The aperture through which the Torah chooses to present us with the experience of the Israelites in the desert at this moment is through the eyes of an outsider, offering us Yitro’s perspective. Through Yitro’s eyes we learn of the great jubilation shown by the Israelites to the miracles that they experienced. He marvels at Moshe’s description of the events that occurred even as the nation is in a state of euphoria. But aside from the euphoria, Yitro also has the opportunity to observe something else taking place – Moshe’s day-to-day activities, as he sits in judgment of the people and as he responds to their various needs.
The Torah relates: “It came about the next day that Moshe sat to judge the people.” Ibn Ezra explains: “The day after Yitro arrived, Moshe sat, as he usually did!”
Rashi, following the Sifrei, interprets the words “It came about the next day” differently than ibn Ezra. He understands that this refers to the day after Moshe returned from Mount Sinai on Yom Kippur, holding the tablets that he had received. According to this approach, Yitro arrives only after the Israelites had received the Torah, even though this pulls the chapter out of place and forces us to accept that the Torah is not written in chronological order. Clearly, this approach must have a solid basis, and Rashi makes the argument that “how could Moshe have told Yitro: ‘I make known the laws and teachings of God’ (verse 16) prior to receiving the Torah?” In fact, when Moshe explains to Yitro what he does every day and why he must sit from morning until evening, he says: “It is because the people come to me to inquire of God. When they have a dispute, it comes before me, and I decide between one person and another, and I make known the laws and teachings of God.” This statement makes it sound as if Moshe had already received Godly laws and teachings, which is why Rashi and the Sifrei suggest that the Yitro episode – including his suggestion to establish additional judges together with chiefs over tens and hundreds and thousands – took place after the people received the Torah.
Thus, we have two alternative readings of the words “it came to pass the next day.” According to the first approach, the words inform us that Moshe returned to his usual activities immediately, the day after Yitro’s arrival, and did not miss a single opportunity to teach Torah to the people; even Yitro’s arrival did not change his daily schedule. On that day, Moshe behaved as he did on every other day, and it is noted by the Torah in order to indicate that this was the first opportunity that Yitro had to witness the normal events of the day. This is simply the second chapter in Yitro’s visit, which is described by the Torah one scene at a time. This story happened “the next day.”
According to the second approach, the words “it came to pass the next day” do not merely denote a moment in time, rather those words contain the central part of the drama. What does Moshe do the day after he come down from Mount Sinai, holding the word of God inscribed on the Tablets of the Law? He sits down to judge the people, from morning until evening. The awesomeness of Mount Sinai must be translated into action – it needs to be studied and interpreted so that God’s Torah has practical implications. Human interaction – quarrels and disputes – do not come to an end simply because Moshe brought the Torah to the people. They still need someone to mediate between them, just as they do every day.
According to the first approach, the daily schedule continues, even though there may be reasons to deviate from it. According to the second approach, the daily schedule is brand new and is the result of having received the Torah. In either case, it is the words “it came to pass the next day” that appear instead of the straightforward “the next day” which make the reader sensitive to the fact that something unexpected is taking place, and it is incumbent upon them to ascertain what that might be.
These two perspectives also obligate us to consider the meaning of the “laws” that Moshe says he is teaching. The second approach insisted that the appearance of “laws” must mean that this story takes place after the Torah is given – even though it is difficult to work this into the simple reading of the Torah – since Moshe had no “laws” to teach before he received the Torah.
What, then, did Moshe teach prior to receiving the Torah? How does the first approach explain this difficulty?
Rabbi Shimon ben Halafta said:
There was once an ant that knocked over a kernel of wheat
And the others all came and sniffed at it
But not a single one took it for themselves
The one who it belonged to then came and took it.
See the wisdom in this and all the praise that it deserves
For they had no one to learn from and no judge and no one to enforce the law.
(Devarim Rabbah, Shofetim)
This midrash on Parashat Shofetim describes in a precise manner the fact that justice is part of nature. This idea, as expressed by the first approach, suggests that concepts of law are part of the natural world, so that justice can be carried out even in the absence of the laws of the revealed Torah. That is the Torah that Moshe brought to the world even before he received the Torah at Sinai.
According to this approach, we have two stories that follow one-another in development. In the first, Moshe is presented as a teacher whose lessons are based on a system of natural, humanistic values. In the midst of this, Yitro, the outsider, suggests reforms to improve efficiency. Only after the story is told of the natural system do we arrive at the story of Mount Sinai, and a second layer is built on the foundation of natural morality and human justice.