Yitro 5774

“You will surely wear yourself out, both you and these people who are with you, for the matter is too heavy for you; you cannot do it alone. Now listen to me. I will advise you and the L-rd will be with you.” (Shemot/Exodus 18:18-19)

Yitro (Jethro), Moshe’s (Moses’) father-in-law, observes that Moshe alone serves as judge and advisor of the Jewish nation. He recognizes that if Moshe continues doing this important and time-consuming job on his own, he will very soon exhaust himself and render himself ineffective as a leader. Yitro thus advises Moshe to delegate his authority, to appoint others to share his heavy burden.

Rabbi Aryeh Leib Lopiansky in Shabbos Delights notes that Talmud (Sanhedrin 17a) states that if a prophet is overworked he will lose his ability to receive prophecy. He writes: “Yitro was warning him [Moshe] that he must reduce his workload or else Hashem [G-d] will not be with him, since Hashem will not communicate with anyone who is not in the proper frame of mind.”

As parents, our important work never ends and is always a tremendous burden. We must be aware of our limitations. If we overextend or over schedule ourselves, we may experience burnout and will not be able to parent effectively.  We should therefore try to find reliable people with whom we can share some of our responsibilities. (Rabbi Zelig Pliskin in Growth Through Torah)