Then Give Hope To The Hopeless, The Helpless And The Homeless (Robert Hunter & Phil Lesh - "Wave To The Wind")

           Earlier this week, President Biden gave the State of The Union Address before a joint session of Congress, and all those who had tuned in. The President struck a note of hope.  He spoke of the growing frustration that people have when dealing with airlines, insurance companies, pharmaceutical companies,  and all the current sources of aggravation and inconvenience that everyday people experience.  Acknowledging that there are still many economically and politically alienated people, his goal remains to do as much as possible to create opportunities that mitigate the sense of alienation. He reminded Americans and the world that aspiring to the best version of America was still possible.  Several moments after the President’s State of the Union Address, the minority party’s response was offered by Sarah Huckabee, the former White House Director of Communications during the Trump Administration and the current Governor of Arkansas. She spoke of a Left Wing Cabal and registered the complaints that her former boss articulated seven years ago. She looked towards the past and spoke in a code that only the most passionate believers of her message would understand. President Biden spoke of the present and of the future in a language and using examples that everyone could understand and relate to. 

           In this week’s Parsha Yitro, there are two distinct narratives. The first narrative focuses on Moshe and his father-in-law Yitro.  Moshe leads B’nai Yisroel to Midian. While there, Moshe spends a little time with his wife, his two sons, and his father-in-law, Yitro. Yitro acknowledges that G-d has protected B’nai Yisroel and that the Lord is greater than all other gods. The next day, Yitro witnesses Moshe sit from morning to night mediating and adjudicating conflicts among B’nai Yisroel. Yitro understands that his son-in-law is overextended and the current method of governing is neither good for him nor for Amchah (the nation). Being both a Priest of Midian as well as his father-in-law, Yitro offers advice as both a father and a community leader. The second distinct narrative occurs, from chapters 19 through 20,  and focuses upon B'nai Yisroel’s revelation at Sinai.  The Parshah concludes with God’s declaration of the Aseret Dibrot, the Ten Commandments. The second part of the Parshah is very well known, incredibly unclear, and lends itself to numerous interpretations, commentaries, and Midrashim.  However, the two stories seem so disparate and could easily stand alone.  Why do these two separate narratives appear together in the same Parsha and how are they connected? 

           Yitro suggests to Moshe “You be a representative of God, and you convey the matters to God…you shall make known to them the path in which they should go and the deeds they should do. You shall discern from among the entire people, men of accomplishment, men of truth, men who despise money. You shall appoint them as leaders of thousands…they shall judge the people at all times, and they shall bring every major matter to you, and every minor matter they shall judge, and it will be eased for you, and they shall bear with you. If you do this thing and God shall command you, then you will be able to endure, and this entire people, as well, should arrive at its destination in peace.” (Ex. 18:19-23)  Yitro explains that a community must have a shared vision. To some degree, people need to know how to seek G-d on their own, and how to behave within a community. Others need to know God's ways in order to adjudicate and mediate conflicts or transmit information. Everyone must have access to G-d and G-d’s teaching. Only then will Moshe’s leadership responsibilities be light enough to bear. Only then will Amchah have a stake in the relationship with G-d. Only then will Moshe and B’nai Yisroel become willing participants in their covenant with G-d. Only then can this community uphold its role as a “priest to the nations”. Then and only then will Moshe and B’nai Yisroel arrive at its destination in peace.  However, Yitro’s suggestion is a top-down approach. Moshe sits atop.   After Moshe heeded his father-in-law’s advice, the preparation for the Revelation at Sinai occurs. While Moshe ascends and descends the mountain, the narrative focuses on B’nai Yisroel’s preparation, and its standing, waiting, and listening.  God instructs  Amchah to prepare for Revelation. The “entire people'' were in the camp, and they shuddered. Then Moshe brought the people from the camp toward God. (Ex 19:16-17). When presented with God’s covenant, “the entire people responded together and said, ‘everything that God has spoken we will do!’”(Ex 19:8) The narrative continually emphasizes that Revelation was not solely between God and Moshe.  B'nai Yisroel must be involved in the process. B’nai Yisroel must experience some aspect of Revelation. B’nai Yisroel must be active participants in Revelation. They were. They willingly and unanimously responded.  B’nai Yisroel’s unanimous response indicated that they were responsible and willing participants in the covenant. Their participation and the unanimous response indicated that they shared a common vision and purpose.

Moshe and B’nai Yisroel had a shared vision. Moshe experienced numerous revelations as an individual. However, at Sinia, he shared that revelation with B’nai Israel. As the leader, the disseminator of Law, and the one responsible for transmitting that law to the people, Moshe is responsible for not only transmitting law but doing everything he can to make sure that B’nai Israel has a shared and common vision, a sense of citizenship and common experience. By doing so, he improves the chances that this new society will be able to survive in the future. President Biden’s speech reflected that same idea. Speak in a language and from a common shared experience. That sense of shared common experience binds us as a people and offers the best chance of solving the problems of the future. 

Peace,
Rav Yitz

Judge Decreed It; The Clerk He Wrote It (Noah Lewis- "Viola Lee Blues")

           As my daughter continues to heal from knee surgery, we have had some wonderful father/daughter bonding. While watching the news this past week, we learned that a legally issued search warrant was obtained by the FBI in order to conduct a search for documents that were removed from the White House and stored in Donald Trump’s Mara Lago home.  Documents in the White House belong to the people, not to a President. According to The Federal Records Act, The Presidential Recordings and Materials Preservation Act, and The Presidential Records Act,  all documents of an outgoing president belong to the National Archives and ultimately the American People. Also, the law re-enforces a fundamental truth in democracies, the president and for that matter, an outgoing president is not above the law, but rather bound by it. Breaking the law has consequences.

          This Shabbat is Parsha V’Etchanan; it is also known as Shabbat Nachamu (Shabbat of Comfort). Parsha V’Etchanan is always the Parsha that immediately follows Tisha B’Av (the Ninth of Av), the day on which we commemorate the destruction of both the First and Second Temple. V’Etchanan is a continuation of Moshe Rabeinu’s lecture to Bnai Yisroel.  Moshe urges and cajoles Bnai Yisroel to learn from their hardships. Moshe reiterates the Ten Commandments and his experience at Sinai. Then Moshe explains that while he can speak of the Ten Commandments and share his experience, Bnai Yisroel will now have to pass this information and these commandments in a very different way than sharing a firsthand experience of the revelation of Sinai. Instead, this generation, the generation that did not stand at Sinai, will have to teach the meaning of these words, ideas, and commandments, to their children and live by them.

          The Parsha begins with Moshe Rabeinu, the soon-to-be outgoing leader of the Jewish people, explaining that he wasn’t above the rules. V’Etchanan El Adoshem B’Eit Ha’Hee Leimor -I implored Hashem at that time saying: E’Ebrah Nat V’Ereh et Ha’Aretz HaTova Let me now cross and see the good Land that is on the other side of the Jordan, this good mountain and the Lebanon (Deut. 3:23). Moshe recounts his desire to enter into Eretz Canaan, God’s anger because he failed to heed God’s commandment to speak to the rock and the resulting punishment. VaYitaber Adoshem Bi L’Manchem V’Lo Shama Eilai VaYomer  Adoshem Eilai Rav Lach Al Tosef Daber Eilai Od B’Davar HaZeh - But God became angry with me because of you, and He did not listen to me; God said to me ‘It is too much for you! Do not continue to speak to Me further about this matter. (Deut. 3:25-26). Despite blaming B’nei Israel's behavior as the reason why Moshe lost his temper and hit the rock instead of speaking to the rock as God had commanded, God didn’t want to hear any more about it. Moshe was going to be punished and Moshe needed to accept the punishment.

           Leaders have responsibilities, they are bound by certain rules given the role of leadership. Moshe is described as the most humble servant of God, and the greatest prophet. Within Jewish tradition, Moshe is considered one of, if not the greatest leader of the Jewish people. Yet, he violated a commandment and suffered the consequences. He was removed from his role as leader and he was forbidden to enter the Promised Land. Instead, he had to settle to look out upon it from a hilltop on the eastern side of the Jordan River. Democracies are based upon Laws.  The United StatesAttorney General Merrick Garland is Jewish. He is well versed in the fundamental sanctity of Torah and law. He reminded the world that in a  democracy, a society that is grounded in law, that no one is above the law.

Peace,
Rav Yitz

Whatever Happened To His Precious Self Control (Gerrit Graham & Bob Weir - "Victim Or The Crime")

           One of the most damaging results of the ongoing pandemic has been the increase of has been the increase in substance abuse and addiction. Whether alcohol, opioids, or another substance; the increased tension, and anxiety have led to an increased demand for mental health services.  Dr. Carl Erik Fisher author of The Urge: Our History of Addiction wrote a recent Op-Ed piece in the Jan 15th New York Times entitled "It's Misleading to Call Addiction a Disease". He explains that as a recovering addict, who is also a medical doctor, he has always struggled with the idea that addiction is a disease. His point is that the “addiction as a disease” paradigm oversimplifies the role of medicine and science. This paradigm assumes that a pill or a procedure will eradicate the disease. Besides, oversimplification, the “addiction as a disease” paradigm also eliminates the importance of empowering the patient to recover. A disease, if genetic, creates a degree of fatalism, and a disease that is entirely environmental and socio-economic eliminates the importance of hope. Rather, Fisher explains that when he wakes up every morning, his addiction reminds him that he, like everyone else, has a human struggle. His addiction reminds him that he, like everyone, must struggle with self-control and his addiction is just another example of human suffering and struggling with self-control.  

        This week's Parsha is Yitro. Named after Moshe's father-in-law, who happens to be a Midianite priest, the Parsha begins with Moshe leading B'nai Yisroel toward the wilderness of Midyan where he meets up with his father-in-law, his wife, and his two sons. Yitro suggests that Moshe should create a bureaucracy whereby others administer the small everyday rulings required of a judge. Difficult legal issues would be administered by Moshe. Moshe is then commanded by God to bring B'nai Yisroel to Har Sinai. For three days they will purify themselves, clean their clothes, not have marital relations, and purify their souls for a revelation. With the mountain smoking and thunder billowing from the heavens, God begins to speak. B'nai Yisroel is absolutely petrified and fearing death, they beg Moshe to go up the mountain as their Shaliach (appointed messenger). Moshe ascends the mountain and receives the Aseret HaDibrot (the Ten Commandments), then descends. Upon his descent, he tells B'nai Yisroel the Aseret HaDibrot. The Parsha concludes with B'nai Yisroel readily accepting the Ten Commandments, Moshe re-assures the people not to fear the thunder and the flames, God attests to the fact that B'nai Yisroel has accepted these commandments and then commands Moshe to build an altar of earth.

        The Ten Commandments are bound by several themes. The first five commandments are God-oriented. The second five commandments are people-oriented. The Aseret HaDibrot is punishable by death. Through our modern perspective, we may not agree but we can understand the concept of capital punishment in terms of murder, testifying falsely, (in which false testimony leads to death), or even kidnapping. However, how do we explain capital punishment as a punishment for not honoring your parents, keeping the Shabbat, or committing Avodah Zarah (Idolatry)? Certainly violating Shabbat or violating the first five commandments that are all God-  does not necessarily hurt someone else. Even not honoring one's parents might not warrant capital punishment in today's day and age. So how do we understand that each commandment is punishable by death? We know that if we do not take care of our bodies, there is a chance our bodies will be hurt. If we don't eat right, get enough sleep, and exercise then our resistance is low and there is a chance we will get sick. If we don't fasten our seatbelts then there is a chance that we won't be able to walk away from an accident. If we drink too much and too often or if we smoke, we know that we are doing damage to our bodies. There are things that we do to help our spiritual existence as well. Failure to take care of our souls is also detrimental to our existence. Failure to take care of our soul leads to emptiness, purposelessness, and a misguided existence. The first five commandments are about the welfare of our souls.  The first five commandments give our existence a higher more spiritual purpose. The first five commandments fill our lives with meaning even when overwhelmed with the onslaught of the humdrum of everyday life. The first five commandments give us a sense of where we fit in the universe. The first five commandments are for each individual's soul and the soul's relationship to God.

        The Aseret HaDibrot is much more than the Ten Commandments. The Aseret HaDibrot provides a blueprint for a life that is part of a community  (the second five commandments) and accounts for our own sense of self-worth and purpose (the first five commandments). The Aseret HaDibrot teaches us and commands us to transcend time and space by adding meaning and holiness to our lives. The Aseret HaDibrot teaches us that our spiritual well-being is just as important as our physical well-being. When our soul is complete, filled with a sense of purpose, filled with love, and filled with the acknowledgment that there is God, we are able to transcend the physical. As Dr. Fisher explains, addiction is just another type of human struggle that occurs on a daily basis. That struggle is as much a struggle of the soul as it is a struggle of the body. The Aseret Dibrot, gives our soul a higher purpose, choosing to connect to the holy and the sacred rather than the mundane, the ordinary, or the destructive.

Peace,
Rav Yitz.

When All We Ever Wanted Was To Learn And Love And Grow (Robert Hunter & Jerry Garcia- "Days Between")

         The great turn of the 20th-century philosopher and Harvard professor, George Santayana famously said, “Those who do not remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”, Early last week, when the Jewish world commemorated the destruction of both the First and Second Temples, a painful and tragic incident occurred making Santayana’s words prophetic. The Talmudic Rabbis remind us that the reason for the destruction of the 2nd Temple, which occurred in 70 C.E.) was because of Sinat Chinam – Baseless Hatred (Talmud Yoma 9B). Nearly 2000 years later, that lesson was tragically forgotten. At the Kotel, the last remnant of the 2nd Temple, Jews gathered to read the Eicha, the Book of Lamentations, and pray. There are three sections at the Kotel. The main plaza is divided between a “men’s section”, and a “women’s section”.  South of the main plaza, in a much smaller area, there is a designated “non-orthodox” section where men and women can pray together in an Egalitarian setting.  As Tisha B'Av was about to begin and non-orthodox Jews made their way to this section, they were met by Orthodox protesters who attempted to occupy the site and set up partitions separating men and women. The protesters tried to shout down the worshippers, and things became physical. Eventually, the police had to come to break up the conflict and cool down the tension. Jewish and Israeli leaders have denounced the behaviour of a fundamentalist mob. The lessons are tragic, as we witness the greatest threat to the Jewish people is the Jewish people. Yet, as tragic as the events this past Sunday were, there is more to the lesson from which the Jewish world can learn. In order to make sense of the tragedy of Tisha B’Av, The Talmudic Sages remind us that the Messiah was born on Tisha B’Av. From the pure hate that led to a national tragedy comes the possibility of goodness, holiness, and Pure Love.

          This morning we read from Parsha V’Etchanan. V’Etchanan is always the Parsha that immediately follows Tisha B’Av.  The Parsha itself portrays B’nai Yisroel sitting intently and listening to Moshe's first discourse on the Law. Moshe reiterates the covenant, the punishment of exile, and the constant possibility of return. Moshe reiterates the experience of revelation at Sinai as well as a re-statement of the Aseret Dibrot, the Ten Commandments. Moshe teaches this new generation that when they experienced revelation, they witnessed the fire. And the fact that they sit on the Eastern Bank of the Jordan River is a testament to that fact. Moshe reminds this new generation that this Torah is perfect, one can interpret but we cannot add or subtract words. Instead, we must struggle and make sense of every aspect of Torah. Moshe then introduces the lone piece of dogma in the entire Torah: Shema Yisroel Adonai Eloheinu Adonai Echad Hear O Israel the Lord is God the Lord is One. The Parsha concludes with Moshe reminding B’nai Yisroel that in order to fulfill the Covenant, it must reclaim the land. 

          Central to Moshe’s message is the transcendent power of God’s Covenant at Mt. Horeb. The covenant was made with their ancestors, it is made now with this generation and it will be renewed with each and every generation. Then Moshe tells this generation V’Ahavta et Adoshem Elokecha – Love the Lord your God.  Moshe clarifies that this is accomplished through deed, B’Chol Levavcha U’Vechol Nafshecha U’vechol Meodecha – With all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your possessions.  Only by demonstrating a love for God with every fiber of being;  will B'nei Yisroel be able to enjoy the covenantal blessings.  Moshe understood that Love will be the key for this covenant to survive. When B’nai Yisroel loves God, it will listen, cherish and keep all the means of expressing that love towards God. Perhaps, just as important is that to truly demonstrate one’s love for God, one must demonstrably love God’s Torah and God’s people. Moshe also reminds them what will happen when love wanes and they cease listening, cherishing, keeping and observing, and caring for one another.

          For Moshe, love was not just an emotion it was a source of energy. It was a constructive force.  Moshe also understood that Love was something that needed to be acted upon. Love was not for the passive.  The Aggadah tells of Rabbi Akivah’s impending death and his recitation of the Shema while being tortured immediately prior to his death is an expression of love, maybe the ultimate expression of love. What parent wouldn’t choose his/her own life in exchange for his/her child? Love isn’t a seasonal short term fleeting emotion such as just a summer. Rather, Love is every day, love is hard work, and love is commitment. Because Love is all those things, love transcends time.  So while ChaZaL can say that the destruction of the 2nd Temple was due to pure hatred; ChaZaL can also teach that from the fleeting, short-term destructive nature of hatred comes the transcendent, constructive force of goodness, of holiness, and of a future that focuses upon the possible. As Jewish leaders around the world, including the current Israeli government, denounced this tragic behaviour; the current Bennet/Lapid government said that it would renew the 2016 agreement.  Perhaps the current government has learned its lesson from History as well as from the previous government. A people divided by fundamentalism, intolerance,  and ignorance endangers their very survival. We saw it with two Kingdoms and the eventual destruction of the First Temple in Kings I and Kings II. We saw it again, as the sages reminded us in the Talmud (Yoma 9B), we witness it as younger diaspora Jews turn away from Israel, and we witness it when religious fundamentalism and closed-mindedness drowns the idea of Ahavat Israel (Love for the Jewish People).  However, if we overcome this with all our heart, our soul, and by all of our means, perhaps we can aspire to a better world. Certainly, the Talmudic sages thought so. 

Peace,
Rav Yitz

My Words Fill The Sky With Flame; And Might And Glory Gonna Be My Name (John Barlow & Bob Weir - "Estimated Prophet")

            As we listened to the Prime Minister share the additional restrictions on entry into Canada, my wife and I called our daughters in the Washington D.C. metro area. As parents, we needed to inform them of the new restrictions if they planned on returning home for Pesach. They would need to plan ahead accounting for testing, quarantining and the most efficient mode of travel.  My wife was upset because bringing them home for Passover became more expensive and more inconvenient. However, both our daughters agreed with the Prime Minister that further restrictions in order to prevent unnecessary travel were actually a smart and responsible decision. Each daughter explained that both Australia and New Zealand have initiated similar restrictive travel policies back in the late spring and early summer.  Compared to Europe and the United States, both Australian and New Zealand society appear far healthier, having returned to a more normal life. Testing and monitoring for outbreaks in those places remain constant and ongoing. The populace fully accepts what so many in North America consider “heavy-handed” because the vast majority in those respective nations believe that each person plays a vital role in making Australian and New Zealand society safe and open. Each individual feels connected to the greater good.

In this week’s Parsha Yitro, there are two distinct narratives. The first narrative focuses upon Moshe and his father-in-law Yitro.  Moshe leads B’nai Yisroel to Midian. While there, Moshe spends a little time with his wife, his two sons, and his father-in-law, Yitro. Yitro acknowledges that G-d has been protective of B’nai Yisroel and that the Lord is greater than all other gods. The next day, Yitro witnesses Moshe sit from morning to night mediating and adjudicating conflicts among B’nai Yisroel. Yitro understands that his son-in-law is overextended and the current method of governing is neither good for him or Amchah (the nation). Being both a Priest of Midian as well as his father-in-law, Yitro offers advice as both a father and a community leader. The second distinct narrative occurs, from chapters 19 through 20,  and focuses upon B'nai Yisroel’s revelation at Sinai.  The Parshah concludes with God’s declaration of the Aseret Dibrot, the Ten Commandments. The second part of the Parshah is very well known, incredibly unclear, and lends itself to numerous interpretations, commentaries, and Midrashim.  However, the two stories seem so disparate and could easily stand alone.  Why do these two separate narratives appear together in the same Parsha and how are they connected? 

           Yitro suggests to Moshe “You be a representative of God, and you convey the matters to God…you shall make known to them the path in which they should go and the deeds they should do. You shall discern from among the entire people, men of accomplishment, men of truth, men who despise money. You shall appoint them as leaders of thousands…they shall judge the people at all times, and they shall bring every major matter to you, and every minor matter they shall judge, and it will be eased for you, and they shall bear with you. If you do this thing and God shall command you, then you will be able to endure, and this entire people, as well, should arrive at its destination in peace.” (Ex. 18:19-23)  Yitro explains that a community must have a shared vision. To some degree, people need to know how to seek G-d on their own, and how to behave within a community. Others need to know God's ways in order to adjudicate and mediate conflicts or transmit information. Everyone must have access to G-d and G-d’s teaching. Only then will Moshe’s leadership responsibilities be light enough to bear. Only then will Amchah have a stake in the relationship with G-d. Only then will Moshe and B’nai Yisroel become willing participants in their covenant with G-d. Only then can this community uphold its role as a “priest to the nations”. Then and only then will Moshe and B’nai Yisroel arrive at its destination in peace.  However, Yitro’s suggestion is a top-down approach. Moshe sits atop. Those with enough knowledge and integrity to serve as judges sit beneath Moshe. Eventually, this knowledge will “trickle-down” to Amchah, the general population.  

          After Moshe heeded his father in-law’s advice, the preparation for and the Revelation at Sinai occurs. While Moshe ascends and descends the mountain, the narrative focuses upon B’nai Yisroel’s preparation, and its standing, waiting, and listening.  God instructs  Amchah to prepare for Revelation. The “entire people'' were in the camp, and they shuddered. Then Moshe brought the people from the camp toward God. (Ex 19:16-17). When presented with God’s covenant, “the entire people responded together and said, ‘everything that God has spoken we will do!’”(Ex 19:8) The narrative continually emphasizes that Revelation was not solely between God and Moshe. If it were, then Moshe’s role as teacher, prophet, and adjudicator of law would be overwhelming. Rather,  B'nai Yisroel must be involved in the process. B’nai Yisroel must experience some aspect of Revelation. B’nai Yisroel must be active participants in Revelation. They were. They willingly and unanimously responded.  B’nai Yisroel’s unanimous response indicated that they were responsible and willing participants in the covenant. Their participation and the unanimous response indicated that they shared a common vision and purpose.

          The two narratives join together in order to demonstrate that covenant is a sacred partnership between God and Amchah (the Nation), and between God and each individual. The two narratives combine to demonstrate that B’nai Yisroel connects directly and through a shared intermediary, Moshe. As a result, each individual understands the benefits of self-sacrifice for his/her own welfare as well as the welfare of the covenant and the community. Ideally, this self-sacrifice will allow B'nai Yisroel and Moshe to arrive at their destination in peace. The citizens of Australia and New Zealand care enough about themselves and their community to engage in behaviour that requires some self-sacrifice in order to prevent the spread of Covid,  re-open society thereby arriving at its destination in peace.  This attitude benefits both the individual and the community.  So our daughters will plan accordingly. Their inconvenience is a small price to pay to combat the spread of Covid and hopefully return to a more normal way of life. 

Peace,

Rav Yitz

Still I Know I Lead The Way, They Tell Me Where I Go (John Barlow & Bob Weir - Estimated Prophet)

      

          Our son just returned from participating in a Model U.N. program sponsored by Yeshiva University involving approximately twenty Jewish Day schools from across North and South America. He and his team had spent the past two months preparing position papers on a variety of issues including the cannibalization of Africa’s natural resources, concerns over water shortages, drought and immigration. The two-day convention was an exercise in the hard work of becoming a community. The process of becoming a community occurs on the micro-level (each school/each country), and on a macro level (building consensus among the delegates for the numerous position papers that need to be voted upon and ratified. Whether in the micro or macro sense, individuals have to come together for a common cause and purpose-based upon their own volition and desire.

In this week’s Parsha, Yitro, we read two distinct narratives. In the first half of the Parsha, Moshe brings B’nai Yisroel to Midian. While there, Moshe spends a little time with his wife, his two sons and his father-in-law Yitro. Yitro acknowledges that G-d has been protective of B’nai Yisroel and that the Lord is greater than all other gods. The next day, Yitro sees Moshe sitting from morning to night mediating all problems that arise between individuals within the community. Yitro sees that his son-in-law is overextended and the current method of governing is neither good for him or Amchah. Being both a Priest of Midian as well as his father-in-law, Yitro offers advice as a father as well as a community leader. The second part of the Parshah, from chapters 19 through 20, tells of B’nai Yisroel’s revelation at Sinai.  The Parshah concludes with God’s declaration of the Aseret Dibrot, the Ten Commandments.

As Moshe’s father-in-law, as a leader of his community; Yitro makes an awe-inspiring suggestion. Because the revelation at Sinai occurs later, the suggestion often gets overlooked yet the message goes to the fabric of the type of community Moshe and God aspire to build.  Yitro suggests to Moshe “You be a representative of God, and you convey the matters to God…you shall make known to them the path in which they should go and deeds they should do. You shall discern from among the entire people, men of accomplishment, men of truth, men who despise money. You shall appoint them as leaders of thousands…they shall judge the people at all times, and they shall bring every major matter to you, and every minor matter they shall judge, and it will be eased for you, and they shall bear with you. If you do this thing and God shall command you, then you will be able to endure, and this entire people, as well, should arrive at its destination in peace.” (Ex. 18:19-23) Yitro explains to Moshe that a community must have a shared vision. To some degree, people need to know how to seek G-d on their own, and how to behave within a community. Others need to know G-d’s ways in order to inform those who need advice and adjudication. Everyone must have access to G-d and G-d’s teaching. Only then will Moshe’s load be lightened enough to bear. Only then will Amchah have a stake in the relationship with G-d and enter into a partnership with God. Only then, when confronted with the revelation at Sinai, amid the smoke and the fire and the thunder and lightning will the nation accept God’s covenant “the entire people responded together and said, ‘everything that God has spoken we will do!’”(Ex 19:8). Only then will Moshe and B’nai Yisroel arrive at its destination, in peace as a unified community. Only then can this community uphold their role as a “priest to the nations”.

Yitro understood and explained to his son in law, Moshe, that nature of true leadership. True leadership, based upon the sacred, the good, and for the public welfare is not the leadership of the despot and the dictator. True leadership, based upon the sacred, the good and the public welfare does not lead the people to the leader but rather towards something greater, more important and sacred. From Yitro’s perspective, Moshe's purpose, his mission,  was to create a legal system whereby he could lead his people towards adherence to God, God’s laws, and covenant.  That system was based upon transmitting and teaching the law, choosing judges with integrity and could not be corrupted, and creating an environment where the law, God’s covenant was relevant to the entire community and not to only certain members of the community. For our son and his Model U.N. peers, they learned how and why a community with so many divergent opinions and interests is able to come together. They are able to come together when they recognize common needs for themselves and their children. Those common needs have nothing to do with the leader but rather something far greater and far more sacred

Peace,

Rav Yitz