We arrive this week at Yitro. We have come through the sea, singing songs of triumph and dancing with joy. Now the work of becoming a people begins.

The opening words of this portion, "and Jacob left," set a narrative in motion that begins with Jacob's flight from his brother Esau's fury at having been robbed of his birthright. Jacob's trickery is matched by his father-in-law Laban, who ensures that his daughter Leah is married before her younger sister, Rachel, for whom Jacob works for seven years.