This Parsha with the Greatest Revelation in Jewish History is Called Yisro.

This Parsha with the Greatest Revelation in Jewish History is Called Yisro.

Parashat Yisro contains the most extraordinary moment in human history,

the revelation of God and the giving of the Torah at Mount Sinai.

God speaks. A nation hears. 

This Parsha is called Yisro, named after Moshe’s father-in-law, a former pagan priest.

The Torah opens with two simple words: 

“Vayishma Yisro” And Yisro heard.

The Midrash teaches that the voice of Sinai echoed across the entire world. Everyone heard it. But only Yisro truly listened and acted.

He left behind status, comfort, and certainty, and came to stand with the Jewish people.

The kings of the nations also heard the thunder and the shofar. They panicked, thinking another flood was coming. But when they were told, “Don’t worry, it’s just God giving commandments,” they went back to business as usual. “Just” God giving commandments.

Some of us ‘hear’ God’s voice only when life shakes us, when crisis hits, when loss or fear forces us to stop. Yet we know that every day, God speaks to us. There is a constant Bas Kol, a quiet call inviting us to live with purpose.

The challenge is learning to listen.

Rabbi Akiva teaches this beautifully. At age forty, unlearned and poor, he noticed water dripping on a stone. Many had seen it, but only Akiva heard the message: if water can shape a hard, solid stone, Torah can shape a heart. That moment changed him and he started to learn, drip by drip, and became a great Torah teacher and sage.

Listening is a spiritual skill.

We see another dimension of Yisro’s greatness when he arrives in the desert. He hears all that God has done, and the Torah says,

“Vayichad Yisro”, Yisro rejoiced. 

Then he says two words:

“Baruch Hashem.” God is the Source of all Blessing.

Yisro was the first to bless God for good done to others. Moshe sang for his own people’s salvation, but Yisro rejoiced in someone else’s miracle: a profound spiritual achievement.

Torah teaches us to find joy in what we give, what we live for and in the blessings others receive.

Finally, the Torah says we arrived at Sinai

“Bayom hazeh” On this day. 

Not on that day. Because Sinai is not history. It is now. Every day we are invited to receive the Torah anew.

May we learn from Yisro to truly listen, to rejoice for others, and re-experience Sinai, not once, but every day.

Much love

Elissa