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Shabbat Shalom: Parshat Yitro
Exodus 18:1-20:23
by Shlomo Riskin
Efrat, Israel –
“You must be the representative of the nation to God; and you
shall bring their issues to God” (Exodus 18:19).
The most seminal event in Jewish history, the miracle which
informed, inspired and inflamed our people with passionate
commitment to ethical monotheism, was the Revelation at Sinai.
How strange that the Biblical portion which details this
phenomenon is named Yitro – after Moses’ father-in-law, Jethro,
a Midianite priest. What did Jethro / Yitro do to deserve such a
signal honor?
The Bible records Jethro’s contribution
even before it gives us the content of the Revelation. According
to Rashi, who cites the Sifrei, our text changes the
chronological order by providing Jethro’s advice for a judicial
structure even before the Israelites had received the legal code
by which Moses would judge them. Apparently, the Torah believes
that Jethro’s advice was crucial for the implementation of the
Divine Law into daily life.
What did Jethro teach Moses
and Israel? Jethro sees his son-in-law standing every day from
morning to evening, judging the various disputes of the Hebrews
who come “to seek out God,” deciding “between a person and his
neighbor,” informing each of “the statutes of God and His laws”
(Exodus 18:13-16). The Midianite sheikh, speaking from a
lifetime of experience, recognizes an impossible situation:
“What you are doing is not good; you will wear yourself out as
well as this nation that is with you” (ibid, 17-19). Jethro
warns his son-in-law that he will never manage to deal with the
enormous case load alone, and the people will grow impatient
waiting in line!
Jethro then suggests that Moses find
“men of valor, God-fearing people of truth who despise
ill-gotten gain,” who will establish district courts. These
people, who are financially and constitutionally able to resist
the pressures of the wealthy and powerful, will arbitrate the
daily disputes which can plague a nation committed to
compassionate righteousness and moral justice.
But Jethro
does much more than design a more manageable judicial “pecking
order”; he actually defines Moses’s position as leader, setting
the stage for the Hebraic version of Plato’s philosopher king.
Moses understood the paramount importance of the Law for the
development of the people. He also understood that since God had
chosen him as the Lawgiver, each Israelite experienced personal
contact with him as if it were contact with God. Moses was
willing to stand from morning to night adjudicating individual
cases because he realized that each client was actually “seeking
God” (ibid 15).
Jethro understands that such a situation cannot last. He
therefore, explains to his son-in-law that he does not have the
luxury of leading like a Rebbe, who deals with each individual
and their problems; instead, he must lead like a Rav – an
exalted teacher who brings the Divine Word to the nation as a
whole, and serves as its interlocutor and defense attorney
before God.
Moses must speak with the voice of the
Divine, and his mouth must express the words and will of the
Divine; “clarify the decrees and the laws for [the nation] and
show them the path they must take and the things they must do”
(ibid 19, 20). He must be Moshe Rabbenu, a halachic teacher,
guide and king who operates wholesale rather than retail; a Rav
and Torah teacher for all generations, rather than a Rebbe for
the individuals of one generation. Such a vocation would make
Moses a man of God (Ish Ha-Elohim) rather than a man of the
people. It might lead to more criticism, and even to impudent
and ungrateful rebellions, but it would allow him more time with
God and enable his intellect to fuse with the Intellect of the
Divine (Maimonides, Guide for the Perplexed).
There was one detail in which Moses differed from Jethro.
The Midianite priest suggested that all the great (big) matters
be brought to Moses, and all small matters be judged by lesser
courts (ibid 22); Moses re-interpreted his words to state that
the difficult issues be brought to him whereas the simpler cases
be judged by the magistrates. Moses taught that the highest
court was needed for the difficult questions of Law, but not
necessarily for simpler cases which happened to involve a great
deal of money. As Moses initially explained to God, he was a man
of weighty, theological and religio-legal speech rather than
someone given to small talk.
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