ספורנו — ויצא משה לקראת חתנו

Q — Why does the Torah note that Moshe went out to greet Yitro? Ibn Ezra reads it as obvious common courtesy — "בעבור כבוד יתרו וחכמתו" — Moshe followed accepted protocol. Is there a chiddush hiding in this seemingly natural act?

A — Sforno reads it as the opposite of obvious. By שורת הדין, Moshe's elevated מעלה (the man through whom Hashem speaks panim el panim) would have justified *not* going out — and everyone would have understood. So when Moshe goes out anyway, he is exhibiting a middah tovah: "לא חדל בשביל מעלתו לקדם פני מי ששילם לו טובה בעת צר לו." Moshe still remembers Yitro's chesed from when he was a refugee at the well — and elevation has not erased that. Sforno marshals parallel cases: Esther continued to do מאמר מרדכי even as queen (Esther 2:20); Yosef cared for his brothers in his greatness. And one counter-example: the שר המשקים forgot Yosef the moment he was reinstated. "מנהגם של משה אסתר ויוסף מלמדנו איזוהי דרך ישרה שיבור לו האדם." Position is no excuse for forgetting a benefactor.