The esteemed priest of Midian, "heard everything that the Lord did to Moses and to Israel, His people (Exodus 18:1)," including, adds Rashi, the Splitting of the Sea, and the victorious battle against Amalek. Yitro was so moved by all he heard that, he, "came to Moses with his sons and wife, to the Wilderness where he was encamped, by the Mountain of the Lord (Verse 5)."

"He said to Moses, 'I, your father-in-law Yitro, have come to you, with your wife and her two sons with her (Verse 6)," understood by Rashi as, "If Moses did not care to personally come out of the camp to greet his father-in-law, he should come for the sake of his wife, and, if not for her, Moses should at least come out to greet his sons." The man so moved by God's miracles through Moses that he would leave his home and travel to the desert insisted that Moses come out to greet someone. Whom Moses would come to greet did not matter, only that he come out to greet! I hear Yitro saying, "I have come this far. Now, finish the process, come out and bring us to you!"

"Moses went out to meet his father-in law (Verse 7)," and led the first flash mob: "When Moses went to greet Yitro, surely Aaron, Nadav, and Avihu went along. If these leaders went, surely the entire nation accompanied them (Rashi)." I picture all the women pushing to meet Moses' wife, and all the children curious to meet their leader's two, probably nervous, sons. My mother a"h wisely suggested that my sisters and I wait at home for my father and Uncle Noach zt"l arriving from Israel in 1968, rather than be swallowed by the crowd of students who went to greet them at the airport. For some reason, she wasn't moved by my argument based on this story, but, I did get to miss school, so it was okay.

The first strangers to join the Children of Israel in the desert were greeted by the entire nation, an event triggered by the very man who rebukes Moses and says, "What is this thing that you do to the people? Why do you sit alone with all the people standing by you from morning to evening (Verse 14)?" Yitro is exceptionally sensitive to the people who had to gather round Moses, and yet, indirectly insisted that the entire nation be put out for his family!

Yitro was perfectly consistent. Rashi opens his commentary on this week's portion by pointing out, "What did he hear that made his come?" Yitro understood that his wish to join the Children of Israel was not shared by others. The nation that had left Egypt, crossed the Sea, at Manna, drank water from a magical rock, defeated Amalek, and lived within the Clouds of Glory, was perceived as inaccessible. Yitro appreciated his uniqueness, perhaps a result of his being Moses' father-in-law; the nation could not expect anyone else to approach.

Yitro was convinced that such a nation, blessed with such miracles and Divine Providence and protection, had a mission to influence others; they represented something larger than the freed slaves. It was a mission at which they would fail as long as they were inapproachable. Moses and the entire nation had to come out to greet their first visitors to send a message to all who wanted to approach, a signal that all who desired to share the journey would be welcomed by the entire nation.

Imagine an entire family greeting a child returning from a time out, or a class unanimously welcoming back a student who was temporarily removed from the classroom. I always considered having new converts greeted by the entire congregation waiting outside the synagogue to escort them into the community, for the community's sake, that is. It probably won't work until we consistently greet each other with warmth and love. I attempted something similar when as a high school teacher I asked my entire class to greet a student returning from a long absence. I focused on the greeting without first emphasizing the way they regularly greeted each other, and the experiment was a failure.

There is a powerful moment at Revelation when, "Moses brought the people from the camp to greet God (19:17)," Who was waiting for them. God was waiting to greet the unified (Rashi 19:2) nation. God greets us when we are unified. A unified community will, simply by its unity, serve as the perfect welcome committee to any and all who seek to pierce the Clouds of Glory. We turn and face the entrance to the synagogue when we welcome the Shabbat with "Come in Peace," to a community at peace with itself. We greet the Angels who visit our Shabbat table with the same offering of Shalom, "Come in peace to a family at peace with itself." A Shabbat Shalom, a Shabbat of Peace, offers us, as did the Shabbat at Revelation, an opportunity for God to come and greet us.