This week, the Torah offers us the gift of Revelation in the most powerful of ways. Parshat Yitro brings us to the foot of Mount Sinai, where the Israelites, having spiritually prepared themselves, are ready to receive the Aseret haDibrot—the Ten Commandments. With incredible pyrotechnics, the sounds of the shofar, and the grandeur of the mountain, the scene itself reflects the magnitude of receiving Torah. It’s a powerful moment. Everything the Israelites have been through has led to this point. They were released from slavery in order to serve God rather than Pharaoh, and now, they receive the building blocks of that purpose.
But I’ve realized this isn’t the only moment of Revelation in this week’s parsha. At the beginning of the reading, we learn of an important encounter between Moshe and his father-in-law, Yitro. Yitro observes how Moshe functions as a leader and offers him critical feedback. While Moshe had been personally addressing every complaint and question from the Israelites, Yitro encourages him to build a team—appointing others to judge most cases and bringing only the most significant ones to Moshe. He reminds Moshe that he can’t do it all alone and teaches him something essential about his role in relation to the people.
After this encounter, we next find ourselves at Sinai, ready for the big moment. I can’t help but wonder if there’s a connection between this first moment—Moshe’s personal learning from Yitro—and the communal moment of Revelation at Sinai. Because what Moshe learned from Yitro wasn’t just about leadership strategy; he also learned about himself. He gained a deeper understanding of who he was as a leader and his place within the larger community of Israel. The Torah teaches us that this personal learning was also a Revelation, that Moshe’s newfound self-awareness was itself Torah.
Perhaps the larger moment of Revelation—the one Moshe facilitated for the entire nation—was only possible because of the first one, the personal one. Maybe Moshe’s clearer sense of his own role allowed him to bring something greater to the people as a whole. Only then was he ready to stand before God and transmit God’s words to the people. This reminds us that Revelation happens all the time—on the grandest scale and in the most personal ways. Individual moments of learning, like Moshe’s—those that reveal deep truths about who we are, how we function, and who we can become—are also moments of personal Revelation.
And just like Moshe, our personal Revelations don’t happen in isolation. They shape how we show up in the world, how we engage with others, and how we live out our purpose. Moshe’s ability to receive Yitro’s wisdom—his willingness to learn, to shift, to grow—prepared him to stand at Sinai and help facilitate Revelation for an entire people.
So too, our own moments of insight, self-discovery, and clarity are not just for us alone. They ripple outward, influencing the ways we lead, the ways we love, and the ways we bring Torah into our lives and the lives of those around us. Revelation is not a one-time event—it is a continuous unfolding, a process of coming to understand ourselves, our responsibilities, and our connection to the Divine. May we be open to the Revelations that find us—both the ones that shake mountains and the ones that whisper quietly within. And may each of these moments bring us closer to who we are meant to be.
