Yitro

The Torah portion of Yitro holds the powerful moment when all Jewish souls were present together standing witness. We are taught that we were all at Mount Sinai as we received the Torah, whether we had been born yet, or not.

You and I, as we stand here today, we were there, we stood present and received the Torah.

We are taught this in the Talmud, all Jews were present at Sinai for the giving of Torah. The Talmud claims that the covenant was binding upon all Jews who ever were, and ever would be, because they were all present at Sinai, including every generation to come and every person who would ever convert to Judaism.

In Midrash, it is added,

“Their souls were there, even though their bodies had not yet been created.”

So let me repeat, we were all there at Sinai.

We received the Torah in the portion of Yitro. An event so important to the Jewish people, to our history and our practice.

And it is named for a Midianite priest.

Yitro was a priest, he was Moses’s father-in-law and grandfather to Moses’s two sons. A spiritual leader and man of justice, Yitro was truly a righteous gentile. He holds a place of purity in his relationship with Moses and was one of the guiding lights in our understanding of the growth of Moses as person and as a leader.

When we look at the life of Moses, there is a space that is barely referenced. He grew up in the Palace as a pampered prince yet left under a cloud of fear and shame after killing the taskmaster. We know that Moses spent time in Midian and it is there he met and married Zipporah and had his sons. Yet there is little else referenced of this time.

The next part of our story concentrates on the moment when he is sent to liberate his people.

But what of that time in the camp of a Midianite chieftan, in the camp of Yitro? To the strangers eye, Moses appears as an Egyptian. However that time in Midian is became a safe space for him, a refuge in his journey from Prince to Politician, from being led, to becoming a leader.

Whilst living in Midian, Moses learns more about the world around him. He begins to understand that it is not just divided, between Hebrews and Egyptians, slaves and taskmasters. There is a whole world out there of others, people who are not party to our particular conflict. They may treat us with kindness, welcoming us into their tent.

Yitro was an example of this. Accepting Moses as he was yet teaching him that there are options, other ways to live. Both preparing him for his role as liberator, and continuing to teach him in his role as leader.

This is the week we receive the Ten Commandments. We live by our Torah, it is written next to our heads and next to our heart. Yet this portion is called Yitro. There is a lot that is said about Yitro’s, how he left before we received the Torah, how he was the first non-Jewish emissary spreading the truth about G-d and the wonders he showed.

Yitro's influence and guidance to Moses, was instrumental in setting up the judiciary. But it was how he said it that resonates with me the most. I think this may well be the overwhelming message of this weeks Torah portion.

לֹא־תוּכַ֥ל עֲשֹׂ֖הוּ לְבַדֶּֽךָ׃

You cannot do it alone.

We received the Torah this week in the portion of Yitro. We received the Torah, all of us, together, as a community. And it is Yitro that teaches us what we need to remember.

We cannot do it alone.