Believe
it or not, it’s less than two months to Passover. We’ve just finished reading about the Exodus,
and then less than 8 weeks later we will celebrate the Exodus in all its
glory. When we think of the Exodus we
may tend to envision a sea of people setting out from Egypt into the
wilderness. Cecil B Demille used 14,000
extras and 15,000 live animals to make the sweeping and epic Exodus scene in
his movie. But we know precious little
about the individuals who start walking into the desert that day except for a
few notable names like Moses, Aaron, and Miriam.
The
rest are a group of people who are connected by common ancestry to our
patriarchs and matriarchs, but although we have a rough idea of their numbers,
we do not know much about them.
But
in the days after we leave, we re-encounter Yitro – Jethro – Moses’
father-in-law whom we met earlier when Moses left Egypt the first time. Of all the possible individuals to emphasize
at this momentous time, the Torah recognizes Jethro – not an Israelite, a
believer in God, but not a member of the tribe.
What
makes Jethro’s re-appearance even more confusing is that he appears in the
Bible with three different names.
Jethro, Re’u’El, and Chovav. The
vast throngs of Israelites march as one nameless mass, but the one
non-Israelite who plays an important role here has, not one, but 3 names of his
own.
The
Rabbis describe Jethro as a very self-aware and humble man, much like Moses, a
man who knows he is an outsider but also who has a significant message and
teaching for Moses himself. Jethro
praises God for the wonders done in Egypt before the 600,000 + Israelites do
so. He does not rush into the Israelite
camp but rather shoots an arrow into the camp with a letter attached to inform
Moses he would like to meet.
Jethro perhaps
receives his name because he acts the way God wishes each individual Israelite would
behave. He is a doogmah, an example for
the Israelites to see as a role model, possibly the first friendly
non-Israelite anyone has ever met outside Egypt, a non-Israelite who in one
stroke helps to reorganize the entire people and make everyone’s life
easier. In this way, Jethro is the
antithesis to Pharaoh, a leader who only wants to make everyone’s life easier.
As
we get re-acquainted with Jethro this Shabbat, let’s give thanks for the way he
sets an example for our people at a critical moment. He approaches the nameless mass in blessing
and thanksgiving and with help and hope in his heart. The way he sets up the judiciary structure
for the Israelites, with judges at all levels, all the way down to the judges
who will preside even over the tens – that is over the smallest groups – will help
to ensure that the now nameless mass can begin to regain their individual
dignity.
The
man with 3 names is now helping to make sure that each and every Israelite can
preserve his or her one name.
May
we seek to raise each other up, to recognize that like Jethro, each of us goes
by many names & the best way to get to know each other is by finding out
what all those names mean to each of us so that we can all feel we are
recognized and valued here in our community.
