TORAH PORTION
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FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 1, 1991
A Caring Man Gave
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ome commentaries say
the opening chapter of
this sedra about Jethro
is in sharp contrast with the
harm the Amalekites had in-
flicted upon the Israelites in
the previous chapter. Who
was Jethro that he was so
honored as to have a sedra of
the Torah bear his name?
When Scripture says that
Moses went out to meet
Jethro as he was approaching
the camp, the Torah showed
an example of Moses' nobili-
ty of character. Though he ob-
viously held eminent rank, he
did not deem it beneath his
dignity to go out and meet his
father-in-law, who had
befriended him in his own
time of distress.
What did Moses tell Jethro
when they went into the tent?
He told him all the Lord had
done: How He had exacted
punishment from the Egyp-
tians for the wrongs they had
done to Israel; the ex-
periences of the Red Sea and
the war against Amalek; and
the hunger and thirst in the
wilderness and how the Lord
delivered Israel by displaying
his special protection. Jethro
felt sympathy. He did not re-
joice over the destruction of
the Egyptians, but rather
over the deliverance of Israel.
"Now I know," Jethro said.
"Now I am conviced of God's
greatness over all the gods."
Jethro watched Moses
engage in administering
justice from morning until
evening. This was Moses'
regular daily practice in ad-
judicating civil disputes.
"What you are doing is
beyond your strength and
physical endurance," Jethro
said.
Jethro urged Moses to place
able men who feared God and
hated unjust gain as rulers of
thousands, rulers of hun-
dreds, rulers of fifties and
rulers of ten. Thus Moses set
up a judicial system and
established the tests of in-
tegrity for a judge in Israel.
Moses had these men take all
of the judicial cases that came
before him. The hard causes
they brought to Moses; the
smaller matters they judged
among themselves.
The commentators are
keenly aware of the way in
which Moses was told to
select judges. They should be
men of physical strength, able
Richard Hertz is rabbi
emeritus of Temple Beth El.
to stand the strain of office,
men with powers of leader-
ship, possessing virtues that
enable them to fear God and
not fear their fellow men.
They should be men who in-
spire confidence and whose
word is relied upon. They
should hate bribes and op-
pression, and be eager to
secure the rights of the
oppressed.
By de-centralizing authori-
ty and delegating respon-
sibility, Moses was able to
organize his administration
of leadership. By this new in-
stitution, the people were
able to more directly and pro-
mptly obtain justice in their
own part of the camp.
The name of Jethro is the
cause of some confusion in
Scripture. In chapter three
Yitro:
Exodus 18:1-20:23,
Isaiah 6:1-7:6,9:5-6.
and chapter 4:11 he is called
Jethro; but in Numbers 10, he
is called Reuel. In Judges 4,
Hobab is referred to as the
father-in-law of Moses.
Moreover, the Torah describes
Moses' father-in-law as a Mi-
dianite, whereas in Judges
1:16 and 4:11, he is termed a
Kenite. To add to the difficul-
ty, Jethro is characterized as
a mature man with seven
grown daughters, one of
whom, Zipporah, became
Moses' wife. He gave Moses
the kind of advice about
organizing a judiciary that
could only have been from so-
meone of experience and
wisdom. Hobab, on the other
hand, is characterized as a
young, vigorous man.
Jethro's role in the develop-
ment of Judaism is uncertain,
though his comments and ad-
vice about the organization of
a judicial system must have
come from someone well ac-
quainted and experienced in
heading an ethnic tribe as
well as a man of religious
commitment and maturity.
Later in the Torah, Moses
asked his father-in-law to join
Israel permanently in the
conquest and settlement of
Canaan. He refused the in-
vitation and departed in
peace to his own land, though
still remaining on warm and
friendly terms with Moses.
This week's Torah portion
honors Jethro by calling the
sedra by his name. The story
is interesting because it
demonstrates the wisdom a
caring father-in-law gives to
a great son-in-law. El