An entire parshah in the Torah is named in honor of Yisro, Moshe’s father-in-law, for his major contribution to the Jewish people in suggesting that a judicial system be organized and adopted for the nacsent nation.

One wonders why Moshe, the Master Prophet, seemingly did not possess the foresight to do this on his own. Why did Yisro have to come along with this suggestion?

Yisro, who held a high position in Pharaoh’s inner court, possessed the administrative skills of achieving judicial expediency. In order to be objective, balanced, and efficient, justice, he believed, needed to be systematic.

Moshe however, had his concerns with such a system. He did not want any systemized justice system interfering with individuality. After all, Moshe had just led the Jewish people out of an all embracing System in Egypt which demonized and dehumanized them. Instituting a system, he feared, would sacrifice the tzelem Elokim of each person on the altar of efficiency.

Nonetheless, Yisro’s suggestion had merit. "Moshe listened to the voice of his father-in-law"—he understood Yisro’s intention and wrestled with the idea of how to establish a Divinely inspired judicial process without compromising the value of the individual. Moshe struggled to incorporate individualism into a system.

If one carefully studies the dialogue between Yisro and Moshe, it becomes evident that Yisro is sensitive to Moshe’s concerns. A depersonalized system would not be appropriate. "And you shall make known to them the path that on which they should walk and the actions that they should do," Yisro tells his son-in-law.

The hamtakas hadin, the "sweetness of judgement," needed to be incorporated into the judicial process. Only then would the nation "come in peace."

What do we learn from Parshas Yisro?

Systems are essential to expedite certain matters and resolve certain conflicts. And Jews must certainly learn to adapt to the social systems in which they find themselves.

Nonetheless, Jews must maintain their Divinely inspired individual spirit, the spirit that bids them to hearken to G-d’s commands, to the sweetness of His judgement.

We must develop our spirituality and loyalty to mitzvos, maintain compassion for others, meet our responsibilities to our communities and to the nation of Israel.

Though the mind-set of rugged capitalism and aggressive competition, which defines our time, leads to self-centeredness and even outright selfishness, the Jew must circumvent this social system and be free of it by entering the spiritual oasis of Torah life.

The challenge we face in our open society is spiritually similar to that our forebears faced in the wilderness. Though our physical situation has radically changed, many of us remain chained, enslaved to the mind-set and culture of our times.

At the same time, an ever growing number of our people are developing a free spirit, hearkening to the call of "Shema Yisrael" and willingly and enthusiastically abiding by His bidding.

Rabbi Mordechai Green

Rabbi Green is rabbi of Adas Israel Congregation, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.