January 20th: Va’era
THIS WEEK IN THE TORAH
Rabbi David E. Ostrich
How personally do we take the Torah? While many commentators urge us to see ourselves in the possibilities of the Biblical narrative, are some scenarios just beyond our scope? An example would be Moses’ relationship with God. Is this something we can anticipate, or is it sui generis? The same can be asked about the special role Moses plays in the lives of both Hebrews and Egyptians.
We begin with God’s revelation to Moses.
“Now Moses, tending the flock of his father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian, drove the flock into the wilderness, and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. An angel of the Lord appeared to him in a blazing fire out of a bush. He gazed, and there was a bush all aflame, yet the bush was not consumed. Moses said, ‘I must turn aside to look at this marvelous sight; why doesn’t the bush burn up?’ When the Lord saw that he had turned aside to look, God called to him out of the bush: ‘Moses! Moses!’ He answered, ‘Here I am.’ And God said, ‘Do not come closer. Remove your sandals from your feet, for the place on which you stand is holy ground. I am,’ God said, ‘the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.’ And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God.” (Exodus 3.1-6)
As we identify with Moses—much as we might identify with the hero of any story we read, what would it take for us to have a similar closeness to God? Some Commentators note that Moses “turns aside” from his shepherding to inspect the burning bush, and thus they conclude that he must have an interest in spiritual phenomena. Indeed, they speculate, this is the reason God decided to assign the Exodus mission to him: “When the Lord saw that he had turned aside to look, God called to him out of the bush.” Does this mean that all people interested in spirituality or spiritual phenomena can expect a call from the Lord?
According to Tradition, the answer is negative because revelation ceased around 500 BCE. God put everything necessary for us to know in the Torah—both the Written Torah (Bible) and the Oral Torah (Talmud). Since then, rather than wait for instructions from Divine revelation, we receive instructions from God by studying the Torah and commentaries.
On the other hand, many spiritual seekers speak of accessing the Divine in mystical practice and awareness. There are countless descriptions and prescriptions, but one insight that always strikes me in that of the poet Elizabeth Barrett Browning in Aurora Leigh:
Earth’s crammed with heaven, and every bush afire with God;
but only he who sees takes off his shoes—
the rest sit around and pluck blackberries.
In other words, it may not be a matter of waiting for or hoping for God’s booming voice but rather learning to perceive the Presence of God in the world around us. There are also activities—holy behaviors—with which we can encounter the Divine. Picking up on the passage in Exodus 34 in which Moses “sees God’s back” and a poem by the mediaeval philosopher Judah HaLevi, the rabbis who compiled and composed the Reform Movement’s The Union Prayer Book (1940), presented the following re-imagining of revelation and living in response to God’s Presence (slightly adapted):
“O Lord, how can we know You? Where can we find You? You are as close to us as breathing and yet are farther than the farthermost star. You are as mysterious as the vast solitudes of the night and yet are as familiar as the light of the sun. To the seer of old You did say: You cannot see My Face, but I will make all My Goodness pass before You. Even so does Your Goodness pass before us in the realm of nature and in the varied experiences of our lives.”
“When justice burns like a flaming fire within us, when love evokes willing sacrifice from us, when, to the last full measure of selfless devotion, we proclaim our belief in the ultimate triumph of truth and righteousness, do we not bow down before the vision of Your Goodness? You live in our hearts, as You pervade the world, and we through righteousness behold Your Presence.”
This notion of being close to God when we do justice fits very well into the story of Moses. After explaining the plan for the Exodus, God summarizes with,
“You shall bring forth the Israelites from the Land of Egypt, troop by troop.” (Exodus 6.26)
Moses, however, balks because he cannot imagine fulfilling the role of both leader and spokesman.
“I am of impeded speech; how then should Pharaoh heed me!” (Exodus 6.30)
God responds to his hesitation with this curiously phrased description of Moses’ role.
“The Lord replied to Moses, ‘N’taticha Elohim l’Far’oh. See I place you in the role of God to Pharaoh, with your brother Aaron as your prophet.’” (Exodus 7.1)
I do not think that God is elevating Moses to the Divine level. Rather, Moses is being promoted in the Divine-Human “chain of command” to a position superior to that of Pharaoh. The King of Egypt thinks that he is in control of morality, but God is here—represented by Moses and Aaron—to show him that God is the One in control. This word, Elohim / God is used later in the Bible in reference to judges. They are not gods but rather functionaries in God’s system of justice, carrying out the instructions and righteousness of the Lord. In other words, for both Moses and those in authority, there is an association with the Divine—a closeness—that comes with doing God’s work in the world.
While we may not be fortunate enough to hear God’s booming voice, we can gain access to the Divine Presence. When we study Torah, we cleave to the Divine—drawing ourselves closer to the attributes God embodies and teaches. When we live lives of piety, we open our souls to the Spiritual Presence and fill ourselves with it. And, when we carry out the righteousness and justice and lovingkindness and compassion of God, we embody and channel God’s Presence and Love to the world. We can be God’s manifestations.
As the Torah concludes (Deuteronomy 34),
“Never again did there arise in Israel a prophet like Moses—whom the Lord singled out, face to face…” However, there are nonetheless significant ways that Moses models possibilities for us all. We too can draw close to God, and we can bring God into the world.