Yithro: the acceptance of the law

Rashi says that the parsha is called Yithro because it is extra. A parsha of the Torah was added in honor of Moshe's great father-in-law who recognized the supremacy of the Hebrew Gd as an outsider. He then  laid the foundation of universal justice.  There is no more fundamental parsha in the Torah than this one, the parsha that contains the spectacle at Sinai and the ten commandments. 

Acceptance of authority is a theme that runs through the parsha. It begins with Yithro accepting the authority of the  Gd who brought Israel out of Egypt.  Yithro's acceptance appears to be based upon his perception of the justice that is evident in the destruction of the Egyptian forces.  Just as the Egyptians tried to kill the Hebrew boys by drowning them in the water, the army was drowned in the sea that allowed the Hebrews to pass.  This combination of might and justice is irresistable .  This is the entity that humanity needs: fairness and the power to enforce it. It is the Hobbesian monopoly on violence,  the Weberian state

Yithro observes that the people accept the authority of Moshe as the arbiter of the law, the decider. But,  at first,  the  faith in Moshe is personal, it is a confidence in the fairness of a mortal.  Yithro sees that this is not a viable system. Moshe will tire.  Moshe will, eventually die.  Yithro  suggests a hierarchy of deciders.  Such a pyramidal system would support a subsequent chief judge, by virtue of the consensus it creates.   The suggestion is brought to Gd. 

Gd adds another layer.  There will be a written law, a law that exists outside of the mortal sphere.  And the most basic layer of that law will be engraved in stone, it will be eternal and  immutable ( although open to interpretation like all things)  The 10 commandments . 

This written law will need acceptance.  The spectacle at Sinai, the public revelation, demonstrates the divine origin of the law,  And the first declaration which includes:" the Lrd that took you out of Egypt" , reinforces the Just and Powerful nature of the author. What convinced Yithro  by report should convince the people who lived through the miracles and wonders... and their descendants. 

The people are convinced.  They are terrified  by the experience and delegate Moshe to bring them the law.  This role of Moshe is  now quite different from the trusted judge seen in the beginning of the parsha.  Moshe is now the prophet, the transmitter of a message greater than himself, a message that can be shared , a message that does not change with circumstances, a message that we, the descendants of those who stood at Sinai,  diligently study to this day.