The following is a brief summary of a thought said over by R' Frand in his shiur this evening. I have attempted to reproduce this vort to the best of my ability. Any perceived inconsistencies are the result of my efforts to transcribe the shiur and should not be attributed to R' Frand.
In Shemos 18:1 the Torah writes that Yisro heard all that Hashem did for Moshe and the Jews. Rashi on 18:1 asks what did Yisro hear? He answers that the Mechilta teaches that Yisro heard about the spltting of Yam Suf and the war with Amalek.
Later, in Shemos 18:9, the Torah recites that Yisro rejoiced ("Vayichad Yisro"). Rashi again asks what was Yisro happy about? He answers that Yisro was happy about the manna from the skies, the well which followed them and the giving of the Torah. Rashi continues that on top of these things, Yisro was happiest that Hashem took the Jews out of Egypt because (again quoting the Mechilta) prior to this event, no slave had ever escaped Egypt.
Rabbi Frand then asked - why was this such an important event for Yisro? The splitting of the Yam Suf and the daily manna miracles were departures from the laws of nature. Why were these less significant to Yisro?
To answer the question, Rabbi Frand then re-asked the age old question - what does the line in the haggada mean when it states that if Hashem did not take the Jews out of Egypt we would still be there? He augmented the question by noting that today is the 200th Birthday of Abraham Lincoln - the man given recognition for freeing the slaves. If Lincoln could set the slaves free and apartheid had died in South Africa, why would the Jews still be slaves in Egypt?
R' Frand answered both questions by quoting the sefer Abir Yosef. He explained that the reason that no slave ever escaped Egypt was not because they had the best fences, or police or even dogs. Rather, the reason no slaves ever left was because the Egyptians broke down their slaves on a mental level, making them believe that they were subhuman. As a result of the Egyptians' intimidation tactics, no slaves harbored dreams of leaving Egypt.
Yisro was aware of the Egyptians' success in destroying the slaves' will to escape. As such, upon seeing how Hashem was able to take His people out of Egypt and reverse two hundred years of servitude and its impact on the human psyche, Yisro found this to be greater than the splitting of Yam Suf or the manna.
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