Tyler’s Torah Thoughts for 20 Shevat 5784
Parsha Yitro: (Exodus 18:1 – 20:23)
Third Portion: Exodus 18:24 – 18:27

Good morning! Today is a super short portion. Before we jump in, I am reflecting on my thoughts from last year.  Yesterday, Jethro confronted Moses.  And today’s portion, we see how Moses reacts to difficult feedback:

24Moses obeyed his father in law, and he did all that he said.

25Moses chose men of substance out of all Israel and appointed them as heads of the people, leaders of thousands, leaders of hundreds, leaders of fifties, and leaders of tens.

26And they would judge the people at all times; the difficult case they would bring to Moses, but any minor case they themselves would judge.

27Moses saw his father in law off, and he went away to his land.

Moses obeyed his father in law off. And then? Jethro left.

The Parsha this week is called Jethro; and yet, three days in? Jethro is gone? What? Why?  Something to reflect on.  How the impact of someone can have on our lives – and have it be super short – like how short today’s portion is!

And. I am reflecting on the questions I asked last year:

But my thoughts are; how much does embarrassment and shame get in the way of our fullness? Or our creativity?

Moses listened.  He wasn’t embarrassed. He just received. And he adapted. And remember – Jethro gave his advice to Moses – unsolicited!

How we respond to unsolicited advice? Could be what impacts some major events in the future. I think we will see the rest of this week, how Jethro impacted Moses and the children of Israel.

What are your thoughts?

Here are my thoughts from the past two years:

Tyler’s Torah Thoughts for 16 Shevat, 5783

Hopefully this first day of kindness as we shift towards the new moon brings you revealed kindness!

Reading the portion and reading the thoughts from a year ago, I’m in a much different place.

What stands out to me is Moses. Moses was confronted by Jethro. And instead of being embarrassed or ashamed he couldn’t do it all, he listened. He asked for help.

Y’all; I’ve been struggling with asking for help. Moving beyond the shame and embarrassment of getting to a place of asking for help.

Ever since I was 8, embarrassment has stuck me in a box. Unwilling to put my full creativity on display. Unwilling to live in community and relationship where I could potentially be embarrassed.

And there is healing.

I’ve reached out (and will be reaching out) to a few select friends to help me prepare for a big ask for help. I’m coming to a crossroads, and like Moses, I need to take action. I can’t do this on my own.

Don’t worry about me though. I have peace. I’m connected spiritually. I’m just being asked to also be in community. Which is new for me; when I’ve been in survival mode for so long.

But my thoughts are; how much does embarrassment and shame get in the way of our fullness? Or our creativity?

Moses took action. He did (mostly)what Jethro said to do. I’m assuming at this point he consulted with Hashem. He just may not have communicated that to us, so that we could catch it, and see it’s importance.

Those are my thoughts. More to come.

Tyler’s Torah Thoughts for Shevat 16, 5782

May we become more aware of Hashem’s Chesed (kindness) for the rest of the month of Shevat!

Todays portion is extremely short (though my thoughts may not be?). It’s only four verses.

Before jumping in, I’m already thinking about; why would Hashem want us to focus as much on the next four verses as we would longer portions ? I could see a few different reasons;

1. They are important and should be treated that way
2. There is a lot said in a very little space, and this portion is dynamic to the circumstances
3. God is wanting us to get some rest today from the harshness of the beginning of Shevat and the holiday of Tu B’Shevat – he’s giving us a little break out of Chesed!

Or maybe all three?

Let’s jump in;

The portion starts out with this;

Moses listened to his father-in-law, and did all that he said.

Remember yesterday, we talked about Jethro (Moses’ father-in-law). Jethro was concerned about Moses sustaining himself for the long term, and he was concerned that when Moses was gone the people would struggle. Spreading our responsibility and leadership were crucial.

And Moses listened. Or did he?

Either the Torah leaves out a significant part, we are to assume it happened, or Moses didn’t fully listen to Jethro. Let’s keep going;

Moses listened to his father in law. Moses chose men from among all Israel and appointed them as heads over the people: leaders of thousands, leaders of hundreds, leaders of fifties, and leaders of tens. The judged the people on a full time basis. They would bring any difficult cases to Moses and they judged the minor ones themselves.

What didn’t Moses do that Jethro told him to do? Or at least it isn’t mentioned?

He told Moses to consult with God about the suggestion from Jethro.

We don’t see this. And that leaves me with questions as to why. We see where Moses consulted with God in other areas. But in this case he didn’t.

Was it because he didn’t need to on this matter because he and Hashem were so close?

Was it because he didn’t want to?

Was it because he intentionally disregarded it?

Was it because he forgot to?

Each of those has ramifications here. And let’s examine these in our own hearts.

In our connection with God, we are called to consult with him and yet we don’t. We should always be exploring why?

Is the matter im reflecting on or decision I have to make so in line with my connection with Hashem, I don’t need to connect with Him?

Is the matter im reflecting on too challenging or difficult I don’t WANT to consult God because I’m afraid of the answer and what He may have me do?

Is the matter im reflecting on something I know how God already feels and know if I consult with Him I’ll get an answer I don’t want so I disregard Him?

Or is the matter in our minds so trivial, or are we so disconnected with God that it’s not even in our minds to approach Him with that?

That’s a pretty decent assessment tool for us when thinking about our walk and relationship with Hashem.

Where are we? How connected are we with God? How wrapped up in the world are we? That produced a pretty good matrix. I’ll have to figure out a way to add a visual to this post.

One axis is connection to God. The other is connection to the world.

1st quadrant would be not connected to God and not connected to the world.

2nd quadrant would be connected to God and not connected to the world

3rd quadrant would be not connected to God and connected to the world (probably where most of us live)

4th quadrant would be connected to God and connected to the world. (Probably where God wants us to be, although I don’t speak for Him).

Moses was obviously in that fourth quadrant. Which likely means Moses didn’t consult God because either he knew already or he was intentionally NOT consulting God for a reason. We may not have the answer to this question now, but let’s think about it as we go on in this weeks Parsha!

And that brings us to the final line of the portion.

Moses saw his father in law off, and he went away to his land (to convert his family).

Um what? Convert his family to what? Maybe moving his family from quadrant 3, to quadrant 4? I don’t know.

What are your thoughts?