Shabbat Yitro

Written by Rabbi Professor Marc Saperstein Friday, 13 February 2009

The beginning of this week’s parashah, Exodus chapter 18, is an exploration of the nature of good leadership. The central figure in this chapter is Jethro, the Midianite priest, who many years earlier had welcomed an unknown refugee asylum seeker from Egypt by the name of Moses, with a criminal record and probably a price on his head, into his community and into his household, giving him one of his daughters in marriage.

Now Jethro, having heard reports of strange events in Egypt and the wilderness, goes to pay a visit to his son-in-law. During the evening, Moses brings Jethro up to date on what he has missed, presumably reciting to him the second half of the parashah Shemot, and all of the parashot va-Era, Bo, and Be-Shallach at one sitting (Exod. 18:8). Convinced that Moses’ God is more powerful than the others, Jethro brings a burnt offering and sacrifices to the God of Moses. (Details about the reunion of Moses with his wife and his two sons are not even mentioned in the biblical text.)

The following day something extraordinary occurs. Moses is sitting in the role of magistrate, judge, arbitrator, with Israelites standing in a queue that extends from his tent half way back to the Red Sea. When Jethro asks about this, Moses explains: “When the people have a dispute, they come to me, and I adjudicate between one person and another, informing them of the laws and teachings of God” (Exod. 18:15). To this, Jethro responds in an astounding six simple Hebrew words: lo tov ha-davar asher atah oseh; What you are doing is not right. And he explains: “You will wear yourself out, and these people as well. For the task is too heavy for you; you cannot do it all alone” (Exod. 18:17–18).

That’s the negative. But after informing Moses that his style of leadership is hopelessly flawed, he proceeds to offer positive advice: Teach the people the laws of God, then “seek out from among all the people capable men who fear God, trustworthy men who spurn ill-gotten gain. Set these over them as chiefs of thousands, hundreds, fifties, and tens, and let them judge the people at all times. Have them bring every major dispute to you, but let them decide every minor dispute themselves. Make it easier for yourself by letting them share the burden with you.” (Exod. 18:21–22). 

It is superfluous to unpack the wisdom in these words, and the importance of this model for effective leadership. Recall that Moses believed that he had a unique relationship with God, that he was the one through whom God communicated the divine will. And he wanted the people to believe that the laws by which they were being judged were not just the arbitrary decision of a human being but rather a communication of this divine will for justice in our everyday affairs. Yet when Jethro urges him to open up the process, to let others play a role in making important decisions, Moses does not hesitate; rather, we are told (v. 24), “Moses heeded his father-in-law Jethro and did just as he had said” (Exod. 18:24). For perhaps the first time in recorded history, we have a voluntary ceding of authority, a delegation of responsibility—without a revolution or adverse election results—to include others in the decision-making process.

And look at the criteria that Jethro sets up. Not the cleverest or the most learned individuals in the population. Not the ones who daven three times a day with the greatest intensity. Certainly not the ones from the best families or the ones with the most money. There are four qualifications:

Anshei-hayil, people with strength of character, capable, reliable;
Yir’ei elohim, who fear God (and not the threats or influences of other men), who have a deep sense of right and wrong, who know they will have to render account to a higher authority even if they get away with something in human society;          
Anshei emet, people of truth, who can be trusted to say what is in their hearts;
Son’ei betsa, who spurn and hate dishonest gain, who have integrity, who are incorruptible.

These are the ones who should be in positions of decision-making and leadership along with Moses. As the great fifteenth-century Spanish courtier-commentator Don Isaac Abravanel explained, after the Torah has been revealed with its multiplicity of laws, its ambiguities of expression, its redundancies, its obscurities, and its lacunae, then wisdom and learning is required to provide a decision in accordance with the law. But before the Revelation at Sinai—and we might say, for us, who do not accept the system of halakhah in its entirety as divinely revealed and automatically binding—these other qualities of decency and integrity and a clear sense of right and wrong are what is needed to make decisions that weigh arguments, balance interests and needs, and leave no one feeling totally aggrieved.

No one individual, not even Moses can carry the burden alone. All depend on others to share the responsibilities and the rewards of leadership. 

Rabbi Professor Marc Saperstein