Throughout the majority of Parashat Yitro, Yitro is described as the father-in-law of Moses. Yitro’s name is not mentioned alone until the moment he rejoiced after hearing about the miracle of Yetziat Mitzrayim. It almost seems like Yitro’s only significance in the Torah is being related to Moses.
But at one point in the parashah, in Exodus 18:9, it says Yitro’s name without mentioning Moses. Did something change that made the Torah discuss Yitro without saying that he is the father-in-law of Moses?
I believe that from the moment Yitro rejoiced after hearing about everything that ha-Shem did, he independently became significant. When Yitro found out that ha-Shem took the Jews out of Egypt, he showed a sense of pride. At that moment, he became independent. He did something with his own feelings and was not just an extension of Moses anymore.
Yitro was not even Jewish at the beginning of his life, so he had no obligation to react or rejoice in response to the miracle. The fact that he did so illustrates what a great person he was. He did not need his son-in-law to define himself and make him great.
We learn later on in this week’s parashah that Yitro helped Moses and gave him an incredible idea. After the Jewish people received the Torah at Mount Sinai, the Jews would line up outside Moses’ tent all day and night to ask him questions. Yitro thought of a plan to appoint judges to answer the Israelites’ questions, with only the hardest questions that no one else would likely know the answer to being reserved for Moses. This proves how much Yitro grew and started thinking of his own ideas.
We can all learn a very impactful lesson from Yitro. We all have the potential to be independent, sovereign people. We should never need other people to define who we are, because we are our own individuals.
