The portion of Yitro, which contains the account of the greatest Divine revelation in history, at Mount Sinai, begins on a note that is human, all too human. Yitro, priest of Midian, has come to see how his son-in-law Moses and the people he leads are faring. It begins by telling us what Yitro heard (the details of the exodus and its attendant miracles). It goes on to describe what Yitro saw, and this gave him cause for concern.

He saw Moses leading the people alone. The result was bad for Moses and bad for the people. This is what Yitro said:

Life can seem very confusing. The struggle to get from one stage to another, even from one day to the next, can seem meaningless. The Torah perspective is that there is indeed deep and beautiful meaning at every step of our lives: but that sense of meaning is often hidden. It is veiled, covered, like a new and exciting invention which is concealed by a large flowing cloth at the beginning of its first public appearance. The crowds are standing there, feeling expectant. The journalists are ready with their poised cameras. Then the veil is drawn aside, and one hears an involuntary gasp from the crowd…

The ninth of the Ten Plagues to be visited on Egypt was the plague of Darkness: “No person could see his brother, nor could any person rise from his place, for three days; but for the children of Israel, there was light in all their dwellings" (Exodus 10:23).

The physical plague of darkness had its root in a spiritual darkness, which can be defined as the absence of G‑d’s revealed presence. In discussing the spiritual origin of this plague the Midrash cites two opinions: Rabbi Nechemia taught that the darkness originated in the regions of geheinom (purgatory); Rabbi Yehudah taught that it originated in the celestial spheres.