The Sidra this week is named Yitro, who was Moses’ father-in-law. Perhaps, it was intended to honour him for the good advice which he offered to Moses in the course of his visit. The Torah tells us that he heard that the Israelites had been liberated from Egypt. It also tells us that he brought with him Moses’ wife and his two sons. We also learn that, after Moses had brought his family to Egypt, he returned them to Midyan, because he didn’t want them to be in Egypt during the troubles. According to one Midrash, Aaron had convinced Moses not to subject his family to the oppression of Egypt and to allow his wife and two sons to wait in Midyan until they could be reunited after the Exodus.
According to several commentators, the story of the visit is not appearing in the Torah in its correct chronological order of the events. Those commentators maintain that this is clear from the fact that the Israelites were already near Mount Sinai when Jethro arrived, whereas we are told that they left Refidim, only in the next chapter. The sequence of events was as follows: After the war with the Amalekites, which took place in Refidim, the Israelites travelled to Mount Sinai where they arrived one and a half months after the Exodus, on the first day of the month of Sivan. After some preparations, they received the 10 Commandments on the sixth of Sivan. Sometime later, they were given many more laws which elaborated upon the 10 Commandments. Moses began his work as a judge of his people. The Tabernacle was built, with an altar in it. Then, Jethro came to visit. His visit was extremely positive and we are told that Jethro was very happy when he heard about all the miracles that the Israelites had experienced. He was particularly impressed that the Egyptians had been punished according to the principle of ‘measure for measure’, since they drowned in the sea, just as they had tried to drown Israelite boys in the Nile. After his long conversation with Moses, Jethro acknowledged the uniqueness of the God of Israel.
We are told that Moses had two sons. One of them was called Gershom. This name is made up of two words: Ger and Sham. Therefore, it means “I was a stranger elsewhere”, namely, the land of Midyan. The second son was called Eliezer. This name means: my God is my help. Probably, the second son was born shortly after Moses had returned to Egypt and he was given this name because Moses was happy that he had been able to return to Egypt, without fearing the death sentence that had been issued against by the King.
On the day after his arrival, Yitro observed Moses judging the people from morning until night completely on his own. He was upset so he suggested to Moses a more efficient judicial system. Moses should handle the most difficult questions and disputes, but the bulk of the daily judging should be assigned to qualified individuals who would be in charge of groups of ten, fifty, a hundred, and a thousand people. Yitro explained that this new system would not only make things easier for Moses, but would benefit the people too; for the new court system was proposed to keep domestic peace and preserve social order.
It is interesting that the second section ends just a few verses before the end of the chapter, leaving a very short section for the third call up. It seems that the reason for it is that the Masoretes, the rabbis who fixed these breaks, wanted to end the second section with the blessing of peace. Jethro said to Moses: “If you listen to me, you will be able to endure the strain of leadership, and all the people will also remain at peace.”
Moses accepted Jethro’s advice and selected the judges. Yitro did not stay with the Israelite camp despite Moses request. We know from a later passage in the Torah that Moses wanted Jethro to stay. Clearly, this shows that Jethro did not want to become part of our nation and preferred to remain an idol worshipper. At the same time, he was glad to keep his friendship with the Israelites, which remained firm for several generations later, until the establishment of the monarchy.
The fifth portion contains the greatest event in the Torah. It describes the Revelation of God to the Israelites on Mount Sinai which ushered in a new era for our people. It introduces the concept of the selection of Israel as a most treasured people. It is a difficult concept to explain. However, the best explanation is that God chose us to observe the Torah and, in this way, we became role models to the nations of the world, in religious terms. The concept of our chosen-ness has been confused, all too often, with the idea that we are superior to other nations. But the reality is that we do not believe that we are superior. The Nazis believed they were superior and this led them to hate and murder people whom they considered to be inferior to them. By contrast, the Torah teaches us to love every human being, wherever they are and whatever they believe, so long as they are decent human beings.
The Torah tells us that the Children of Israel arrived at Mount Sinai whose location is not known. According to one later tradition Mount Sinai is to be identified with a mountain known as G’abel Mussa, the Mountain of Moses which is located in the southern part of the Sinai Peninsula, about halfway from the Gulf of Suez and the Gulf of Eilat.
The sixth Aliyah consists of the Ten Commandments. The Commandments are divided into two sections. The first section is devoted to our duties towards God. The second section is devoted to our duties towards other people. The fifth commandment, of honouring parents, has been placed in the first section to signify that parents should be accorded exceptional respect and also to emphasise the idea that we learn to recognize God’s supremacy through our parents. If we respect our parents, we learn to respect God.