Aggada -- Translations into English; Bible. Old Testament -- Legends; Jewish legends; Midrash -- Translations into English
On the day that Moses again took up his activity as a judge, and Jethro
had for the first time the chance of observing him, came the mixed
multitude with the pleas that they, like the other Israelites, wanted
their share in the Egyptians booty. Moses' method, first seen by him in
practice, [160] struck Jethro as most absurd, and he therefore said:
"The thing that thou doest is not good," through delicacy softening his
real opinion, "It is bad" to "It is not good." [161] "The people," he
continued, "will surely unbraid thee and Aaron, his two sons Nadab and
Abihu, and the seventy elders, if thou continuest in this fashion. But
if thou hearkenest now to my voice, thou wilt fare well, provided God
approves of my plan. This is, that thou shalt be 'the vessel of the
revelations of God,' and shalt lay the revelations of God before the
people, as often as thou receivest them; so that they may understand
the exposition of the Torah, as well as its decisions. And thou shalt
instruct them how to pray in the synagogues, how to tend the sick, how
to bury their dead, how to render the services of friendship to one
another, how to practice justice, and how, in some cases, not to insist
on strict justice. But as for trying the people as a judge, thou
shouldst, in accordance with thy prophetic insight, choose men that are
possessed of wisdom, fear of God, modesty, hate of covetousness, love
of truth, love of humanity, and a good name, and these shall devote all
their time to trials, and to the study of the study of the Torah. If
God approve my plan, then wilt thou and Aaron, his sons and the seventy
elders, and all the people dwell in peace." [162]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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