Torah Sparks
Exodus 18:1 – 20:23
This Torah portion tells of two encounters. The second is the encounter between God and Israel at Mount Sinai. What emerged from that encounter changed the world – it is the Torah that we read to this day.
The other encounter mentioned in our portion (- it is actually mentioned first) is of more modest dimensions. It is the meeting of Moses with his father-in-law Yitro (Jethro). The Torah dwells on Yitro’s concern for the wellbeing of his son-in-law, Moses, and Moses’ people. He generously and wisely gives Moses good advice about how to govern the Israelites. But there is another part of their meeting which is given frustratingly little attention. Yitro brings Moses’ wife and two sons with him, reuniting the family. The Torah says that Yitro took “Tzipporah, wife of Moses, after her having been sent away.” (Ex. 18:2) The last time we had heard of Tzipporah she was on the way back to Egypt with her husband and sons after she had courageously saved their lives. This is the first we here that she had been sent back to her father’s house.
The midrash, as is its wont, fills in this void with a story. It imagines Moses proceeding back to Egypt along with his family and meeting up with his brother Aaron, as God had arranged. Aaron has never met Moses’ family. So he asks, “Who are these people?” And Moses explains. Aaron cannot believe what his brother has said. He scolds his brother: “We are worried about those already in Egypt, and you want to add to their numbers?” So Moses sent them back to Yitro. (As found in Rashi to Ex. 18:2)
Throughout Jewish history this dilemma has confronted Jews who were challenged with fighting for their Jewish identity and for the survival of the nation. Was it worth the risks? Should they subject their family members – parents, siblings, spouses and children – to the dangers, even if they were prepared to undertake them for themselves? Concern for safety and the preservation of life are certainly of paramount value. But the safety would come at a certain price. In our case we come to understand that Moses’ family has not gone through the basic experiences that forged the identity of the Jewish people. They were not slaves in Egypt nor did they experience the Exodus, the splitting of the Red Sea, the first miraculous falling of the manna, or (according to some commentators,) the giving of the Torah at Mount Sinai. Tragically, we have lost too many daughters and sons who were sent off to a “safe place” that detached them permanently from their Jewish roots.
Yet, we know that experiencing these miraculous events did not guarantee a person’s attachment to the God or people of Israel. And not experiencing these events has not prevented countless people, throughout the ages, from becoming inspired and devoted members of Israel. It was not the experience itself that made the difference. It was the individual’s embrace of the experiences through the medium of personal searching and collective story-telling – the active participation in a tradition.
When Yitro came to meet Moses, his son-in-law told him of all that God had wrought for Israel. (Ex. 18:8) What the Torah does not tell us is whether Moses also told his wife and sons.
Shabbat Shalom
Rabbi David Greenstein
image: “Safe” © Rob Pongsajapan altered and used with permission via Creative Commons License 2.0
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