What an exciting parsha (Torah portion) we have.  It includes haShem (god) actually talking to us.  Imagine being in a group of 600,000+ looking up from the base of a smoking, shuddering mountain, with the sounds of shofars (ram’s horn horns) trumpeting, and hearing/seeing the voice of god talking to each and every one of us…

I am getting ahead of myself, for this is near the end of the parsha.  Let’s see how we got there.  The parsha starts out with Moshe’s (Moses) father-in-law showing up with Moshe’s wife and kids in tow.  How strange it is that he now has the name of Yitro.  Moshe welcomes them and Moshe tells Yitro about all the events that have brought all these people to this mountain.  This impresses Yitro enough that he says that he now knows that haShem is greater than all the other gods and he converts.

The next day, Yitro watches as Moshe judges the people all day.  At the end of the day, Yitro gives Moshe some advice:  to prevent burnout, create a hierarchy of judges, judges of 10s, 50s, 100s, and 1000s.  Moshe accepts the advice and implements it.

We now get informed that we are in the 3rd month since leaving Egypt, and the people are camped at the base of the mountain.  Moshe goes up the mountain where he is instructed to tell the people that they saw how god brought them out of Egypt and to god, and if they observe the covenant, they will be god’s most treasured nation and a nation of priests, a holy nation.

Moshe tells this before the elders, and the people reply, “All that god said, we will do.”

Moshe goes back up the mountain, and god says he is coming in a cloud so the people can hear god speak to Moshe and believe in Moshe forever, and to prepare, for god will be there in 3 days.  Moshe comes down and tells the people, and on the third day we have a great show and god descends in a cloud and fire.  Moshe speaks and god answers in a voice, and after one more trip down and up the mountain, god gives over the 10 utterances.

I went into detail on them last year, so I won’t repeat myself here.  I recommend everybody reading it for yourselves though.

At this point, the people got scared and withdrew and told Moshe to be an intermediary, out of fear that hearing god’s voice would cause them to die.  God then tells Moshe a few more things like not to make idols and things relating to altars and we come to the end of our parsha.

If one lets this parsha seep in, one can feel how powerful this parsha really is.  Last year I focused on the 10 utterances (commandments is how it is usually translated, and this is an inaccurate translation).  This year it is the beginning of the parsha that attracts me, specifically the interaction between Yitro and Moshe.

Later on, we will read that Moshe is the humblest man in the world.  We actually see this played out in this parsha.  How?  Well, imagine that you have been talking with god face-to-face and stood up to the most powerful man in the world (Pharaoh), and destroyed his people.  Imagine that just by raising your hand, you caused an ocean to split and then to reform.

Now imagine someone coming up to you and saying, “Wow, your god is most powerful.  I want to join you.”  So you let him join.  And the next day, he tells you that the way you are doing things is wrong and he suggests a better way.  Would you listen to him or would you tell him to get lost?

Let me put it a different way.  Suppose you are the best in your field and someone who finds that field interesting tells you he has a better way of doing something.  Would you listen to him?

If you are Moshe, the answer is yes.  This is exactly what Moshe does.  Yitro knows nothing of what is really going on with these people and yet he tells the man in charge, the man who talks to god, that he is messing up and that he has a better way.  And you know what?  Moshe not only listens, but actually agrees with him!!!

Moshe doesn’t think of himself so high and mighty; he is just doing his job and looking for the best way to do it.  This is why he is so humble.  He isn’t interested in the source, in whose idea something is.  He is only interested in implementing haShem’s plan in the best way possible.  If the idea comes from a newbie, if it is a good idea, its accepted.

Now let’s look at what we can learn from Yitro.  How was he able to give over advice and be heard?

Well the first thing he did was join the tribes (by converting).  Then he sat and observed.  Only then did he speak.  And then he left.

This last thing is a strange thing for him to do, and a topic for another day.  The idea here is not to question his motives, but to see what the Torah is trying to teach us.

I see the Torah teaching, in regards to giving advice, this:  before you can give advice that another can here, you have to put yourself into their space.   Yitro did this with the conversion.  He is now, “One of us.”

The second thing he did was observe quietly and only later spoke.

We learn from this that it is not good to advise someone while they are in the middle of an action, and that it is best to see the whole process before making suggestions.

And finally, Yitro’s leaving teaches that once you give your suggestion, don’t hang around to see if it is followed or to take glory in it or anything else.  You have done your job (giving the advice) and now it is time to move on.

So, having giving my thoughts, I will try to put into practice what we have just learned, and end this missive.  May we all strive to be as humble as Moshe, and as wise in our advice-giving as Yitro.

If you want to read what I wrote about this parsha last year, click here.

About the Author

Shmuel Shalom Cohen spent 10 years studying Torah in Jerusalem. Six years ago, he started Conscious Torah to help Jews connect to their tradition in ways they didn’t think possible. Shmuel also started, and is the executive directory of Jewish Events Willamette-valley, a non-profit whose mission is to build Jewish community, pride, and learning. In his free time, Shmuel likes walks in nature, playing music, writing poetry, and time with good friends.