The Israelites’ experience of slavery had made them utterly convinced that mankind at large was anti-Semitic. God therefore sent them a righteous gentile by the name of Yitro, to impress upon them that the non-Jewish world includes remarkable people, who not only possess much wisdom but actually love the people of Israel and contribute to Jewish life.
Yithro – A Protest Against Racism
Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch (1808-1888), one of the great Jewish leaders and thinkers of modern times, asks us to take notice of a strange incident in the days of Moshe. After Moshe left
What are you doing to the people? Why are you sitting by yourself and letting all the people stand around you from morning until evening?
The people come to me to seek God, replied Moshe to his father-in-law. Whenever they have a problem, they come to me. I judge between man and his neighbor, and I teach God’s decrees and laws.
Moshe’s father-in-law said to him: What you are doing is not good. You are going to wear yourself out, along with this nation that is with you. Your responsibility is too great. You cannot do it all alone. (Shemoth 18: 14-18) (1)