Tag: Yitro

Shabbat Shalom

It’s National Be Nice to In-Laws weekend!

There is a wonderful commercial on the airways.  The “Good Hands” insurance folks have Tina Fey driving with her mother-in-law, aka Mayhem, portrayed by Dean Winters. It is a caricature of the tensions intrinsic in this relationship.  But it is not always so, as we see in this week’s Parsha, Yitro.  This week we see how the wisdom of the elder father can be shared with the son.  Yitro is transferring knowledge borne from the experience of leading others, he is a Midianite priest after all, to Moses, a relative “newbie” to this challenge.

The wise should share their wisdom.  That is straightforward enough.  But it is in the transferring that things can often be complicated.  If I try to impose my wisdom, it likely won’t be heard, shunted aside instead of embraced.  I must find a way to communicate successfully, requiring understanding and sensitivity.  And on the other side of this relationship, the one benefitting from wisdom needs to be ready for the learning.  Jethro had to listen and find a way to connect with his son-in-law, and Moses needed to be overwhelmed enough to realize he was in over his head and was in a desperate place.  Only then could that wisdom be shared.

Both sides of the relationship are challenged to set aside ego and power so that they can find a place to work together for a common purpose.  How timely a message for all of us.

Shabbat Shalom!

(I have been away for a few weeks traveling in Israel and Rome.  I bring home many new experiences I look forward to sharing soon.)

 

Jethro, Ideal Father-in-Law and a man for our times

Jan_van_Bronchorst_-_Jethro_advising_Moses

Last week we read Parshat Yitro. It is filled with extraordinary things particularly the story of the title character Yitro and his interaction with Moses and the Children of Israel.

Yitro joins up with the people of the Exodus in support of their leader, his son-in-law Moses, if not in support of their journey to the Promised Land. I am taken by Jethro’s selflessness and righteousness.   For Jethro isn’t just any father-in-law, he is a priest of the Midianites. Arguably, his allegiance should be with his people, but Jethro never misunderstands that to mean he should undermine Moses.

It would be easy for Jethro to take advantage of the turmoil in B’nei Israel and steer them towards Midian, immigrants likely ready to offer their experience as slave labor in exchange for food, shelter, and security. Instead, he helps Moses organize a system that brings justice and order to the chaos, strengthening the fledgling institutions under Moses. Jethro remains in the background and not proselytizing, although he was likely a far better communicator than Moses. Finally, once Jethro shared all that he could teach Moses, he departed so that the leadership of Moses would not be challenged if people saw the power behind the power.

Jethro did not abuse his power. Indeed, he deftly manipulated his power into support of Moses. As a Midianite Priest, his worldviews and religion were different from the Children of Israel. However, he was respectful of the “other” and helped them flourish on their particular journey.

We can be different. My beliefs do not require a negation of your beliefs. We can co-exist, cooperate and even consider ourselves connected as part of a larger family. Not only a model father-in-law, Jethro is the model leader for civil pluralistic society for today as well.