A
PLACE OF REVELATION
 The
desert will have always inspired men. Perhaps it is a privileged site
of revelation – a voice would pierce the silence of the rock garden
behind the wave of the hills where a shepherd would appear. God would
not reside as much in the din of the cities as he would in the serenity
of the deserts. In any event, He will have chosen a similar setting
in the Sinai, humble and bare, perhaps a bit hostile, to reveal himself
to Moses:
| The
burning bush |
Moses
kept watch over the flock of Yitro, his father-in-law,
the priest of Midyan and he led the flock far into the
desert and came to the mountain of God, the Horev. An
angel of the Eternal appeared to him in a flame of fire
in the midst of a bush. Moses saw that the bush burned
with fire, but was not consumed. And he said to himself:
“I will approach this great sight to see why the bush
is not burnt.” When the Eternal saw him approaching to
see, God called out to him from the midst of the bush
and said: “Moses! Moses!” And he replied: “Here I am.”
And He continued: “Do not come near! Take off your shoes
for the place on which you stand is holy ground!” He added:
“I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, Isaac
and Jacob…” And Moses covered his face for he was afraid
to look upon God. And the Eternal said: “I have surely
seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt and
I have heard their cry against their oppressors for I
know their suffering. Therefore, I have come down to deliver
them from the hand of Egypt and to take them up out of
that land to a good and vast land, to a land flowing with
milk and honey where the Canaanites, the Hittites, the
Emorites, the Perizzites, the Hivvites and the Yevusites
reside. Now behold, the cry of the children of Israel
comes to me for I have seen the oppression to which Egypt
subjects them. Now go and I will send you to Pharaoh to
bring my people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt.”
Moses said to the Eternal: « Who am I that I should go
to Pharaoh to bring the children of Israel out of Egypt?”
He replied: “I will certainly be with you and this will
be for you the sign that it is I, Who has sent you. When
you have brought the children of Israel out of Egypt,
you will serve God upon this mountain.” And Moses said
to God: “When I come to the children of Israel and I say
to them: the God of your fathers has sent me to you… and
they ask me: what is His Name? What should I say to them?”
God said to Moses: “I AM THAT I AM!” He added: “This is
what you will say to the children of Israel: I AM has
sent me to you.” Moreover, God said to Moses: “Tell the
children of Israel: The Eternal, the God of your fathers,
the God of Abraham, of Isaac and of Jacob, has sent me
to you. This is my name forever, this will be my memorial
to all generations…”
Exodus
3: 1 - 15
|
Ardent Israel
 Some
researchers have talked about a mirage, explaining the burning bush
as a kind of plant that emits a gas that inflames upon contact with
the air. Others have classified it as a parasitic plant of the acacia
that is spotted with red flowers, which leads one to believe that
the tree is on fire. The more ingenious rabbinic commentators classify
the bush as a kind of mulberry: a thick, thorn covered bush that grows
along the streams and rivers:
| Ardent
Israel |
In
the same way that this bush could only grow at the water’s
edge, the people of Israel can only blossom nourished
by the compost of the Torah, which is likened to water,
according to the verse: “Ah! Everyone that is thirsty.
Come to the water!” (Isaiah 55: 1) Just as the bush is
covered at the same time with thorns and flowers, the
people of Israel produce the righteous and the irreverent.
Just
as when you run your hands through the bush, you do not
feel anything at first [because the thorns are turned
inwards] and it is only upon drawing out you hand that
you are pricked, the children of Israel entered Egypt
unnoticed and left with miracles, wonders and cries of
war.
Exodus
Rabba 2: 5
|
| The
hedge of humanity |
One
day, a pagan asked Rabbi Joshua ben Korha: “Why did the
Eternal, Blessed be His Name, choose to speak to Moses
from a bush?”
“Had He addressed him from a carob tree or a sycamore
tree”, replied the Rabbi, “you would have posed the same
question! However, I cannot leave your question unanswered.
Why a bush? To teach us that there isn’t a place where
the Divine Presence does not dwell, not even a bush!”
Rabbi
Yohanan said: “Just as bushes form a hedge around gardens,
Israel forms a hedge around the world.”
Exodus
Rabba 2: 9
|
| The
Sinai Revelation |
In
the third month after the exodus of the children of Israel
out of Egypt, on that day they came to the Sinai Desert.
They came to the Sinai Desert from Refidim and camped there
before the mountain. And Moses went up to the Eternal and
God called out to him from the mountain and said to him:
“Speak to the house of Jacob and tell the children of Israel:
You have seen what I did to the Egyptians and how I bore
you on eagles’ wings and brought you to Myself. Now, therefore,
if indeed you obey My voice and keep my covenant, you will
be a treasure to me from among all peoples for all the earth
is mine! You will be a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.”
Exodus 19: 1 – 6
Now,
on the third day in the morning, there was thunder and
lightening and a thick cloud upon the mountain and the
exceedingly loud sound of a horn and all the people in
the camp trembled. And Moses took the people out of the
camp to stand before God at the foot of the mountain.
Mount Sinai was covered with smoke - because the Eternal
had descended upon it in fire – and the smoke rose like
smoke from a furnace and the whole mountain shook violently.
And the sound of the horn grew louder and louder as Moses
spoke and the voice of God replied. The Eternal had come
down upon Mount Sinai, on the summit of the mountain,
and the Eternal summoned Moses to the top of the mountain
and Moses went up. The Eternal said to Moses: “Go down
and warn them not to come closer to gaze upon the Eternal
for many will perish. Let the priests who come near to
the Eternal also sanctify themselves lest they too perish.”
Moses said to the Eternal: “The people cannot come up
Mount Sinai for You charged us saying: Set boundaries
around the mountain and sanctify it!”
Exodus 19: 16 – 23
And God spoke all these words saying:
“I am the Eternal, your God, Who brought you out of the
land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. You will have
no other gods besides Me… You will not invoke the name
of the Eternal, your God, in vain… Remember the Sabbath
day to keep it holy… Honor your father and your mother…
Do not commit murder… Do not commit adultery… Do not steal…
Do not bear false witness against your neighbor. Do not
covet your neighbor’s house…”
Exodus 20: 1 – 14
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Three thousand
years later, the covenant that was concluded on Mount Sinai continues
to inspire men, to give rise to their commentaries and to govern their
moral and social life.
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