"Moshe wanted to personally provide instruction in these complicated areas." This reminds me of one of the main reasons why I can't stand the thought of being a Jewish day school administrator. Yes, I might be able to "reach" more students, but at the steep cost of not being able to instruct them individually. I'd had this thought before, but never associated it to Moshe's dilemma.
Indeed. It's hard to understand the back and forth between Moshe and Yitro as completely binary, as if Moshe didn't fathom a more efficient system of instruction. Perhaps part of the debate was about the degree of direct interaction versus a system of administration. We wouldn't want Moshe completely disconnected from "the classroom", while also ensuring there was an adequate quantity of instruction.
The Rav notes that Yitro may have misunderstood the nature of Moshe's engagement with the people. The term שפט often translated as "to judge" may more accurately refer to leadership. Devorah was a leader of the people, not merely their judge. The Rav raises the question, how could there be so many litigants? With all their needs taken care of, was there so much room for dispute? But the people were coming to Moshe "to seek out God", to form a connection. Once Moshe explains the objective, then he and Yitro have a further discussion about how best to accomplish the overarching goals.
"Moshe wanted to personally provide instruction in these complicated areas." This reminds me of one of the main reasons why I can't stand the thought of being a Jewish day school administrator. Yes, I might be able to "reach" more students, but at the steep cost of not being able to instruct them individually. I'd had this thought before, but never associated it to Moshe's dilemma.
Indeed. It's hard to understand the back and forth between Moshe and Yitro as completely binary, as if Moshe didn't fathom a more efficient system of instruction. Perhaps part of the debate was about the degree of direct interaction versus a system of administration. We wouldn't want Moshe completely disconnected from "the classroom", while also ensuring there was an adequate quantity of instruction.
The Rav notes that Yitro may have misunderstood the nature of Moshe's engagement with the people. The term שפט often translated as "to judge" may more accurately refer to leadership. Devorah was a leader of the people, not merely their judge. The Rav raises the question, how could there be so many litigants? With all their needs taken care of, was there so much room for dispute? But the people were coming to Moshe "to seek out God", to form a connection. Once Moshe explains the objective, then he and Yitro have a further discussion about how best to accomplish the overarching goals.