Midreshet Amit

• LIVE TORAH:
• Academic Program
• Yimei Iyun
• FAQ
• Recent Shiurim
• View by Parsha
• View By Chag
• Search Database
• Ask the Rav

In this week's parsha, we see something that has never been done before - we see a magistrate for Bnei Yisrael. The passuk says:

“:וַיְהִי֙ מִֽמָּחֳרָ֔ת וַיֵּ֥שֶׁב מֹשֶׁ֖ה לִשְׁפֹּ֣ט אֶת־הָעָ֑ם וַיַּעֲמֹ֤ד הָעָם֙ עַל־מֹשֶׁ֔ה מִן־הַבֹּ֖קֶר עַד־הָעָֽרֶב׃” “Next day Moshe sat as a magistrate among the people while the people stood about Moshe from morning to evening.” Ramban asks what is meant by the phrase ‘the next day’? One possible answer  that he gives is that this episode is sometime after Yom Kippur. The Mechilta says that this is the first time that  Bnei Yisrael had a day free for judgment from the day of their coming to הר סני until after Yom Kippur of this first year.    

Yitro sees what Moshe is doing and asks him מָֽה־הַדָּבָ֤ר הַזֶּה֙ אֲשֶׁ֨ר אַתָּ֤ה עֹשֶׂה֙ לָעָ֔ם מַדּ֗וּעַ אַתָּ֤ה יוֹשֵׁב֙ לְבַדֶּ֔ךָ וְכָל־הָעָ֛ם נִצָּ֥ב עָלֶ֖יךָ מִן־בֹּ֥קֶר עַד־עָֽרֶב׃ - “What is this thing that you are doing to the people? Why do you act alone, while all the people stand about you from morning until evening?”  One possible reason as to why he could be asking Moshe this is because Moshe is the leader of the whole nation, a job which comes with a lot of responsibilities. The fact that he was acting alone, with no one to help him judge the hundreds of thousands of cases, and the fact that the passuk says “from morning until evening” implies that the whole judging process took an extremely lengthy amount of time.

After seeing how much of strain the judging process was putting on Moshe, Yitro says to Moshe: לֹא־טוֹב֙ הַדָּבָ֔ר אֲשֶׁ֥ר אַתָּ֖ה עֹשֶֽׂה׃ נָבֹ֣ל תִּבֹּ֔ל גַּם־אַתָּ֕ה גַּם־הָעָ֥ם הַזֶּ֖ה אֲשֶׁ֣ר עִמָּ֑ךְ כִּֽי־כָבֵ֤ד מִמְּך הַדָּבָ֔ר לֹא־תוּכַ֥ל עֲשֹׂ֖הוּ לְבַדֶּֽךָ׃ - “The thing you are doing is not right;you will surely wear yourself out, and these people as well. For the task is too heavy for you; you cannot do it alone.” The solution that he offers is that Moshe will be a representative of the people in front of Hashem, and he will bring their disputes to Hashem. Moshe will also caution them about the statues and teaches, and he will show them the path to follow and the things they must do. Yitro also suggests that Moshe, using Hashem’s help, should choose judges to replace him, who will work on a full time basis and will deal with any minor matters, who will take off some of his burden.

At the beginning of the whole process, it was Moshe alone seemingly judging major and minor cases, which could take a ridiculous amount of time. However, after Yitro offers this suggestion, which Moshe decides to take on, we see the transition into a more modern day model of a judiciary system. In most modern countries, including the US, the UK, Israel and many many more,  the Supreme Court is made up of numerous judges. For example in the USA there are 9 justices, in the UK there are 12 justices and in Israel there are 15. Even the Beit Din is made up of 3 judges. This all stems from Yitro’s original advice to Moshe to help him not feel so burdened.  

One particular lesson that we can learn from this story is that outsourcing and delegating is an important part of building a just and viable society. Yitro, as an outsider,  was able to see that the current method of  judgment was not productive and conducive to building bnei yisrael as an independent nation and Moshe was able to take his advice despite the fact that Yitro was not a part of Bnei Yisrael. From this exchange we learn that listening to others and valuing and implementing  their advice can improve.