"Yitro, the father-in-law of Moshe, came to Moshe…by the Mountain of God and proclaimed, ‘I, your father-in-law Yitro, come to you with your wife and sons.’… Yitro rejoiced over all the good that Hashem had done for Yisrael…[And he] took an elevation-offering and feast-offerings for God; and Aharon and all the elders of Yisrael came to eat bread with the father-in-law of Moshe before God." That is, Yitro converted to Judaism with B’rit Milah and Mikveh, and celebrated the simcha with a joyous meal (Ramban).
When Yitro became aware that Moshe was not only the leader of so many, but alone their judge and legislator as well, he admonished Moshe: "You will surely burn out--you as well as those with you….I will provide counsel, but you must consult God as to its propriety." Thus did Yitro introduce a practical structure to insure justice and well-being: "You (Moshe) be a representative to God. You shall caution them regarding the decrees and the teachings, and you shall direct them to the correct path and mitzvot. And you shall identify men of accomplishment, God-fearing men of truth, men who despise money, and you shall appoint them leaders of thousands, leaders of hundreds, leaders of fifties, and leaders of tens…Moshe heeded Yitro’s advice and did all that he suggested."
Here we have it, the insightful origin of our communal religious life, the nexus of Torah and politics. What Yitro and Moshe could not have foreseen, however, was the coming struggle between those who would filter politics through Torah (as Yitro avers) and those who filter Torah through politics (rabbinic exegesis turned semantic aphasia). To wit, the endless confrontation over the meaning and necessity of our customary fence around the Torah.
Politics filtered through Torah raises the fence. "If your brother becomes impoverished and his means falter in your proximity, you shall strengthen him so he can live with you. Do not take from him interest and increase…do not give him your money for interest, and do not give your food for increase. I am Hashem, your God…." (Vayikra 25:35-38). When we eschew Materialism and pursue social and economic justice we raise the fence. As Buber teaches us: "[Genuine society] is not an aggregate of essentially unrelated persons, for such an aggregate could only be held together by political coercion; it must be built up of little societies on the basis of communal life … and their associations must be determined by the social principle—the principle of inner cohesion, collaboration, and mutual stimulation"(Paths in Utopia, 1950). In a genuine kahal, the fence is so high we never breach the essential mitzvah: "…you shall strengthen him…"
Torah filtered through politics lowers the fence. Political "correctness," Left or Right, is a Golden Calf. "Let all who work for the kahal work with them for the sake of Heaven, so that the merit of their fathers will sustain them, and their righteousness will endure forever." (Avot 2:2). Those who wish to tailor Torah to the political exigencies of the moment ought first reflect on a tale told by R. Yose ben Halafta.
R. Yose was descended from Jonahdab ben Rechab, who was himself descended from Yitro. R. Yose said: "I was long perplexed by this verse, And thou shalt grope at noonday as the blind gropeth in darkness (Devarim 28:29). Now what difference, thought I, does it make to a blind man whether it is dark or light? Not until the following incident occurred did I find the answer. I was walking on a pitch black night when I saw a blind man walking in the road with a torch in his hand. I said to him, brother, why do you carry this torch? He answered: As long as I have this torch in my hand, you shall see me and save me from the holes and the thorns and briars." (Megillah 24b). Those of us who navigate the darkness with the light of Torah expect no less of our Rabbis. Would Yitro? Would Moshe Rabbenu?