Yitro (Jethro) Exodus 18
Torah Portion: Yitro (Jethro) Shemot (Exodus) 18:1-20:26
HafTorah: Isaiah 6:1-7:6; 9:5-6:7
New Testament: Matt. 5:21-30, 15:1-11; 19:16-30; Mark 7:5-15; Mark 10: 17-31; Luke 18:18-30; Acts 6:1-7; Romans 2:17-29; 7:7-12; 13:8-10; Eph. 6:1-3; 1Timothy 3:1-14; 2 Timothy 2:2; Titus 1:5-9; Hebrews 12:18-29; James 2:8-13; I Peter 2:9-10
Tonight we look at, I think, the only Torah portion named for a non-Jew. Why do you think Jethro was given this honor? Torah tells us that he heard of all that G-d had done for Israel. It seems he wanted to know more. So, the sages say he was honored for his search for the truth. I pray that this can also be said for each of us when we come together each week – that we are seeking the truth. In chapter 19, verse one of Shemot we read where the people came to the mountain in the third month after they had come out of Egypt. As we read on in chapter 19 we see G-d instructing Moses on what to tell the people. He was to tell them how He cared for them, bore them up on eagle’s wings and brought them to Himself at Sinai, and there He proposed to them as a groom does to his bride.