Religion
Jethro was the first to utter a benediction to God for the wonders performed by Him for the Israelites (comp. Exodus xviii. 10). Such a thing had not been done either by Moses or by any of the Israelites (Sanh. l.c.; Mek. l.c. 2). Jethro knew that God was greater than all the gods (comp. Ex. xviii. 11), because he had previously worshiped all the idols of the world (Mek. l.c.; Tan. l.c.); but at the same time he did not deny to idols all divine power (Yalk., Ex. 269). According to Rabbi Joshua, Moses purposely sent Jethro away so he wouldn't be present at the revelation of the Law (comp. Exodus 18.27, Hebr.).
Read more about this topic: Jethro In Rabbinic Literature
Famous quotes containing the word religion:
“Christianity as an organized religion has not always had a harmonious relationship with the family. Unlike Judaism, it kept almost no rituals that took place in private homes. The esteem that monasticism and priestly celibacy enjoyed implied a denigration of marriage and parenthood.”
—Beatrice Gottlieb, U.S. historian. The Family in the Western World from the Black Death to the Industrial Age, ch. 12, Oxford University Press (1993)
“The proper office of religion is to regulate the heart of men, humanize their conduct, infuse the spirit of temperance, order, and obedience; and as its operation is silent, and only enforces the motives of morality and justice, it is in danger of being overlooked, and confounded with these other motives.”
—David Hume (17111776)
“... religion can only change when the emotions which fill it are changed; and the religion of personal fear remains nearly at the level of the savage.”
—George Eliot [Mary Ann (or Marian)