Shemot

Burning for Freedom

Rabbis Lawrence Kushner and Laura Duhan Kaplan

Moshe was tending the flock of Jethro, his father-in-law . . . he came to the mountain of God, to Horeb . . . and behold: A bush was burning but the bush was not consumed. (Exodus/Shemot 3:1-3)

Despite the grazing flock, this is hardly a pastoral scene. Something is strangely on fire. Even the name of the mountain is Horeb, which means in Hebrew "to be destroyed or ravaged."

The whole scene is itself a prototype of what will come when Moshe brings the Jewish people back here - for Horeb is another name for Sinai. Fire will engulf the mountain, and the people will be instructed not to gaze at God, lest they perish. Dangerous business here at Horeb/Sinai. You get too close, you see too much, you could get fried.

Yet Moshe looks and is not destroyed. Perhaps the burning bush is a metaphor for the journey he is about to undertake. God is calling Moshe to go back into the land of slavery. What he will see there will be heartbreaking. He will often feel as devastated as those he tries to save. And yet he will not be consumed by his mission but will shine on. The lesson: Knowledge of the presence of God, which Moshe receives at Horeb, and a passion for justice, which the Israelites learn at Sinai, are tools you need for tikkun olam.

Return to Reb Laura's "Taste of Torah" list.

Return to "Teachings from Our Rabbis and Friends" list.

---

[ Home ]	[ Asiyah ]	[ Yetzirah ]	[ Briyah ]	[ Atzilut ]	[ Calendar ]
	( Doing )	( Feeling )	( Knowing )	( Being )