Yitro

Yitro - Dina Brawer

Dina Brawer was born in Italy and educated in Milan, Jerusalem and New York. She is a mother, educator and rebbetzin of Northwood United Synagogue. She holds a BA in Jewish Studies and an MA in Education and Psychology. She has many interests including photography, gourmet coking and renaissance Italy.

Moses's leadership role is extraordinarily demanding. It appears he has to sacrifice his family life to fulfil it. He is compelled to leave his wife and his two sons to rescue the Israelites out of Egypt. The Midrash recounts that when Moses left Midian to confront Pharaoh in Egypt, his father-in-law pointed out that it was not reasonable to bring his wife and two sons into captivity, thus, Moses sent Zipporah back to her father's house (with a get) (divorce).

Sadly, they don't seem to be with him when the Israelites witness miracles at the sea and rejoice. They are not with him when they begin their journey through the desert towards the Promised Land. According to some views they are not among the people to experience the giving of the Ten Commandments. Nowhere in the Torah, do we read of Moses's effort to re-join his family or to send for them. They seem to be forgotten.

However, Yitro, Moses's father in law, addresses the situation:

"And Yitro, Moses's father in law, took Zipporah, Moses' wife, after she'd been sent home and her two sons [...]"
"Yitro, Moses's father in law brought his (Moses's) sons and his wife to Moses [...]"
"And he said to Moses: I, your father in law Yitro, am coming to you with your wife and her two sons" (Exodus 18:2-5)

This text is intriguing for two reasons: Why does the Torah alternate between calling the children 'her sons' and 'his sons'? Why must Yitro announce to Moses that he is arriving with his wife and her sons altogether?

In the first two verses the text narrates the events. By calling Gershom and Eliezer 'her' sons it seems to stress that until now they have been raised single-handedly by Zipporah, seemingly without any input from Moses, who was essentially an absentee father. However, as the reader may misinterpret this to mean that these were her sons from a different marriage, the Torah switches back to calling them 'his sons' to stress that these were indeed Moses's offspring (Mekhilta - collection of legal commentaries).

In the last verse it is Yitro who speaks. The Shem Mishmuel, R. Shmuel Bornstein of Sochaczew (1856-1926) suggests that Yitro is aware that Moses is no ordinary person. He realizes that his son-in law is a man of heightened spiritual awareness who is increasingly detached from the material world in which he finds himself. Yitro half expects Moses to shirk his parental responsibilities when confronted with his family. He therefore tactfully refers to them as "her sons" in order to protect them emotionally from their father's possible rejection.