Commento su Esodo 18:7

ויצא משה AND MOSES WENT OUT — Great honour, indeed, did Jethro receive at that moment, for as soon as Moses went out to Jethro, Aaron, Nadab and Abihu went out, and who was it that saw these go out and would not himself go out? (Midrash Tanchuma, Vayigash 7)

ויצא משה, Moses did not stand on ceremony, using his position to await the arrival of his father-in-law at home, but he went some distance to meet the man in whose house he had received so many favours. We find that Queen Esther, similarly, did not use her elevation to Royalty as an excuse to no longer defer to Mordechai who had raised her. (Esther 2,20 “Esther continued to carry out Mordechai’s instructions as she had done when she lived under his roof.”) Joseph also did not use his exalted position to look down on his brothers. The Chief of the butlers, who had reason to be grateful to Joseph, is an example of ingratitude, as we know from Genesis 40,23, “he did not remember Joseph, in fact he erased him from his memory.”

ויצא משה לקראת חתנו, Moses went out to meet his father-in-law, etc. Seeing that Yitro had pleaded that Moses welcome either his wife or his sons or both, the Torah is at pains to tell us that Moses considered Yitro as deserving to be welcomed by him in his own right, hence the emphasis on לקראת חתנו. Perhaps Moses even went so far as to demonstrate this point by going only to Yitro's tent at this point, ignoring his wife and children till somewhat later. Mechilta makes the additional point that seeing that Moses prostrated himself in front of Yitro this is proof that he went out in order to honour Yitro. Our sages say that Moses honoured Yitro greatly. If the Torah had not stressed that Moses went to meet his father-in-law, how would I have known that he did not go out in order to welcome his wife and sons specifically?

ויצא משה לקראת חותנו, “Moses went forth to welcome his father-in-law, etc.” He meant to honour his father-in-law, as this is not the way one honours one’s wife.

ויצא משה לקראת חותנו, “Moses went out to meet his father-in-law.” Our sages in Mechilta ask the rhetorical question: “was there anyone who observed that Moses left the camp in order to welcome Yitro and he himself stayed behind? Was there anyone who observed that Aaron left the camp to welcome Yitro and he himself stayed behind?” The wording of the text makes it clear that the entire menfolk went out to welcome Yitro.

Once Moshe went out. . . Rashi is answering the question: How was Yisro being honored by Moshe going out by himself to greet him? [Furthermore,] Moshe was their king and leader. Is it not a disgrace for the king to go out by himself? Thus Rashi explains that once Moshe went out, Aharon assumedly went out too, etc. Rashi says this [as the simple meaning of the verse, although its source is in various Midrashim,] because of logical reasoning. [Moshe must have intended to honor Yisro when he went out to greet him].

V. 7. וישתחו, obgleich inzwischen gottgesandter Herrscher eines Volkes geworden war Mosche doch immer nur Mosche in allen Beziehungen geblieben.

וישתחו, “he prostrated himself;” our author is in two minds about who is the subject in this verse, i.e. who prostrated himself to whom.? It is reasonable to assume that word איש in the verse refers to Moses. After all, Moses had been referred to in Deuteronomy 32,1 as איש האלוהים, “the man of G–d.” On the other hand, the Torah describes Yitro also as איש, already in Exodus 2,21 when it tells us that Moses agreed to take up residence in his father-in-law’s house. Some scholars hold that we must draw comparisons only when the word in question is exactly the same, not when there is a prefix or suffix appended. The word: האיש in Exodus 2,21, therefore does not refer to the same man as the one in Deuteronomy we have quoted. In addition we find that the attribute איש is used for Moses, as directly next to his name either after or in front, (as in Numbers 12,3,) whereas this is not so with Yitro. It is clear that this interpretation is based on the school that holds that R’uel was the father of Yitro. According to that school of thought, Exodus 2,21 stating: “he gave his daughter Tzipporah to Moses as a wife,” is another example of grandfathers being considered as fathers.

וישתחו וישק לו, “he prostrated himself and kissed him;” according to Rashi it is not clear who prostrated himself before whom; if we are to assume that the Torah also referred to Yitro by the honorary title of איש, seeing that we have read in Exodus 2,21: ויאל משה לשבת את האיש, Moses agreed to make his home with the man,” we would have to counter that the Torah refers to Moses as being extremely modest when writing: והאיש משה עניו מאד, “the man known as ‘Moses,’ was very modest and humble, more so than any other איש;” (Numbers 12,3) so that we are faced here with a dilemma; we must therefore assume that the reason that the Torah compliments Moses in Numbers 12,3 by adding these additional words, is to show that he, the king, prostrated himself before his fatherinlaw, and that he was even more modest than Yitro.

וישתחו וישק לו AND HE PROSTRATED HIMSELF AND KISSED HIM — From the wording of this statement I do not know who prostrated himself to whom! But when it states in the next words: איש לרעהו, “a man to his fellow”, it becomes quite evident; for which of the two is called by the appellation איש, “man”? — This was Moses, as it is said, (Numbers 12:3) “And the man, Moses”. (Thus it was the man (איש) Moses, who bowed down to his fellow (Mekhilta d'Rabbi Yishmael 18:7:2).

וישתחו, וישק לו, וישאלו איש לרעהו לשלום, “he bowed low, kissed him, and they enquired after each other’s well being.” Rashi wonders who bowed to whom, and concludes that most likely Moses bowed to Yitro, seeing he is the one who is called איש in our verse. While it is true that in another context Yitro is also called איש by the Torah, (Exodus 2,21) (although the איש in that verse applied to someone called רעואל), that was just another name for Yitro. Some commentators point out that seeing we find the description of Moses as והאיש משה on occasion, this means that the word ה)איש) was applied to Moses as an alternate name, this proves that whereas Moses on occasion was simply called איש, Yitro was never called האיש without further identification, i.e. the prefix ו. Personally, I do not think that we need to look for proof as to who bowed to him, as usually the one who comes out to welcome someone is the one who bows to the visitor.

Who is referred to as איש ? That is Moshe. . . Question: Is not Yisro also referred to as איש , as it says (2:21): “Moshe agreed to reside with the man ( איש )”? It seems [the answer is:] The איש written about Moshe is superfluous. It could have said, “Moshe was very humble,” [instead of saying, “The man Moshe was very humble” (Bamidbar 12:3).] Perforce, it is to show that Moshe is called איש . However, “Moshe agreed to reside with the man” is the same as writing, “Moshe agreed to reside with Re’uel,” [i.e., Yisro]. (Nachalas Yaakov)

וישתחו וישק לו, He prostrated himself and kissed him, etc. Our rabbis in the Mechilta say that it was not clear who prostrated himself before whom and who kissed whom. When the Torah wrote איש in "they asked each other how they were," it became clear that Moses prostrated himself as he qualified for the description איש. The fact that the Torah does not mention that two people prostrated themselves makes it plain that only one of the two prostrated himself before the other. Should you argue that Yitro too has been referred to as איש in Exodus 2,21 where Moses is reported as agreeing to stay with Yitro, there is a subtle difference when Moses is called איש and when Yitro is called איש. Let me first explain the precise nature of the title איש, seeing that every male adult is called איש, if only to distinguish him from his female mate. We even find the term איש applied to animals such as in Genesis 7,2 where the Torah speaks of the pure animals which Noach is to take into the ark with him. The meaning of the word איש undergoes a change when it is used together with the name of the person concerned. In such instances it describes that person as someone of breeding and nobility. We find an example of the word איש or אנשים being used as a complimentary description in Numbers 13,3 where the people whom Moses had selected as spies were described as all being אנשים after we had already been told their names. On the other hand, when the word איש is used in lieu of a name it does not denote exceptional qualities such as Genesis 37,15 the man who found Joseph unable to locate his brothers in Shechem. The same applies in Genesis 24,21 where Eliezer is referred to as האיש. We are told in Bamidbar Rabbah 16, that the use of the word אנשים is complimentary only when the actual names of these people are recorded also. When G'd asked Bileam who the אנשים were who had come to him that night, (Numbers 22,9), clearly no compliment was intended. On the other hand, in Exodus 11,3, when Moses is described as האיש משה גדול מאד the word האיש is clearly highly complimentary. The same is true even of Exodus 32,23 when the mixed multitude refer to the fact that Moses had not returned from the Mountain. These people described Moses as the most perfect human being they had ever encountered. In the case of Yitro we do not find that the word איש is applied to him by the Torah in conjunction with his name, only in lieu of his name. When he is referred to in that context, the word האיש, (i.e. a pronoun) has neither a complimentary nor a derogatary meaning. The word is simply one used to describe a male.

האהלה, “into the tent;” the prefix letter ה before this word shows that this tent was a tent well known as Moses’ tent.

ויבואו האוהלה ויספר, “they entered the tent, and Moses told, etc.” This teaches that one does not carry on these kinds of conversations while en route to a destination.

In our verse it is a toss-up if the word איש is used in lieu of a pronoun or if it is a compliment for someone previously mentioned by name and therefore complimentary. The word is positioned between Yitro (actually חתנו) and Moses so that it is extremely difficult to know its meaning. If we are to assume that it is used as a pronoun for a male, both Moses and Yitro could be the subject referred to. It cannot refer to both Moses and Yitro seeing the Torah described only one of the two persons as prostrating himself. At the same time the Torah does not aim to confuse us but to inform us. I believe there is no choice but to understand that the subject is Moses, that the Torah wishes to point out that in spite of Moses being such a highly placed person he prostrated himself before his father-in-law to show him respect and honour.