בס "ד

The weekly Torah portion of Yitro focuses on the most formative event in human history: the Giving of the Torah at Mount Sinai. It was here that the Seven Noahide Commandments—originally given to Adam and Noah—were reaffirmed and integrated into the eternal Divine covenant through Moses. Surprisingly, the portion is not named “The Giving of the Torah.” Instead, it is named after a man: Yitro (Jethro), who held the title “Priest of Midian.” Why does the Torah not name the portion after this transformational event, rather, after Jethro?


The Zohar reveals that the Torah could not be given to the world until Yitro arrived and acknowledged the Almighty. It was only after Yitro proclaimed, “Now I know that the L-rd is greater than all the gods,” that a spiritual elevation occurred across all worlds, allowing the connection between Heaven and Earth at Mount Sinai.

To understand the connection to the First Noahide Commandment—the Prohibition of Idolatry—we must look at the character of Yitro. He was not just an ordinary truth seeker; our Sages explain that he was an expert in every form of idolatry in existence. Yitro represented the “peak of darkness”—the essence of a world where man worships impure and evil forces instead of the Infinite Creator.


For a Noahide, the prohibition of idolatry is not merely about “not bowing to statues.” Its inner essence is the recognition of the absolute truth of the Creator and the nullification of any other power before Him. It’s about a new Divine consciousness. When the very individual who was most deeply immersed in the world of idolatry abandoned everything to declare G-d’s unity, he achieved the ultimate rectification: “The advantage of light that comes out of the darkness.”


Before Sinai, holiness and the physical world were separate. At Sinai, humanity was given the power to take a physical, and sometimes dark world and transform it into a “dwelling place” for G-d. Yitro proved that even from an idolatrous place, one can raise himself and become a vessel for faith in One G-d. Yitro was not born into faith; he examined every other path and chose the Divine Truth through his own free will. This is the ultimate goal for every human being—to recognize the Creator.


The Prohibition of Idolatry is the foundation for all Seven Noahide Laws. When a Noahide accepts the Sovereignty of Heaven and abandons all forms of idolatry—including modern manifestations like the worship of money, power, or the ego—they are walking in the footsteps of the ultimate truth-seeker, Yitro.

By acknowledging that there is “none besides Him,” we prepare the world for a time when Divine Truth will be apparent to all.

Par le rabbin Moshe Bernstein


Source: Likutei Sichos Vol. 11 page 47. Zohar Parshat Jethro.





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