Not only was Moses acting as the teacher and God’s prophet, he also acted as the sole judge and arbiter of every dispute or halachic question. Yitro acts as a ‘business consultant’ and advises his son-in-law to delegate more and appoint junior judges to help with his caseload.

Moses takes on board this advice. The sedra is named after Yitro in his honour. The major theme of the sedra is the 10 Commandments and Matan Torah (the giving of the Torah).

Having appointed their own judges, the children of Israel now needed to take control of their own laws. Who better to devise them than God Himself?

As a preparation for the momentous events to come, Moses is told to erect a “wall” or fence around Mount Sinai — the chosen venue for Matan Torah.

Nobody is allowed to encroach for three days.

During this period, the people prepared themselves physically and spiritually for the great day.

When the day dawns, Moses ascends the mountain and the sound of a shofar is heard and smoke can be seen emanating from the mountain. The people hear the Almighty uttering the Commandments. The people accept the Torah unreservedly.

The seventh Commandment is ‘Lo Tignov’. This is usually translated as “do not steal”.

However, the sages explained it actually refers to a certain type of theft — kidnapping.

This would account for it following the prohibition of murder — as kidnapping is on par with murder.

As much as any theft is serious, we know only too well the effects of kidnapping and taking hostages.

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