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Parshah Yitro – Exodus 18:1-20:23
Torah Reading for Week of January 16-22, 2011
Shvat 11-17 5771
The name of this week’s parsha – one of the most important parshiyot of the Torah since it describes the seminal moment of Jewish life, the granting of the Torah at Sinai – bears the name of one of the most enigmatic figure in the Torah, that of Yitro.
Yitro is the father-in-law of Moshe and a respected person in world society. The Midrash counts him as one of the main advisers to Pharaoh. His objection to the Egyptian ruler’s treatment of the Jews forces him to leave this prestigious position and flee to Midian. There he also ascends in rank being described in the Torah as being the “priest of Midian.”
The Midrash sees him as an idolater during that time, even forcing Moshe to commit one of his sons to his care and education. After the exodus from Egypt occurs, the subsequent miracles of the manna from heaven and the defeat of Amalek, Yitro apparently has a change of heart and mind. He now becomes a convert to Judaism of sorts and comes to join the Jewish people in their desert sojourn. He is accorded great honor in the Jewish camp due not so much to his own personal achievements as to his being the father-in- law of Moshe.
Yet it his (Yitro’s) advice to Moshe and Israel that establishes the judicial and governmental system for the Jewish people while they remained in the Sinai desert.
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Posted by Barzel_18 
