This Torah portion, in which the Torah is given, strangely is named after Yitro—Moses’ father-in-law who was not a Jew, but a priest of Midian. Why? What is so special about Yitro?

I think the answer may lie in a perplexing medrash. The Talmud (Sanhedrin 94a) states: “It was taught in the name of Rabbi Pappeyas: It is a disgrace for Moses and the six hundred thousand adult men of the children of Israel whom he led out of Egypt that they did not say “Blessed be the Lord,” until Yitro came and said, “Blessed be the Lord.”  It is written in the previous verse, “Vayyiḥad Yitro for all the goodness that the Lord had done to Israel, whom He had delivered out of the hand of Egypt” (Exodus 18:9). Rav and Shmuel disagreed with regard to the meaning of vayyiḥad. Rav says: He passed a sharp [cḥad] sword over his flesh, i.e., he circumcised himself and converted. And Shmuel says: He felt as though cuts [ḥiddudim] (goosebumps) were all over his flesh, i.e., he had an unpleasant feeling due to the downfall of Egypt. Rav says with regard to this statement of Shmuel that this is in accordance with the adage that people say, “With regard to a convert, for ten generations after his conversion one should not disparage a gentile before him and his descendants, as they continue to identify somewhat with gentiles and remain sensitive to their pain.”

Yitro is the first to say “Baruch HaShem,” or “Blessed is God.” Though he is an idolatrous priest, he is incredibly open to hearing something different. When he sees the one God—a different God than he worships—do something powerful, something world changing, he comes forward and commits himself. Yitro seems to epitomize bravery and seeking truth.

The talmudic passage above also relates something about Yitro’s inner life in the argument between rav and Shmuel. One says that v’ayichad Yitro, means he “passed a sharp (chad) sword over his flesh (to circumcise himself)” the other opinion is that he broke out in goosebumps all over his body.

Both of these are powerful but very different images. Self circumcision with a sword is a very brave and strong, seemingly violent sacrificial act. Goosebumps are a vestige reaction which we have when we are emotionally charged, akin to the porcupine which makes itself seem larger when threatened.

Yitro is both brave and lunges for truth, but on the other hand is profoundly moved, deeply emotional and perhaps afraid. As the Talmud explains above, he may be deeply dedicated to being a Jew, ready to cut off his foreskin with a knife, but because he is also a Midianite leader, he feels for both his new people and his people of origin.

Perhaps this is why the parsha of standing at Mount Sinai is named for him. Like Yitro, the Jewish people are conflicted, both brave and anxious. They are Jews but, at times, wish to go back to Egypt; they are faithful and at times not so faithful, they are brave and willing to move through the desert to a new land and also are fearful and doubtful.

We too are often of two minds. We are deeply committed Jews, and yet, American society pulls at the hem of our identity. We feel at home here and yet all too often these days, with increased antisemitism, we are reminded how much of an “other” we are. May we draw strength from the righteous Yitro to persevere even when Judaism takes self sacrifice and even when we are emotionally conflicted and indeed feel threatened.