah describes Jethro’s reaction in the following way: “Vayichad Yitro Al Kol HaTovah,” “And Jethro “shook” from all the good” (Exodus 18:9). The Hebrew word “vayichad” is a rare one, so unclear what exactly is meant. The 18th Century Hasidic master Or HaVhayim suggests, “It appears that Yitro was so overjoyed when he heard about the total liberation of the Hebrew people that his skin broke out in goose-pimples.”
Why goose pimples? He continues, “It is a well-known fact that when a person experiences an unexpected overpowering feeling of joy they develop a physical reaction; sometimes they may pass out or even die from shock.”
The rabbis tell us surviving a near death experience we should recite the following prayer from the Amidah – Baruch Atah Adonai Eloheinu Melech Ha’Olam Mechayei HaMetim, Blessed are you Eternal One for reviving us from the dead. This is exactly how we felt Saturday night after learning the good news. How blessed we are that our friend survived such a harrowing ordeal!
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Alex