The beginning of our Parasha deals with Yitro who was not just Moshe’s father-in-l

aw but he had been the top priest of avodah zarah in Midyan. Yitro decided to we
an himself away from avodah zarah, become closer to G-d and join Bnei Yisroel.
Why does the Torah still call him “cohen midyan” when he is clearly moving away from
that part of his life? The reason for this is to show that everyone, even the g
reatest priest, was impressed with Hashem’s greatness and what He has done for Bne
i Yisroel.
The first word of our Parasha is “Vayishma”, he (Yitro) heard. What did he hear? He
heard about the greatness of God. Yitro not only heard but understood the great
ness of Hashem as well. Shema does not just mean to hear but to understand. As
a result of this understanding, Yitro does not remain idle but he picks himself
and his family up and runs towards the Jews to admire Hashem’s work “up close”.
While so many from other nations were amazed at what Hashem accomplished Bnei Yi
srael themselves seemed to complain about a lot of things. Why is this so?
The answer, based loosely on a piece in Sichot Mussar, is that the Jews thought
they deserved all that was given to them and they didn’t need to work for it. When
things come too easily, without a real effort people become complacent and feel
that they deserve everything they get.
The other nations could see what a great privilege it was but Bnei Yisrael who w
ere receiving all these miracles could not appreciate the greatness because they
felt as if they deserved it. Yitro and others were excited about Hashem’s greatne
ss and came running to join.
The greater effort we put into things the more appreciation we have for their re
sults.
Yael Rosenrauch (Tiferet 5771)