‫פרשת יתרו‬
Our Sidra receives its name of "Yisro" from the father-in-law of Moshe. In
fact, Moshe's father-in-law received this particular name, Yisro, based on the
events occurring in the Sidra.
As Rashi explains at the beginning of the Parsha (Perek 18/Posuk 1), R'u'el
was the given name of Moshe Rabbenu's father-in-law. He was called Ye'ser"addition" because he added an additional section to the Torah, the rules of
the appointment of Dayanim, judges. Yisro, the name that has an addition to
Ye'ser, the letter "vov", was given to him when he added the Torah onto his
life, that is when he converted.
In total, he had seven personal
designations.
It is appropriate to ask two questions at this point. First, what do we learn
from the fact that Yisro was the one to suggest the particular judicial system
to Moshe Rabbenu? The Torah, which is so dependent on that system, can
hardly be imagined without judges who decide and disseminate lawfulness
and equity.
However, and on the other hand, we learn in Parshas
B'ha'a'lo's'cho that the judicial system for corporal and capital punishment
was only established because Moshe Rabbenu expressed his own inability to
handle all that to which he was obligated to relate. [The judges that are
commanded in our Parsha are to deal with monetary matters, Dinei
Mo'monos.] "Lo u'chal o'no'chi l'va'di lo'ses es kol ho'om ha'zeh, ki cho'ved
mi'meni" (B'midbar Perek 11/ Posuk 14). I alone cannot carry this people, it
is too heavy for me.
When Moshe says he is individually incapable, Hashem establishes the Beis
Din HaGodol-the Sanhedrin. "…es'foh li shiv'im ish mi'zik'nei Yisroel…"(ibid.
Posuk 16). …[Moshe,] gather for Me, seventy men from the elders of Israel
etc. And they will carry the burden with you.
Certainly this section presents the same problem. There had to be a system
of judges. What was to be after Moshe's death? We thus see that in two
cases, both monetary and physical punishments, the court system arose only
as a reaction to a situation, not on its own merit.
The second aspect to investigate is the addition of the name Yisro to the
repertoire of appellations that he already had. It is most fitting that R'u'el
should have his name changed when he joined B'nei Yisroel. As Rambam
(Hilchos Teshuva Perek 2/Halacha 4) writes in the context of a Ba'al Teshuva,
a name change says "a'ni acher v'ei'ni o'so ho'ish…". I am someone else,
different than the previous me. Our question is, however, why did he not
receive a completely different name? Why was his new name just a variation
on a previous one? And if the new name was to be a variation on a previous
one, why was Ye'ser chosen to be the recipient of that addition?
Chazal tell us in Midrash Eicha Rabba (Perek 2/Parshata 17), "Im yomar l'cho
o'dom yesh chochmoh bagoyim, ta'a'min. Im yomar l'cho o'dom yesh Torah
bagoyim, al ta'a'min". If someone will tell you there is Chochmoh amongst
the nations of the world, believe them. If someone tells you there is Torah
amongst the nations of the world, do not believe them.
What is the meaning of such a statement? The answer is that if something
will be considered to be wisdom-chochmoh, its veracity must be proven. That
is, there may be a dispute as to whether a certain idea is true or not. If it is
untrue it cannot be considered wisdom. Thus, the fact whether or not
something is wisdom depends on the validity of the proof that is offered.
In contrast, Torah is true. Hashem gives Torah. That imprimatur leaves no
room for doubt. We may doubt our own thoughts and our ability to know
things. We cannot doubt that which Hashem says is true and Hashem says
Torah is true. The Midrash does not deny the possibility of truth among the
nations. What the Midrash says is that without proof, "truths" that are
espoused by them cannot be accepted on their face. Thus, there is no
"Torah" among the nations since Torah refers to that which is accepted as
truth, on its face.
It is obvious that the name Ye'ser preceded the name Yisro. Thus, R'u'el was
given this new name in his "goyim" state. Since it was in the state of Ye'ser
that the section of the Torah dealing with judges was given, therefore Ye'ser's
suggestion must be seen as one of Chochmoh. Since it was chochmoh, it had
to be proven. To his great credit, Ye'ser himself was aware of that. He
explains his elaborate system to Moshe Rabbenu and does not demand that
he accept it on its face.
This is to his great credit because R'u'el was a great man, a man of power.
He was "the" Kohen Midyan", as the first Posuk of our Parsha tells us. He
was the leading religious personality in that country. It is certainly reasonable
that in that position he was used to having his authority being apparent.
Therefore, when he presented such a persuasive "chochma" argument, we
would have expected him to assume that it would be endorsed without
hesitation.
But, that was not the attitude of he who would soon be Ye'ser. At the
conclusion of his judicial program, Ye'ser says, "…im tzi'v'cho E…lo'kim
v'yo'chol'to o'mod" (Perek 18/Posuk 23). If Hashem commands you such,
[then] you will be able to raise [the system].
That is, Ye'ser knew that
Moshe would need a proof. There could be no better proof then G-d's
command.
It is for that reason that in Sefer D'vorim (Perek 1/P'sukim 13-16) the gist of
Yisro's suggestion is repeated without attribution. Why is that so? Since
Hashem validated the suggestion it would be inappropriate to call it the
advice that Yisro gave. If that name would still be associated with the advice,
we would want a proof to be demonstrated and re-demonstrated. It has
since received Hashem's approval and thus it has moved from the realm of
Chochmoh to that of Torah. As Torah, it stands on its own without any need
of convincing or persuasion, and certainly without any human authority.
This idea also explains the idea of the Torah's judicial system being
introduced as a reaction. On the one hand we cannot imagine, anymore than
could Yisro, one judge dealing with all the issues that our ancestors would
raise before their Teacher Moshe. It would thus follow that we would want to
divide the labor, the work and give Moshe Rabbenu some respite. Do we not
think that Moshe was unaware of that?
The answer is, thus, that Moshe Rabbenu 'Olov HaShalom accepted Torah in
such a complete fashion, it did not cross his mind to suggest that justice
should be administered in any way, except that which G-d had told him.
Hashem had put upon him the burden of judges, he was willing to risk "no'vol
ti'bol" (Sh'mos Perek 18/Posuk 18). He was not oblivious to his weariness. If
Yisro saw it as an outsider, Moshe knew it in a most personal fashion. But,
since Moshe was the truest of Torah personalities, he did not begin to
consider any deviation. He could not contemplate that he should make a
suggestion to HaKodosh Boruch Hu.
In his respect for Yisro, as expressed in our Parsha, and with his expressed
fatigue in B'ha'a'lo'scho, he would not consider the change. All he could do
was to express his personal inability. That is why this system that Hashem
would endorse, but as that moment had not allowed, was not raised by
Moshe himself.
With this, we can now understand why the name given at the time of Yisro's
conversion was a variation on the name ye'ser.
In his persona as Ye'ser, this person demonstrated the divide between
Chochmoh and Torah and was able to use chochmoh appropriately. In that,
beyond the specifics of this most important section of the Torah that he
added, this former high priest of Avoda Zara proved that he knew to
distinguish between the important value of wisdom and the unparalleled value
of Torah.
It was with this background that Hashem decide that the best way to mark
the occasion of his conversion was to recognize that Yisro was someone who
built himself. He was a great man who reached the pinnacle of religiosity in
his society. He rejected it all and sought "truth". When he discovered that
"truth", in his suggestion for a Jewish judicial system, he knew that he was
not yet meritorious for Torah. For that he wanted Hashem's approval. That
was the person who was going to convert and as an award for honesty and
virtue, that name that demonstrated that virtue was used to enhance the
conversion and the name called in its light. Thus, it was only fitting that
Ye'ser should become Yisro.
What does the man, Yisro, teach us? His lesson is clear. Do not confuse
your wisdom with Torah. Know the boundaries between the two and respect
them. If you have Torah to say, share it. If you are rambling, that often
indicates a lack of clarity and therefore a lack of truth. Ye'ser knew, and he
became Yisro because he merited that his Chochmoh became Torah.
Shabbat Shalom
Rabbi Pollock