פרשת יתרו

In this week’s Parsha, Parshat Yitro, many holy things happen. Moshe is first blessed with the arrival of his father-in-law, Yitro. Yitro shows Moshe that he cannot do everything alone, and must accept help from others. This is a valuable lesson for all of us. This lesson is extended in Matan Torah, when all of Bnai Yisrael must prepare together for this event that will effect all of their lives forever. All of their support is required for this.

The most interesting and problematic part of this parsha is the assistance Yitro gave to Moshe. Moshe, who was a holy man of G-d, how could Yitro, who was a priest of other gods, teach him something so basic and obvious? Shouldn't this have been impossible? How did Moshe not think of this himself?
Moshe accepts this help and does better because of it. Even the help of one who worships idols can be very valuable. No matter how bad Yitro was, or what he did, ignoring his advice would be a very bad idea. These pesukim help us learn the valuable lesson of accepting help from everyone. If the advice is sound, we can learn something from everyone.
We can see this message in our children today. We teach our children how to be good and polite Jews. But our children also teach us how to be better and more supportive parents. As it says in Pirkei Avot, even if someone teaches you one letter, you should respect them. We hope we can continue to learn from everyone and continue to be a great nation.

Shabbat Shalom,

Shmuel Berman and Michael Nadritch