Yitro in a Nutshell

I was also surprised as a I am mostly secular Jew here. It’s interesting they called entire parsha after him, similar to Ballak but there there was divine intervention with angel. What’s a big deal here, just sharing an advice between 2 people. Could be this was a begging of formation of rabbinic court of judges. In other words G-d listened to Yitro and shared his powers in a way, why? May be Yitro was special, after all Moses descendants, a moshiah of that era, are now also Yitro’s descendants. Reply

Shalom,
Great question!
Moshe was raised as an Egyptian prince until fleeing to Midian.
Yitro is described as the priest of Midian, a tribe descended from Avraham in Bereishit 25.
It is believed that Moshe spent 40 years under the enployment and tutelage of his father-in-law.
So, the real question is, "Was Yitro the priest of G-d Al-mighty, or a pagan idol?"
Obviously Moshe had a great deal of respect for Yitro's advice, and indeed implemented it.
In Sefer Shoftim, "Judges"4:11, we have another clue, the righteous separating out from the unrighteous.
Am Yisrael chai!
Baruch Hashem! Reply

Since the entire Parshah is named after him (the one where we got the Ten Commandments) I assume he must've been respected.
He gave up idols which is probably the big reason. Reply

Wonderful explanation! I do think though that Yitro believed in the G-d of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; and was open to intellectually and religiously , the G-d that had brought his Son-in-law out from the most powerful military force at that time virtually unscathed. Reply

Shalom Yaakov,
Indeed, we are witness to the power of G-d Al-mighty!
Just this past Sabbath, Shemot 18:12, jumped out at me as confirmation of Yitro's priesthood to Hashem theory.

"And took Yitro, father-in-law of Moshe, a burnt offering and sacrifices for Elohiem. And came Aaron, and all the elders of Israel to eat with bread, the father-in-law of Moshe, before Elohiem."

One wonders how much of his sage advice was incorporated into Temple service.
Am Yisrael chai,
Baruch haba b'shem Adonai!
Baruch HaShem!
Be well and be Blessed,
A fellow sojourner Reply

It's the name of Moses' father-in-law. The translation above writes it as "Jethro". Reply

Jethro was Moses’s Father -in-law and Zipporah’s Father. His name is the second word of this parasha Reply

The Torah is eternal. It was by the Torah that all things were made. The Torah is one of seven things that preceded the creation according to the Midrash (Torah, teshuvah, Gan Eden, Gehinnom, the Throne of Glory, the Bais Hamikdash, name of Mashiach). Abraham was fully observant to the Torah as well as the Oral Torah. (Beraishis 26:5). Reply

Every breath of a Jew is Torah Reply

The way that I perceive this last sentence is that the holy nation is crying out for direction. Although they all now know that G-d appeared before Moses, their eyes and ears were intentionally blocked by G-d in order that only Moses could hear, interpret and teach this new nation the laws of G-d. The people needed a leader, one leader, chosen by G-d himself, to ensure order and justice. Reply

I think had they accepted the Torah directly from G-d there would be no wiggle room and they knew that they could never live up to what was expected of them and they’d perish, this way only Moses was on the hook. Reply

No. There is no such thing as "no wiggle room", it's not needed. Nor is there any such thing in Judaism as not being able to live up to what was expected of them so they'd perish. This is Christian ideas, not Judaism.

The reason that the Israelites asked Moses to take over for them when God was giving the Torah is because the first three utterances, the first three commandments if you will, every time God spoke, everyone DIED. Literally. And then God would bring them back to life. Then the next commandment and everyone died again at the sound of God's voice. Then God brought them back to live again. etc.

After the third time the people couldn't take it anymore and asked Moses to receive the rest, and so they stayed at the base of the mountain while Moses went up to get the rest, was gone for 40 days and nights, etc.

It's nothing to do with needing wiggle room or not living up to what was expected of them - this apparently comes from Christianity and doesn't even exist in Judaism. Reply

I never heard (although I am not arguing) that "they died."
I'd just like to hear more on that for educational purposes.
I will say that I understood the last sentence to mean Hashem's presence was too much for the people to bear. Which, itself, may be interpreted as meaning they died, I suppose.
Thanks! Reply

What is your scriptural proof that everyone died literally 3 times? Reply

Talmud Shabbat 88b, and Tanya chapt 34. Reply

Judaism? This was given to the Children of Israel. All the tribes were there. Judaism didn't exist then, please explain. Reply

Moses received much needed refreshment from Yitro in that he brought his wife and children. Also he made suggestion that Moses should have assistance in leading the people. G-d at that time provided the Law which gave the people a standard to guide them in a personal capacity. It was the fullness of time for G-d's people to take this step forward in personal responsibility. We are still progressing today, which causes me to wonder what is next. Reply

Judaism did exist then and did not yet go by that particular name. Much as the name of the Jewish people itself has evolved over millennia, from Israelites to Hebrews to Jews, etc. yet are the same people. The Jews have always followed the Torah, from the beginning all the way to now, regardless that it was not called Judaism in the beginning. Judaism is almost 4000 years old and has had many historical incidents and eras. Reply

Yitro Kohen of Midian It is written in Genesis 25 that Abraham took another wife, believed to be a Cushite, Midian was one of six sons. Abraham gave them gifts and his faith before sending them away. Here also, is the probable birth of the Ethiopians. Numbers 22 begins the account of Balaam, Jethro's likely successor as priest. Balaam knows and consults Adonai, but his greed is met with the sword in Numbers 31.
The Melchizedek priesthood predates Abraham, Moshe and Torah, and is the origin of pre-Torah instruction from Adonai. Reply

The "Melchizedek priesthood" was Abraham's direct ancestor on his paternal line. This was Abraham's birthright, it was not a new priesthood. Abraham bowed and gave tithes to his own elder, his own ancestor, as would have been the custom.

This lineage does not predate Torah, as Torah was created at the beginning of Creation along with Tshuvah, Gan Eden, Gehenna, the Throne of Glory, the Beit Hamikdash, and the name of Moshiach.

The entire idea of a new priesthood of Melchizedek from whom comes the xtian false messiah, comes from Xtianity not knowing the actual lineage of Melchizedek and Abraham. Abraham's father was Lamech, his grandfather was Methuselah, whose father was Enoch. This was the original /High Priesthood/Priesthood lineage. This is not a new lineage nor is it the lineage of the Jewish Messiah, either, who doesn't descend from that Tribe. Reply