Summary of parashat Yitro
Moses' father-in-law, Jethro, hears about the great miracles God performed for the people of Israel and comes from Midian to the Israelite camp, bringing Moses' wife and two sons with him. Jethro advises Moses to appoint a hierarchy of magistrates and judges to help him govern and administer justice to the people.
The Children of Israel encamp before Mount Sinai, where they are informed that God has chosen them as His "priestly nation" and "holy nation." The people respond by proclaiming, "All that God has said, we will do.".
On the sixth day of the third month (Sivan), seven weeks after the Exodus, the entire nation of Israel gathers at the foot of Mount Sinai. God descends upon the mountain amidst thunder, lightning, smoke, and the sounds of the shofar, and commands Moses to ascend.
God proclaims the Ten Commandments, commanding the people of Israel to believe in God, not to worship idols or take God's name in vain, to observe the Sabbath, to honor their father and mother, not to murder, not to commit adultery, not to steal, not to bear false witness, and not to covet their neighbor's property. The people tell Moses that the revelation is too difficult for them to bear, begging him to receive the Torah from God and then transmit it to them.
