Jethro’s Contribution
In some ways, it is the most important portion of the Torah. It contains the most fundamental principles of our faith. It tells the story of the most significant event in the history of our people. It is the portion about the Divine revelation at Sinai, where G-d spoke the Ten Commandments in the presence of all the children of Israel.
We would expect the name of the portion to capture this monumental revelation. Instead the portion is named Yisro, Jethro, who was the father-in-law of Moses, who left his home in Midyan and came to join the Jewish people in the desert. As the Torah relates:
Now Moses' father in law, Jethro, the chieftain of Midian, heard all that God had done for Moses and for Israel, His people that the Lord had taken Israel out of Egypt…
Now Moses' father in law, Jethro, and his [Moses'] sons and his wife came to Moses, to the desert where he was encamped, to the mountain of God…
Jethro said, "Blessed is the Lord, Who has rescued you from the hands of the Egyptians and from the hand of Pharaoh, Who has rescued the people from beneath the hand of the Egyptians. Now I know that the Lord is greater than all the deities...”[1]
While Jethro was certainly a distinguished man and his story adds a twist to the narrative, it does seem strange that the portion is named after a person, Jethro, who has merely a supporting role in the story.
After the splitting of the Red Sea the Jewish people sang a beautiful song to G-d. To sing is to express inspiration. To sing is to elevate one’s self from matters of the mundane. To sing is to surge upward and to seek transcendence.
The ultimate purpose of the Torah, however, cannot be achieved through song alone. The Torah’s message is not to seek escape from daily life but rather to sanctify it. Not to climb the mountain and remain aloof, but rather to draw holiness within the existing parameters of culture and society.
Thus Jethro was critical to fulfilling the objective of the Torah.
Indeed, the Zohar, the primary book of Jewish mysticism, explains that the Jewish people were unable to receive the Torah, until Jethro came to the Jewish camp and offered thanks to G-d.
Jethro was no ordinary person. Jethro was a leader of Midyan and was considered one of the foremost scholars of his time. Jethro was able to state: “Now I know that the Lord is greater than all the deities” because he was an expert on the religions, philosophies, and theories of his time. Jethro represented the peak of human scholarship. His arrival to the Jewish camp represented the ability of the Torah to reach, to transform, and to imbue holiness within every culture and society.
Song is important. Seeking transcendence is essential. But the ultimate goal is to reach the level of Jethro, to draw inspiration into daily life.
Thus immediately after reading of the awesome revelation at Sinai, the Torah continues, in next week’s portion, to elucidate the Jewish civil laws. Because, while it is inspiring to gather at the foot of Mount Sinai, to seek to hear the voice of G-d, to attempt to hear the song of inspiration, the message of the Torah is that we must bring the inspiration into our daily life. We must strive for the Torah to permeate every part of our life, not just in our most spiritual moments but, perhaps more important, in our business and in our interactions with our fellow man.[2]
[1] Exodus 18:1-5.
[2] Adapted from the teachings of the Rebbe, Lekutey Sichos vol. 11.