Some people just seem to be born blessed with an easy life. You know the type. (We try not to be jealous...) They have everything going for them, things just flow, they know who they are, what they want, where they're going in life - and generally they get there. 

Then there are those who seem to always be "a work in progress", searching for truth and looking all over for answers, experimenting, learning from experience.... You also know this type, right?  (It might even sound very personally familiar to many of us.) Yitro (aka Jethro), Moshe's father-in-law, is the example of the second kind of guy. His name alone tells us everything - it comes from the word "yeter," meaning extra. He had to try everything out for himself, do extra work, extra searching, spend extra time figuring things out. We are told by the Sages that Yitro was the High Priest of every known religion. Can you imagine being the Pope to the Catholics, Dali Lama to the Buddhists, the top Hindu guru, the number one Muslim Imam - all that and more, all in one lifetime? That's what Yitro was like. Only in his time, there were no monotheistic religions he encountered. So he went from one idolatrous practice to another, finding something or another interesting at first glance, but ultimately dissatisfied with the emptiness he was left with in every different polytheistic discipline he tried. Deep down he knew the Truth. He knew there is One G-d. No one told him the truth, and he lived much of his life (quite a rich one, indeed) without seeing the truth. Deep down, though, he knew - and that's what his searching was all about. 

The amazing thing about Yitro, as related in this week's parsha, is meant to be that he just heard about all the wonders of HaShem, all G-d had done for the Children of Israel, and that was enough to inspire him to up and leave his life in Midian and join the Jewish People. No doubt, he is the first righteous convert we read about in the Torah, and we have the utmost respect for him and all like him who leave everything behind and choose to join the fold. But when you realize that after all his extra time and effort, he finally heard what he had been listening for and saw what he was looking for all his life - it is really no surprise that he dropped everything and ran to join in with the Jewish People. The real surprise or the real credit due to Yitro, it seems, is that even after so many prior unsuccessful, fruitless experiences, Yitro never gave up on his quest.  

How powerful must this kind of persistence be - the persistence to keep searching for Truth, despite multiple setbacks and unanswered questions. It is powerful enough and honored enough to have the one who epitomized it, Yitro, be the one whose name is associated with this parsha, the parsha wherein we receive the Torah. It makes sense, because this is the way to receive the Torah, through persistence and determination to search and search until we find the Truth.
Bless us, HaShem, with the strength and courage for holy persistence - to always look and listen until we see and find the Truth.

HaShem spoke to Moshe in this week's parsha, Yitro, just prior to the revelation at Har Sinai where we received the Ten Commandments. HaShem wanted Moshe to make sure that the Children of Israel would indeed accept HaShem's commandments and follow them. The way G-d phrased the instruction to Moshe is very telling: "Thus shall you say to the House of Jacob and tell to the Children (literally Sons) of Israel..." What's the difference between the House of Jacob and the Children of Israel, and what's the difference between saying and telling? At first glance, the use of both expressions seem redundant.  However, our Sages explain that the House of Jacob refers to the women and the Children of Israel refers to the men. And, saying is a gentler manner of talking, whereas telling is firm instruction. That being the case, the Torah states that the women were asked first, as well as asked very nicely and gently to accept the Torah. Then the men were basically told rather sternly that they had better obey or else there would be consequences.   

Our Sages' explanations are fascinating, and lead to a new set of questions: Why did HaShem have the women precede the men in Torah instruction? Why are they instructed in a gentler manner? And why are women called the House of Jacob, instead of say, the Daughters of Jacob?  

From behind the scenes, the women were leading the way for the men throughout the entire time in Egypt according to our tradition. When the men despaired of ever being free, the women encouraged them to hold on, to keep going because the time of redemption was surely imminent. When the men were so tired physically and spiritually that they just wanted to give up, all the women dressed up for their husbands and went out with food and drinks to the fields where they were laboring, inspiring them to come home to their families with some hope at the end of the day. And when the time of redemption came, the women continued to lead the way. Along with the provisions that the women packed as they left Egypt, they packed musical instruments - drums and tambourines - because even before the splitting of the sea and complete demise of Egypt, they knew there would be cause to celebrate. They knew G-d would be performing many miracles, and they made sure to be prepared to sing songs of thanks. With this kind of strength the women displayed, encouraging others in difficult times, and with the deep faith in HaShem and foresight to expect miracles, it makes sense that G-d approached the women first. He effectively was asking the women first for their assistance in encouraging the men. Knowing the women had such a deep faith, there was no need to tell them strongly, to command them with harsh admonitions. It was enough to just gently explain to the women what the Divine Plan was, knowing they would definitely go along with the Plan. 

With this understanding of why the women are spoken to first, and why in the manner that they were, it becomes clearer why the women are called specifically the House of Jacob in the Torah. What is a house, anyway? It's the place a person is based, almost everything that's theirs is stored there. It's the place a person lives, their family is there, and it's the place a person feels most comfortable and, well, at home. In Judaism, women are considered the house of our People. Meaning, ideally women are the base, where all our dreams, hopes and beliefs are stored. They are the source of strength, encouragement and inspiration for our families. And they are the ones who can make us feel at home, no matter where in the world we Jews find ourselves. 

May we all be blessed to receive the Torah with love, and to hear G-d's command gently spoken to us. May we have a deep faith to expect that G-d will again give us reason to celebrate - the ultimate celebration, the ultimate redemption . And then finally, may we all soon truly be at home. 

"Shabbat Shalom, it's nice to be at home,"
Rachel