Yitro Commentary

Seeking the living soul of our sacred texts.

Exodus 18:1-20:23

Unlike the first tablets, the second tablets, which were hewn by human hands, endured.

Yitro tells Moses that only people of integrity, who themselves would never engage in legally questionable business dealings, are qualified to serve as judges.

The complex ways in which parents serve as our bridge between God and the world.

Jethro, Moses' father-in-law suggests a system for establishing lower courts to settle disputes; God speaks the Ten Commandments to the Children of Israel amidst fire, smoke, and the sound of the shofar.

Jewish tradition places great emphasis on the way in which we hear and how we interpret the messages we receive.

Raising questions about our complex relationship with God.

Establishing an equitable human judicial system is the necessary condition for receiving the divine moral wisdom of the Torah.

Holiness derives from encounters with God in Torah study; it is not intrinsic to locations like Mount Sinai.