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Why does the Torah (תורה) repeatedly call Yisro "Kohen Midian" when he was excommunicated from that position sixty years earlier? The shiur explores how the Ten Plagues validated Yisro's monotheistic stance globally, leading to his reinstatement. Each of Yisro's titles represents a different perspective on the Exodus: political (Kohen Midian), familial (Chosein Moshe), and philosophical (Yisro).
The shiur opens with a fundamental question from Parshas Yisro, pasuk 18:1: "Vayishma Yisro kohen Midyan chosein Moshe." Why does the Torah (תורה) describe Yisro with titles we already know—kohen Midyan and chosein Moshe? Rashi (רש"י) explains that "kohen" typically means priest, but "kohen Midyan" and "kohen On" refer to political leaders who serve a place, not a deity. This raises a critical problem: according to Rashi in Parshas Shemos, Yisro was excommunicated (niddu) from being kohen Midyan approximately sixty years earlier, when Moshe first arrived in Midyan as a twenty-year-old refugee. Rabbi Zweig suggests two possibilities: either the Torah refers to a position Yisro held sixty years ago (which seems unlikely for current events), or Yisro was reinstated as kohen Midyan. The shiur develops the second approach: the Aseres HaMakos (Ten Plagues) had a transformative effect not just on Egypt but on the entire region, including Midyan. The world witnessed undeniable miracles proving there is one incorporeal God who controls nature—not idols. This global revelation validated Yisro's monotheistic stance that had gotten him expelled sixty years earlier. Midyan reinstated him as their political leader because he had been right all along.
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Why does the Midrash connect Pharaoh's expulsion of the Jews to the mitzvah of shiluach hakan? The shiur develops a chiddush that Pharaoh's sin wasn't only drowning the children, but the insensitivity of expelling the parents afterward. The deeper analysis reveals that Pharaoh may have valued the Jews greatly and wanted to control them—making his expulsion an act of tremendous cruelty, not liberation.
Why does Moshe respond to the splitting of the sea with shirah rather than praise or thanksgiving? Rashi's use of "al libo" reveals that shirah is an emotional expression—a response of love to love. When Hashem shows personal care, the only adequate response is "I love You too," not mere gratitude or praise, and this principle applies to all relationships.
Shemos 18:1-5
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