Baruch Hashem

Yitro is the first person in the Torah to say the words, ברוך ה׳. This was his response when he heard about the great things that the Jewish people witnessed. Some say that he was told about קריעת ים סוף, the splitting of the Red Sea as well as מלחמת עמלק, the war with Amalek. Others before him, burst into שירה, song, as was done after the Egyptians were drowned at the Red Sea. There were several who built a מזבח, an altar, and offered sacrifices, to give thanks for Hashem’s salvation. Leah was the first to give thanks for טבע, the natural order of things, when Yehuda was born, הפעם אודה את ה׳, this time I will give thanks to Hashem. But it was Yitro, the convert, who taught us to bless G-d with the words, ברוך ה׳, upon hearing good news. The Talmud in Sanhedrin, says that this was a גנאי, a negative point, against the 600,000 Jews that they needed to be taught by Yitro to say ברוך ה׳. They should have known this on their own. The lesson here is clear. We must realize that every success and bit of good news in our lives, is a direct Chesed from Hashem. As taught by Yitro, we must always acknowledge this Chesed with the words, ברוך ה׳.