Parsha “Yitro” (Exodus chapters 18 through 21) is named for the man who is Moses’ father-in-law, because he makes an appearance in the very first part of the story.
But the portion is most noted because it includes the first giving of the ‘Ten Debarim’ (actually ‘words,’ or even Ten Sayings) – most usually rendered in English as the Ten Commandments.
The Erev Shabbat Reading:
The description surrounding the fact that the mixed multitude of Israel, according to the literal Hebrew, actually “SAW” the thunderings, and the other aspects of the interaction were so overwhelming that they then told Moses, ‘YOU speak to us,’ from here on out, because they were afraid that if they heard directly from YHVH again, it would kill them, is a graphic indication that THIS interaction with the Creator of the Universe was different than anything that had ever happened before.
And it’s something that Mark Call has “waxed a bit nerdy” about before, suggesting that it was some type of “high bandwidth” download that probably seemed overwhelming to them.
And, superficially at least, but maybe even to a deeper extent given the level of incredible Evil now being exposed, we may be seeing a similar level of “information overload” today.
But the similarities don’t stop there.
Yitro: They heard – er, saw – but didn’t LISTEN!
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | RSS
