Parshat Shemot- Rav Shames The Ramban opens his commentary on Sefer Shemot with an introduction to the entire book: “Sefer Beraishit is the book of creation…Sefer Shemot deals with the first exile and the redemption from it. That is why the book starts with the names of those who went down to Egypt, for that is when it began. The exile is not over until they return to their original position. The exodus from Egypt was not enough, only when they reached Har Sinai and they later built the Mishkan and God rested his Shechina amongst them was the position of the forefathers restored…” In the eyes of the Ramban our new book is the story of Galut and Geula. While his assumption is quite clear vis a vis the start of the book his innovation is significant regarding the end of it. We could have assumed that the story of the Geula ends in Parshat Beshalach upon the crossing of the sea. The Ramban tells us that the process is not complete simply by the physical redemption, but rather, we needed to be reinstated into the level of Divine revelation in order to truly end the Galut, which happens at Har Sinai. In fact, if that would be the case the process would have been over in Yitro (or possibly Mishpatim) but in fact it is the Mishkan that serves as the perpetuation of the wondrous moments at Har Sinai. It is in the Mishkan that God’s Divine Presence remains with us forever. Indeed the subsequent books as well are focused on a similar theme. Vayikra spells out the rules and regulations for the Mishkan in order not to defile it and chase away the Shechina (see the Ramban’s introduction to Vayikra). Bamidbar is to tell us how this holy structure fits into our everyday camp (once again, see the Ramban’s introduction to Bamidbar). I think we can expand this as well to Devarim (even though the Ramban does not say this in his introduction to Devarim). Devarim is an attempt to transfer the temporary Mishkan into the more permanent “place the God has chosen” in Eretz Yisrael. In short the Torah from here on out is the story of our meeting with Hakadosh Baruch Hu and living our lives with His Presence amongst us on all levels. Our parsha is the beginning of the story, the exile part. We read of all of the troubles of Am Yisrael in the next couple of weeks, setting the stage for the “real stuff” that will follow in the stories of the Geulah. If we take another look at our parsha we find an interesting episode that seems to fit better with the second part of the book; Moshe’s meeting with God at the burning bush. This is our first account of Divine Revelation in the sefer and has many interesting points to note. In comparison to Moshe’s later meetings with God it seems to match the same pattern. The event takes place on the same mountain as Matan Torah and the same spot that Moshe will later need to return to God to plead on the behalf of Am Yisrael after the sin of the Golden Calf. It also has an impressive “audio-visual” element (admittedly, only one burning bush as compared to the larger fire and thunder at Matan Torah, but the effect is similar). The ground is described as holy and Moshe is given limitations as to where he can go and how he must conduct himself (removing his shoes). The pattern is one of a meeting with God. Each and every one of these elements, in one form or another, repeat themselves at Matan Torah and later become institutionalized in the Mishkan and Mikdash. However, I think that there is a significant distinction between this meeting with God and most others that we will read about in the weeks and months to come. Meetings with God are generally an event to prepare for. Matan Torah itself required three days of preparation and if we follow all of the rules in Vayikra and Bamidbar we will find that a visit to the Mikdash requires a great deal of planning. In general it took a week to purify oneself from Tumat Met (contact with a dead body) and one had to be sure that one was not tamei from any other cause as well. Even the simple act of going to the mikveh could not be done on the very day of the visit because the purifying process would not be completed until night fall. There could be no last minute decisions to “meet God”. This of course is by design and is very understandable in light of the gravity with which we view such meetings. Moshe’s meeting at the burning bush was far from this. An eighty year old refugee tending his father-in-law’s sheep is spending yet another day in the barren hills of the Sinai Deseret. He is intrigued by a strange phenomenon and decides to investigate it further. Upon his approach he is called upon by God. This meeting is the antithesis of everything that we will learn about, as we have noted above. Moshe has not prepared himself for any sort of encounter with God, he may not have been pure and we have no indication whatsoever that Moshe is a religious type at all!! One can clearly understand his reluctance to take on such a mission, and his ensuing debate with God takes on both substantive arguments as well as technical ones. (He seems unable to share his experience with his father-in-law and only confides with Aharon, which is quite understandable given the unlikely circumstances that led to the conversation). I think we can see two things from this incident. Firstly, Moshe was able to rise to the challenge. He very quickly was able to understand his mission, as unlikely a candidate as he was, and begin to fulfill his destiny. The second idea makes us rethink the ideas of the Ramban. Yes, Shemot is the book of Galut and Geulah and the true Geulah is only when God expresses Himself to us and we are able to “visit” Him and feel His Presence amongst us. However one never knows when and where we will be called by God to a meeting. All of life’s events can instantaneously turn into a moment of revelation, if He so chooses. Not every meeting with God will follow the model of the end of Sefer Shemot, purity, preparation etc., sometimes we are thrust into what seems to be a mundane scene that is really our own burning bush. I would not recommend searching for burning bushes, as it seems they are actually quite rare, however I think that there are many more subtle moments that we experience that we can find a similar level of Divine Revelation, if we simply take the same step that Moshe Rabenu did- “Let me check out this most peculiar sight…”. Hakosh Baruch Hu expresses Himself daily to us in a multitude of ways, it is our challenge to have the curiosity to see what stands behind these moments and to meet the challenge that they represent. Shabbat Shalom