In this week's parsha Yisro comes and meets up with Moshe and the Jewish people. The most interesting event that occurs between Moshe and Yisro is a conversation where Yisro gives Moshe advice as to how Moshe should lead the people. The conversation goes like this (Shemos 18:14):
This seems so strange. First off, Yisro says that Moshe is doing a great disservice to the people by making them wait on line to speak with him. Next, Yisro says that Moshe himself will not be able to continue this ill begotten practice for much longer. Then Yisro tells Moshe to teach "them" the Torah and laws. Finally, he tells Moshe to set up leaders of thousands, hundreds and tens that can guide the people. The question here is, simply put, what exactly is going on. What was Moshe doing before Yisro suggested these changes?
If one takes a closer look at the verses he or she will notice something strange. It seems like Moshe, at this point, had not taught anyone any Torah or laws whatsoever. This is seen in verse 20 where Yisro tells Moshe, "Teach them the Torah and its laws!" This is then followed by verse 21 where it says, After you teach them appoint leaders for them that are the best and the brightest to answer any further questions. However, how could Moshe not have taught the Jewish people the Torah at a point where they already had the Torah and it's laws?
It seems to me that Moshe Rabbeinu and Yisro had different ideas as to how the Jewish religion was supposed to exist. Moshe thought that there was supposed to be one person that connects to G-D and tells everyone else what to do. No one can make a move without asking G-D how to behave. In essence, he thought the Jewish people were supposed to be like angels. This makes sense because they had just experienced so many miracles and such high levels of prophecy.
Yisro, on the other hand, came from a completely different background. He had just come from Midyan where life was very humanistic and filled with physicality. If Moshe had continued treating the Jewish people in a purely spiritual manner, they would have never been able to survive in the land of Israel. Living like angels was only possible in the desert where the hand of G-D is seen continuously and constantly. Therefore, Yisro told Moshe to wake up and smell the coffee. He told Moshe, like any good father-in-law would, that he was living in a fantasy world. "You and these people will grow weary of this," Yisro said.
How can the Jewish people consult Moshe on every detail of their life? Yisro was arguing that human comprehension and choices must be allowed and encouraged. Also, the point yisro was trying to bring across to Moshe was that his place was not as a puppet master where every action must go through him and ultimately G-D, but the people must have free choice and their own logical input. "Teach them the Torah and let them figure it out." However, Yisro did not want Moshe discontinuing his leadership role, no, no, no. Yisro was telling Moshe that there must be guidance and therefore, the best and the brightest should guide when there are simple questions and Moshe should be consulted when no one else can figure out the halacha.
Yisro was setting up a nation that could survive in a world where prophecy would not be constant. Yisro knew how the world outside of the desert worked and how to set up a community. That is why the verse tells us that Yisro was the priest of Midyan, because he understood how to lead a nation. One can not act as a leader by controlling every move of his subjects, rather one must teach the subjects how to make the right choices. That is the only way to lead without becoming weary yourself and without making your subjects weary of you.
To make this relevant to today, like I always try to do, let's ask how can it be that people feel like they always need to ask their Rabbi everything? "Rebbe, can I get a job?" "No my talmid, you must study forever." However, in the meantime this man's wife and he are stressed because they have no money. Unfortunately, I have heard this story many times. Also, the countless amount of times that one must ask a Rabbi about every little thing he or she does. We should learn from this story in Yisro, G-D wants us to figure out the halacha with our own knowledge. We have the Shulchan Orech, Aruch Hashulchan, Igros Moshe, Mishnah Berurah and so on. These are tools that allow us to figure out the halacha and know what to do. Serious questions like Niddah questions, certain kashrus questions and the like require a Rabbi, but we need to be able to know what to do in everyday life.
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