ר"ע תיתד תונויצל ינויערה גוחה ,םולשו זוע
In beloved memory of Haya Ronit Mendel Bat Ziva Esther and Aharon Shlomoff 24 Shevat 5748 May her soul be bound up in the bond of everlasting life.
Of the 54 Torah portions, only five are named after individuals: Noah, Yitro, Korah, Balak, and Pinhas. Why did these five individuals deserve to have Torah portions named after them? Even our three forefathers didn't achieve this honor. Nor did Moses, our greatest prophet, the receiver of the Torah and leader of the people, have a Torah portion named after him. How is Yitro superior to Moses, that the Torah portion containing the Ten Commandments was named after him?
We learn from the Bible and the Midrash that Yitro was a Midianite priest, engaging in idol worship. In addition, Yitro served as one of Pharaoh's three advisors (Job and Bilaam were the other two). The Midrash relates that when the pronouncements of "every boy who is born must be cast into the Nile" and "if the infant is a boy, kill it" were first mentioned, Yitro was in opposition and gave up his position. Job, who didn't offer an opinion, later underwent terrible suffering as told in the Book of Job. The evil Bilaam, the originator of this decree, was killed by sword in a war with Midian (based on Babylonian Sotah 11,1). Rashi asks the following questions about the words "And Yitro heard": "What did Yitro hear when he then went to meet him? The Midrash provides the following answer: "The splitting of the Red Sea and the war with Amalek." Did only Yitro hear this? The Morning Prayer uses the verse from the Song of the Sea, "Nations heard and shuddered; Terror gripped them who dwell in Phillistia." I believe that Yitro heard and then actually approached Moses. The others, however, heard but shuddered or ran away out of fear. The other peoples did not understand the true significance of the miracle involving the departure from Egypt. Only Yitro understood and said, "Now I know that G-d is the greatest of all deities." The Midrash also relates that "there was not even one idol which Yitro did not worship" before hearing what G-d did for Moses and the Israelites. Once Yitro heard this (he was already 115 years old according to tradition) he declared to his students and others that what he had taught them until now was meaningless. He abandoned his royal positions as advisor to Pharaoh and as high priest of the Midianite people and joined the Israelite camp without receiving a fitting reward.
However, Yitro did not reach the level of Naaman, Elisha's student who said, "I now know that there is no G-d on the earth except for in Israel" (Kings II 5,16) nor the level of Rehab who declared that "for the Lord your G-d is G-d in the heavens above and on earth below" (Joshua 2,11). Yitro, though, opened up the way for himself and others to repent when he recognized that the G-d of the Israelites is greater than any other god. For this the Torah portion is in Yitro's name. The Midrash (Yalkut Shimoni 2,169) and other sources applaud Yitro's appreciation of G-d demonstrated by the seven names given to him:
Yeter - because of him, a Torah portion was added ("and you will seek among all people")
Yitro - his deeds are beautiful("he exceeded though his good acts" according to the Machilta)
Hovav - because he is liked by G-d
Haver - Son (or friend) of G-d
Reuel - friend of G-d
Putiel - for judging the forms of idolatry and that G-d showed him the way towards repentance
Keini - since he acquired for himself a place in the world to come
We should again note that the main name he is referred to in our Torah portion. Yitro, is appropriate as he recognized the beneficence of the G-d of Israel over other gods. It is not surprising that Yitro's advice ("you must seek out") relates to the administration of judgement and courts for the people. Yitro spoke about the meaning and uniqueness of the G-d of Israel, the G-d of righteousness and justice. He understood that the role of the people of Israel was to imitate through their ways G-d's qualities, as is written in the Torah, "Justice, justice, you will pursue."
Rabbi Aharon Shlomoff - New York and Tel-Aviv
Translated by Evelyn Ophir
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