Parshas Yisro - Thoughts on the first Rashi

And Yitro (Jethro) the kohen (a word many of the commentators understood as meaning both "prince" and "priest") of Midian, the father-in-law of Moses, heard of all that G-d did for Moses and His people Israel; that G-d had taken Israel out of Egypt" 
(Exodus 18:1).

Rashi, begins with the question:
And Yitro (Jethro) heard; "Of what did he hear that he came? Of the splitting of the Red Sea and the war against Amalek."

When you consider the literal translation in terms of "all that G-d did to Moses and to Israel, His people - that G-d took Israel out of Egypt" one is left wondering exactly what did he hear about?   After all, it had been one of the most, if not the most miraculous periods in the Torah thus far, so what exactly did he hear about?    The miraculous birth rate of the Jewish people?    The 10 plagues?    The pillar of clouds by day and fire by night that guided them during the exodus?  The "manna" that provided sustenance?   The splitting of the Red Sea perhaps?    That's where Rashi comes in. Rashi answers that actually Yitro (Jethro) was particularly moved by the splitting of the sea and Israel's triumph over Amalek.

His source is the Talmud (Zevachim 116a), where the same question--"Of what did he hear that he came?"--is posed; there, however, three different answers are offered by three different sages: "Rabbi Joshua says, he heard of the war with Amalek... Rabbi Eliezer HaModa'i says, he heard of the giving of the Torah... Rabbi Elazar says, he heard of the splitting of the Red Sea."

Rashi's selective quoting of the Talmud, in which he leaves out Rabbi Eliezer HaModa'i's opinion and combines the opinions of Rabbi Joshua and Rabbi Elazar, implies two things: (a) Rashi is of the opinion that Yitro (Jethro) joined the children of Israel before the revelation at Sinai; (b) Rashi sees both the splitting of the Red Sea and the victory over Amalek as crucial to explaining Jethro's coming to the desert.    What was it that he heard that made him up and trek off in search of the Jewish people?

I think that the answer lies in an alternate interpretation of the word Shema.

The word shema is most often translated as meaning "Hear" - we understand the word in this context when it appears at the beginning of the prayer with the same name. But shema can also be translated as meaning to understand or to recognize.   

Maybe what we should understand from this seemingly minor verse is that sure, Yitro heard about many things related to the exodus from Egypt, as did much of the world. But he also understood that something very important was taking place. Yitro recognized that Hashem had liberated a seemingly insignificant band of travelers from slavery, He had split the sea and saved them, and then He had caused them to triumph over an organized army as powerful as Amalek. Hearing all this, he had to journey to meet this people, to find out what made them so special and ultimately to join with them.

Perhaps the lesson for us in our days is that if we try to not just hear what others in our lives have to say but to also understand what they are saying (their point of view, their frame of reference), it can help us to be better Jews, better people, friends, family members, and better role models for our children to follow.

Guest posting by
Marc E. Turansky
Executive Director
Head of Discretionary and Non-Discretionary Advisory Programs
JPMorgan Securities