Parshat Yisro
Rabbi Avrohom Gordimer

Parshas Yisro consists of two distinct sections: 1) Yisro's visit (including his advice about refining the court system); 2) the Revelation at Sinai. Why are these two themes placed together into one parshah?

It is a well-established principle that the Sinaitic Revelation was a conversion en masse of the Jewish People. (See Rashi from Talmud on Shmos 24:6.) The Israelite nation was heretofore Jewish in terms of its tribal heritage, and this is why Jewish identity was carried through patrilineal descent, similar to the Torah's system for all other nations and classes. At Sinai, Bnei Yisroel were infused with kedushas Yisroel, Jewish holiness, and their religious status was henceforth redefined in light of this kedushah, which is carried through matrilineal descent.

The conversion at Sinai is thus juxtapositioned against Yisro's arrival. Yisro - the first convert (ger) to Judaism from without - came to the Jewish camp to join the nation and enter into its covenant with God. His conversion experience is identical to the conversion at the Revelation in this regard, and this is why Yisro's arrival and the Revelation are joined in the parshah.

It is noteworthy that the mitzvah of establishing battei din (courts) was addressed by Yisro. On a deeper note, a beis din reflects the presence of Hashem, as is borne out in Parshas Mishpatim. Standing before a beis din is akin to standing before God, as the beis din is endowed with the power to put forth the dvar Hashem (Word of God), which is Torah. Conversion to Judaism is the boldest embodiment of standing before God, as it is referred to in terms of "entering under the wings of the Shechinah". This is precisely why the mitzvah of proliferating battei din was espoused by Yisro, as his entire experience was one of entering into God's presence, which battei din concretize.

There is also a requirement that conversion be presided over by a beis din. It may be that this is due to the fact the ger is entering into God's presence, and the beis din represents this state. Thus, the requirement at gerus (conversion) for a beis din is not just to authorize the proceedings; rather, it is to provide a symbol of the Shechinah, before which the ger now stands and Whose presence he enters. This is the common theme in Yisro.

May we merit to always stand in Hashem's presence and bask in his glory.

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