The Torah column is supported by a generous donation from Eve Gordon-Ramek in memory of Kenneth Gordon.
Yitro
Exodus 18:1–20:23
The parashah begins with the appearance of Yitro, who previously was introduced as the priest of Midian. In the opening verse, he maintains that title but is given the additional accolade of father-in-law of Moses.
Yitro has barely been on the scene when he approaches his son-in-law with some advice. “What are you doing to these people? Why are you sitting alone while the people are standing over you from morning until evening?” (Exodus 18:14) Yitro sees that Moses has taken on the responsibility of judging all the various cases that the Israelites bring before him, and Yitro thinks it is inappropriate for him to take on such a load single-handedly.
Moses responds by explaining that the people come to him in search of God. They are really seeking out the wisdom of God. He further points out that when there is a dispute, he judges between them and informs them of the statues of God and His teachings.
What is the response from Yitro? “What you are doing is not good! You are going to wear out, you and these people, for (the burden) is too heavy for you, you cannot carry it alone.” (Exodus 18: 17-18)
He sounds like a classic father-in-law. After all, family is family. Yitro does not mince words:
“Now, listen to my voice, I will advise you and God will be with you. You shall stand before God for the people and bring their words to God. You will warn them of all the laws and statutes and inform them of the way in which they should go and what actions they should take. And you shall find from the nation men of valor, those that fear God, men of truth and those that despise money and you shall place them as ministers of thousands, ministers of hundreds, ministers of fifties and ministers of tens. They will judge the nation at all times and any matter that is too great they will bring to you, but the smaller issues they shall judge and they will lighten your load and bear it with you. If you do this and God will command you, you will endure and this nation will come to its place in peace.” (Exodus 18:19-23)
Moses, the most humble of all men, listens to his father-in-law and enacts the system that he recommends. It is quite commendable that Moses chooses to follow the advice delivered by his father-in-law. He begins seeking out people with the qualities that Yitro has listed.
Many years ago, I was teaching at Kehillah high school in Palo Alto, and we happened to be studying the story of Yitro from this parashah. There was a young man in the class who politely raised his hand and said that he did not understand the verse that laid out the requirement for the judges that Moses should seek. “Why would Yitro have to suggest that they be men of truth if he has already stipulated that they should be God fearing?” he asked.
He had a good point. If one is truly God fearing, then one should only speak truthfully. After glancing down at the commentaries that accompany the Torah text in a classic chumash (the Torah in printed form), I realized that Rashi, the foremost medieval commentator on the Torah, was bothered by the same question.
In order to avoid what seemed to be a redundancy, as pointed out by my student, Rashi defines men of truth as those who have already established a pre-existing reputation for being truthful. (Rashi on Exodus 18:19) A person who is thrust into a position of leadership must already have earned the trust of those who will be ruled over.
We live in a world where the criteria of Yitro are not necessarily foremost as requirements for public office — if only we could rely on our elected officials to be people of truth, who fear God and despise money. Unfortunately, that is not the case for many. Still, it is good to remember the ideals we should all be striving to achieve for ourselves and for our society.