Weekly Torah Portion Resources:
Aish HaTorah | United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism | Union for Reform Judaism | Jewish Reconstructionist Federation

Summary:
Yitro (Exodus 18:1-20:23) - (Jethro)
Haftorah: Isaiah 6:1-7:6; 9:5-6 (Ashkenazi); Isaiah 6:1-13 (Sephardi)

Text:
Torah - Exodus 18:1-20:23
CHAPTER 18
1 Now Jethro, the priest of Midian, Moses' father-in-law, heard of all that God had done for Moses, and for Israel His people, how that the LORD had brought Israel out of Egypt. 2 And Jethro, Moses' father-in-law, took Zipporah, Moses' wife, after he had sent her away, 3 and her two sons; of whom the name of the one was Gershom; for he said: 'I have been a stranger in a strange land'; 4 and the name of the other was Eliezer: 'for the God of my father was my help, and delivered me from the sword of Pharaoh.' 5 And Jethro, Moses' father-in-law, came with his sons and his wife unto Moses into the wilderness where he was encamped, at the mount of God; 6 and he said unto Moses: 'I your father-in-law Jethro am coming unto you, and your wife, and her two sons with her.' 7 And Moses went out to meet his father-in-law, and bowed down and kissed him; and they asked each other of their welfare; and they came into the tent. 8 And Moses told his father-in-law all that the LORD had done unto Pharaoh and to the Egyptians for Israel's sake, all the travail that had come upon them by the way, and how the LORD delivered them. 9 And Jethro rejoiced for all the goodness which the LORD had done to Israel, in that He had delivered them out of the hand of the Egyptians. 10 And Jethro said: 'Blessed be the LORD, who has delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians, and out of the hand of Pharaoh; who has delivered the people from under the hand of the Egyptians. 11 Now I know that the LORD is greater than all gods; yea, for that they dealt proudly against them.' 12 And Jethro, Moses' father-in-law, took a burnt-offering and sacrifices for God; and Aaron came, and all the elders of Israel, to eat bread with Moses' father-in-law before God. 13 And it came to pass on the next day, that Moses sat to judge the people; and the people stood about Moses from the morning unto the evening. 14 And when Moses' father-in-law saw all that he did to the people, he said: 'What is this thing that you do to the people? why do you sit alone, and all the people stand about you from morning unto evening?' 15 And Moses said unto his father-in-law: 'Because the people come unto me to inquire of God; 16 when they have a matter, it comes unto me; and I judge between a man and his neighbor, and I make them know the statutes of God, and His laws.' 17 And Moses' father-in-law said unto him: 'The thing that you do is not good. 18 You will surely wear away, both you, and this people that is with you; for the thing is too heavy for you; you are not able to perform it yourself alone. 19 Hearken now unto my voice, I will give you counsel, and God be with you: be you for the people before God, and bring you the causes unto God. 20 And you shall teach them the statutes and the laws, and shall show them the way wherein they must walk, and the work that they must do. 21 Moreover you shall provide out of all the people able men, such as fear God, men of truth, hating unjust gain; and place such over them, to be rulers of thousands, rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens. 22 And let them judge the people at all seasons; and it shall be, that every great matter they shall bring unto you, but every small matter they shall judge themselves; so shall they make it easier for you and bear the burden with you. 23 If you shall do this thing, and God command you so, then you shall be able to endure, and all this people also shall go to their place in peace.' 24 So Moses hearkened to the voice of his father-in-law, and did all that he had said. 25 And Moses chose able men out of all Israel, and made them heads over the people, rulers of thousands, rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens. 26 And they judged the people at all seasons: the hard causes they brought unto Moses, but every small matter they judged themselves. 27 And Moses let his father-in-law depart; and he went his way into his own land.

CHAPTER 19
1 In the third month after the children of Israel were gone forth out of the land of Egypt, the same day came they into the wilderness of Sinai. 2 And when they were departed from Rephidim, and were come to the wilderness of Sinai, they encamped in the wilderness; and there Israel encamped before the mount. 3 And Moses went up unto God, and the LORD called unto him out of the mountain, saying: 'Thus shall you say to the house of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel: 4 You have seen what I did unto the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles' wings, and brought you unto Myself. 5 Now therefore, if you will hearken unto My voice indeed, and keep My covenant, then you shall be Mine own treasure from among all peoples; for all the earth is Mine; 6 and you shall be unto Me a kingdom of priests, and a holy nation. These are the words which you shall speak unto the children of Israel.' 7 And Moses came and called for the elders of the people, and set before them all these words which the LORD commanded him. 8 And all the people answered together, and said: 'All that the LORD has spoken we will do.' And Moses reported the words of the people unto the LORD. 9 And the LORD said unto Moses: 'Lo, I come unto you in a thick cloud, that the people may hear when I speak with you, and may also believe you forever.' And Moses told the words of the people unto the LORD. 10 And the LORD said unto Moses: 'Go unto the people, and sanctify them today and tomorrow, and let them wash their garments, 11 and be ready against the third day; for the third day the LORD will come down in the sight of all the people upon mount Sinai. 12 And you shall set bounds unto the people round about, saying: Take heed to yourselves, that you go not up into the mount, or touch the border of it; whosoever touches the mount shall be surely put to death; 13 no hand shall touch him, but he shall surely be stoned, or shot through; whether it be beast or man, it shall not live; when the ram's horn sounds long, they shall come up to the mount.' 14 And Moses went down from the mount unto the people, and sanctified the people; and they washed their garments. 15 And he said unto the people: 'Be ready against the third day; come not near a woman.' 16 And it came to pass on the third day, when it was morning, that there was thunder and lightning and a thick cloud upon the mount, and the voice of a horn exceeding loud; and all the people that were in the camp trembled. 17 And Moses brought forth the people out of the camp to meet God; and they stood at the nether part of the mount. 18 Now mount Sinai was altogether on smoke, because the LORD descended upon it in fire; and the smoke thereof ascended as the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mount quaked greatly. 19 And when the voice of the horn waxed louder and louder, Moses spoke, and God answered him by a voice. 20 And the LORD came down upon mount Sinai, to the top of the mount; and the LORD called Moses to the top of the mount; and Moses went up. 21 And the LORD said unto Moses: 'Go down, charge the people, lest they break through unto the LORD to gaze, and many of them perish. 22 And let the priests also, that come near to the LORD, sanctify themselves, lest the LORD break forth upon them.' 23 And Moses said unto the LORD: 'The people cannot come up to mount Sinai; for you did charge us, saying: Set bounds about the mount, and sanctify it.' 24 And the LORD said unto him: 'Go, get down, and you shall come up, you, and Aaron with you; but let not the priests and the people break through to come up unto the LORD, lest He break forth upon them.' 25 So Moses went down unto the people, and told them.

CHAPTER 20
1 And God spoke all these words, saying: 2 I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. 3 You shall have no other gods before Me. 4 You shall not make unto yourself a graven image, nor any manner of likeness, of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; 5 you shall not bow down unto them, nor serve them; for I the LORD your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate Me; 6 and showing mercy unto the thousandth generation of them that love Me and keep My commandments. 7 You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that takes His name in vain.

8 Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. 9 Six days shall you labor, and do all your work; 10 but the seventh day is a Sabbath unto the LORD your God, in it you shall not do any manner of work, you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your man-servant, nor your maid-servant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger that is within your gates; 11 for in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day; wherefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day, and hallowed it. 12 Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long upon the land which the LORD your God gives you. 13 You shall not murder. You shall not commit adultery. You shall not steal. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. 14 You shall not covet your neighbor's house; you shall not covet your neighbor's wife, nor his man-servant, nor his maid-servant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor anything that is your neighbor's.

15 And all the people perceived the thunder, and the lightning, and the voice of the horn, and the mountain smoking; and when the people saw it, they trembled, and stood afar off. 16 And they said unto Moses: 'You speak with us, and we will hear; but let not God speak with us, lest we die.' 17 And Moses said unto the people: 'Fear not; for God is come to prove you, and that His fear may be before you, that you sin not.' 18 And the people stood afar off; but Moses drew near unto the thick darkness where God was. 19 And the LORD said unto Moses: Thus you shall say unto the children of Israel: You yourselves have seen that I have talked with you from heaven. 20 You shall not make with Me--gods of silver, or gods of gold, you shall not make unto you. 21 An altar of earth you shall make unto Me, and shall sacrifice thereon your burnt-offerings, and your peace-offerings, your sheep, and your oxen; in every place where I cause My name to be mentioned I will come unto you and bless you. 22 And if you make Me an altar of stone, you shall not build it of hewn stones; for if you lift up your tool upon it, you have profaned it. 23 Neither shall you go up by steps unto Mine altar, that your nakedness be not uncovered thereon.

Haftarah (Ashkenazi) - Isaiah 6:1-7:6; 9:5-6
CHAPTER 6
1 In the year that king Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne high and lifted up, and His train filled the temple. 2 Above Him stood the seraphim; each one had six wings: with which he covered his face and with which he covered his feet, and with which he did fly. 3 And one called unto another, and said: Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts; the whole earth is full of His glory. 4 And the posts of the door were moved at the voice of them that called, and the house was filled with smoke. 5 Then said I: Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts. 6 Then flew unto me one of the seraphim, with a glowing stone in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar; 7 and he touched my mouth with it, and said: Lo, this has touched your lips; and your iniquity is taken away, and your sin expiated. 8 And I heard the voice of the Lord, saying: Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then I said: 'Here am I; send me.' 9 And He said: 'Go, and tell this people: you hear indeed, but understand not; and you see indeed, but perceive not. 10 Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they, seeing with their eyes, and hearing with their ears, and understanding with their heart, return, and be healed.' 11 Then said I: 'Lord, how long?' And He answered: 'Until cities be waste without inhabitant, and houses without man, and the land become utterly waste, 12 And the LORD has removed men far away, and the forsaken places be many in the midst of the land. 13 And if there be yet a tenth in it, it shall again be eaten up; as a terebinth, and as an oak, whose stock remains, when they cast their leaves, so the holy seed shall be the stock thereof.'

CHAPTER 7
1 And it came to pass in the days of Ahaz the son of Jotham, the son of Uzziah, king of Judah, that Rezin the king of Aram, and Pekah the son of Remaliah, king of Israel, went up to Jerusalem to war against it; but could not prevail against it. 2 And it was told to the house of David, saying: 'Aram is a confederate with Ephraim.' And his heart was moved, and the heart of his people, as the trees of the forest are moved with the wind. 3 Then said the LORD unto Isaiah: 'Go forth now to meet Ahaz, you, and Shear-jashub your son, at the end of the conduit of the upper pool, in the highway of the fullers' field; 4 and say unto him: Keep calm, and be quiet; fear not, neither let your heart be faint, because of these two tails of smoking firebrands, for the fierce anger of Rezin and Aram, and of the son of Remaliah. 5 Because Aram has counseled evil against you, Ephraim also, and the son of Remaliah, saying: 6 Let us go up against Judah, and vex it, and let us make a breach therein for us, and set up a king in the midst of it, even the son of Tabeel.

CHAPTER 9
5 For a child is born unto us, a son is given unto us; and the government is upon his shoulder; and his name is called Pele-joez-el-gibbor-Abi-ad-sar-shalom; 6 That the government may be increased, and of peace there be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to establish it, and to uphold it through justice and through righteousness from henceforth even forever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts does perform this.

Haftarah (Sephardi) - Isaiah 6:1-13
CHAPTER 6
1 In the year that king Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne high and lifted up, and His train filled the temple. 2 Above Him stood the seraphim; each one had six wings: with which he covered his face and with which he covered his feet, and with which he did fly. 3 And one called unto another, and said: Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts; the whole earth is full of His glory. 4 And the posts of the door were moved at the voice of them that called, and the house was filled with smoke. 5 Then said I: Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts. 6 Then flew unto me one of the seraphim, with a glowing stone in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar; 7 and he touched my mouth with it, and said: Lo, this has touched your lips; and your iniquity is taken away, and your sin expiated. 8 And I heard the voice of the Lord, saying: Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then I said: 'Here am I; send me.' 9 And He said: 'Go, and tell this people: you hear indeed, but understand not; and you see indeed, but perceive not. 10 Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they, seeing with their eyes, and hearing with their ears, and understanding with their heart, return, and be healed.' 11 Then said I: 'Lord, how long?' And He answered: 'Until cities be waste without inhabitant, and houses without man, and the land become utterly waste, 12 And the LORD has removed men far away, and the forsaken places be many in the midst of the land. 13 And if there be yet a tenth in it, it shall again be eaten up; as a terebinth, and as an oak, whose stock remains, when they cast their leaves, so the holy seed shall be the stock thereof.'