By Zach "Peacock" Pekarsky

Parshat Yitro (Shmot 18-20), though not very long, is packed with interesting things to explore. It begins with the story of Yitro's visiting the Israelites, when he advises Moses to build a judicial system that takes much of the burden off Moses himself. As soon as he leaves, the text describes the Israelites' arrival at mount Sinai, where they remain for a long time. Following 3 days of sanctifying the nation, the Israelites enter the covenental relationship to God after which God descends onto Sinai and declares the 10 commandments.

I want to focus on the covenental moment at Sinai (Shmot 19:4-8) as the transformational moment in the narrative where over 600,000 Israelites turn into Am Yisrael, as I think its characterization of the core of what being Am Yisrael is remains very relevant to HDNA and the Jewish people today.

NOTE: all translations I use below are from JPS.

"Ye have seen what I did unto the Egyptians and how I bore you on eagles' wings, and brought you unto myself." One common reading of this phrase is that unto Myself actually means into My service (avodah). The question then remains, what is service of the divine? I claim that Tikkun Olam (creating systemic change in the world) is central to the idea of that labor.

"Ye shall be unto me ... a holy nation" What is holiness? What makes something kodesh? It is significant that the historical meaning of the shoresh (root) is actually not about sanctity; rather it deals with distinguishing and separating. (Shabbat is kodesh because it is differentiated from the rest of the week).

So then, being a holy nation is about our collective identity, our uniqueness. It is a demand to cherish those special things that make us unique -- our language, our narrative, our history, our mythology, our religion, the Jewish state -- to embrace them, to safeguard them, and to shape them.

"All that the Lord hath spoken, we will do." This declaration from the elders reflects the autonomy of the nation, but also its hierarchical structure. These commitments were to not put onto Am Yisrael at Sinai; they were accepted at Sinai. However, it is insufficient to accept principles of this importance only once. For us, as a nation, a movement, or individuals, to be committed to this vision for Am Yisrael, they need to be continually reaffirmed, not only by the elders, but by the individuals.

This is what I take from the covenant at Sinai, and I think it is a much more crucial part of this parsha for us to learn from right now. It describes the core principles around which Am Yisrael was founded -- and as I read the text, these are labor (Tikkun Olam) and the shaping of the nation (collective Tikkun Atzmi). These are commitments which cannot be taken on only once, either at Sinai or at an inspirational seminar. These are commitments which we, both as individuals and as a movement, must continue to reaffirm.