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Our parsha (Yitro) begins with Yitro (Moshe’s father-in-law) arriving to the Jewish camp in the desert, the day after the Torah was given, and watching Moshe attempt to single-handedly judge the Jewish people. The Jews, filled with questions regarding the newly received Torah, which they had not yet had time to learn and “digest” properly, came to Moshe for explanations. Observing this situation, Yitro made the following seemingly obvious comment, “Why do you sit alone as the entire nation stands over you from the morning until the evening…you will surely wilt, both yourself and the nationŔ (Ex. 18:13 and onward). Yitro’s advice to Moshe was to appoint judges of thousands, of hundreds, of fifty people at a time, etc. in order to lighten the load on Moshe. Then, only “the important issues will be brought before you,” allowing Moshe to “continue to stand, as the entire nation arrives peacefully in place.”

This piece of advice seems obvious, so much so that we must wonder why Moshe himself did not think of it. Did he really think that he alone could handle all of the questions and cases brought to him by six-hundred thousand men, aside from whatever questions might come up among the women and children? But apparently, he did think that on his level, it was his responsibility, as the King and leader of the Jews, to judge not only all of the major issues but even the minor issues that the Jews could bring before him. And from his point of view, this was not only possible but important.

Evidence that Moshe’s initial hypothesis was correct according to the Torah comes from what the sages said about Yitro, that “he was called Yitro [from the word yotar, meaning ‘more’] because he ‘added’ a parsha to the Torah.” They did not say that another parsha was “written” or “said” by Yitro, but that he “added,” meaning that not only did Yitro reveal a portion of the Torah that before him was concealed, but that he actually initiated and authored this section of the Torah. From this, we understand that even before he did so, the conduct of Moshe was appropriate from the perspective of the Torah. Moshe’s original intention to teach all of the Jews was a Torah perspective, but Yitro added a new perspective that brought a new dimension into the Torah. But if so, and Moshe’s approach to teach all of the Jews by himself was accurate, then why did Yitro advise Moshe to act differently and appoint judges?

There was a previous occasion that drew a similar response from Moshe and the Jews. When the ten commandments were given, the Jewish souls “fled” from their bodies, and the Jews requested from Moshe to be their intermediary. Rather than hear G-d Himself, which proved to be too intense of an experience for the Jews, they requested to hear the Ten commandments from Moshe, who would then pass them on to the Jews. Moshe’s response was, “You have weakened my strength like a woman…I am disappointed in you and now you have weakened me…would it not have been better to learn from G-d Himself and not from Me?” That is, in Moshe’s estimation, it would have been not only possible but commendable for the Jews to learn directly from G-d. But G-d Himself felt otherwise, for He accepted the pleas of the Jews to learn from Moshe, saying “All that they are saying makes senseŔ So, just as G-d accepted the plea of the Jews to hear the ten commandments from Moshe (not from He Himself), so He accepted Yitro’s advice for the Jews to learn from appointed judges and not from Moshe himself. It is difficult to understand the difference between Moshe’s estimation of the Jews (that they could learn directly from G-d) and the actual situation, in which they wanted to learn only from Moshe? How is it possible that the ultimate teacher and prophet, Moshe Rabeinu, could so mis-estimate the true situation of the Jews?

One possible explanation is the following. Moshe did not err in his estimation of the Jews. However, he did have a unique ability to raise them to his level as he was teaching them. In the presence of Moshe, their teacher, the Jews were also capable of learning the Torah on his level – and on Moshe’s level, it was possible to absorb and internalize the Torah much faster. However, the Jews requested to learn and internalize the Torah on their own level. They knew that most of the time, they would not be together with Moshe, so therefore, they wanted to use their own natural abilities – and that required Moshe to teach them on their level, not on his level.

Accordingly, we can understand why Moshe said that he was “weakened like a woman.” That is, although he reported himself as “disappointed” in the Jews because they did not seem to want to learn directly from G-d, he emphasized even more that he was “weakened.” This made sense when we realized that the request of the Jews to learn on their level required Moshe to lower himself from his spiritual level in order to teach them. It is always easier to teach something on our own spiritual level than it is to lower ourselves in order to teach others. Lowering ourselves requires energy and thought that can easily exhaust a person. In order to become an “intermediary” in order to teach the Jews, Moshe had to lower himself from his level to the level of the Jews, and this is why he claimed that the Jews “weakened” him.

The course of events following the giving of the Torah was such that Moshe naturally saw himself as the sole transmitter of the Torah. Since he was the only one to receive the Torah from G-d, clearly he was the only one who could transmit the Torah to the Jews. It would have emerged then, that just as he received the Torah from G-d, he sought to transmit it in the same manner to the Jews – as if from G-d. This is especially true since Moshe had the ability to elevate the Jews to his spiritual level. He therefore expected to share the Torah with them on the same level upon which he had received it (which also explains the terminology that he used when speaking to Yitro, “Because they come to me in order to ask Elokim,” which Rashi explains as “to ask from the mouth of the Almighty” – Ex. 18:15). In the terminology of Chasidut, Moshe received the Torah on the level of rei’ah, or vision. He experienced G-d face to face and learned Torah from Him. Aside from the fact that there is a vast difference in learning from one who was “there,” who saw G-dliness with his own eyes, as opposed to learning from one who was not “there” but only heard, Moshe actually elevated the Jews to his level of “seeing” G-dliness. In this way, he taught them and answered their questions much more effectively and efficiently than if he had to lower himself to their level.

Yitro, however, was a convert, who coming from a different land, saw the Jews as they existed in front of his eyes. He was not aware of their spiritual level as they stood before Moshe, elevated to learn from the Almighty Himself. He saw them as they existed independently, souls in bodies with all the limitations that come therewith. Therefore, he commented that Moshe would not be able to teach the Jews by himself. Perhaps regarding the laws and the instructions of Torah on a theoretical level, the Jews could receive the Torah on Moshe’s level. However, regarding the application of the law, and how to put it into practice on an everyday level, the Jews were not on Moshe’s level. Just as one might understand a subject very clearly as he learns it in class, yet have specific problems in applying it, so the Jews might learn on Moshe’s level, and yet have difficulty applying the law when already involved in their own level. And this is why G-d acquiesced to Yitro; since the Jews were later to enter Israel, where they needed to know the halacha – Jewish law for physical, agricultural society – this Moshe would not be able to teach them by himself. It required too great of a lowering of his spiritual level, and therefore it was necessary to accept Yitro’s advice and take on teachers of thousands, of hundreds, etc…

Now, it could be argued that Moshe knew that the Jews would enter the land of Israel, and therefore he should have been prepared to teach them on the level necessary for them to apply the Torah with their own powers, once in the land of Israel. And if so, why did he insist, until Yitro came, on “lifting up the Jew” and teaching them on his level? But the answer is that at that stage, after Yom Kippur (when the Torah – the second tablets were given), but before the sin of spies, Moshe expected to take the Jews directly into the land of Israel. He expected to live there permanently on the higher level of re’iah – “seeing,” on which he was capable of teaching the Jews. He didn’t know that after the sin of the spies, there would be forty years of wandering in the desert and only then would the Jews enter Israel on a lower spiritual level. In the land of Israel, the Jews were involved in physical agricultural work, making it necessary to bring G-dliness down to a lower level. But, before the sin of the spies, and the decree to wonder in the desert for forty years, Moshe expected that both he and the Jews would live in Israel on the higher spiritual level on which he was capable of teaching the Jews by himself. Therefore, Yitro’s advice, to create teachers of thousands, of hundreds, etc, did not occur to Moshe himself just after the giving of the Torah..

In the end, what actually occurred was a compromise between Moshe’s level and that of the Jews. As we see in the language of Yitro to Moshe, Atah techezeh (“You will see,” where in “see” is not the normal Hebrew word, tireh). Moshe Rabeinu lowered himself somewhat in order to provide spiritual eyesight for the Jews, in order to enable them on their own level to grasp whatever was necessary to lead a Torah life in the land of Israel. They did not grasp the full power of re’iya as it existed for Moshe, who spoke to G-d “face to face.” Nevertheless, Yitro’s advice allowed Moshe to transfer his own powers of vision to men on a lesser spiritual level – the teachers of thousands, the teachers of hundreds, etc – who could then transmit Torah to the Jewish masses. Their spiritual vision was not as direct and powerful as was Moshe’s, and yet it had the advantage that it allowed the Jews to “see” G-dliness even as they remained on their own spiritual level in the physical world. That is why the sages said that Yitro “added” a section to the Torah. Before he came along, this spiritual level was not a part of Torah conduct. But after Yitro gave Moshe his advice to teach the Jews via the conduits of others on a lesser spiritual level, Yitro’s conduct also became a part of the Torah.

From this, we may learn that lowering ourselves to teach another Jew does not constitute a lowering of our own spiritual level. Some people resist sharing their knowledge and teaching others because they do not want to “come down” from their own spiritual level. However, we soon realize that precisely by troubling ourselves to put our knowledge into the words and expressions that others, less experienced than ourselves may understand, is how we ourselves grow. Since the point is not simply to gain in our own personal understanding and cleaving to G-d, but also to make the world into a “dwelling place for the Almighty,” therefore it is necessary to “lower” ourselves and reach those who are not yet ready and capable of this level. By enabling them to receive the Torah on their level, we make the world into a more G-dly and spiritual place.

From Likutei Sichot of the Lubavitcher Rebbe, ztz’l, vol. 16, pp. 203-210 Rabbi David Sterne, Jerusalem Connection in the old city of Jerusalem