Seeking G-d

בס"ד

When Yisro joins the camp of the Israelites he is struck by an imbalance. The Jews, ever thirsting for the knowledge of G-d, seek Moshe out to learn from him. Yet, there is only one Moshe, and so, the people stand and wait "…from morning until night" [Shmos 18:14]. Seeing this, Yisro casts about for a solution and comes up with a new system of judges that would enable a much more efficient distribution. He proposes four tiers of judges, each circuit only referring to the next one up as necessary, to achieve clarity. One of the drawbacks of the judicial system proposed by Yisro is that now, the Jews have less direct connection with Moshe and would only take their case before him if it was sufficiently complex to warrant it.

Perhaps this was why Moshe had not come up with the idea first and why this idea is directly juxtaposed with the awesome revelation at Har Sinai; because accessibility is only one facet of seeking Hashem. While it is important for us to have access to Torah and teachers who are available to us, there is an incomparable value in connecting to as direct a source as possible. It could also be seen as one of the messages of the mitzvah of Hakheil.

In light of this double edged lesson of the parasha, let us endeavor to assimilate both facets of it. Lets make efforts to seek out G-d's word from at the level that we find ourselves at and at an availability that is doable. But, let us not end there. Set our sights high and realize that there is an entire chain, stretching back to Har Sinai itself, of scholars and righteous souls that can guide us in our quest of closeness to G-d.

Hatzlacha !