Parashat Yitro
February 4, 2026
Rabbi Lindsay Goldman, Middle School Rabbi-in-Residence
I remember rabbinical school as among the busiest times of my life, taking classes, plus homework and papers, multiple part-time jobs on nights and weekends, along with all of the errands at home and trying to maintain a social life. I remember being so busy that I even resonated with Moshe Rabbeinu, who spends all day fielding concerns, complaints, and everything in between for hundreds of thousands of people. Yitro sees this broken system where Moshe serves as a one-man help desk and tells Moshe in Shemot 18:17:
לֹא־טוֹב֙ הַדָּבָ֔ר אֲשֶׁ֥ר אַתָּ֖ה עֹשֶֽׂה
What you are doing is not right
So many of us are on the brink of burnout, including our students. With classes, homework, sports, extracurricular activities, the musical, the memory book, plus spending time with friends and family, it’s hard to manage all of it.
From Moshe’s perspective, he wants everyone to feel like they have access to him and, more importantly, through him, to God. He knows that the people are just trying to understand the laws, to pray for their loved ones who are sick, or to resolve a conflict. He wants to help. Yitro points out that:
נָבֹ֣ל תִּבֹּ֔ל גַּם־אַתָּ֕ה גַּם־הָעָ֥ם
Surely you and the people will wear yourselves out
Often, we focus on how burdensome this is for Moshe, a strain on his time and energy, but Sforno, a renowned 16th-century Italian rabbi, says those who are waiting in line for hours a day are not only not being helped, but are withering away.
Moshe may think he is doing what’s best for everyone, but he is failing his constituents. Yitro sees that this is deeper than a scheduling conflict. He tells Moshe:
כִּֽי־כָבֵ֤ד מִמְּךָ֙ הַדָּבָ֔ר לֹא־תוּכַ֥ל עֲשֹׂה֖וּ לְבַדֶּֽךָ
For the matter is too heavy for you; you cannot do it alone
The word “heavy” (kaved) is the same root used later for “honor” (kaved) that we owe our parents in the Ten Commandments. Responsibility is heavy. When we try to do everything ourselves, whether it’s a student trying to ace every test, lead every club, and manage every social drama without asking for help, or a leader refusing to delegate, we aren’t being better. We are creating a bottleneck for God’s presence to filter through.
By appointing a hierarchy of officers and judges, Moshe built a community. The Torah is only sustainable when it is distributed. We cannot, and we must not, be a one-person help desk. We can let our beautiful kehilah carry a piece of the heavy load. The goal isn’t just to get the work done, but to do it together, so that we – and the people around us – don’t wither away.
Shabbat Shalom.