Another matter, “Yitro…heard,” that is what is written: “The wise will inherit honor” (Proverbs 3:35), this is Yitro; when he came to Moses he inherited great honor. “He said to Moses: I, your father-in-law Yitro, am coming to you, [and your wife and her two sons with her]” (Exodus 18:6). Rabbi Yehoshua says: He sent a messenger to him. Rabbi Eliezer says: He sent him a letter and said: ‘Act for my sake.
If you do not act for my sake, do it for your wife’s sake. If you do not act for her sake, act for the sake of your sons.’ Rabbi Eliezer says: The Holy One blessed be He said to him: ‘Go out.’10He interprets the verse to mean not that Yitro sent a message to Moses informing him of Yitro’s arrival, but that God, referred to here as “I,” informed Moses of Yitro’s arrival. “He said to Moses,” the Holy One blessed be He said to him: ‘It is I who spoke and the world came into being,’11That is why the term “I” in the verse refers to God. as it is stated: “The Almighty God, the Lord, has spoken, calling the earth” (Psalms 50:1).
It is I who brings near and it is I who distances, as it is stated: “Am I God from near, the utterance of the Lord, [but not God from afar?]” (Jeremiah 23:23). It is I who brought Yitro near and did not distance him. This person who came to Me came only in the name of Heaven, and came only to convert; you too, bring him near and do not distance him. Immediately, “Moses emerged to greet his father-in-law” (Exodus 18:7). [The Sages] said: Moses emerged,12See Exodus 18:7.
Aaron, Nadav and Avihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel emerged. Some say: Even the Ark emerged with them. That is why it is stated: “The wise will inherit honor.”