Why be an observant Jew when you don't have to - Yisro Parsha Lessons:

(Originally written by us for Kol Habirah newspaper)

There are so many lessons to take from Parsha Yisro, it’s overwhelming, It is said that this is possibly the most important Parsha. The word Parsha means a portion of the Torah. I find this claim to be interesting since this week's Parsha happens to be named after Yisro (Jethro), who is a very important, yet not a very well known character in the Torah.  He was Moshe’s father in law, and a Midianite priest. He had seven daughters, one of whom became Moshe’s wife (Tzipporah). He gave Moshe some great leadership advice and is used as an example to this day. Yisro was also one of Pharaoh’s advisers during the time when they were trying to figure out what to do with the Jews.  One of the advisers suggested the final solution, the second said nothing, and Yisro advised them to live in peace with them. We all know which adviser Pharaoh listened to. That is when Yisro fled to Midian. Lastly, despite the fact that Yisro was originally an idol worshiper, he eventually became the first Jewish convert.

 We have a special place our hearts for Yisro, being converts ourselves. That, and the fact that Yisro knew how to celebrate.  When Moshe told him what Hashem did, saving the Jews from Egypt, he made a feast and invited people to eat with him.

 Coming from a Christian background, we can relate to have taken part in idol worship, and more fatteringly, being a truth seeker, and rejecting falsehood once we discovered what the truth was. Rabbi Shlomo Wolbe sums it up nicely, "This Parsha is named Yisro to teach us that the way to acquire Torah is to follow the ways of Yisro. Search for truth and be critical. Reject falsehood. And when you discover truth, be ready to sacrifice everything for it!"

 People might not be so thrilled at this kind of adventure. One reason, might be that our priorities are of order, or just wrong. Yisro taught the value of making choices based on truth, and also the value of taking care of ourselves by getting help when we need it. Knowing our limitations and taking care of ourselves is a priority that is easily forgotten. So often, we forget to put ourselves on our list, despite it being so important.

After Yisro heard all of all the miracles that Hashem performed for the Jews, he went to look for Moshe. He found Moshe speaking with a long line of Jews answering questions that they had. When he saw this he said, “Why do you sit alone with all the people standing by you from morning to evening. You will surely become worn out… as well as this people that is with you.” ~ Exodus 18:14-17. He essentially advised Moshe to delegate. He had other knowledgeable people be the ones to answer smaller issues, while Moshe would be the ones to discuss only the more complicated big issues. This method of delegation is used in most big organizations such as the military in order to run efficiently. I remember when I was in the military, we were taught this system.  We were always supposed to try and solve cases at the lowest level possible first, before any cases went to the higher-ups. Moshe listened to Yitro (which I think shows Yisro’s importance when you see the greatest prophet who ever lived listened to his father-in-law’s advice (he also asked his permission to go back to Egypt to free the Jewish people). I think we live in a rat race culture of always running running running. A car, if it’s not maintained and taken care of, will eventually break down and run out of gas. The same things goes for people.  You can’t give what you don’t have.

The next priority lesson Yisro taught is living up to the truth, which is the foundation priority of which one should base all of their life decisions on. The big question we most frequently get as  converts is, “Why did you want to convert? It's so hard!” One reason the question is the most interesting to people I think, aside from the obvious difficulties that converting to Judaism brings, is it’s not a requirement to be a righteous person. Judaism teaches there are 7 Noahide laws that Hashem gave to the Gentiles to follow. If non-Jews follows those, they are considered righteous people who have a share in the world to come. Also, why sign up to a group where there is so much hatred toward them that it has its own word?  I think  “why” is a fair question to get from people. We have had people tell us that they don’t think they would convert given the option. I think an important question for people to ask themselves is, if they had the choice, would they still choose to be a Jew?

This goes back to Yisro and priorities. What do we really care about in life? Rabbi Akiva Tatz says that if you want to know who someone is, ask them what they want in life. When we stop and think, what do we really want?  Ease and comfort, or meaning and purpose?  If we think of what we want to see in our lives when we look back on our lives after 120 years, what do we want to have accomplished? What do we want people to say about us? Who do we want to have been?  Selfish, arrogant, honor seeking, entitled, lazy gluttons, or the kind of hero with character that people want to teach their kids about? The people in the Torah are probably the most famous people in the world, and have had the most impact on the world, and yet none of their lives I would say would be labeled easy and comfortable.

The Jewish people have spent the last 3,300 years teaching ourselves and the world that no matter who you are, man is subject to a Higher Power who demands morality and character from every individual.  Could there be a bigger purpose?  The all-powerful, all-knowing, loving Creator of existence cares about every second of your life and created eternity to spend it with you.  Could there be a bigger meaning? I think what is unique to being a Jew, rather than a Noahide, that makes us feel like we would be missing something is, the opportunity to be as close to the Almighty as possible, and the amazing community that Orthodox Judaism creates.  We are required to consciously choose good in every action we take, from being grateful and feeding our animals before we eat ourselves, to wasting time at work, improving ourselves continuously, sacrificing parts of ourselves and our desires that we once held dear in order to be truly good human being. Could there be a greater heroism? Hashem made the Jews his chosen people to be a light unto the nations. How could we miss out on that?

References:

http://www.aish.com/tp/b/lp/48942676.html
https://www.torchweb.org/torah_detail.php?id=141