Moshe's Duties and Yitro's Advice/2

Moshe's Duties and Yitro's Advice

Exegetical Approaches

Exegetes differ in their understandings of whether Yitro's dialogue with Moshe and Yitro's proposed system focus exclusively on Moshe's judicial responsibilities or relate also to Moshe's other roles.

Just Judicial Role

Both the conversation and Yitro's advice deal only with Moshe's judicial role.

Sources:R. Yosef Bekhor ShorShemot 18:15Shemot 18:19About R. Yosef Bekhor Shor, Tzeror HaMorShemot 18:15-17Shemot 18:18-23About R. Avraham Saba.

Single subject – Tzeror HaMor states explicitly "Yitro asked only regarding the matter of judgment, and Moshe responded to him only regarding the matter of judgment."¹ The advantage of this approach is that the entire discussion focuses on the same topic, Moshe's response to Yitro's query does not contain any extraneous information, and Yitro's solution addresses the main cause of Moshe's burden.²

Structure of Moshe's response in 18:15-16:

• General and then specifics (כלל ופרט‎) – R. Yosef Bekhor Shor appears to read "Because the people come to me to inquire of God" in 18:15 as a general statement meaning to come to hear Divine justice, with 18:16 being an elaboration.³
• In contrast, the Tzeror HaMor reads the verses as referring to two distinct cases – in 18:15 the litigants themselves appear before Moshe, while in 18:16 only the matter comes to Moshe and he takes the initiative to investigate.

Meaning of אֱלֹהִים – R. Yosef Bekhor Shor and Tzeror HaMor interpret the word as referring to judges, rather than God⁴ – see א-להים for further discussion.⁵ Thus, they explain לִדְרֹשׁ אֱלֹהִים ‎(18:15) as to request judgment,⁶ and Tzeror HaMor interprets חֻקֵּי הָאֱלֹהִים וְאֶת תּוֹרֹתָיו ‎(18:16) as the laws which provide the source of the verdict and its reasoning.⁷ Both similarly suggest the possibility that הֱיֵה אַתָּה לָעָם מוּל הָאֱלֹהִים וְהֵבֵאתָ אַתָּה אֶת הַדְּבָרִים אֶל הָאֱלֹהִים וְהִזְהַרְתָּה אֶתְהֶם אֶת הַחֻקִּים וְאֶת הַתּוֹרֹת ‎(18:19) means that Moshe should make himself available to the judges and teach them the laws.⁸ This allows them to maintain that all of the verses are speaking of judicial matters.⁹

Discussed More than Merely Judicial Role

Yitro and Moshe discuss Moshe's manifold responsibilities, but Yitro recommends reducing only the judicial role.¹⁰ This possibility subdivides over the question of how many of Moshe's duties are mentioned and regarding the definition of לִדְרֹשׁ אֱלֹהִים:

Two Roles

Yitro and Moshe discuss two responsibilities – educational and judicial.

Sources:R. SaadiaCommentary Shemot 18:15-16About R. Saadia, Ibn EzraShemot 18:15Shemot 18:19Short Commentary Shemot 18:1About Ibn Ezra, U. CassutoShemot 18:15-16Shemot 18:19About U. Cassuto.

Two possible understandings of the structure of Moshe's response in 18:15-16:

• A-B-B-A structure ‎(והשיב על האחרון תחלה)‎¹¹ – R. Saadia and Ibn Ezra explain that the description of Moshe's educational duty "Because the people come to me to inquire of God… and I make known the statutes of God and His laws," is interrupted by the delineation of his judicial task "When they have a matter, it comes to me; and I judge between a man and his neighbor".¹²
• General and then specifics (כלל ופרט) – Cassuto reads "Because the people come to me to inquire of God" in 18:15 as a general statement which includes both the judging and teaching which are detailed in 18:16.

The meaning of לִדְרֹשׁ אֱלֹהִים:

• R. Saadia explains that the people seek to learn how to worship Hashem.¹³
• Ibn Ezra (following Onkelos and Rashi) says this term means to ask about the Torah, and "the statutes of God and His laws" are the Mitzvot that were given after the Decalogue (see Ibn Ezra Short Commentary 18:1).¹⁴ This is consistent with Ibn Ezra's position regarding the chronology of the chapter – see Chronology.

Yitro's advice – Cassuto explains that Yitro misunderstood Moshe's words לִדְרֹשׁ אֱלֹהִים, and interpreted them as referring to requesting prayer, rather than judgment or edification. Thus, he posits that Yitro tells Moshe that he should continue to pray on behalf of the people, even though Moshe himself did not mention prayer. Cassuto thinks that Yitro is reflecting an idolatrous conception in which the priests would bring the people's petitions to the idols.¹⁵ This is consistent with Cassuto's view that Yitro remained a polytheist and did not convert – see Yitro's Religious Identity.

Three Roles

Yitro and Moshe discuss three different responsibilities of Moshe – responding to the people's various requests or needs, judicial, and educational.

Sources:RambanShemot 18:15Shemot 18:19Shemot 18:20Devarim 1:12Devarim 1:18About Ramban,¹⁶ RalbagShemot 18:15-16About Ralbag, Akeidat YitzchakShemot #43About Akeidat Yitzchak.

כִּי יָבֹא אֵלַי הָעָם לִדְרֹשׁ אֱלֹהִים – These exegetes disagree regarding how to interpret this phrase and why the people were coming to Moshe to seek God – see also לִדְרֹשׁ אֱלֹהִים:

• To ask him to pray to God on their behalf – Ramban.¹⁷
• To find out what the future holds in store – Ralbag.¹⁸
• To greet and pay their respects to Moshe – Akeidat Yitzchak.¹⁹

Structure of Moshe's response in 18:15-16 – According to this approach, "When they have a matter, it comes to me" (כִּי יִהְיֶה לָהֶם דָּבָר בָּא אֵלַי) is connected to "I judge between a man and his neighbor" (וְשָׁפַטְתִּי בֵּין אִישׁ וּבֵין רֵעֵהוּ), as it would appear from Yitro's advice in 18:22.

"The statutes of God and His laws" – According to the Akeidat Yitzchak, these are the laws that were given in Mara which Moshe would teach the people.²⁰

Scope of Yitro's proposal – Yitro advises Moshe to reduce only his judicial functions. Ramban adds that Yitro suggests that Moshe should sit in the Tent of Meeting,²¹ rather than in the place of judgment. See also Did Moshe Need Yitro's Advice for Akeidat Yitzchak's theory that Yitro was proposing the need for Divine civil law.

Four Roles

Yitro and Moshe discuss four different responsibilities of Moshe – answering the tribal leaders' administrative queries, deciding disputes between the leaders, teaching the leaders, and judging the masses.

Sources:SefornoShemot 18:15-16Shemot 18:20-22About Seforno.

Relationship between verses 13 and 15-16 – Verse 13 describes what Moshe was doing for the entire nation, while verses 15-16 delineate Moshe's duties vis a vis the tribal leaders, which caused the delays in his judging of the people.

כִּי יָבֹא אֵלַי הָעָם לִדְרֹשׁ אֱלֹהִים – According to Seforno, this refers to the leaders bringing to Moshe issues related to the nation's encampment.²² Seforno similarly explains that the judging referred to by Moshe in verse 16 is regarding national matters brought by the leaders.

Educational hierarchy – Seforno maintains that in verse 16, Moshe is describing how he taught the laws to Aharon and the other leaders, as described in Bavli EiruvinEiruvin 54bAbout the Bavli. Apparently, according to Seforno, this system was in place prior to Yitro's arrival, and was part of the cause of the judicial backlog.

Yitro's advice – Yitro suggests to Moshe that he should implement a hierarchical system for the judiciary, parallel to what was already in place for the administrative and educational systems.²³

The meaning of הָעָם – Seforno's approach is inconsistent in its interpretation of the word הָעָם, as in 18:13-14 it refers to the entire nation, in 18:15-16 it refers to the tribal leaders, and in 18:18 it refers to Moshe's court.²⁴

Delegated More than Just Judicial Role

Yitro and Moshe not only discuss Moshe's many responsibilities (besides his judicial duties), but Yitro also advises Moshe to delegate a number of these roles. The two variations of this approach differ as to how many and which of Moshe's roles are under discussion and regarding which ones Moshe delegates:

Two of Five Roles

Yitro and Moshe discuss five different responsibilities of Moshe – prophetic, administrative, judicial, educational, and military – of which Moshe delegates the judicial and military.

Sources:AbarbanelShemot 18Devarim 1About Abarbanel.

Chronology – Abarbanel maintains that Moshe implemented Yitro's advice only in the second year in the desert, immediately before the intended journey to the land of Israel – see Chronology of Shemot 18, and Did Moshe's Need Yitro's Advice. On this backdrop, he suggests that the need for a dramatic increase in the number of judges was due to the impending dispersal of the nation to settle the land. In addition, the upcoming battles for the conquest of the land necessitated the appointment of a military chain of command.²⁵

Yitro's proposal – "אַנְשֵׁי חַיִל" – According to Abarbanel, Yitro advises Moshe to appoint "men of valor"²⁶ because they needed to function not only in a judicial capacity but also as military officers.²⁷ In support of his approach, Abarbanel also points to the leadership of the "rulers of thousands" and "rulers of hundreds" in the battle against Midian in Bemidbar 31.²⁸

The number of appointees – Abarbanel wonders why there would be a sudden need for tens of thousands of rulers to judge the people if until then Moshe alone had sufficed. He is also puzzled by what the judicial distinction would be between rulers of hundreds and rulers of fifties. For these reasons he postulates that the appointees must have also played military and administrative roles – see Yitro's System.²⁹

לִדְרֹשׁ אֱלֹהִים – According to Abarbanel, the people are "seeking God" in order to inquire (through Moshe) about the future.³⁰

"When they have a matter, it comes to me" (כִּי יִהְיֶה לָהֶם דָּבָר בָּא אֵלַי) refers to Moshe's handling of camping and travel related issues, and is a separate task from "I judge between a man and his neighbor" (וְשָׁפַטְתִּי בֵּין אִישׁ וּבֵין רֵעֵהוּ)‎.³¹

"The statutes of God and His laws" are the laws that were given in Mara which Moshe would teach the people.³²

Three of Four Roles

Yitro and Moshe discuss four different responsibilities of Moshe – responding to the people's various requests or needs, judicial, educational, and military – of which Moshe delegates the judicial, educational, and military.

Sources:Vilna Gaon (GR"A)Aderet Eliyahu Devarim 1:12-15About the Vilna Gaon, HaKetav VeHaKabbalahShemot 18:15-21Devarim 1:15About HaKetav VeHaKabbalah, R. D"Z HoffmannShemot 18:15-16Shemot 18:25Devarim 1:15About R. D"Z Hoffmann.³³

Scope of Yitro's proposal – Yitro advises Moshe to delegate not only his judicial but also his administrative and teaching duties. According to this understanding, Yitro's proposal addressed many of the different needs of the people by appointing multiple categories of leaders who filled different roles.³⁴ The rulers of thousands were administrative and military leaders,³⁵ the rulers of hundreds judged and were also military leaders,³⁶ the rulers of fifties educated, and the rulers of tens were enforcement officers.³⁷ Thus, Yitro's proposal provided for not only the creation of a judicial system, but also for administrative help for Moshe and for the educational pyramid described in Bavli EiruvinEiruvin 54bAbout the Bavli. As a result, Moshe could dedicate his time to the tasks of which only he was capable, communicating with God and instilling the nation with the love and fear of God.

Different categories and large numbers of appointees – R. D"Z Hoffmann notes that this approach explains the need for such a large bureaucracy – see Yitro's System.

The major difficulty with this approach (noted already by HaKetav VeHaKabbalah) is that Yitro's advice only explicitly mentions the role of the various rulers in helping judge (וְשָׁפְטוּ) the people, while all of the various other roles appear to remain concentrated in Moshe's hands (וְהֵבֵאתָ, וְהִזְהַרְתָּה, וְהוֹדַעְתָּ).‎³⁸ This difficulty can be somewhat mitigated, though, if one adopts the broader definition of וְשָׁפְטוּ as referring to general governing – see שפט and R. D"Z Hoffmann Shemot 18:26, Devarim 1:15.³⁹

כִּי יָבֹא אֵלַי הָעָם לִדְרֹשׁ אֱלֹהִים - These exegetes present two options regarding how to interpret this phrase and about why the people were coming to Moshe to seek God – see also לִדְרֹשׁ אֱלֹהִים:

• To learn from him how to worship Hashem with love and fear – Vilna Gaon,⁴⁰ HaKetav VeHaKabbalah.
• To hear prophecy about future events – R. D"Z Hoffmann.⁴¹

Structure of Moshe's response in 18:15-16 – According to this approach, "When they have a matter, it comes to me" (כִּי יִהְיֶה לָהֶם דָּבָר בָּא אֵלַי) is connected to "I judge between a man and his neighbor" (וְשָׁפַטְתִּי בֵּין אִישׁ וּבֵין רֵעֵהוּ), as it would appear from Yitro's advice in 18:22.

¹ R. Yosef Bekhor Shor is less explicit in his formulation, but appears to understand similarly.

² It is possible that Moshe's judicial duties were the biggest time drain, as he needed to judge people on an individual basis, while his other roles addressed the nation as a whole. Thus, Yitro's advice was needed only for the judicial system.

³ This structure is explicit in the commentary of ShadalShemot 18:15Shemot 18:16Shemot 18:20About Shadal. See Shadal for additional cases in which he applies this structure. However, Shadal has a broader view of Moshe's responsibilities.

⁴ R. Yosef Bekhor Shor interprets אֱלֹהִים as judges in numerous other verses as well. See א-להים for examples.

⁵ See also Edward Greenstein, "Jethro’s Wit: An Interpretation of Wordplay in Exodus 18," On the Way to Nineveh (Atlanta, 1999): 160-164.

⁶ As does the Septuagint 18:15. Cf. R. Bachya 18:15 who notes that אֱלֹהִים is used to refer to God and not ‏ה'‏ because of the judicial context.

⁷ For more, see Chukkei HaElokim – Statutes Before Sinai.

⁸ According to them, וְהִזְהַרְתָּה אֶתְהֶם refers to Moshe teaching the judges.

⁹ Shadal, in contrast, interprets אֱלֹהִים in all of these verses as referring to God, but explains that Moshe is conferring with God about matters of judgment.

¹⁰ According to this possibility, verse 13 mentions only לִשְׁפֹּט אֶת הָעָם, either because לִשְׁפֹּט is being used here in its more general sense of administrative leadership – see R. D"Z HoffmannShemot 18:25Devarim 1:15About R. D"Z Hoffmann and שפט, or because Moshe's judicial burden is the main role which Yitro seeks to reduce.

¹¹ Accordingly, each of the educational and judicial functions opens with a "‏כי...‏" describing what prompts the people to come, and each is then followed by Moshe's action to address the problem.

¹² This reading may find support from the ordering of Yitro's advice, in which making the laws known immediately follows the bringing of the people's inquiries to God.

¹³ Cf. R. Saadia's Commentary on Bereshit 25:22.

¹⁴ For more, see Chukkei HaElokim – Statutes Before Sinai.

¹⁵ See Ramban below that the (mis)interpretation that Cassuto attributes to Yitro is what Ramban thinks Moshe actually meant. This dispute may be rooted in a fundamental disagreement between the rationalist and mystical traditions in understanding how prayer functions and the role of an intermediary in prayer – see Prayer

¹⁶ Ramban Devarim 1:12 suggests that the three terms "your encumbrance, and your burden, and your strife" (טָרְחֲכֶם וּמַשַּׂאֲכֶם וְרִיבְכֶם) in Devarim 1:12 parallel the three roles of Moshe described in Shemot 18:15-16.

¹⁷ Ramban on our verse adds that the people are asking Moshe to inform them whether his prayers were accepted, and how to find their lost objects. Ramban bases his interpretation on the appearance of the same phrase in Shemuel I 9:9, and the similar expressions (‏לדרש ה'‏) in Bereshit 25:22 and Melakhim II 8:8. Ramban addresses this issue also in Bereshit 25:22, Devarim 1:12, and Devarim 1:18. However, in all of those places he limits the meaning to prayer alone (see also Ramban Shemot 18:19). In contrast, R. Nissim (Ran)Derashah 2About Ran disagrees with Ramban and attempts to prove from the verses in Melakhim II 1:2, 8:2 that the term always means to ask about the future. Additionally, see note above regarding Cassuto's dissenting view on philosophical grounds, and further discussion in Prayer.

¹⁸ See the discussion of the positions of Ramban and Ran in the note above.

¹⁹ Akeidat Yitzchak suggests that Moshe in his humility attributes the people coming to greet him to his representing God. Alternatively, he could have explained that אֱלֹהִים here means an authority or ruler – see א-להים.

²⁰ He maintains that Yitro's advice was proffered before the Decalogue but could be implemented only afterwards when the full set of laws was transmitted – see Chronology of Shemot 18 and see Abarbanel below. See also Chukkei HaElokim – Statutes Before Sinai.

²¹ From this comment of Ramban, it would appear that Yitro's advice was given after the Tabernacle was built. See Chronology for the various possibilities presented in Ramban.

²² As support, Seforno refers to the verses in Bemidbar 9 which speak of how the nation would camp "according to the word of Hashem." Cf. R. Yehuda HeChasidShemot 18:20About R. Yehuda HeChasid who similarly explains that "the way in which they must walk" in Yitro's advice in 18:20 also refers to the nation's travels (i.e. he explains "the way" as a literal path and not a figurative one).

²³ According to this approach, Yitro focused solely on the judicial system because Moshe had already delegated his other responsibilities. However, see Seforno 18:22 where he seems to say that the educational system was also part of Yitro's advice.

²⁴ Cf. Mekhilta DeRabbi Yishmael Yitro Amalek 2 and Rashi.

²⁵ A significant advantage of Abarbanel's position is its ability to explain the placement of the story of the appointment of the judges immediately before the sending of the spies in Devarim 1 – see Appointing Moshe's Assistants.

²⁶ See חיל for various possible interpretations of the term.

²⁷ This is Abarbanel's opinion in his commentary to Devarim 1. In Shemot 18, however, he adopts the position that Yitro advised Moshe only regarding appointing judges, and it was Moshe who added the military role. His interpretation in Shemot is motivated by his desire to demonstrate that Yitro's advice was not particularly helpful – see Did Moshe's Need Yitro's Advice. However, it is difficult to sustain from a close reading of the verses. See Abarbanel's Exegesis regarding the dating of Abarbanel's various commentaries.

²⁸ Abarbanel interprets the terms "and your burden, and your strife" (וּמַשַּׂאֲכֶם וְרִיבְכֶם) in Devarim 1:12 as referring to as the burden of the journey to the land of Israel and the strife involved in the the conquest of the land. Cf. Ramban above.

²⁹ Abarbanel could thus easily maintain that Shemot 18, Bemidbar 11, and Devarim 1 are accounts of the same event from different perspectives – see Appointing Moshe's Assistants.

³⁰ Abarbanel here follows the position of RalbagShemot 18:15-16About Ralbag and R. Nissim (Ran)Derashot HaRan 2About the Ran. Cf. the discussion of Ramban's position above.

³¹ Most exegetes disagree with Abarbanel on this point. Abarbanel's position is difficult, as from Yitro's advice in verse 22 it appears that the "matter they will bring" to Moshe is for the purpose of judgment.

³² Abarbanel follows Akeidat Yitzchak on this. Both maintain that Yitro's advice was proffered before the Decalogue but could be implemented only afterwards when the full set of laws was transmitted – see above. See also Chukkei HaElokim – Statutes Before Sinai.

³³ Both HaKetav VeHaKabbalah and R. D"Z Hoffmann cite the GR"A and follow in his footsteps.

³⁴ Theoretically, this position could thus maintain that the disparate accounts of appointing Moshe's assistants in Shemot 18, Bemidbar 11, and Devarim 1 are all different angles on the same event. Compare with the position of Ibn Ezra discussed in Appointing Moshe's Assistants and the position of Abarbanel above.

³⁵ R. D"Z Hoffmann in his commentary to Shemot 18:25 defines them as administrative or political leaders, while in his commentary to Devarim 1:15 he describes them as military leaders. The GR"A and HaKetav VeHaKabbalah appear to combine both roles.

³⁶ The GR"A, like the Abarbanel above, derives this from the leadership role of the the rulers of thousands and rulers of hundreds in the battle with Midyan in Bemidbar 31:14,48-49. The GR"A appears to say that the rulers of fifties also played a military role; see Melakhim II 1.

³⁷ They explain that the rulers of tens (שָׂרֵי עֲשָׂרֹת) are identical with the שֹׁטְרִים mentioned in Devarim 1:15.

³⁸ The same is also true for the account of the appointments in Devarim 1. The only textual hint from Shemot 18 that the Vilna Gaon finds in support of a role for the rulers besides the judiciary is in the words "you will not be able to perform it alone," which he maintains refer to the task of education.

³⁹ See also R. Avraham b. HaRambamShemot 18:22About R. Avraham Maimonides. However, compare to the earlier use of the verb in 18:16 "I judge between a man and his neighbor" (וְשָׁפַטְתִּי בֵּין אִישׁ וּבֵין רֵעֵהוּ).

⁴⁰ According to the Vilna Gaon, the term also includes finding out how the nation should camp and travel. Cf. Seforno and Abarbanel above.

⁴¹ R. D"Z Hoffmann cites the verses of Bereshit 25:22, Shemuel I 9:9, and Melakhim II 8:8 as prooftexts. Cf. the positions of Ramban, Ralbag, and Ran above.