Musar su Deuteronomio 33:3

The basis for all this is the verse in Exodus 15,17, "the Sanctuary, O Lord, which Your hands have established." The "hands" of G–d mentioned are an allusion to matters celestial, i.e the ten fingers on the hands symbolize the ten emanations (Sefer Yetzirah 1,5). The ten toes on the feet symbolize a lower level than the ten fingers on the hands. I have explained elsewhere that the allusion to this is found in Deut. 33,3, אף חובב עמים כל קודשיו בידך, והם תוכו לרגלך ישא מדברותיך. "Even if G–d likes other nations, i.e. the pious among them, there is still a difference between G–d's love for those and G–d's love for Israel, since the "holy ones of Israel" are attached to the fingers of Your hands, whereas the pious ones of other nations are only at Your feet, i.e. attached to the toes of Your feet." It is this message that Moses conveyed to his father-in-law in our verse....

The mystical dimension of all this is described in Deut. 33,2: וזרח משעיר למו … כל קדושיו בידך והם תכו ברגלך. When food descends in a beneficial manner and is sacred in nature it is described as: "G–d You open Your hand" (Psalms 145,16). Nowadays we are under the dominion of Edom; Jews residing in countries belonging to the Moslems are also considered as in the exile of Edom, as explained by Nachmanides on Numbers 24,20. Nachmanides questions whence the Edomites have acquired sufficient sanctity to enable them to lord it over Israel. He explains that this stems from the time described in Deut. 33,2, when "G–d shone forth from Se'ir," (the land of Edom). Esau, or rather the שר של עשו, its celestial representative, at that time hosted the שכינה for a very brief time. The Zohar explains this at length in connection with the above verse. The sanctity of Israel is personified by the ten fingers of its hands [symbolizing the ten emanations. Ed.] as anyone who has studied some Kabbalistic texts is aware of. When Deut. 33,3 speaks about אף חובב עמים … הם תכו לרגלך, this is an allusion to the pig stretching out its cleft hooves as explained. Although it is true that only a minute amount of sanctity can be found in ordinary foods (non-sacrifices) of the emanation מלכות, (our physical world), yet G–d recognizes the great distinction in this regard between the Jewish people and the Gentile nations.

This is the reason the name used for Yitro in this connection is חובב, just like the word חובב, in Deut. 33,3, that we just quoted. He hinted to him that by attaching himself to the Jewish people the same benefits that would accrue to them would also accrue to him. The reason Moses had to spell this out was because it had not been promised directly by G–d. His promise had been made only to the Jewish people. When Yitro said "I will not go," he revealed that he had misunderstood Moses, and had believed that the only thing that Moses had referred to was the land of Israel in this material world, not also its counterpart in the celestial, spiritual domains. He had understood that from a legal point of view the land of Israel had been given only to the Jewish people, that proselytes had no share in it. He had understood the words of Moses “והטבנו לך,” as something that Moses and Israel volunteered to do, but something that was not legally binding. To this offer Yitro responded "I will not go," i.e. I do not need to depend on your favors. He said "I have my own country that I can go to, one in which I have legal rights." He implied that if the major attraction of the land of Israel were the מצות which could only be performed on that sacred soil, this did not apply to him at that time, since he was returning to his birthplace, מולדתי, in order to proselytize the other members of his family. This he felt surely rated as an important מצוה at that moment. In this we follow Rashi's commentary on Exodus 18,27, וילך לו אל ארצו.