Rashi tells us that Reuel is Jethro (Numbers 10:29). He wants to go home and Moses pleads with him to stay with the Jews. One of his arguments to Jethro is: You have been our eyes (Numbers 10:31). A simple way to understand this is that Jethro’s eyewitness account might be more easily believed by Gentiles – he once was one himself – and – and this is not to be sniffed – also more easily believed by skeptic Jews. Seeing is believing. But let me suggest a second way to understand this.
To live a Jewish life, it’s not enough to study the holy books. We were given eyes, ears, noses and other senses and have developed instruments to help us even detect more, like invisible light and weight. We need to look at the world, at nature and even human nature (psychology) to get a full picture of our situation and of how we can be useful.
An important part of observations has been done by professionals, often called scientists. We need to take their findings into account. Sure, classical Christianity has been fighting a war of centuries against science, but that’s because it is focused on thought, feeling, intention and the Beyond and is wary of down-to-earth reality. Not for nothing that religion is called Faith.
But Judaism is rooted in the material world. It is not disembodied. It has no issue with reality or truth. (It is assimilation that makes Jews have arguments with science.) At most, it can dispute philosophies of science, but not discoveries themselves. It believes that Nature is like a garment of G^d. By following its operation, from the Law of Gravity to Evolution Theory, we can deduce how He operates in the world, and what situation He placed us in. (People who dispute science on religious grounds are hypocrites if they nevertheless step into an elevator and press a button without questioning the basis for its safe and predictable operation.)
To work as scientist, we do not need a religious background. We just need to be honest and smart. (Though being humble may help too.) Thus Jethro was the best for the job, to be our eyes. Tell us what things look like. Just like he advised Moses on delegating things (Exodus 18:17-23). This is not a religious law against burnout. It is psychological wisdom. But Moses elevated it into our religion (Exodus 18:24-26) because true Judaism always has all truths on board (Sayings of the Fathers 5:25). As Maimonides says: Accept truth from whatever source it comes (Eight Chapters, Introduction, point 3). Also, Do not judge a wine by its flask (Ethics of the Fathers 4:20). On Jews learning wisdom from Gentiles see: Babylonian Talmud, Megilah 9b. But we should still ask: What is this all doing in this portion? Why is this not written in the weekly portion of Jethro, where is written that Jethro went home?
In the second verse of the next week’s portion of Sh’lach, we read that prominent people will investigate the new Land. However, the Hebrew letters (with different vowels, that are not written in the Torah scroll) of “prominent people will investigate” can also be read as: “prominent people and Jethro”! May I suggest that originally the plan was that Jethro would have accompanied the spies, and, being their eyes, would have guarded them against rash interpretations of what they saw in the Land. Don’t disregard what scientists have to tell you!
One more problem. Earlier we read (Exodus 18:1) that Jethro heard [of the Miracles] while here in Numbers we read that he was our eyes. Earlier (Exodus 18:27) we read that Moses sent him off and he went to his land. But here we read that he wanted to leave and Moses tried (unsuccessfully) to argue that he should stay with the Jews. The Torah, always ready to raise questions rather than to give ready-made answers, here screams out to us: explain this contradiction. Let me try.
Seeing is more superficial than hearing, as I mention elsewhere (Genesis 3:6, Deuteronomy 6:4, 30:15). That doesn’t mean that one is more important than the other. Sometimes it’s better to stay superficial, not to worry too much while at other times it’s imperative to wonder and ponder. Jethro heard and came and heard all the deep stuff and about that, Moses had no problem to see him out so that he could go home – as written in Exodus. But at the same time (also mentioned in Exodus), Jethro saw, and for that aspect, Moses wanted him to stay because thus he could have enriched and protected us.
And that’s why Moses trying to stop Jethro from leaving is written here, as prelude to the story of the Spies. They had as task to see (Numbers 13:18) how the Land and its inhabitants are. Unfortunately, they added their own unasked-for unscientific interpretations (Numbers 13:31-33) instead of sticking to observation. With truly disastrous result.
MM is a prolific and creative writer and thinker, previously a daily blog contributor to the TOI. He often makes his readers laugh, mad, or assume he's nuts—close to perfect blogging. He's proud that his analytical short comments are removed both from left-wing and right-wing news sites. None of his content is generated by the new bore on the block, AI. *
As a frontier thinker, he sees things many don't yet. He's half a prophet. Half. Let's not exaggerate. Or not at all because he doesn't claim G^d talks to him. He gives him good ideas—that's all. MM doesn't believe that people observe and think in a vacuum. He, therefore, wanted a broad bio that readers interested can track a bit what (lack of) backgrounds, experiences, and educations contribute to his visions. *
This year, he will prioritize getting his unpublished books published rather than just blog posts. Of the 15 (!) books he has in mind, the next two are about homosexuality in Judaism and new rabbinics. Next year, he hopes to focus on activism against human extinction. To find less-recent posts on a subject XXX among his over 2600 archived ones, go to the right-top corner of a Times of Israel page, click on the search icon and search "zuiden, XXX". One can find a second, wilder blog that also may contain updates to Times of Israel posts, to which one may subscribe, here: https://mmvanzuiden.wordpress.com/ or by clicking on the globe icon next to his picture on top. *
He's getting ready to publicize books on: "Free Will, "Judaism and Homosexuality, "His parents in the Holocaust, "Judaism, "A New Torah Translation and "A New Hebrew Grammar, "Co-Counseling, "Vegan Facts, "Immortality, and more. *
Like most of his readers, he believes in being friendly, respectful, and loyal. However, if you think those are his absolute top priorities, you might end up disappointed. His first loyalty is to the truth. He agrees that in a post-truth world, that's irrelevant, but then this is for the record. He will try to stay within the limits of democratic and Jewish law, but he won't lie to support opinions or people when don't deserve that. (Yet, we all make honest mistakes, which is just fine and does not justify losing support.) He admits that he sometimes exaggerates to make a point, which could have him come across as nasty, while in actuality, he's quite a lovely person to interact with. He holds - how Dutch - that a strong opinion doesn't imply intolerance of other views. *
Sometimes he's misunderstood because his wide and diverse field of vision seldomly fits any specialist's box. But that's exactly what some love about him. He has written a lot about Psychology (including Sexuality and Abuse), Medicine (including physical immortality), Science (including basic statistics), Politics (Israel, the US, and the Netherlands, Activism - more than leftwing or rightwing, he hopes to highlight reality), Oppression and Liberation (intersectionally, for young people, the elderly, non-Whites, women, workers, Jews, LGBTQIA+, foreigners and anyone else who's dehumanized or exploited), Integrity, Philosophy, Jews (Judaism, Zionism, Holocaust and Jewish Liberation), the Climate Crisis, Ecology and Veganism, Affairs from the news, or the Torah Portion of the Week, or new insights that suddenly befell him. *
Chronologically, his most influential teachers are his parents, Nico (natan) van Zuiden and Betty (beisye) Nieweg, Wim Kan, Mozart, Harvey Jackins, Marshal Rosenberg, Reb Shlomo Carlebach, and, lehavdil bein chayim lechayim, Rabbi Dr. Natan Lopes Cardozo, Rav Zev Leff, and Rav Meir Lubin. This short list doesn't mean to disrespect others who taught him a lot or a little. One of his rabbis calls him Mr. Innovation [Ish haChidushim]. Yet, his originalities seem to root deeply in traditional Judaism, though they may grow in unexpected directions. In fact, he claims he's modernizing nothing. Rather, mainly basing himself on the basic Hebrew Torah text, he tries to rediscover classical Jewish thought almost lost in thousands of years of stifling Gentile domination and Jewish assimilation. (He pleads for a close reading of the Torah instead of going by rough assumptions of what it would probably mean and before fleeing to Commentaries.) This, in all aspects of life, but prominently in the areas of Free Will, Activism, Homosexuality for men, and Redemption. *
He hopes that his words will inspire and inform, and disturb the comfortable and comfort the disturbed. He aims to bring a fresh perspective rather than harp on the obvious and familiar. When he can, he loves to write encyclopedic overviews. He doesn't expect his readers to agree. Rather, original minds should be disputed. In short, his main political positions are among others: anti-Trumpism, for Zionism, Intersectionality, non-violence, anti those who abuse democratic liberties, anti the fake ME peace process, for original-Orthodoxy, pro-Science, pro-Free Will, anti-blaming-the-victim, and for down-to-earth, classical optimism, and happiness. Read his blog on how he attempts to bridge any tensions between those ideas or fields. *
He is a fetal survivor of the pharmaceutical industry (https://diethylstilbestrol.co.uk/studies/des-and-psychological-health/), born in 1953 to his parents who were Dutch-Jewish Holocaust survivors who met in the largest concentration camp in the Netherlands, Westerbork. He grew up a humble listener. It took him decades to become a speaker too, and decades more to admit to being a genius. But his humility was his to keep. And so was his honesty. Bullies and con artists almost instantaneously envy and hate him. He hopes to bring new things and not just preach to the choir. *
He holds a BA in medicine (University of Amsterdam) – is half a doctor. He practices Re-evaluation Co-counseling since 1977, is not an official teacher anymore, and became a friendly, powerful therapist. He became a social activist, became religious, made Aliyah, and raised three wonderful kids. Previously, for decades, he was known to the Jerusalem Post readers as a frequent letter writer. For a couple of years, he was active in hasbara to the Dutch-speaking public. He wrote an unpublished tome about Jewish Free Will. He's a strict vegan since 2008. He's an Orthodox Jew but not a rabbi. *
His writing has been made possible by an allowance for second-generation Holocaust survivors from the Netherlands. It has been his dream since he was 38 to try to make a difference by teaching through writing. He had three times 9-out-of-10 for Dutch at his high school finals but is spending his days communicating in English and Hebrew - how ironic. G-d must have a fine sense of humor. In case you wonder - yes, he is a bit dyslectic. If you're a native English speaker and wonder why you should read from people whose English is only their second language, consider the advantage of having an original peek outside of your cultural bubble. His posts are spell, grammar, and style polished by AI, but all written by himself. *
To send any personal reaction to him, scroll to the top of the blog post and click Contact Me. *
His newest books you may find here: https://www.amazon.com/s?i=stripbooks&rh=p_27%3AMoshe-Mordechai%2FMaurits+van+Zuiden&s=relevancerank&text=Moshe-Mordechai%2FMaurits+van+Zuiden&ref=dp_byline_sr_book_1
