Parashat Beshalach - From my student

Parashat Beshalach

In this week's Parsha, three million Jews gather at the foot of Mount Sinai and personally witness God Almighty giving the Torah. It is surprising, therefore, that the name of this Parsha is "Yitro." Who was this man Yitro?The Parsha begins:"Yitro, the Priest of Midian, the father-in-law of Moses, heard all that God did for Moses and Israel..."(Exodus 18:1)Yitro heard about the amazing events of the Exodus and came to join the Jewish people. Rashi asks: "What was it specifically that Yitro heard that caused him to come? He heard about the splitting of the Red Sea and about the war with Amalek."But really the entire world heard about the splitting of the Red Sea and the war with Amalek! So why does the Torah single out Yitro?The answer is that Yitro was a truth seeker. He had traveled around, trying every type of spiritual path, ultimately rejecting one after another as false. He was honest with himself and committed to the truth. Did others hear about the Exodus? Of course! But only Yitro was open to its message. It was this act of greatness which brought Yitro to become part of the Jewish people - and for that the parsha of the Ten Commandments bears his name!When the Jewish people stood at Sinai, they unconditionally accepted to fulfill all 613 Mitzvot. For those just beginning, 613 sounds like an awful lot ... even overwhelming! Where does one begin to tackle such massive breadth and depth? If only there was one, powerful idea we could grasp. Something that summed up all the rest.Jewish tradition tells us that each and every Jewish soul - past, present and future - stood that day at Mount Sinai. When The Voice tore through all 7 Heavens, the Torah was engraved on the stone tablets ... but was first engraved on the heart of every Jew. The Voice spoke and we heard.In Shema Yisrael, we begin with the word Shema -"Listen." Carefully and calmly, we listen. Just like Yitro listened.