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Why does the Torah (תורה) call Moshe's father-in-law "Yisro" before his conversion, when that was his post-conversion name? The shiur argues that witnessing Moshe's meticulous honesty as a shepherd planted the first seeds of Yisro's journey to Judaism. Jewish integrity—not just miracles—can inspire genuine appreciation and teshuvah.
Rabbi Zweig opens with Rashi (רש"י)'s observation that Yisro had seven names, and that "Yisro" was the name he received after converting to Judaism. This creates a textual difficulty: the Torah (תורה) refers to him as "Yisro" in contexts that chronologically precede his conversion, such as when Moshe was shepherding his flock ("U'Moshe haya ro'eh es tzon Yisro chosno"). Earlier in the narrative, he is called by other names—Reuel when his daughters marry Moshe, and Yeser when Moshe returns to Egypt. Why would the Torah use his post-conversion name in pre-conversion contexts? Rabbi Zweig proposes that the use of the name "Yisro" in these earlier passages signals that what Moshe's father-in-law witnessed during those periods became part of the foundation for his eventual conversion. The parsha itself—"Vayishma Yisro"—lists the stories that brought Yisro to convert: the splitting of the sea, the war with Amalek, and other miracles. But the Torah's retroactive use of "Yisro" suggests that the process began even earlier.
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Parshas Yisro (Shemos 18:1)
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