Parasha Yitro begins with Moshe’s father in-law Yitro coming to see him.
Shemos: 18: 5. Now Moses' father in law, Jethro (Yitro), and his [Moses'] sons and his wife came to Moses, to the desert where he was encamped, to the mountain of God.
Yitro has come to Sinai to pay his respects to Moshe. There is some discussion amongst our sages as to whether this happens prior to or after the receiving of the Torah. Those who say it was after say to ignore the chronology presented here while those who say it was before point to the existing chronology as proof that Yitro comes before the Torah.
The real question however, is why is Yitro there in the first place? How come Moshe prostrates himself before Yitro reminiscent of Yaakov prostrating himself before Esau, and Avraham doing the same before the angels of Hashem?
Yitro comes to pay homage to Hashem and declares Hashem to be greater than Elokim.
Shemos: 18: 11. Now I know that the Lord (Hashem) is greater than all the (Elokim) deities, for with the thing that they plotted, [He came] upon them."
Yitro is a priest (Cohain) of Midian. Midian is composed of Mem plus Daleth-Yud-Nun which is Din or Justice. Yitro then is really a master of Justice but only in terms of Elokim. His experience is with nature and yet hasn’t come to the level of Hashem that transcends nature. He is here to be with Moshe in order to learn more about Hashem and to help him it turns out to administer Din amongst the people of Israel.
Moshe prostrates himself before Yitro out of respect for Yitro as father in-law, teacher and friend; someone who took him in out of the desert and accepted him as a son of his family.
Yitro then watches Moshe hold court before the people and counsels him concerning the setting up of a hierarchy ministers to judge between the peoples so Moshe is not alone in this. Yitro’s advice is culminated in this final verse.
Shemos: 18 23. If you do this thing, and the Lord (Elokim) commands you, you will be able to survive, and also, all this people will come upon their place in peace."
Judgment comes from the left pillar of the Tree of Life where Elokim is also associated with Gevurah-Strength, or Din-Justice. It is this aspect of Justice that Yitro is able to instruct Moshe in terms of attaching to Elokim in order to administer that justice amongst the people.
Yitro then leaves the scene just as inexplicably as he has arrived. In light of the question of whether Yitro came before or after Matan Torah (the giving of the Torah) it would seem as though the chronology is correct here in Yitro. Moshe is being prepared in the ways of judgment by Yitro as a prelude to the children of Israel being prepared in the ways of judgment regarding Matan Torah. While Moshe and his ministers are dispensing judgments in the way of Yitro this process is formalized once Matan Torah occurs.
Stay tuned for Matan Torah.
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