Todays lesson is brought to you by the number ten. These are the Top Ten Things I like about Parsha Yitro. And they are:
Number 10 Perhaps where Emily Post got her start for some of the first Rules of etiquette. We read in Exodus 18:6 that we have to write or announce (and maybe even call or text nowadays) before we come over, just as Jethro did before he came to visit Moses.
Number 9 Or we should we say, Moses Father-in-law came. We also learn that we should be addressed only in relation to the person who is the most important. Jethro is constantly referred to as either Jethro, Moses Father-in-law, or even more direct as just Moses Father-in-Law. He goes so far as to call himself I, Jethro, Moses Father-in-Law when he is speaking to others. This happens over twelve times in only 27 verses. [18:1,2,5,6,8,12,12,14,16,17,24,27]. This tradition carries on into today; think about that the next time you introduce yourself to someone.
Number 8 In the corresponding Haftarah, we meet angels, who have six wingsa pair to cover their face (so as not to see the Divine as Rashi suggests), a pair to cover their feet and a pair with which to fly. The familiar line in the kedusha, Kadosh, Kadosh, Kadosh, Adonai tzvaot mlo chol ha-aretz, kvodo comes from this portion.
Number 7 I love this parsha because it tells us what to do when the in-laws visit! Embrace them, listen to their advice and then.send them away, for we read that: Vayishlach moshe et-Chot-nu : Moses sends his father-in-law away [in Exodus 18:27].
Number 6 The saying: Ill believe it when I see it as it pertains to the Israelites, who reeh, or see, thunder and the sounds of the horns. But then they got scared, and they said they all they wanted to do was to listen. From this, we can see that maybe faith comes from what cannot be seen or held or analyzed, but rather by those things which are heard, are experienced, are felt.
Number 5 Each of us has to follow our own paths, but that doesnt mean the paths have to be perfectly parallel to one another, never intersecting. Jethro and Moses are two such people who must walk their own paths. There are moments, however, when those journeys intersect. Rather than see those points of connection as a source of contention, our parsha offers that they can be times of blessing, of benefit, and of bounty.
Number 4 You can use the following joke: You go to a party and there are many new faces. Over a cup of punch, someone asks to you Did you go to Brandeis? A little confused, you respond with No, I went to NYU; Oh, then we must have met at the NFTY conference years ago, the stranger retorts. Nope, wasnt me, must be someone else, you say awkwardly. I know, we met at Sinai!
Rachael Jackson Parsha Yitro Top Ten HUC-Feb 2, 2013 Page 2 of 2 Number 3 Where the idea of opera came from: the first two utterances were spoken together, like this:
Person 1: And God spoke all these words, saying, I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.
Person 2: You shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth How else can we explain the phenomenon of people talking concurrently with horns (and other instruments) blasting too?
Number 2 The instructions are laid out for setting up a judicial system and how it ought to function. Jethro tells Moses You cant be the only judge Its too exhausting Delegate the work Appoint judges for thousands, Hundreds, fifties, tens
Instead of Moses handling all the peoples disputes himself, Jethro tells Moses to appoint chiefs and establish a hierarchy of others who can help make the decisionsto give power to the peopletrust them. Show them that Moses is not the only conduit to God, but that they themselves can seek God too.
And the Number 1 reason I like Parsha Yitro: The Ten Commandments! Presented here in Haiku:
Big day at Sinai G-d is giving all of us The Ten Commandments
One God, no idols Dont swear, remember Shabbat Honor your parents
Dont murder, dont cheat No stealing, and no lying Last thing dont covet
First four commandments Focus on relationships Between man* and God
Numbers six through ten Focus on relationships Between man* and man*
The fifth commandment Says we should honor parents They are Gods partners
Receipts and Payments of Christ Nagar Residents' Association (CNRA), Christ Nagar, Neyyattinkara, Trivandrum, Kerala, India For The Year Ended 31st March, 2015
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