Our Sages tell us in various sources (Tanchuma Yitro 4, Shemot Rabbah 27:8, and Mechilta de-Rabbi Yishma’el, Parashat Yitro, Massechta de-Amalek 1, among others) that Yitro (Jethro) was called by seven names:
יֶתֶר, Yeter (vide Exodus 4:18);
יִתְרוֹ, Yitro (vide Exodus 3:1, 4:18, 18:1, et al.);
חֹבָב, Hovav (vide Numbers 10:29);
רְעוּאֵל, Reu’el (vide Numbers 10:29);
חֶבֶר, Hever (vide Judges 4:11, 4:17);
פּוּטִיאֵל, Puti’el (vide Exodus 6:25);
הַקֵּינִי, the Kenite (vide Judges 4:11, 4:17, 5:24 et al.).
These names all denote different aspects of Yitro:
יֶתֶר, Yeter, because a parashah was added (יִתֶר, yitter) to the Torah in his merit;
יִתְרוֹ, Yitro because he increased (יִיתֵר, yitter) his good deeds;
חֹבָב, Hovav because he loved (חִבֵּב, hibev) the Torah and was beloved (חָבִיב, haviv) by G-d;
רְעוּאֵל, Reu’el because he was as a beloved friend (רֵעַ, re’a) of G-d;
חֶבֶר, Hever because he had a special connexion (חֶבֶר, hever) with G-d;
פּוּטִיאֵל, Puti’el because he was released (נִפְטַר, niftar) from his former idolatry, or because G-d removed him (פְּלַטוֹ אֵל, p’lato E-l) from his former idolatry;
הַקֵּינִי, the Kenite because he was zealous (קַנָּא, kanna) for Heaven and he acquired (קָנָה, kanah) Torah for himself.
The first of these requires some explanation, because the word פָּרָשָׁה (parasha) has shifted in meaning.
These days, the most usual connotation of “parasha” is the weekly Torah-portion; so the Midrashic comment that a parasha was added to the Torah in Yitro’s merit sounds as though it refers to all of Parashat Yitro.
Actually, the more accurate name for a weekly Torah-reading is the Sidrah, while the original meaning of “parasha” is “section”: the text of the Torah is divided into sections, equivalent to paragraphs, which are set off from each other by gaps in the text. The “parasha” that was added to the Torah in Yitro’s merit is Exodus Chapter 18, the first Chapter in what today is called Parashat Yitro.
Had Yitro not rejected the idolatry of his youth, had he not found the One true G-d, had he not joined the Jewish nation, then this parasha, Exodus Chapter 18, would not have existed. The Torah would have gone from our encounter with Amalek and defeat of him (Exodus 17:8-16) straight to our arrival at Mount Sinai on the 1st of Sivan (Exodus 19) without the intervening interlude.
And we – the entire nation – would have been all the poorer for it.
Because in this intervening interlude, Yitro made an invaluable and indeed revolutionary change to the nation:
He saw how Moshe was exhausting himself by adjudicating all the people’s judgments from morning till night all alone, so he suggested a radical innovation:
“It’s not good, what you’re doing now. You’ll wear yourself out – both you and this nation which is with you…. Now listen to my voice, I will advise you, and G-d be with you:… You will warn them of the laws and the teachings, and inform them of the way on which they are to go…From among the entire nation you will view G-d-fearing men of accomplishment, men of truth who hate unfair profit, and you will appoint over them leaders of thousands, leaders of hundreds, leaders of fifty, and leaders of ten, and they will judge the nation at all times. So every important matter they will bring to you, and every minor matter they will judge; and this will make it easier for you” (Exodus 18:17-22).
Delegating tasks may seem obvious to us, but for Moshe it was a radical innovation.
After all, Moshe was educated from his earliest childhood in Pharaoh’s palace – the palace of a tyrant who held absolute power. The Egyptian system of government was not one which lent itself to power-sharing. Moshe had been inculcated, in his formative years, with the idea of a national leader making all decisions alone.
It took the wisdom and experience of Yitro, an outsider, to conceive of the idea of delegating leadership.
Yitro understood perfectly that justice cannot be left to people who are merely wise; to be entrusted with ruling the nation, they must have four qualities:
The first is אַנְשֵׁי־חַיִל, which we have translated here as “men of accomplishment”. Rashi explains, “wealthy men, who have no need to flatter and show favouritism”.
The second essential quality is that they be יִרְאֵי אֱלֹקִים, G-d-fearing.
The third is that they be אַנְשֵׁי אֱמֶת, men of truth.
And the fourth is that they be שֹׂנְאֵי בָצַע, which we have translated here as “haters unfair profit”.
So Yitro established the basis for justice in the Jewish nation.
The basis for this was that “Yitro rejoiced over all the good that Hashem had done for Israel, in saving them from the hand of Egypt; and Yitro said: Blessed be Hashem [בָּרוּךְ ה'] Who saved you from the hand of Egypt and the hand of Pharaoh, Who saved the nation from under the hand of Egypt” (Exodus 18:9-10).
The Ba’al ha-Turim (Rabbi Ya’akov ben Asher, Germany and Spain, c.1275-1343) notes (commentary to Genesis 14:19) that there are seven verses in the Torah in which blessings of Hashem are written:
וַיֹּאמֶר בָּרוּךְ ה' אֱלֹקֵי שֵׁם וִיהִי כְנַעַן עֶבֶד לָֽמוֹ:
“He [Noah] said: Blessed be Hashem, the G-d of Shem” (Genesis 9:26).
וַֽיְבָרְכֵהוּ וַיֹּאמַר בָּרוּךְ אַבְרָם לְאֵל עֶלְיוֹן קֹנֵה שָׁמַיִם וָאָרֶץ:
“And he [Malki-Tzedek] blessed him [Abram], saying: Blessed be Abram to the Supreme G-d, Possessor of heaven and earth” (Genesis 14:19).
וַיֹּאמֶר בָּרוּךְ ה' אֱלֹקֵי אֲדֹנִי אַבְרָהָם אֲשֶׁר לֹֽא־עָזַב חַסְדּוֹ וַאֲמִתּוֹ מֵעִם אֲדֹנִי אָנֹכִי בַּדֶּרֶךְ נָחַנִי ה' בֵּית אֲחֵי אֲדֹנִי:
“He [Abraham’s servant Eliezer] said: Blessed be Hashem, G-d of my master Abraham, Who has not withheld His loving-kindness and His from my master; as I was on the way, Hashem guided me to my master’s brothers’ house” (Genesis 24:27).
וָאֶקֹּד וָֽאֶשְׁתַּחֲוֶה לַה' וָאֲבָרֵךְ אֶת־ה' אֱלֹקֵי אֲדֹנִי אַבְרָהָם אֲשֶׁר הִנְחַנִי בְּדֶרֶךְ אֱמֶת לָקַחַת אֶת־בַּת־אֲחִי אֲדֹנִי לִבְנוֹ:
“Then I bowed and prostrated myself before Hashem, and I blessed Hashem, G-d of Abraham, Who led me in the way of truth, to take the daughter of my master for his son” (Genesis 24:48).
וַיֹּאמֶר יִתְרוֹ בָּרוּךְ ה' אֲשֶׁר הִצִּיל אֶתְכֶם מִיַּד מִצְרַיִם וּמִיַּד פַּרְעֹה אֲשֶׁר הִצִּיל אֶת־הָעָם מִתַּחַת יַד־מִצְרָֽים:
“And Yitro said: Blessed be Hashem Who saved you from the hand of Egypt and the hand of Pharaoh, Who saved the nation from under the hand of Egypt” (Exodus 18:10).
וְאָכַלְתָּ וְשָׂבָעְתָּ וּבֵֽרַכְתָּ אֶת־ה' אֱלֹקֶיךָ עַל־הָאָרֶץ הַטֹּבָה אֲשֶׁר נָֽתַן־לָךְ:
“And you shall eat and be satisfied, and you shall bless Hashem your G-d for the good Land which He has given you” (Deuteronomy 8:10).
וּלְגָד אָמַר בָּרוּךְ מַרְחִיב גָּד כְּלָבִיא שָׁכֵן וְטָרַף זְרוֹעַ אַף־קָדְקֹד:
“And to Gad he [Moshe] said: Blessed be He Who broadens Gad; he dwells like a young lion, tearing off arm and even head” (Deuteronomy 33:20).
The Ba’al ha-Turim notes that these seven verses together contain 100 words, which correspond to the 100 Blessings which a Jew is required to say every day (vide Menachot 43b; Rambam, Laws of Tefillin 7:14; Shulchan Aruch, Orach Chaim 46:3).
And these seven verses, continues the Ba’al ha-Turim, correspond to the seven Blessings in the Amidah Prayers of every Shabbat and Festival.
This is an immense tribute to Yitro: he not only added an extra parasha (meaning paragraph) to the Torah, but his contribution to the Torah is inscribed in Halakhah. His acknowledgment of G-d and his decision to join the Jewish nation have been woven into the very fabric of Judaism: our daily minimum of 100 Blessings, and the 7 Blessings in our Shabbat and Festival Prayers, are a product of Yitro.
Sometimes, just sometimes, when the nation of Israel is at a low ebb, when we are vulnerable and uncertain, when we need strengthening, G-d sends us a leader from outside who can provide that emboldenment.
We, the nation of Israel, are currently standing at a critical juncture of our history. This long and wearying war forced upon us more than a year ago has drained us in every possible way.
In the last several weeks, G-d has sent us the Yitro of our generation in the person of President Donald Trump. He has shown our own Prime Minister the way forward, and we can but hope and pray that Prime Minister Netanyahu will seize the opportunity.
The Tanach leaves Yitro’s destiny ambiguous: Did he convert to Judaism? Did he remain with the Children of Israel without becoming Jewish? Did he remain with the Children of Israel as long as they were encamped at Mount Sinai, and then leave the nation and return to Midian? – We don’t know for sure. The Torah recounts the conversation between him and Moshe as we were about to leave Mount Sinai and begin the trek to the Land of Israel, but it is silent as to his final decision (Numbers 10:29-32).
But we do know that he had Jewish descendants; indeed, not just Jewish descendants, but descendants who “sat in the Chamber of Hewn Stone” (Sotah 11a, Sanhedrin 104a, Shemot Rabbah 1:9, Tanhuna Yitro 4 et al.). The Chamber of Hewn Stone (לִשְׁכַּת הַגָּזִית) was the chamber in the Holy Temple wherein the Great Sanhedrin (the full Sanhedrin of 71 Judges) convened.
Whether or not Yitro eventually converted to Judaism, he achieved greatness for himself and for his future generations.
An outsider he may have been. But his imprint on the Jewish nation is indelible and eternal.