In the first line of this weeks Torah portion we understand that Yisro, Moshe’s (non-Jewish) father-in-law ‘heard’ about the splitting of the Yam suf (Reed Sea) and the war between the Jews and Amalek and then wanted to become Jewish! An obvious question is asked on this. We are told that the whole world had heard about everything that had happened to the Jews, so what’s so special about Yisro – and why was he the only one who came to convert?
The answer lies in Yisro himself. The sages explain that Yisro spent his whole life looking for the right path to follow, he was a priest in Midian and he experienced every type of Avoda Zora (idol worship) in order to discover the ‘true way’…and we are then told that he heard what happened to the Jews, and he knew that this is the truth.
But what about everyone else?
We see that if someone is searching for the truth, and he eventually hears something fitting that description, he will take it in and consider it.
Whereas if someone is content with their lives of comfort, and they not seeking real pleasure and real knowledge (ie. the truthful path – TORAH) then regardless of what they hear, they will not take anything in for consideration.
Yisro was searching for the truth and when he heard what HaShem did for the Jewish people, he contemplated it and then went to follow the path he decided was best for him and his future generations.
