The Torah is credited for its keen insight into familial dynamics: sibling rivalry, troubled marriages, etc. This week’s portion introduces perhaps the most common archetype of all: the father-in-law who thinks their son-in-law could be doing better. “לֹא־טוֹב֙ הַדָּבָ֔ר אֲשֶׁ֥ר אַתָּ֖ה עֹשֶֽׂה”, “It’s not good what you’re doing,” (Exodus 18:17) reprimands Yitro of Moshe.
To be clear, this judgement comes from a place of love (doesn’t it always?). Yitro is actually worried that Moshe is overworked dealing with each minor complaint every Jew has, “נָבֹ֣ל תִּבֹּ֔ל גַּם־אַתָּ֕ה גַּם־הָעָ֥ם הַזֶּ֖ה אֲשֶׁ֣ר עִמָּ֑ךְ כִּֽי־כָבֵ֤ד מִמְּךָ֙ הַדָּבָ֔ר לֹא־תוּכַ֥ל עֲשֹׂ֖הוּ לְבַדֶּֽךָ”, “You will surely wear yourself out, and these people as well. For the task is too heavy for you; you cannot do it alone.”
He suggests creating a system of judges, with lower courts, upper courts. Then only really sticky questions go to Moshe who can take the matter to the Supreme Court Himself. Moshe agrees and Yitro departs.
And for this we name the whole parsha after Yitro! The 10 Commandments are literally the next topic! Why is this such a big deal?
Come to think of it, why do we have the story of the court system’s genesis before the laws themselves? How can we optimize for who knows the laws the best if we don’t even have them?
I have, alas, retained astonishingly little from my Jewish day school education (sorry Mom and Dad). But one of the stories that has stuck with me to this day is the dispute between Rabbi Eliezer and his colleagues concerning whether an oven is kosher (Bava Metziah, 59b). The details of the debate are not that important; what matters is how they resolved it. Rabbi Eliezer keeps on invoking G-d to perform miracles to prove he’s right. “If I’m right, this tree will magically uproot itself and move!”, and so it does. The Rabbis shrug and say “Trees don’t make the laws.” Rabbi Eliezer then says “If I’m right, this stream will magically reverse direction!”, and so it does. The Rabbis shrug and say “Streams don’t make laws.” Rabbi Eliezer performs two more miracles, with the final one featuring a Divine Voice that says “Yup! Rabbi Eliezer is right!” And the Rabbis remain unmoved. Speaking for the Rabbis, Rabbi Yehoshua quotes Moshe in Sefer Devarim, “לֹ֥א בַשָּׁמַ֖יִם הִ֑וא“, “It [the Torah] isn’t in heaven” (Deutoromomy, 30:12). The implication is clear; the Torah is a divine document document but designed for humans and interpreted by them.
Yitro’s insight extends beyond a remedy for an exhausted son-in-law. Divine law is only as good as the humans arbitrating them. Yitro doesn’t just tell Moshe that he’ll become overtired. He uses the word “נבל”, which carries a connotation of impurity and scandal when used elsewhere in the Torah (the story of Dinah in Genesis, the laws of sacrifice in Leviticus, etc.) He is warning that Torah alone is a document, albeit a holy one, that will not magically keep the Jews from impropriety. It must be mediated through basic human decency. That is why before we even know the specifics of the law, Yitro implores Moshe to find people who are “אַנְשֵׁי־חַ֜יִל יִרְאֵ֧י אֱלֹהִ֛ים אַנְשֵׁ֥י אֱמֶ֖ת שֹׂ֣נְאֵי בָ֑צַע”, “capable individuals who fear God—trustworthy ones who spurn ill-gotten gain.” (Exodus, 19:12) If Rabbi Eliezer discovered that legal debates the laws don’t conclude in heaven, Yitro tells us it doesn’t start there either.