I suppose I was naïve, but it seemed so exciting. The most powerful man in the world rushed to Israel’s side, offering us a dream. No more threats of nuclear attacks, no more dashing to shelters and no more sending my sons out to war. True, Trump is far from perfect, but Israelis warmly recalled his help bringing the hostages home and welcomed his promise of a safer future through his willingness to confront Iran.
The military partnership started well, but just as victory appeared within reach, Trump stepped away to make a separate peace. Has there ever been a gentile who gave so much support, promised even more and then walked away?
Perhaps a biblical parallel can help. Jethro, the Midianite priest, left his land to join the Jewish people in the wilderness. There, he laid the foundations of our judicial system. His contribution was huge, yet he too departed, leaving us wondering why he came, why he left and what lessons we should learn from this experience.
Despite living very different lives in distant lands, thousands of years apart, Donald Trump and Jethro have much in common. Both were gentiles with Jewish sons-in-law. Donald’s daughter Ivanka married Jared Kushner and Jethro’s daughter Zipporah married Moses. Their family connections helped shape their embrace of the Jewish people.
When Jethro reunited Moses with his family who had remained in Midian at the time of the Exodus, he spoke glowingly of the God of Israel. Trump came to Jerusalem where he lavished praise on the country and spoke admiringly of his daughter’s love of Israel and Judaism.
There may be another shared reason for their connections to the Jewish people. Observers of Trump note his admiration for strong leaders. Benjamin Netanyahu was one of his favourites and Israel won his respect for its creative and determined conduct on the battlefield. Jethro too was inspired by the might of Israel exhibited at our miraculous crossing of the Red Sea and victory over Amalek.
While some suspect that Netanyahu talked Trump into supporting Israel’s wars, we know that Moses really did dedicate time to tell Jethro about Israel’s beliefs in order to draw him closer to our people and our faith. The Hizkuni, a 13th-century French rabbi, even suggests that Moses massaged the truth, implying that he would lead the Israelites into the Land of Israel, for fear that otherwise Jethro would not feel confident joining us.
Equally, while both men supported us, they each had moral reservations. Trump’s enthusiasm for Israel’s successes later gave way to concern over civilian casualties. Jethro reacted similarly. The Bible reports that “he rejoiced” at Moses’s account of the Exodus. But an alternate reading of the word vayichad – “and he rejoiced” – suggests that “Jethro got goosepimples”. For all of Jethro’s love of the Israelites, says Rashi, he still had a visceral response to the suffering of our Egyptian enemies.
We don’t know why Trump withdrew from the war. Theories abound. Perhaps it was the need to deal with his domestic agenda, maybe he lost faith in America’s ability to win, or perhaps he simply lacked the stamina to continue.
Our commentators offer strikingly similar explanations for Jethro’s rejection of Moses’s pleas to accompany the Jews to the Promised Land. Rabbi Eliyahu Mizrachi, the 15th-century rabbi of the Ottoman Empire, suggests that Jethro felt abandoning his home, family and status was too high a price for joining the Jews.
The Bechor Shor, a 12th-century commentator from Orleans, tells us that Jethro was risk-averse. He would not gamble his wealth in Midian on the Israelites’ ability to conquer its land. Rabbi Ovadiah Sforno, writing in 16th-century Bologna, addresses the issue of stamina. He suggests that Jethro felt too old to begin anew in a foreign land.
Perhaps the most powerful explanation for Jethro’s departure is found in the Midrash which says that Jethro reckoned that the Israelites would be unwilling to make the necessary sacrifices to accommodate a non-Jew among them. He feared that he would always remain an outsider.
Reflecting on Jethro’s sensitivities, my teacher, Rabbi Shlomo Riskin urges us not to reject those who come to assist us. Jews, he writes, have a mission to defeat terror and to make the world a place of kindness and tolerance. We cannot achieve this alone. We need to work with other nations to succeed in our mission.
Such alliances are still possible. Trump admits that his courtship of Iran may not be the end of the story. The Middle East will become more peaceful or America will rejoin the fight. Likewise, the Ramban suggests that perhaps Jethro never abandoned us after all. He returned home briefly to spread monotheism among his own people, but ultimately he granted Moses’s request and returned to share the lot of the Jewish people.
To get more from judaism, click here to sign up for our free daily newsletter.