Wisdom Before Revelation: The Leadership of Yitro
Today marks seven years since the 2018 Parkland, Florida shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, an unspeakable tragedy in an ongoing American epidemic of gun violence. 17 souls were ripped from this earth. Today is also the 497th day of war, a day before, please God, we welcome home Sasha Troufanov, Sagi Dekel-Chen, and Yair Horn — three souls stolen from their homes, held in brutal captivity by those who murdered their neighbors. (Today is also Valentine’s Day. Love is love, and if it brings you joy, if it brings you a little chocolate, why not embrace it? We hold so much, all at once. A little joy is welcome. A little love even more.)
But before we turn to Torah, I ask you to pray — for the safety of those still held hostage, for the families still waiting, for the ones who have begun their excruciating but sacred journey of healing. Hold in your hearts the 17 lives taken in Parkland. Hold onto love. Hold onto it all.
Because that’s what we do. We hold the impossible, the unbearable. We are a people who surmount the insurmountable. Caleb scouted the land and said, “We shall overcome (Num. 13:30).” That language is ours. But it only means something if we make it real.
Parashat Yitro is overwhelming. Not because there is too little to say, but because there is too much. The Ten Commandments. Revelation at Sinai. And yet, before the thunder and lightning, before the voice of God shakes the world, we meet Yitro, Moses’ father-in-law, a leader of another people, an outsider who sees what Moses cannot.
Moses sits from morning to night, the people crowding around him, waiting for justice. Yitro, watching, speaks plainly: “What you are doing is not good. You will wear yourself out, and the people too. It is too much for you to bear alone. (Ex. 18:17–18)”
And here is the moment of greatness: Moses listens. He does not cling to power. He does not resist. He heeds the wisdom offered by another and creates a system of judges — a structure of shared leadership that becomes the foundation of justice in Israel. Because true leadership is not about holding on. It is about knowing when to let go.
Today, we live in a world where justice is fragile. Systems of law and governance are under threat. Leadership, too often, is about self-preservation and the accumulation of power rather than service. But Yitro reminds us: no one leads alone. And no one should. Those who lead must be humble, trustworthy, fearless in their pursuit of justice. If Moses, who spoke to God, could share power, who are we to think we can do it alone?
So, we must be wise. We must be humble. We must appoint leaders who serve, not those who seek power for power’s sake. We must remember Yitro’s wisdom before Sinai’s grand revelation. Because not all truth comes in thunder. Sometimes, it comes in a quiet voice, in a father-in-law’s advice, in the willingness to listen.
May we have the humility to hear wisdom, the courage to act with justice, and a Shabbat that grants us rest, even as we carry the weight of the world. And may Sasha, Sagui, and Yair return home safely, held at last in the arms of those who love them. May nothing stand in the way of their release.
May there be love.
