Spirituality

TORAH PORTION

"4"ewokArt' Lesson: Don't Act Alone

Parshat Yitro: Exodus 18:1-20:23; Isaiah 6:1-7:6, 9:5-6.

I

n Parashat Yitro, Moses is emotion-
ally and physically exhausted from
making all of the judicial decisions
for the people. He is hearing every dispute,
whether serious or inconsequential, and it
is wearing on him greatly.
When his father-in-law Yitro, a Midianite
priest, observes how Moses is handling his
leadership role, he exclaims, "Why do you act
alone, while all the people stand about you
from morning until aevening? The task is
too heavy for you, and you will surely wear
yourself out:'
Acting as an "outside management
consultant,"Yitro gives some invaluable
advice to his son-in-law, urging him to
reserve only the most important legal cases
for himself, while appointing judges from
among the elders of the people to rule on
all other matters. Moses heeds his good
counsel, putting the new legal system into
practice and in so doing, sets the Israelites
on the right path toward becoming a
nation.
Our ancestors' journey toward people-
hood would not have been possible with-

Orthodox 'Rabbah'
New York/JTA — An Orthodox clergy-
woman will now be known as "rabbah"
rather than an acronym that had been
created on her behalf. Sara Hurwitz, who
has been performing rabbinical duties at
the Hebrew Institute of Riverdale in New
York City, last year had been given the
title of Maharat — a Hebrew acronym
that stands for a leader in legal, spiritual
and Torah matters.
But in a statement issued Jan. 24, Rabbi
Avi Weiss, spiritual leader of the Hebrew
Institute and Hurwitz's mentor, said the
acronym had failed to take hold and that
Hurwitz would henceforth be called rab-
bah, a feminized version of the title rabbi.
"This will make it clear to everyone that
Sara Hurwitz is a full member of our
rabbinic staff, a rabbi with the additional
quality of a distinct woman's voice," said
the statement issued by Weiss' office.
Hurwitz, who has served at the Hebrew
Institute for nearly seven years, has com-
pleted the same course of training and
examination as male Orthodox rabbinical
students. Her curriculum was modeled
after that of the male students at the lib-
eral rabbinical school Yeshivat Chovevei
Torah in Riverdale, which Weiss founded
and now leads.

friends, teachers, colleagues or
out Moses sharing the burden.
co-workers. Anyone with more
Had Moses continued micro-
experience in a particular area is
managing, where would we be
bound
to provide sound advice.
today? Moses followed God's
Oftentimes,
it is helpful to run
direction, relied on his brother
ideas
by
an
unbiased
indi-
Aaron for communication
vidual
who
will
serve
as
a reliable
purposes and heeded the wise
sounding
board.
counsel of his father-in-law.
Many great leaders have relied
Yitro's message to Moses
upon
an unofficial network of
brings to mind Rabbi Tarfon's
Rabbi
Jason
wise
advisers.
Historically, this
Pirkei
Avot
(The
teaching in
Miller
group has been referred to as
Ethics of the Sages), which has
Special to the
the "Kitchen Cabinet" The first
become a well-known song: Lo
Jewish News
Kitchen Cabinet was formed
alecha hamelacha ligmor, v'lo
by President Andrew Jackson
atah ben chorin l'hibatel mime-
who consulted these advisers in place of
nah — It is not incumbent upon you to
his official Cabinet. Alexander the Great's
finish the task, but neither are you free to
tutor and counselor was Aristotle, ancient
desist from it.
Greece's famed philosopher and scientist.
Following other's advice made Moses
France's King Louis XIII chose as his chief
a better leader, which, in turn, made the
adviser Cardinal Richelieu, who became
nation stronger.
the architect of modern state government;
In fact, large, international consulting
and President Franklin D. Roosevelt ben-
firms that provide support to companies
efited from the services of the great Gen.
across the globe could use that text from
George Marshall as well as the trustworthy
Pirkei Avot as their corporate slogan.
Consultants may take the form of relatives, Harry Hopkins.

Each of us can benefit from having a
"Yitro." Moses would not have been the
leader that he was without his father-in-
law's advice. None of us is beyond taking
advice. We will all be better at what we do
when we recognize the valuable resources
around us. ❑

Prince Helps Chabad House
Mumbai/JTA — Britain's Prince Michael
has donated $100,000 to rebuild the
Chabad House in Mumbai.
The prince in a visit to the house Jan.
20 was accompanied by Israeli Consul
General Orna Sagiv and Rabbi Avraham
Berkowitz, director of the Chabad Mumbai
Relief Fund. Michael made the donation
on behalf of the DVK Foundation, a char-
ity committed to victims of terror.
"I am pleased to be a part of the good
that is emerging from this terrible dark-
ness," said the prince, a grandson of
King George V. "Chabad is known glob-
ally for its spiritual and humanitarian
work."
A temporary Chabad House is in
operation in Mumbai during the
reconstruction of the house, one of 10
Mumbai sites that came under siege
during a three-day attack that began on
Nov. 26, 2008.
The attack by an Islamist Pakistani
group left 166 dead and hundreds
injured. Among those tortured and
murdered at the Chabad House were the
Chabad emissary and his wife.
A new Chabad emissary family will be
arriving in the city soon, Berkowitz told
the Hindu News.

Earliest Leprosy Case
Jerusalem/JTA — The DNA of a shrouded
man from the first century found in a
tomb in Jerusalem has revealed the earli-
est known case of leprosy. It is also the
first time fragments of a burial shroud
have been found from the time of Jesus
in Jerusalem, according to the Hebrew
University of Jerusalem.
The burial cave, also called the Tomb of
the Shroud, is located on the edge of the
Old City in the lower Hinom Valley.
Unique to this burial is the fact that the
man did not receive a secondary burial,
in which his bones would have been
removed after a year and placed into a
stone box. Instead, the man's tomb, which
was carbon dated to 150 C.E., was sealed
shut with plaster, likely because the man
had leprosy and died of tuberculosis,
according to tests of the man's bone DNA.
The man's shroud was woven differ-
ently than that of the Turin Shroud, which
is said to have wrapped the body of
Jesus, according to textiles historian Orit
Shamir. Because this is the first burial
shroud found from the time of Jesus in
Jerusalem, researchers have concluded
that the Turin Shroud did not originate
from Jesus-era Jerusalem, according to a
statement by Hebrew University.

Bibi At Auschwitz
Oswiecim/JTA — Israel
is prepared to fight a
new Amalek 65 years
after the liberation of
Auschwitz, Israeli Prime
Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu said at the
Benjamin
former death camp.
Netanyahu
At a Jan. 24 cer-
emony marking International Holocaust
Remembrance Day, Netanyahu said
Auschwitz is a reminder that one must
warn the world of dangers while defend-
ing oneself.
"We will always remember what the
Nazi Amalek did to us, and we won't forget
to be prepared for the new Amalek, who
is making an appearance on the stage
of history and once again threatening to
destroy the Jews," he said. "We will not
take this lightly and believe that these are
empty statements. We will not be calm as
if threats and denial of the Holocaust were
just blank words. We will never forget and
always remember to stand guard."
The nation of Amalek has been Israel's
nemesis since the Exodus from Egypt.
Nations that have tried to destroy Israel
often are referred to as descendants of
Amalek.

Rabbi Jason Miller serves as director of AT1D:

Alliance for Teens in Detroit and is the spiri-
tual leader for Congregation T'chiyah in Oak
Park. He is the rabbi of Oakland County-based

Tamarack Camps.

Conversations

Are there times when your plan has
improved due to the counsel of a
trusted adviser? Who is your "Vitro"
and who would you include in your
"Kitchen Cabinet?" Why do you think
companies with thousands of intelli-
gent and trustworthy employees still
hire outside consulting firms?

February 4 • 2010

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