Rabbi Yitzhak's Blog

Parashat Yitro begins by describing the arrival of Yitro, Moshe’s father-in-law, at the camp in the wilderness. Moshe greets Yitro, who brings sacrificial offerings to Hashem. Later, Yitro expresses his disapproval at the way Moshe single-handedly tended to the people’s questions, and advises Moshe to appoint a judicial network to help him.

This narrative raises many questions. Yitro had been the priest of Midyan, the chief idolater of that nation. Why did the Torah devote so much attention to him and his arrival in camp?  Furthermore, why did Yitro feel qualified to give advice to Moshe Rabbenu, the leader of the Jewish people, and even more troubling, why did Moshe accept his advice?

We might also ask the general question of why Yitro was worthy of having a Parasha named after him in the Torah. Was he so significant a figure that he deserved this distinction?  And, not only did he receive a Parasha in his name, but this is the most important Parasha – the Parasha that tells of the event of Matan Torah – the Giving of the Torah at Mount Sinai!

The Arizal tells us a fascinating insight to Yitro, and explains that Yitro’s soul contained a part of the soul of Kayin.  Recall from Parashat Beresheet that Kayin felt jealous of his brother, Hevel, because Hashem had accepted Hevel’s offering and not his. Kayin’s jealousy reached the point where he killed his brother for no other reason than envy. The Midrash explains that before Kayin killed Hevel, the two brothers engaged in a philosophical debate. Kayin, seeing that G-d disapproved of his sacrifice but accepted Hevel’s, concluded that “there is no judgment and there is no judge.” Hevel, however, insisted that the world is fairly judged by God.

The Arizal commented that Kayin’s soul required a “Tikun”, a “rectification”, and for this reason it returned within the bodies of several individuals, including Yitro. Moshe, the Arizal explained, contained within him the soul of Hevel, Kayin’s brother. This explains why it was important for Moshe to marry Yitro’s daughter; the union between Yitro and Moshe signified the “Tikun” of Kayin’s hostility toward Hevel. In fact, according to the Midrash, Kayin and Hevel fought over one of their sisters, whom both desired to marry. The Arizal explained that Tzipora, Moshe’s wife, was the soul of that sister. As such, by allowing Moshe to marry Tzipora, Yitro helped correct the sin of Kayin, who resented his brother’s claim to that sister.

This process of “rectification” continues in Parashat Yitro, when Yitro comes to bring offerings to God. Kayin’s offering was rejected because he had brought flax – a cheap material that was inappropriate for an offering to God.  Yitro now corrects this mistake by bringing proper sacrifices in the wilderness. Additionally, Yitro establishes Beneh Yisrael’s judicial system – rectifying his mistake of denying the existence of judgment in the world.  Finally, Yitro makes his suggestion to Moshe out of concern for him, warning that the overbearing schedule would kill Moshe. Kayin had killed Hebel; now, Kayin’s soul, through Yitro, works to save Moshe – who contained the soul of Hevel.

This explains why the Parasha that describes Matan Torah is named after Yitro. Correcting the flaw of fraternal strife and hatred was a precondition for Beneh Yisrael’s receiving the Torah. The soul of Kayin had to be redeemed through Yitro’s arrival before Hashem could reveal Himself to Beneh Yisrael to give them the Torah. Once this flaw was corrected, and the stain of the first instance of hatred and strife was removed from mankind, God descended upon Mount Sinai to give His Torah to Beneh Yisrael.