It’s Biblical! This week: Jethro
Everything you ever wanted to know about your favourite Torah characters, and the ones you’ve never heard of...
Rabbi Mendel Kalmenson executive director of Chabad of Belgravia, London
IT’S BIBILICAL
In his biblical commentary, Tzror Hamor, the 15th century scholar, Rabbi Avraham Saba, writes: “Just as we are obligated to erase the name of Amalek, so too we are obligated to honour the name of Jethro.”
Amalek represents an evil that is obstinate and unmoved by any information or experience. For example, Amalek wages war with the Jewish people even after knowing of their miraculous victory over Egypt.
Conversely, Jethro represents the very opposite characteristic. When he heard information that challenged his philosophy and way of life, he courageously acknowledged and incorporated it into his life, at great personal cost.
Perhaps it was in deference to Jethro’s spiritual integrity, that Moses implored his father-in-law to join the Jews on their desert odyssey and link his fate to theirs, saying: “Please do not leave us…for you will be eyes for us,” meaning: You will help the Jewish people maintain a fresh set of eyes and a sense of marvel and mystery throughout their journey (of development) that only an outsider can bring to those raised inside a belief system.
And yet, despite Moses’ entreaties, Jethro refuses, saying, “I won’t go, for I will go to my land and my birthplace.”
Amazingly, the words Jethro uses to reject Moses’ plea, are the very same words used to frame the formative journey that Abraham, Judaism’s first spiritual seeker, had been willing to take: “Go forth from your land and from your birthplace…”
In the same way that Amalek were defined by their close-mindedness, Jethro was defined by his open-mindedness. He was more committed to the search for truth than he was to truth itself.
Which explains why, even after declaring, “Now I know that [the Jewish] God is greater than all the gods,” he could not bring himself to conclude his search for truth and redirect his need for spiritual seeking into exploring new ways of understanding an infinite God.
Thus Jethro became the first of many who, in their search for the truth in everything, end up finding truth in nothing.
ω Rabbi Mendel Kalmenson is executive director of Chabad of Belgravia
Thank you for helping to make Jewish News the leading source of news and opinion for the UK Jewish community. Today we're asking for your invaluable help to continue putting our community first in everything we do.
For as little as £5 a month you can help sustain the vital work we do in celebrating and standing up for Jewish life in Britain.
Jewish News holds our community together and keeps us connected. Like a synagogue, it’s where people turn to feel part of something bigger. It also proudly shows the rest of Britain the vibrancy and rich culture of modern Jewish life.
You can make a quick and easy one-off or monthly contribution of £5, £10, £20 or any other sum you’re comfortable with.
100% of your donation will help us continue celebrating our community, in all its dynamic diversity...
Engaging
Being a community platform means so much more than producing a newspaper and website. One of our proudest roles is media partnering with our invaluable charities to amplify the outstanding work they do to help us all.
Celebrating
There’s no shortage of oys in the world but Jewish News takes every opportunity to celebrate the joys too, through projects like Night of Heroes, 40 Under 40 and other compelling countdowns that make the community kvell with pride.
Pioneering
In the first collaboration between media outlets from different faiths, Jewish News worked with British Muslim TV and Church Times to produce a list of young activists leading the way on interfaith understanding.
Campaigning
Royal Mail issued a stamp honouring Holocaust hero Sir Nicholas Winton after a Jewish News campaign attracted more than 100,000 backers. Jewish Newsalso produces special editions of the paper highlighting pressing issues including mental health and Holocaust remembrance.
Easy access
In an age when news is readily accessible, Jewish News provides high-quality content free online and offline, removing any financial barriers to connecting people.
Voice of our community to wider society
The Jewish News team regularly appears on TV, radio and on the pages of the national press to comment on stories about the Jewish community. Easy access to the paper on the streets of London also means Jewish News provides an invaluable window into the community for the country at large.
We hope you agree all this is worth preserving.
