“And Yitro Heard”: The Power of Listening at Mount Sinai

The Torah opens with the words: “And Yitro heard.” Why did the Torah choose to begin specifically with these words? After all, everyone heard what God did for Moshe and for Israel, as it says: “Nations heard and trembled; terror seized the inhabitants of Philistia” (Shemot 15:14).

The answer is that everyone heard, but no one acted. Rashi explains: “What report did he hear and come? The splitting of the Red Sea and the war with Amalek.” The entire world heard these events, yet they heard and remained where they were. Yitro heard — and came. Because of this, he merited that a Torah portion be named after him, becoming the first convert in history.

The word “vayishma” (“and he heard”) can be understood on several levels. It can mean hearing in the simple sense, but it can also mean understanding, as in: “Will you hear a dream in order to interpret it?” (Bereishit 41:15). It can also mean acceptance, as in: “Shema Yisrael…”

Yitro, who had been a priest of Midian — a priest of idolatry with vast experience in pagan belief systems, knew how to hear. He possessed inner listening, and that inner listening led to understanding, acceptance, and action. As soon as he recognized the greatness of the Creator, he acknowledged it, rejoiced in it, and changed his life by converting: “Now I know that the Lord is greater than all gods.”

Shabbat Yitro — Hearing the Ten Commandments

This Shabbat is unique and is considered a kind of “mini–Shavuot.” The Rebbe of Ruzhin taught that just as time awakens the Torah reading, so too the Torah reading awakens the spiritual quality of the time. When we read about the giving of the Torah, we awaken anew the spiritual illumination of Sinai.

The Torah is light, and it guides and illuminates the path of a Jew. Therefore, this Shabbat contains an aspect of a renewed giving of the Torah. It is a precious opportunity to reconnect to the Divine voice that our ancestors heard at Mount Sinai and to renew the love that is born of true inner listening.

From this point onward, every day when we say in prayer: “Shema Yisrael, Hashem Elokeinu, Hashem Echad,” we can experience renewed emotional depth in prayer: “And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your might….”

In the recitation of Shema, there is an opportunity to hear the “Anochi”, the Heavenly voice that emerges from Sinai every single day. Proper preparation for receiving the Torah begins with listening, attentiveness, and acceptance. The Torah can influence and guide a person only to the extent that one truly listens. Listening reflects humility and inner surrender.

Yitro demonstrated these qualities — traits also attributed to Mount Sinai itself, which was chosen to receive the Torah. As the verse says: “And Yitro rejoiced over all the goodness that the Lord had done for Israel.” 

Our Sages teach on the verse “Hear, and your soul shall live” that the soul can be healed through words or even through the sounds of nature (nature is the Divine Name imprinted and hidden within the world). Yitro, who truly heard, was healed of spiritual impurity and negativity and connected himself to Moshe and the Torah. This Shabbat, too, has the power to awaken inner listening and the profound emotions that flow from it.

“Listen, Daughter” — Turning Inward to the Soul

King David writes in Tehillim (45): “Listen, daughter, see, incline your ear, and forget your people and your father’s house.”

The order here is significant: listening, seeing, and again inclining the ear. The Malbim explains that the word “daughter” symbolizes the soul, the Jew’s inner dimension. True listening reaches all the way to the soul. This is why the verse continues: “All the glory of the king’s daughter is within.”

The soul resides in the inner realm, in the higher intellect, and it can only be accessed through inward contemplation. To reach it, one must listen to its subtle voice: “Let me hear your voice, for your voice is sweet.”

When a person listens to the soul, the soul uplifts the person in return and empowers them to choose good.

Mishlei states: “A listening person will speak forever.” The ability to speak meaningfully depends on the capacity to listen. One who is open to receiving — like Yitro, can also express wisdom. Indeed, Moshe listens to Yitro’s advice on organizing the judicial system: “And Moshe listened to the voice of his father-in-law and did all that he said.”

Mount Sinai — A Multi-Sensory Revelation

At Sinai, the experience was described as: “And all the people saw the sounds.” Our Sages explain that they saw what is usually heard and heard what is usually seen.

The brain has separate centers for visual and auditory information, and also a unified, supra-sensory center that operates only when a person rises above ordinary nature. At Sinai, Israel reached such an elevated level that all the senses merged into one inner perception. Every Divine utterance took on tangible reality — letters were seen floating in the air, heard, and perceived simultaneously.

This soul-vision encompasses all the senses. At the giving of the Torah, all Israel merited this experience. Deep within every Jew lie yearnings and longings to experience this again, which is made possible when we truly listen.

How Much Love Dwells in the Soul

This Torah portion overflows with love: God’s love for Israel — “You shall be My treasured nation… a kingdom of priests and a holy people,” and Israel’s love for God, expressed in the words: “We will do and we will hear.”

This root of love exists within each of us, when we purify ourselves to the point of unity, God, Torah, and Israel are one.

“And now, if you will truly listen to My voice…” And now, this very moment, today. “You shall be My treasured people” — the final letters spell milah (circumcision). On a simple level this refers to the covenant of circumcision, but it also alludes to the teaching: “A covenant is sealed with the lips.” Speech creates reality.

We are told to accustom ourselves to speak good words. Connect the words of prayer with your heart. Shema Yisrael means: understand and internalize. Then the promise will be fulfilled: “You shall be My treasured people.”

“To be Mine” is itself a treasure — to be, fully present with heart and soul in the process that leads us toward redemption.

A Practical Tip: Silence in Order to Hear

Once a day, take a few minutes of silence for reflection and inner listening.

Our Sages describe the giving of the Torah: “When God gave the Torah, no bird chirped, no bird flew, no ox lowed, the sea did not roar… the entire world fell silent, and then the Divine voice emerged.”

To hear the inner voice that still emerges from Sinai within the soul, one must quiet all other sounds. Only then, when you contemplate “Who created all this,” will you hear the Divine voice and feel His love.