 | | At the beginning of this week’s parsha, Moshe reunites with his father-in-law in the Wilderness, as it says, “Yitro, the minister of Midian, the father-in-law of Moshe, heard everything that God did for Moshe and Israel, His people – that the Lord had taken Israel out of Egypt…[And] Yitro…came to Moshe with his sons and wife, to the Wilderness where he was encamped, by the Mountain of God” (Shemot 18:1, 5). Many Torah commentators ask: What was it that Yitro heard that compelled him to leave the comfortable confines of Midian, and journey into the harsh and barren Wilderness? While the pasuk tells us that Yitro heard about the Exodus, Rashi, based on Chazal, explains that what motivated Yitro to go to Moshe and the Jewish people was the fact that God had performed numerous miracles on their behalf, writing, “What was the particular report which he heard that he came? The division of the Sea of Reeds and the war against Amalek.” Upon hearing of the astounding manner in which God saved His people, Yitro decided that he had to join them. However, was the fact that God performed miracles the real reason Yitro went to the desert? After all, Yitro had spent his entire life searching for spiritual truth. According to Chazal, Yitro tried every form of idolatry, and ultimately rejected them all, as Rashi explains, “He had abandoned the idol worship to which [his people] were addicted and [his own people] banished him…” (Rashi on Shemot 2:16). Thus, the belief in miracles was not outlandish to Yitro. He was not a spiritual cynic. On the contrary, Yitro was always looking for every reason to believe. Yitro believed in God, and therefore, believed in miracles. Consequently, something else, something deeper must be going on here.
According to the Kedushat Levi, when the Torah tells us, “Yitro…heard everything that God did for Moshe and Israel, His people,” it means that what Yitro really perceived was that “The retribution God wrought upon Egypt was not because they (i.e., the Egyptians) had transgressed His Will. Rather, it was only because of Moshe and Israel, His people” (Kedushat Levi, Parshat Yitro 175). In other words, when Yitro heard of all the miracles God did for the Jewish people, what he really heard was how much God loved Moshe and the nation. This is a real chiddush (innovation)! Yes, Yitro believed in God. Yes, Yitro believed in miracles. But only when he heard how God cared about and acted on behalf of Moshe and the people did he realize that God could show love, that God could protect individuals and communities out of love. That is to say, Yitro now understood that as much as he wanted to know God, God wanted to know him too, and build a relationship of love. Underlying the astounding nature of the miracles God performed on behalf of Moshe and the people, is the idea that God acts out of love for those who love Him, and that God – all mighty, all powerful, and all knowing, desires personal relationships with His creations. Upon hearing of God’s miracles, Yitro not only confirmed his faith, he discovered a new dimension of that faith: God loves us, and wants a relationship with us.
This Shabbat, as we think about the idea that God desires our love, our presence and our fidelity, let us consider our own spiritual lives, and reflect upon the different ways we can show that love towards our Creator Who desires it. Perhaps, that love can be expressed through tefillah (prayer). Perhaps, that love can be expressed through Talmud-Torah, Gemilut Chassadim (acts of kindness), or a redoubled commitment to halakhic observance. What Yitro heard was the God hears, that God cares, that God loves and that God defends. What motivated Yitro to join the Jewish people was not just that God is all powerful. What Yitro really heard was that God is all loving. May we all listen for God’s loving voice, as Yitro did, speaking to us all, telling us, “My love shall never move from you” (Yeshayahu 54:10).
Shabbat Shalom!
-Rabbi Dan
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