Despite featuring one of the most momentous events in Jewish history, Matan Torah—God’s revelation at Mount Sinai and the giving of the Ten Commandments—this week’s parasha opens not with thunder and fire, but with a seemingly mundane family encounter: a lengthy dialogue between Moses and his father-in-law, Yitro. More striking still, the parasha is named not for the events at Sinai, but for Yitro himself. Why does Yitro merit such prominence in the Torah and in our tradition?

To answer this question, we must look closely at what the Torah tells us about him. Upon hearing of all that God had done for Moses and for Israel, Yitro journeys to the wilderness, bringing with him Zipporah, Moses’ wife, and their two sons, who had remained in Midian. Moses warmly greets them and recounts, in detail, the suffering of the Israelites under Egyptian oppression and their miraculous deliverance. Yitro responds with joy and gratitude, proclaiming that the God of Israel is greater than all other gods. He then joins Aaron and the elders of Israel in a celebratory meal before God.

The Torah then turns to a........

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