The parsha of Yitro (Jethro) is divided into two episodes. In the first (chapter 18), Israel receives its first system of governance – devolved to leaders of thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens – at the advice of Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, whose name the parsha bears. In the second (chapters 19–20), it receives its eternal constitution by way of covenant with…
…personal and collective decision-making processes? Parsha in Passing Parshat Yitro opens up with a warm reunion between Moshe, his wife, his two sons and his father-in-law, Yitro. Yitro observes Moshe spending long days trying to help every individual who comes to him with questions and disputes, and he quickly understands that Moshe’s duties as a leader are too great for…
The Parsha in a Nutshell The parsha of Yitro contains two main stories. In the first story, Yitro (Moshe’s father-in-law, who is not Jewish) advises him to choose a large team of people to become leaders and advisers for the people, so he won’t get worn out being the sole leader of the people, and so that the people will…
…Look Rabbanit Fraenkel now shares her reflections on Rabbi Sacks and his writings on Yitro. What influence did Rabbi Sacks have on your own middot? Of all the many teachings I learned from Rabbi Sacks, what touched me most was a very personal sentence said by the Rabbi’s brother when he described him a month after his passing. Alan Sacks…
The parsha of Yitro records the revolutionary moment when God, Creator of Heaven and Earth, entered into a mutually binding agreement with a nation, the Children of Israel, an agreement we call a brit, a covenant. Now, this is not the first Divine covenant in the Torah. God had already made one with Noah, and through him all of humanity,…
…faithfulness to my master” (Gen. 24:27). The third is Yitro in this week’s parsha.[1] Is this significant? Why is it that this praise of God is attributed to Noach, Eliezer and Yitro, whereas from the Israelites, with the marked exception of the Song at the Sea, we seem to hear constant complaints? It may be simply that this is human nature:…
…all other nations: the proof is the intelligence of Yitro. God did not choose the Israelites because of their wisdom or intellect but because of His supreme kindness [hessed elyon] and his love of the patriarchs. This is all the more compelling according to the view that Yitro came before the giving of the Torah [there is a debate among…
The Ten Commandments are the most famous religious and moral code in history. Until recently they adorned American courtrooms. They still adorn most synagogue arks. Rembrandt gave them their classic artistic expression in his portrait of Moses, about to break the tablets on seeing the Golden Calf. John Rogers Herbert’s massive painting of Moses bringing down the tablets of law…
The sedra of Yitro, which contains the account of the greatest Divine revelation in history, at Mount Sinai, begins on a note that is human, all too human. Yitro, priest of Midian, has come to see how his son-in-law Moses and the people he leads are faring. It begins by telling us what Yitro heard (the details of the exodus…