This Shabbat in synagogues around the world, Jewish congregations will read the 10 Commandments. It is a very public event during which the entire congregation stands, just as the entire people of Israel did at the foot of Mount Sinai as Moses presented the tablets bearing God’s commandments.
But something meaningful happens just before the revelation. The Torah invites us to eavesdrop on an intimate moment between Moses and his father-in-law Jethro (Yitro in Hebrew). The two men sit together. They pray and praise God.
They share their stories with each other, and Jethro gives some sage advice that would benefit the people but which would diminish Moses’ control over them. And Moses graciously accepts his advice.
I find it deeply moving that this Torah portion includes both the grand public pronouncement and the intimate, yet extremely important, exchange between two people. There are very few of those grand moments in life, but if we are willing to listen wholeheartedly to each other, we can have many small, meaningful, moments like theirs.
And it is a lesson that our country’s leaders should heed. Because Moses and Jethro weren’t just anybody. Moses had just stood up to the Egyptian Pharaoh and won decisively. Jethro was a Midianite priest and leader of his country.
Each could have brought his ego to the meeting. They could have created a stand-off, not unlike the one that Congress and the President are currently engaged in. But instead they put ego aside, greeted each other warmly and respectfully, and sat down to a meal.
Across our great nation, people are suffering needlessly. It is time for our leaders to set aside their egos and petty differences and address the dire situation that they have created for their constituents.
SRQ Jew 
Hi Jennifer,
I’ve always enjoyed this parasha also, because of the exchange between Moshe and Yitro. For all his unparalleled heroic achievements, Moshe was a bit disorganized in discharging his leadership responsibilities. He had not learned to delegate and as a result he was frustrated and exhausted. So from my own jaded perspective I have always thought of Yitro as Jewish history’s first management consultant.
Kol tuv,
Mel
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Me too! I’ve used this text many times when doing leadership training. It’s one of my favorites. It’s fun to take people through the exercise of unpacking their interaction. There’s much to be learned from both men.
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Rabbi Jennifer, I love you and I love what you write! You offer a beautiful reading and make a valid point here, with which I generally agree but respectfully disagree with the mapping of it onto the current stand-off in our government. I do not agree that we are currently witnessing a battle of equal egos; I see one body with less power refusing to capitulate to the insane and inhumane demands of a petulant bully in power. Being willing to compromise doesn’t mean capitulating to the other side’s constant, maniacal moving of the goalposts of what is acceptable behavior or governance; at some point a line must be drawn.
Submitted with much love and respect, Hazzan Jessi
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Hazzan Jessi, Thank you. Yes, I agree that the weight of the egos is unequal, as is the power in their hands. We are in uncharted waters, dealing with an intractable ego that is solely interested in winning for his own sake. And yes, at some point a line must be drawn. But at what cost? And more important, at whose expense?
With love and respect to my beloved colleague and friend.
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Fully excellent questions, Rabbi, for which I do not have a complete answer. The kernel of genius in this tantrum is that the President himself has physically pitted current U.S. government workers against current and future immigrants, and is poised to spin this as if the Dems are willing to sacrifice the former for the latter. I suppose I am wary of contributing in any way to the narrative that the Dems had an equal hand in creating this situation. The leaders may indeed have to decide at what point relieving the suffering this shutdown is causing is worth a capitulation. I also think they would be wise to deeply consider the potential lasting cost and possible domino effect of giving in to this insane demand — how much harder could that make it to stop his next move? And we know there will be an equally or more hateful next move. We as Jews know what can happen when a sociopathic madman is not stood up to early in the game.
I so appreciate this conversation, my friend — together, we are articulating the competing inclinations in my brain and heart.
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There are no easy answers. To take my earlier metaphor farther, we are in shark-infested uncharted waters. Since neither you nor I have a magic wand (but if you do, damn girl! get working!) I worry that the best I can do is to keep using my very small bully pulpit, and keep donating to the organizations with bigger voices than mine. Other than that, I feel helpless. And right now I am feeling both helpless and angry. And afraid for all of us.
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Word to that. I like the challenge to find one’s wand — for each of us to think about what are our instruments of good in the universe and how can we best use them … your pulpit is definitely on the list of yours! xo
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