A vort from the Rebbe on this week's parashah, Parashat Yitro. Parashat Yitro we learn about מתן תורה, Hashem giving the Torah, and all the things that led up to מתן תורה. And one of the things that led up to מתן תורה is that Hashem said to משה רבינו, כה תאמר לבית יעקב ותגיד לבני ישראל: \"This is what you should say to the house of Yaakov, and this is what you should tell the children of Yisrael.\" And it says in Mekhilta, Rashi brings it, that when it says כה תאמר לבית יעקב, \"This is what you should say to the house of Yaakov,\" refers to the women. And when it says ותגיד לבני ישראל, you should talk to the בני ישראל, that goes on the men. And what the pasuk is saying, that Hashem said to Moshe, when you talk to the Yidden about מתן תורה, first you speak to the women, and then you speak to the men. What is the reason why that he should speak to the women first?

So this could be explained by the expression the Torah uses when it describes the women and it describes the men. By the women it says בית יעקב, and by the men it says בני ישראל. So here we see two differences. Number one, the women are referred to as בית, the house of Yaakov; the men are only referred to as בני, בני ישראל, the children. Another thing, the women are described as בית יעקב, we use the name of Yaakov as Yaakov concerning the women, and concerning the men we use the name Yisrael. Now, these two differences are the reason why Hashem wanted him to speak to the women first, because the word בית means the house, refers to the whole house. And what it's saying is that the women, they are the house. We know a woman is called עקרת הבית, the ikar, the most important part of the house. And the men are not referred to as the house, they're only considered בני ישראל. That means like this: the women are responsible more than the men in the operation of the house, of things that go on in the Yiddishe house. That means the women are responsible to bring the true atmosphere into the house, and they are the ones that have that responsibility and that ability to make the house have the proper avirah, the proper hanhagah, the proper behavior. And certainly when it comes to educate the children, and certainly the small children. The small children mainly are educated and raised by the mother, and that's why she is called בית, she is the house. That's one specialty of the women over the men, that they are the whole house, while the men are only considered בני ישראל, they are not the בית. And the second thing is that the women are referred to with the name Yaakov, and the men with the name Yisrael. What is the difference? The name Yaakov was given to Yaakov from birth, when he was a baby, when he was just born, he was called Yaakov. The name Yisrael was given to Yaakov later on, later on in life, after he already had challenges and he overcame the challenges. Like the pasuk says, why is he called Yisrael? כי שרית עם אלוקים ועם אנשים ותוכל, you were able to overcome אלוקים, אנשים, מלאכים, and bad people, etc., etc. And that's when he got the name Yisrael.

And this is what the pasuk is telling us: the women are responsible and deal deal with the children from when they are born, like the name Yaakov was given to him when he was born. As a matter of fact, in the beginning, when the child is born, it's almost only by the woman. She's the one that raises the child. The men have very little to do with the little babies in raising the little children, the babies. When the child gets a little older, then the men also are involved in their education. And that's why the women are called Yaakov, because the women deal with the children from birth, from when they are small. But the men are called Bnei Yisrael because the title Bnei Yisrael refers more to when you're an adult, you could say call them Bnei Yisrael. And that's what the pasuk is telling us. Why does did Hashem want that Moshe should speak to the women first? Because they are special. They have a greater responsibility than the men. And the pasuk tells us what the responsibility is. The responsibility is בית, they are the whole house, they run the house. And also they are Yaakov, they run the house and and educate the children, raise the children from when they are just born, like the name Yaakov was given to him when he was born. And that's the lesson that we take, that just like by Matan Torah Hashem stressed the importance of the women and their job, their mission in life over the men, so too, all the years, this tells us the importance of the achrayut of the women, and the women have to feel that achrayut, and it's up to them to raise the children, to raise them to become a דור ישרים יבורך.