Ever hear of Yitro?
Yitro was Moses’ father in law, but he wasn’t originally part of the Hebrew people, nor a follower of Abraham’s ways. In fact, he was a priest to idolatrous cults.
Yet, Scripture tells us that when he heard “all that G-d had done” for the Jews in their exodus from Egypt, he picked himself up and went to join them in the desert.
Why? Because Yitro was a spiritual man.
Ancient idolatry didn’t mean mindless bowing to inanimate objects. There was a meaningful core. People recognized the forces which granted them success in life. They were grateful for, and respectful of, the forces of nature. They understood the profundity of love, ambition etc.
But they forgot that these forces are created and managed by the Divine. Of course we’re grateful for a sunny morning; but we should thank G-d - not the sun - since nature is only G-d’s tool. We don’t thank a surgeon’s scalpel for a successful surgery; we thank the surgeon. Similarly, we should acknowledging G-d, not G-d’s ‘implements’.
But Yitro decided to leave everything behind because he heard about the Exodus from Egypt, the splitting of the Sea, and the Hebrews’ battle with Amalek (a warring tribe who became the Jews’ nemesis in the desert).
There’s a profound lesson here.
What prevents someone from making a giant leap forward in their behavior? It could the paralysis of the status quo; it could be a lack of mental and emotional clarity; it could be debilitating doubts.
In spiritual terms, Egypt represents the straitjacket of our patterns. The exodus expressed the Jews’ ability to overcome their psycho-spiritual enslavement to the status quo.
Looking at the sea, we see a sheet of water, with no hint of the complex world which lies beneath. Splitting the sea represents piercing life’s façade, transcending the confusion to find genuine clarity as to what matters.
In Kabbalistic writings, Amalek represents ‘doubt’. The battle with Amalek manifests our tussle with indecision and disbelief as we contemplate an important step forward, a move toward genuine freedom in life.
Yitro heard about how the Jews escaped their status quo, got deeper clarity about life, and jettisoned the nagging doubts that paralyzed them. He was so inspired that he made his move.
You in?