#jethro — Public Fediverse posts

According to the Midrash of our Sages, Jethro, who is honoured to have this Sabbath's Parshah named after him, discovered God on his own, through a method of trial and error.

Scripture reports him declaring: "Now I know that the Lord is is greater than all other gods, for the very thing with which they had contrived, turned up over them."

In order to be able to make such a statement in credibility, he had to try first to worship all other gods in the world, and find them lacking.

This brings to mind the way through which our ancestor, Abraham, discovered God. According to the Midrash, he saw the sun rise in the east and reign supreme among the hosts of heaven during the day, so he worshipped the sun. When the sun disappeared at sunset, he realized his error, and seeing the moon rise and reign supreme among the other hosts of the night skies, he worshipped the moon.

When Abraham saw the moon vanish at dawn, he said to himself: "Can such a magnificent palace [meaning the universe] be without a leader?" God then revealed Himself unto him and said: "I am the leader of the palace."

I asked today at the Shabbat table, why God didn't appear in a similar manner to Jethro at the beginning of his spiritual journey, allowing him to blunder through the worship of countless, useless idols.

Answer 1: Jethro should have learned from Abraham's experience. There is no need for every person to go presonally through the experience of searching for the true God, if he has such good precedents.

Answer 2: When Abraham realized his second mistake, he didn't choose a 3rd false option, but stopped his search, in perplexity. This is the key to true revelation. Jethro, on the other hand, kept trying blindly every available option.

I think the difference between Abraham and Jethro goes deeper. Abraham was motivated by the need to serve a Higher power. He sought for the most supreme power in order to worship it. That was why, when he realized that he lacks the means by which to find the true answer, he didn't try any available option. He sought the ultimate truth.

Jethro, on the other hand, sought a deity whom he could gain benefit from. A deity powerful enough to help him in return to his service. That was why he tried any available idol, and only despaired of each when he made sure it was utterly powerless. He didn't care if his idol was worthy of his worship or not--all he wanted was a relationship that worked.

Of course, since he was sincere in his search, he eventually found the true God. He is lauded as Moses' father-in-law, and his partnership with the People of Israel is honorably recorded at length in Scripture, including Balaam's prophecy about his descendants surviving until the end of days.

Shavua Tov, and thanks for reading this! Your thougths and comments are welcome, and of course please boost this if you liked.

#Parsha #Parshah #Abraham #Jethro

According to the Midrash of our Sages, Jethro, who is honoured to have this Sabbath's Parshah named after him, discovered God on his own, through a method of trial and error.

Scripture reports him declaring: "Now I know that the Lord is is greater than all other gods, for the very thing with which they had contrived, turned up over them."

In order to be able to make such a statement in credibility, he had to try first to worship all other gods in the world, and find them lacking.

This brings to mind the way through which our ancestor, Abraham, discovered God. According to the Midrash, he saw the sun rise in the east and reign supreme among the hosts of heaven during the day, so he worshipped the sun. When the sun disappeared at sunset, he realized his error, and seeing the moon rise and reign supreme among the other hosts of the night skies, he worshipped the moon.

When Abraham saw the moon vanish at dawn, he said to himself: "Can such a magnificent palace [meaning the universe] be without a leader?" God then revealed Himself unto him and said: "I am the leader of the palace."

I asked today at the Shabbat table, why God didn't appear in a similar manner to Jethro at the beginning of his spiritual journey, allowing him to blunder through the worship of countless, useless idols.

Answer 1: Jethro should have learned from Abraham's experience. There is no need for every person to go presonally through the experience of searching for the true God, if he has such good precedents.

Answer 2: When Abraham realized his second mistake, he didn't choose a 3rd false option, but stopped his search, in perplexity. This is the key to true revelation. Jethro, on the other hand, kept trying blindly every available option.

I think the difference between Abraham and Jethro goes deeper. Abraham was motivated by the need to serve a Higher power. He sought for the most supreme power in order to worship it. That was why, when he realized that he lacks the means by which to find the true answer, he didn't try any available option. He sought the ultimate truth.

Jethro, on the other hand, sought a deity whom he could gain benefit from. A deity powerful enough to help him in return to his service. That was why he tried any available idol, and only despaired of each when he made sure it was utterly powerless. He didn't care if his idol was worthy of his worship or not--all he wanted was a relationship that worked.

Of course, since he was sincere in his search, he eventually found the true God. He is lauded as Moses' father-in-law, and his partnership with the People of Israel is honorably recorded at length in Scripture, including Balaam's prophecy about his descendants surviving until the end of days.

Shavua Tov, and thanks for reading this! Your thougths and comments are welcome, and of course please boost this if you liked.

#Parsha #Parshah #Abraham #Jethro

According to the Midrash of our Sages, Jethro, who is honoured to have this Sabbath's Parshah named after him, discovered God on his own, through a method of trial and error.

Scripture reports him declaring: "Now I know that the Lord is is greater than all other gods, for the very thing with which they had contrived, turned up over them."

In order to be able to make such a statement in credibility, he had to try first to worship all other gods in the world, and find them lacking.

This brings to mind the way through which our ancestor, Abraham, discovered God. According to the Midrash, he saw the sun rise in the east and reign supreme among the hosts of heaven during the day, so he worshipped the sun. When the sun disappeared at sunset, he realized his error, and seeing the moon rise and reign supreme among the other hosts of the night skies, he worshipped the moon.

When Abraham saw the moon vanish at dawn, he said to himself: "Can such a magnificent palace [meaning the universe] be without a leader?" God then revealed Himself unto him and said: "I am the leader of the palace."

I asked today at the Shabbat table, why God didn't appear in a similar manner to Jethro at the beginning of his spiritual journey, allowing him to blunder through the worship of countless, useless idols.

Answer 1: Jethro should have learned from Abraham's experience. There is no need for every person to go presonally through the experience of searching for the true God, if he has such good precedents.

Answer 2: When Abraham realized his second mistake, he didn't choose a 3rd false option, but stopped his search, in perplexity. This is the key to true revelation. Jethro, on the other hand, kept trying blindly every available option.

I think the difference between Abraham and Jethro goes deeper. Abraham was motivated by the need to serve a Higher power. He sought for the most supreme power in order to worship it. That was why, when he realized that he lacks the means by which to find the true answer, he didn't try any available option. He sought the ultimate truth.

Jethro, on the other hand, sought a deity whom he could gain benefit from. A deity powerful enough to help him in return to his service. That was why he tried any available idol, and only despaired of each when he made sure it was utterly powerless. He didn't care if his idol was worthy of his worship or not--all he wanted was a relationship that worked.

Of course, since he was sincere in his search, he eventually found the true God. He is lauded as Moses' father-in-law, and his partnership with the People of Israel is honorably recorded at length in Scripture, including Balaam's prophecy about his descendants surviving until the end of days.

Shavua Tov, and thanks for reading this! Your thougths and comments are welcome, and of course please boost this if you liked.

#Parsha #Parshah #Abraham #Jethro

According to the Midrash of our Sages, Jethro, who is honoured to have this Sabbath's Parshah named after him, discovered God on his own, through a method of trial and error.

Scripture reports him declaring: "Now I know that the Lord is is greater than all other gods, for the very thing with which they had contrived, turned up over them."

In order to be able to make such a statement in credibility, he had to try first to worship all other gods in the world, and find them lacking.

This brings to mind the way through which our ancestor, Abraham, discovered God. According to the Midrash, he saw the sun rise in the east and reign supreme among the hosts of heaven during the day, so he worshipped the sun. When the sun disappeared at sunset, he realized his error, and seeing the moon rise and reign supreme among the other hosts of the night skies, he worshipped the moon.

When Abraham saw the moon vanish at dawn, he said to himself: "Can such a magnificent palace [meaning the universe] be without a leader?" God then revealed Himself unto him and said: "I am the leader of the palace."

I asked today at the Shabbat table, why God didn't appear in a similar manner to Jethro at the beginning of his spiritual journey, allowing him to blunder through the worship of countless, useless idols.

Answer 1: Jethro should have learned from Abraham's experience. There is no need for every person to go presonally through the experience of searching for the true God, if he has such good precedents.

Answer 2: When Abraham realized his second mistake, he didn't choose a 3rd false option, but stopped his search, in perplexity. This is the key to true revelation. Jethro, on the other hand, kept trying blindly every available option.

I think the difference between Abraham and Jethro goes deeper. Abraham was motivated by the need to serve a Higher power. He sought for the most supreme power in order to worship it. That was why, when he realized that he lacks the means by which to find the true answer, he didn't try any available option. He sought the ultimate truth.

Jethro, on the other hand, sought a deity whom he could gain benefit from. A deity powerful enough to help him in return to his service. That was why he tried any available idol, and only despaired of each when he made sure it was utterly powerless. He didn't care if his idol was worthy of his worship or not--all he wanted was a relationship that worked.

Of course, since he was sincere in his search, he eventually found the true God. He is lauded as Moses' father-in-law, and his partnership with the People of Israel is honorably recorded at length in Scripture, including Balaam's prophecy about his descendants surviving until the end of days.

Shavua Tov, and thanks for reading this! Your thougths and comments are welcome, and of course please boost this if you liked.

#Parsha #Parshah #Abraham #Jethro

According to the Midrash of our Sages, Jethro, who is honoured to have this Sabbath's Parshah named after him, discovered God on his own, through a method of trial and error.

Scripture reports him declaring: "Now I know that the Lord is is greater than all other gods, for the very thing with which they had contrived, turned up over them."

In order to be able to make such a statement in credibility, he had to try first to worship all other gods in the world, and find them lacking.

This brings to mind the way through which our ancestor, Abraham, discovered God. According to the Midrash, he saw the sun rise in the east and reign supreme among the hosts of heaven during the day, so he worshipped the sun. When the sun disappeared at sunset, he realized his error, and seeing the moon rise and reign supreme among the other hosts of the night skies, he worshipped the moon.

When Abraham saw the moon vanish at dawn, he said to himself: "Can such a magnificent palace [meaning the universe] be without a leader?" God then revealed Himself unto him and said: "I am the leader of the palace."

I asked today at the Shabbat table, why God didn't appear in a similar manner to Jethro at the beginning of his spiritual journey, allowing him to blunder through the worship of countless, useless idols.

Answer 1: Jethro should have learned from Abraham's experience. There is no need for every person to go presonally through the experience of searching for the true God, if he has such good precedents.

Answer 2: When Abraham realized his second mistake, he didn't choose a 3rd false option, but stopped his search, in perplexity. This is the key to true revelation. Jethro, on the other hand, kept trying blindly every available option.

I think the difference between Abraham and Jethro goes deeper. Abraham was motivated by the need to serve a Higher power. He sought for the most supreme power in order to worship it. That was why, when he realized that he lacks the means by which to find the true answer, he didn't try any available option. He sought the ultimate truth.

Jethro, on the other hand, sought a deity whom he could gain benefit from. A deity powerful enough to help him in return to his service. That was why he tried any available idol, and only despaired of each when he made sure it was utterly powerless. He didn't care if his idol was worthy of his worship or not--all he wanted was a relationship that worked.

Of course, since he was sincere in his search, he eventually found the true God. He is lauded as Moses' father-in-law, and his partnership with the People of Israel is honorably recorded at length in Scripture, including Balaam's prophecy about his descendants surviving until the end of days.

Shavua Tov, and thanks for reading this! Your thougths and comments are welcome, and of course please boost this if you liked.

#Parsha #Parshah #Abraham #Jethro