When I first met Rabbi Haim Sabato, the setting was not the typical book-lined study or corner table at a literary café one would expect when meeting with a bestselling author. Instead, it was the Beit Midrash of Yeshivat Birkat Moshe in Ma’aleh Adumim, where he serves as a Rosh Yeshiva and teaches Talmud and the works of Maimonides.
Best known for novels such as Aleppo Tales, Adjusting Sights and The Dawning of the Day, Rabbi Haim Sabato is also one of the leading Torah scholars in the world. He has published creative commentaries on the Torah and Talmud, including his beautiful book Ahavat Torah ("Rest for the Dove" in English), a series of essays on the weekly Torah portion. In Ahavat Torah, Rabbi Sabato seeks to highlight the Torah's ethical wisdom for life, following the classic genre of his Sephardic Rabbinic ancestors from Aleppo and Spain.
This week's Torah Portion - Parashat Shemot - launches the second Book of the Torah, the Book of Exodus. Within this parasha, we learn of the enslavement of the Jewish people by the "new Pharaoh who did not know of Joseph," the harsh labor he imposed on them, the birth of Moses, the marriage of Moses to Tziporah, daugher of Yitro, and God appointing Moses to become the leader who will help bring the word of God back to Egypt and help liberate the Jewish people.
Throughout all of these experiences, Rabbi Sabato detects various expressions of gratitude for an act of kindness committed.
He begins with Yitro, the man who would become Moses' father-in-law. Rabbi Sabato remarks that Yitro says only one thing in this parasha, but it is enough to discern his grateful character. Upon being told by his daughters that "An Egyptian man saved us from the shepherds, and he even drew water for us and watered the sheep," Yitro's response to them is "Then where is he? Why did you leave the man" Summon him and let him eat his bread" (Exodus 2:18-20).
"Yitro's thought process," says Rabbi Sabato, "teaches us that he was a man who felt gratitude. It was clear to him that he could not abandon the man who had saved his daughters."
In turn, says Rabbi Sabato, Yitro's son-in-law Moses also possessed the beautiful character trait of gratitude. Upon hearing God's voice from the burning bush instructing Moses to return to Egypt and begin the process of freeing the Israelites from slavery, Moses does not go until he receives permission from his father-in-law. "Let me go back to my brethren in Egypt and see if they are still alive" asks Moses of Yitro.
Why did he feel the need to ask Yitro's permission? "Moses knows that gratitude is owed to the man who opened his home to him when he was a stranger in a strange land" says Rabbi Sabato. "This is why Moses feels he cannot leave Yitro's home without his consent, even though God commanded him to go. Moses is certain that this is how he should behave, and that this is God's will."
"Go in peace" responds Yitro to Moses, giving Moses his blessing. One man of gratitude interacting with another.
"The basis of faith lies in gratitude," says Rabbi Sabato, and "one who is grateful for a kindness done by a friend will eventually appreciate the kindness of God."