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I'm taking a quick break from writing parshat Yitro, to give the AC time to do its thing. So, time for a bit of Torah.
Take a look at Exodus 18:12ff. Here's Hertz's translation: "And Jethro, Moses' father-in-law, took a burnt-offering and sacrifices for God; and Aaron came, and all the elders of Israel, to eat bread with Moses' father-in-law before God. And it came to pass on the morrow, that Moses sat to judge the people; and the people stood about Moses from the morning unto the evening. And when Moses' father-in-law saw all that he did to the people, he said: 'What is this thing that thou doest to the people? why sittest thou thyself alone, and all the people stand about thee from morning unto even?"
The story continues - in sum, Moses says 'I have to do the law stuff,' Jethro says 'cripes, that's a lot of work for just one person' and proceeds to reform the judicial system.
I bet you've heard all about what a clever legal reformer Jethro was. We always skip straight to discussing that bit. But I reckon there's a more fundamental point to be made.
Read the paragraph again. Jethro brings some sacrifices - in the ancient Near East this is the approximate equivalent of a hostess gift. Then he, Aaron, and the elders all sit down and party. Where is Moses? Ibn Ezra [thanks, Hertz] says that obviously Moses was there because they were doing it in his tent. But I think Moses wasn't there at all. I think he was off doing the judging.
We can see that the judging was a fearful amount of work; it took all day, and it wasn't a one-off; if the judging had been just one day here and there Jethro wouldn't have thought it necessary to suggest massive reform to the system. It sounds like this was taking up all Moses' time and then some. Poor old Moses has to judge the people all day every day, and he can't even take a day off to schmooze with his father-in-law when he comes to town.
I think it went more like this:
And Jethro, Moses' father-in-law, took a burnt-offering and sacrifices for God; and Aaron came, and all the elders of Israel, to eat bread with Moses' father-in-law before God.
And Jethro said 'Where's Moses?' and Aaron and the elders replied, 'Oh, he had to go back to work.' And Jethro let it go, on account of he'd just got into town and all, and Moses had already said hi to him after all, and maybe he had stuff he really couldn't get out of.
And it came to pass on the morrow, that Moses sat to judge the people; and the people stood about Moses from the morning unto the evening.
And Jethro hadn't seen Moses all day, which he thought was a bit odd, so he said to Aaron and the elders 'Where's Moses?' and Aaron and the elders replied, 'Oh, he had to work today.' And Jethro thought, how come Moses always has to work and the elders have time to hang out with me?
And when Moses' father-in-law saw all that he did to the people, he said: 'What is this thing that thou doest to the people? why sittest thou thyself alone, and all the people stand about thee from morning unto even?"
For which read: How come you're doing all the work?
Jethro realised that while Aaron and the elders had time to hang out and eat big dinners, Moses was toiling away in the background doing chores. He was aware of who wasn't there, and although he was a stranger in town he had the guts to say "Hey, this isn't fair, we should distribute the workload more evenly." Even the way the judicial system is set up expresses the ideal of being a better human being.
Do I need to elaborate the point? Aaron and Co had jobs, sure, but they weren't pulling their weight. We too can ask ourselves: is there someone toiling away in the background? could I be doing a fairer share of the work? Could I be a better human being?
Take a look at Exodus 18:12ff. Here's Hertz's translation: "And Jethro, Moses' father-in-law, took a burnt-offering and sacrifices for God; and Aaron came, and all the elders of Israel, to eat bread with Moses' father-in-law before God. And it came to pass on the morrow, that Moses sat to judge the people; and the people stood about Moses from the morning unto the evening. And when Moses' father-in-law saw all that he did to the people, he said: 'What is this thing that thou doest to the people? why sittest thou thyself alone, and all the people stand about thee from morning unto even?"
The story continues - in sum, Moses says 'I have to do the law stuff,' Jethro says 'cripes, that's a lot of work for just one person' and proceeds to reform the judicial system.
I bet you've heard all about what a clever legal reformer Jethro was. We always skip straight to discussing that bit. But I reckon there's a more fundamental point to be made.
Read the paragraph again. Jethro brings some sacrifices - in the ancient Near East this is the approximate equivalent of a hostess gift. Then he, Aaron, and the elders all sit down and party. Where is Moses? Ibn Ezra [thanks, Hertz] says that obviously Moses was there because they were doing it in his tent. But I think Moses wasn't there at all. I think he was off doing the judging.
We can see that the judging was a fearful amount of work; it took all day, and it wasn't a one-off; if the judging had been just one day here and there Jethro wouldn't have thought it necessary to suggest massive reform to the system. It sounds like this was taking up all Moses' time and then some. Poor old Moses has to judge the people all day every day, and he can't even take a day off to schmooze with his father-in-law when he comes to town.
I think it went more like this:
And Jethro, Moses' father-in-law, took a burnt-offering and sacrifices for God; and Aaron came, and all the elders of Israel, to eat bread with Moses' father-in-law before God.
And Jethro said 'Where's Moses?' and Aaron and the elders replied, 'Oh, he had to go back to work.' And Jethro let it go, on account of he'd just got into town and all, and Moses had already said hi to him after all, and maybe he had stuff he really couldn't get out of.
And it came to pass on the morrow, that Moses sat to judge the people; and the people stood about Moses from the morning unto the evening.
And Jethro hadn't seen Moses all day, which he thought was a bit odd, so he said to Aaron and the elders 'Where's Moses?' and Aaron and the elders replied, 'Oh, he had to work today.' And Jethro thought, how come Moses always has to work and the elders have time to hang out with me?
And when Moses' father-in-law saw all that he did to the people, he said: 'What is this thing that thou doest to the people? why sittest thou thyself alone, and all the people stand about thee from morning unto even?"
For which read: How come you're doing all the work?
Jethro realised that while Aaron and the elders had time to hang out and eat big dinners, Moses was toiling away in the background doing chores. He was aware of who wasn't there, and although he was a stranger in town he had the guts to say "Hey, this isn't fair, we should distribute the workload more evenly." Even the way the judicial system is set up expresses the ideal of being a better human being.
Do I need to elaborate the point? Aaron and Co had jobs, sure, but they weren't pulling their weight. We too can ask ourselves: is there someone toiling away in the background? could I be doing a fairer share of the work? Could I be a better human being?