Parashat Yitro
06th February 2026
Week of 1-7 February 2026
Torah portion: Exodus 18:1- 20:23 Haftarah: Isaiah 6:1-13
Theme: God’s Treasured Possession
Parashat Yitro has been described as the hinge of the Torah (Etz Hayim , p. 432 commentary) due to its sensitive treatment of the revelation at Sinai, which transformed Israel from wilderness people into a nation covenanted to God. The events at Sinai constitute the final stage in the process of forging Israel’s national identity and spiritual destiny (Etz Hayim, p. 436 commentary). The reference to the covenant, in Ex. 19:5, is accompanied by the promise that if the Israelites are faithful to it, they will be God’s s’gullah (treasured possession), a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.
Anticipating those developments, chapter 18 recounts the profound influence on Moses of Jethro, his father-in-law, a righteous Gentile, and priest of Midian, a supportive wisdom figure for Moses. As the parashah opens, Jethro brings to Moses, at Sinai (18:5), his wife, Zippora, and their two sons, Gershom and Eliezer, whose names strikingly express Moses’ profession of faith: “Gershom” – I was a stranger there (in a foreign land), and “Eliezer” – God was my help. Jethro clarifies the role of Moses as representative of the people before God. He also identifies the responsibilities of the chiefs/judges that must be appointed to deal with minor matters. Finally, Jethro provides a burnt offering for an Israelite sacrifice, then joins Moses, Aaron and the elders in a “meal in the presence of Israel’s God” (18:12).
Chapter 19 recalls that about three months after the Israelites had left Egypt, and had journeyed through Rephidim, they had entered the wilderness of Sinai. The parashah envisions, in three phases, the revelation that occurred at the mountain. In the first phase (19:3-6), Moses ascends the mountain to receive the Lord’s declaration for the house of Jacob (the women) and the children of Israel (the men). The Lord sets the foundation for what is to follow: (1) recalling what he did to the Egyptians in contrast to the way he bore the Israelites on eagles’ wings; (2) presenting what he asks of the Israelites now: to obey him and to keep his covenant. When Moses reports this to the people, they respond: “All that the Lord has spoken, we will do” (19:8). Moses then delivers this first response to the Lord, and the second phase of the revelation occurs (19:9-15): the Lord informs Moses that he “will come to you (Hebrew singular) in a thick cloud”; the people will hear what God says to Moses, so as to evoke their trust in him. The people are to prepare for the third day, by sexual abstinence, washing their clothes, and in fidelity to the command to not even touch the mountain. On the third day as morning dawns, with thunder, lightning and dense clouds, the third phase of the revelation begins (19:16-20:23): Moses leads the people to the foot of the mountain; the Lord has descended to the top of the mountain to which Moses is summoned. Chapter 20 completes the third phase that of the revelation with “The Ten Words,” as the sacred terms of the covenant between God and his s’gullah.
The haftarah is a wonderful companion piece for this parashah. It reflects on the call, consecration and mission of the prophet Isaiah, closing with the prophecy of “a child given to us … with abundant authority … upon David’s throne” – a further realization of God’s s’gullah.
For Reflection and Discussion: 1. What symbolizes your covenant with God? 2. What concrete expressions of that covenant mean most to you?
Bibliography: Etz Hayim: Torah and Commentary (The Rabbinical Assembly, New York, 2001). Plaut, W. Gunther; Zornberg, Avivah G., The Particulars of Rapture, Reflections on Exodus, Schocken Books (New York 2001).
This week’s Parasha Commentary was prepared by
Diane Willey, Canada, Bat Kol Alumna: 2005, 2006
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