Parashat Yitro brings the story of God’s revelation to human society. Alongside it, in a manner inseparably interwoven, it confronts the human figure of Moses, leader of the people and prophet. These two dimensions are bound together from the very beginning. Already at the sight of the miracle of crossing the sea and the complete redemption from Egyptian slavery, the people’s enthusiastic response was: “And they believed in God and in Moses His servant” (Exodus 14:31). At the burning bush, Moses feared that the people would not believe him (Exodus 4:1).
Now they believe in him just as they believe in his God. These two planes of faith mingle in a dangerous way, a price that will later be exacted. This blurring of boundaries leads to the tragedy embodied in the episode of the Golden Calf, in the face of Moses’ prolonged absence. The people’s sense of orphanhood drives them to demand of Aaron: “Come, make us god who shall go before us, for this man Moses, who brought us up out of the land of Egypt - we do not know what has become of him” (Exodus 32:1). The absence of the man leads to a demand to “make” a god. From here the path is very short to the ecstatic dance before the calf: “This is your god, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt” (Exodus 32:4). The calf and not the Lord; the calf and not the human leader.
Between these moments—between the ecstatic faith inspired by the miracle and the enthusiastic ecstasy before the calf—Parashat Yitro expresses two deeply meaningful statements about Moses’ leadership and about leadership in general. Jethro, the foreign leader and Moses’ father-in-law, after whom the portion is named, knows how to rebuke his son-in-law. Although Moses’ path had thus far been remarkably successful, Jethro teaches him that functioning as a sole judge cannot serve as a foundation for a sustainable society and system of justice. If he continues in this way, “you will surely wear yourself out, and so will these people.”
A society needs a judicial system that includes order, a plurality of voices, hierarchy, and critique. Without it, the wondrous redemption and the journey to freedom will not endure. Only if, among all the people’s communities, tribes, and strata, there are found “people of valor who fear God, people of truth, trustworthy ones who spurn ill-gotten gain” (Exodus 18:21) to assume positions of leadership will the people be prepared for the challenges of existence. In these words is expressed the earliest ancient foundation of the idea of the separation of powers and the establishment of an independent and strong judicial system. A leader and judge is tested precisely in the ability to share authority, in recognizing the vital value of a multiplicity of voices and tribes, opinions and directions.
But Moses is not only a leader and judge. He is also a spiritual figure. As such, his personal committed presence is essential. In the face of the overwhelming power of the revelation at Mount Sinai, the people demand that he stand between them and God, receive God’s word directly, and convey it to them.
Indeed, “the people stood at a distance, and Moses approached the thick cloud where God was” (Exodus 20:18). Rabbinic interpretation sees in this moment the beginning of prophecy. From this point on, the prophet is the one who stands before God. Through this boldness, the people may learn what the word of God calling to them is, what the command is upon which they must decide whether or not they will act.
The shaping of the system of judges was the founding moment of the Hebrew state; the moment when Moses approached the misty cloud was the founding moment of Jewish culture—the moment when the seed was sown from which the Torah would grow: the Written Torah and the Oral Torah, the one transmitted to us from generation to generation, and the one we write through our deeds and decisions in every generation.
These two are the essential aspects of leadership and guidance that we need in order to rebuild Israeli society in its broken state. We desperately need the restoration and strengthening of a democratic culture that will establish social responsibility, partnership, and equality; that will insist on replacing failed and destructive leadership with “people of valor who fear God, people of truth, trustworthy ones who spurn ill-gotten gain”.
And at the same time, vital to our spirit and our lives is the courage of individuals who dare to approach the cloud where God is, to renew the Torah of Israel, who will not shrink from ascending the mountain, who will establish for us anew a covenant of peace and truth with God and with humanity.
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Rabbi Prof. Yehoyada Amir heads the Regina Jonas Rabbinical Seminary for Liberal (Reform) Judaism in Potsdam, Germany; professor (emeritus) of Jewish thought at Hebrew Union College, a Reform rabbi and theologian. He chaired the Reform Rabbinical Council in Israel and was a member of the executive committee of Rabbis for Human Rights. His book "A Small Still Voice: Theological Critical Reflections" (In Hebrew: Kol Demamah Dakah) was published in 2009.
Now they believe in him just as they believe in his God. These two planes of faith mingle in a dangerous way, a price that will later be exacted. This blurring of boundaries leads to the tragedy embodied in the episode of the Golden Calf, in the face of Moses’ prolonged absence. The people’s sense of orphanhood drives them to demand of Aaron: “Come, make us god who shall go before us, for this man Moses, who brought us up out of the land of Egypt - we do not know what has become of him” (Exodus 32:1). The absence of the man leads to a demand to “make” a god. From here the path is very short to the ecstatic dance before the calf: “This is your god, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt” (Exodus 32:4). The calf and not the Lord; the calf and not the human leader.
Between these moments—between the ecstatic faith inspired by the miracle and the enthusiastic ecstasy before the calf—Parashat Yitro expresses two deeply meaningful statements about Moses’ leadership and about leadership in general. Jethro, the foreign leader and Moses’ father-in-law, after whom the portion is named, knows how to rebuke his son-in-law. Although Moses’ path had thus far been remarkably successful, Jethro teaches him that functioning as a sole judge cannot serve as a foundation for a sustainable society and system of justice. If he continues in this way, “you will surely wear yourself out, and so will these people.”
A society needs a judicial system that includes order, a plurality of voices, hierarchy, and critique. Without it, the wondrous redemption and the journey to freedom will not endure. Only if, among all the people’s communities, tribes, and strata, there are found “people of valor who fear God, people of truth, trustworthy ones who spurn ill-gotten gain” (Exodus 18:21) to assume positions of leadership will the people be prepared for the challenges of existence. In these words is expressed the earliest ancient foundation of the idea of the separation of powers and the establishment of an independent and strong judicial system. A leader and judge is tested precisely in the ability to share authority, in recognizing the vital value of a multiplicity of voices and tribes, opinions and directions.
But Moses is not only a leader and judge. He is also a spiritual figure. As such, his personal committed presence is essential. In the face of the overwhelming power of the revelation at Mount Sinai, the people demand that he stand between them and God, receive God’s word directly, and convey it to them.
Indeed, “the people stood at a distance, and Moses approached the thick cloud where God was” (Exodus 20:18). Rabbinic interpretation sees in this moment the beginning of prophecy. From this point on, the prophet is the one who stands before God. Through this boldness, the people may learn what the word of God calling to them is, what the command is upon which they must decide whether or not they will act.
The shaping of the system of judges was the founding moment of the Hebrew state; the moment when Moses approached the misty cloud was the founding moment of Jewish culture—the moment when the seed was sown from which the Torah would grow: the Written Torah and the Oral Torah, the one transmitted to us from generation to generation, and the one we write through our deeds and decisions in every generation.
These two are the essential aspects of leadership and guidance that we need in order to rebuild Israeli society in its broken state. We desperately need the restoration and strengthening of a democratic culture that will establish social responsibility, partnership, and equality; that will insist on replacing failed and destructive leadership with “people of valor who fear God, people of truth, trustworthy ones who spurn ill-gotten gain”.
And at the same time, vital to our spirit and our lives is the courage of individuals who dare to approach the cloud where God is, to renew the Torah of Israel, who will not shrink from ascending the mountain, who will establish for us anew a covenant of peace and truth with God and with humanity.
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Rabbi Prof. Yehoyada Amir heads the Regina Jonas Rabbinical Seminary for Liberal (Reform) Judaism in Potsdam, Germany; professor (emeritus) of Jewish thought at Hebrew Union College, a Reform rabbi and theologian. He chaired the Reform Rabbinical Council in Israel and was a member of the executive committee of Rabbis for Human Rights. His book "A Small Still Voice: Theological Critical Reflections" (In Hebrew: Kol Demamah Dakah) was published in 2009.