<b>And Moses went and returned to Jethro, his father-in-law (Exod. 4:18).</b> Scripture says elsewhere in reference to this verse: <i>A friend loveth at all times, and a brother is born for adversity</i> (Prov. 17:17). Who was this friend? It was Jethro, who welcomed Moses after he fled from Pharaoh. From this you learn that if anyone undertakes to perform a good deed (even if he does not do it), that good deed will never cease recurring in his home. Jethro welcomed into his home a redeemer who had fled from his enemy, and so from his house there descended one who welcomed an enemy who was fleeing from a redeemer and slew him. Who was this enemy? Sisera, as it is said: <i>Howbeit Sisera fled away on his feet to the tent of Jael the wife of Heber the Kenite … then Jael took a tent pin</i>, etc. (Judg. 4:17, 21). And it is also written: <i>And the children of the Kenite, Moses’ father-in-law</i> (ibid. 1:16). Hence it says: <i>A brother is born for adversity</i> (Prov. 17:17).
Two men welcomed two righteous men and were blessed because of them. At first they had no sons, but after these righteous men entered their homes and then departed, the Holy One, blessed be He, gave them sons. These two were Laban and Jethro. If Laban had any sons of his own, would his daughters have been forced to shepherd his flock? The fact is that he had no sons, but after Jacob’s arrival, he was blessed with property and sons, as it is written: <i>And the Lord hath blessed me for thy sake</i> (Gen. 30:27), and furthermore, it is written: <i>And he heard the words of Laban’s sons</i> (ibid. 31:1). In this instance, it is written: <i>Now the priest of Midian had seven daughters</i> (Exod. 2:16). Is it likely that if he had sons his daughters would have been shepherdesses? No. Obviously, he had no sons. After Moses entered his house, however, he was blessed with sons, as it is written: <i>And the sons of the Kenite, Moses’s father-in law</i> (Judg. 14:17).
At the time the Holy One, blessed be He, said to Moses: <i>Come now, therefore, and I will send thee unto Pharaoh</i> (Exod. 3:10), Moses replied: “Master of the Universe, I cannot leave, for Jethro welcomed me and opened his home unto me, and I am like a son unto him.” If one opens his door to his fellowmen, the latter owes him his very life. You find this occurred at the time Elijah visited the widow in Zarephath. After her son’s death, he began to plead: <i>O Lord my God, hast Thou also brought evil upon the widow with whom I sojourned, by slaying her son</i>? (I Kings 17:20). Whereupon, <i>The Lord harkened unto the voice of Elijah; and the soul of the child came back into him, and he revived</i> (ibid., v. 22).
Furthermore, when a person welcomes another into his home he must treat the visitor with greater respect than he accords his own father and mother. You find that when Elijah said to Elisha: <i>Ask what I shall do for thee before I am taken from thee</i> (II Kings 2:9), Elisha replied: <i>Let a double portion of thy spirit be upon me</i>. Thereupon Elijah responded: <i>Thou hast asked a difficult thing; nevertheless, if thou shouldst see me when I am taken from thee, it shall be so unto thee; but if not, it shall not be so. And it came to pass, as they still went on and talked, that behold, there appeared a chariot of fire, and hordes of fire, which parted them both asunder</i> (ibid., vv. 10–11). Surely it was Elisha’s duty to visit his father and mother first in order to revive them, but instead he revived the son of his host, the Shunammite’s son. Similarly Elijah should have revived his father, instead of reviving the son of (the widow of) Zarephath, but he risked his life in appreciation for her hospitality.
Thus, Moses said to the Holy One, blessed be He: “Jethro welcomed me and treated me with kindness, I cannot leave without his permission.” Therefore, it is written: <i>And Moses went and returned to Jethro, his father-in law</i> (Exod. 4:18). <i>And the Lord said unto Moses in Midian</i> (ibid., v. 19). After He had spoken to him at the bush, He returned and spoke to him once again in Midian, since the matter was of such vital concern.