Why Was Moses Afraid to Gaze at G-d?- In His Greatest Moment Moses Chose Earth Over Heaven

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shemos

pain

moshe

moses

suffering

burning bush

sneh

In His Greatest Moment Moses Chose Earth Over Heaven

Why Was Moses Afraid to Gaze at G-d?

This weekly women&#39;s class was&nbsp;presented on Tuesday, Parshas Shemos, 17 Teves, 5782, December 21, 2021, at Bais Medrash Ohr Chaim in Monsey, NY.

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sheep

moshe/moses

How a Rebellious Sheep Created the First Jewish Leader

Women's Shemos Class

He’s Not Defiant; He’s Just Thirsty. Don’t Blame; Just Be Curious

This women&#39;s class was presented on Tuesday Parshas Shemos, 15 Teves 5778, January 2, 2018, at Ohr Chaim, Monsey, NY. This class is based on an address by the Lubavitcher Rebbe, on Shabbos Parshas Shemos 5726/1966 (Likkutei Sichos vol. 36 Shemos).

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fear

faith

happiness

trust

bitachon

How Our Thoughts Effect Reality

Shemos Women's Class

Tracht Gut -- Think Good 

This women&#39;s class was presented on Tuesday Parshas Shemos, 17&nbsp;Teves, 5780, January 14, 2020 at the Ohr Chaim Shul, Monsey, NY

&quot;Moshe&quot; was not his real name. It was an Egyptian name given to him years after his birth. Why was this name chosen by the Torah for the greatest Jewish leader?&nbsp;

Moses was a stepson, or grandson, of Pharaoh. He was raised as a beloved child in the Egyptian palace. The Midrash teaches, that Pharaoh has appointed Moses as the Chief of Staff of the palace. He was being groomed for leadership. In all likelihood, Moses would become Pharaoh&rsquo;s heir, or at least one of Egypt&rsquo;s most dominant figures.&nbsp;

Now, if you were in Moses&rsquo; position, and you observed a Jew being beaten, what would you have done? &nbsp;Using my rational logic, I might have thought to himself: Stay put. Keep your anger to yourself. Let the Egyptian get away with his crime. These monsters are doing this regularly. You remain the loyal Egyptian prince, dedicated (at least on the outside) to your grandfather, the most powerful person in this country, the Pharaoh. Slowly but surely, climb the ranks. Play the game of politics and diplomacy. Prove your loyalty and efficiency. If you play this game of chess rightly, you might become Pharaoh&rsquo;s successor. As the next king of Egypt, you will save not one Jew, but three million of them!

Yet, we know the path Moses chose. He didn&rsquo;t hesitate for a moment, and cut down the life of the SS guard, right there, right then. At that moment he ended the dream: Not only would he not become the king of Egypt; he would become an outlawed fugitive, running for his life.&nbsp;

An experiment in Princeton in 1973, and a forger in France&mdash;all capture the central idea of Judaism: Indifference is never an option.

Part of this class is based on various Midrashim and commentators to Shmos, including a talk delivered by the Lubavitcher Rebbe on Motzei Shabbos Parshas Shemos 5740 (1980), and on a class by Rabbi David Fohrman.

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batyah

nile

kaminsky

The Forger Who Saved 10,000 Children

The Day Moshe Sacrificed His Dream

This weekly women&#39;s class&nbsp;was&nbsp;presented on Tuesday, Parshas Shemos, 21&nbsp;Tevet, 5781, January 5, 2021, live from Rabbi Jacobson&#39;s home in Monsey, NY. It explores the three signs Moshe made for the Jewish people and their inner meaning and significance. What was the point of having the stick turn into a snake? Moshe&#39;s hand become white like snow? and the water turning into blood?

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pharaoh

nile river

Uncovering the Lie of the Nile

Women's Shemos/Vaeira Class

Three Signs to Confront Moshe's Three Fears

This women&#39;s class was presented on Tuesday Parshas Shemos, 17&nbsp;Teves, 5779, December 25, 2018, at the Ohr Chaim Shul, Monsey, NY

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thorns

shemot

Your Inner Thorns Don't Delegitimize Your Fire

The Burning Bush and a Beautiful Mind

This class to women was presented on&nbsp;Tuesday, 26 Teves 5777,&nbsp;January 24, 2017, at Ohr Chaim, Monsey, NY

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anger

revenge

Why Does Hashem Inspire Moshe Via Anger?

A G-d of Vengeance or Compassion? 

She is one of the most unexpected heroes of the Torah. Without her, Moses might not have lived. The whole story of civilization would have been different. Yet she was not an Israelite.

She had nothing to gain, and everything to lose, by her courage. Yet she seems to have had no doubt and experienced no misgivings. If it was Pharaoh who afflicted the children of Israel, it was another member of his own family who saved the decisive vestige of hope: Pharaoh&#39;s daughter.

Who was this person? Why did she go bathe in the Nile River? What is the symbolism of her extended arm? How did she know the infant was Jewish? Who did she end up marrying?

A reflection on a single act, performed in a single moment, by a single individual, which transformed history.

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self- sacrifice

righteous gentile

pharoah

mumbai

midrash

idolatry

holzberg

holocaust

good intentions

feminism

sandra

How One Woman, the Daughter of a Tyrant, Changed History

Class Shemos

Moral Courage In the Heart of Darkness

Moses’ Story

Unlike his brethren suffering in slavery, Moses had been raised in the palace of the Pharaoh, and by the king’s own daughter, Batya. A favorite of the king, as a child, he was not spared luxury. Moses could have easily chosen to isolate himself in the aristocratic life of a prince, oblivious to the hardship and suffering of the Hebrews, targeted for abuse and annihilation. But Moses did not.

Moses leaves the palace, choosing to spend his time comforting and bringing relief to the Jewish slaves. Quickly, he finds himself unable to stand idly in the face of injustice. To protect an innocent man being beaten senselessly by his Egyptian taskmaster, Moses kills the tormenting master, and then, to escape capital punishment, flees to the quiet land of Midyan. There, he meets his wife, Tziporah, the daughter of one of the wealthiest and most influential men in town, Jethro, and Moses settles down into the favorite biblical occupation, shepherding.

It seems that life has worked out for Moses. The horrors of Egypt are a thing of the past. True, Egypt is a place of unspeakable crimes against humanity, but what can Moses, or for that matter what can anyone, do about that? Moses’ life in Midyan, hundreds of miles away from Egypt, is now secure, domesticated, and peaceful. He builds a family and grows old.

Moses is now eighty years of age. By all calculations, a good time to retire.

But then everything changes. And it has something to do with a burning bush.

A Burning Bush

One day, Moses is shepherding his father-in-law’s sheep, when suddenly, he witnesses a bush, “burning with a heart of fire,” yet the bush is not being consumed, it is not being transformed to ash. Moses says, “Let me turn aside, and see this great vision! Why is the bush not being consumed?”

The Torah&nbsp;describes the following scene:<a href="javascript: void(0);" id="_edn1" name="_ftnref1" onclick="ty.scrollTo('_ednref1')">[1]</a>

“G-d saw that Moses turned to see, so He called out to him from amidst the bush. ‘Moses! Moses!’ And he said: Here I am.”

G-d tells Moses that "I have heard the pain and screams of the children of Israel in Egypt, and I have decided to save them." Now it is you, Moses, who I will send to Pharaoh, and you will take my nation out of Egypt. Moses becomes the greatest leader of all times, liberating a people from oppression and giving the world the Torah, paving a road in the jungle of history.&nbsp;

A Turn of the Head

The Rabbis in the Midrash, always sensitive to nuance, focus our attention on the enigmatic words: “G-d saw that Moses turned to see, so He called out to him from amidst the bush.” Clearly, G-d called out to Moses only because Moses turned to see the sight of the burning bush. But what exactly did Moses do? What does it mean that he “turned to see?”

On this there is a Midrashic argument:<a href="javascript: void(0);" id="_edn2" name="_ftnref2" onclick="ty.scrollTo('_ednref2')">[2]</a> Rabbi Yochanan says that Moses walked five steps<a href="javascript: void(0);" id="_edn3" name="_ftnref3" onclick="ty.scrollTo('_ednref3')">[3]</a>&nbsp;approaching the burning bush. Reish Lakish says that Moses did not take any steps at all; he simply turned his head to gaze at the bush, and when G-d saw that he turned his head in that direction, he called out to him.

What is the motif behind this strange argument?

The Light Bulb Moment

All biblical tales are not merely historical tales of the past, but contemporary lessons for our own lives. The story of Moses, the most important biblical figure, is no different.<a href="javascript: void(0);" id="_edn4" name="_ftnref4" onclick="ty.scrollTo('_ednref4')">[4]</a> It is a timeless blueprint for our own inner journey.

Just like Moses, whose life at this point was slow and tranquil, far away from Pharaoh and the enslaved Israelites, and then suddenly is confronted with his burning bush and a new mission to change the destiny of mankind, we too often find ourselves far away from our destiny. We are living in our own orbit, “shepherding our own flock,” minding our own business, in our inner psychological wilderness.

But then, suddenly, we experience a “burning bush,” or a “light bulb moment.” A fire is ignited in our hearts, a light bulb goes off in our minds. Our G-d within speaks to us about a larger mission in life.

Mark Twain said,&nbsp;"The two most important days in your life are the day you are born and the day you find out why."&nbsp;It is the&nbsp;day when you suddenly see your full potential and hence your full responsibility to both yourself and those around you. It is a moment of clarity&nbsp;when you know exactly what you are capable of, and what you were created for. It is when you shoulder full responsibility for your destiny.

But how can I know that the voice calling me is real? How do I know that it is not a fantasy created by an imagined ego, a childish dream, divorced from reality? How do I know that this is not the hallucination of a lunatic, or trauma protecting itself, but my personal call to greatness? Maybe I need to go to a psychiatrist or a therapist instead of returning to Egypt and confronting my Pharaoh.

The answer is when the fire burns and burns, yet never consumes your bush. The light bulb never dims. The voice inside me never falls silent. Then I know that this is not a fantasy, but a mission. My inner fire and secret passion, my ‘heart of fire,’ can never be extinguished, can never be placated by any alternatives. I can run, but I cannot hide, because the fire will continue to burn inside me.

Running From Your Burning Bush

And yet, many of us do not turn to see as the bush burns with a never-ending flame. We don’t want to get disturbed. We have appointments to catch, emails to answer, bills to pay, goals to complete. Who has time and energy for a bush which refuses to stop burning?

We are tempted to look away, run away, to pretend we never saw what we saw. We don’t like entertaining ideas that might severely shake up the status quo.

The greatness of Moses was that he turned to see the bush. According to one sage, Rabbi Yochanan, he actually walked five steps toward the flames—corresponding to the five layers of human consciousness: Nefesh, Ruach, Neshamah, Chayah, Yechidah—the biological, emotional, intellectual, transcendental, and undefined quintessence (“quint” in Greek means five<a href="javascript: void(0);" id="_edn5" name="_ftnref5" onclick="ty.scrollTo('_ednref5')">[5]</a>) of the soul, beyond form or description. According to Rabbi Yochanan, Moses approached the burning bush with every fiber of his being, with every aspect of his identity.<a href="javascript: void(0);" id="_edn6" name="_ftnref6" onclick="ty.scrollTo('_ednref6')">[6]</a>

But Reish Lakish argues. Moses did not even take a single step. There is no need to even take one step toward the bush. All G-d wants is for you to turn your head and notice the bush ablaze. Just be attentive enough in life that when the light bulb moment occurs, you will at least notice it; you will not repress it with a glass of alcohol, a TV show or a rib steak.

That is for some the most difficult and therefore most rewarding step: to turn their heads and see the moment.<a href="javascript: void(0);" id="_edn7" name="_ftnref7" onclick="ty.scrollTo('_ednref7')">[7]</a> And when you do turn your head, when you do tune in to the moment, you will be able to hear the call. Your inner Divine consciousness, your inner soul, will summon you: Moses! Moses! Declare “Hinani!” I am here. And listen, with your soul’s ear, to your mission, the mission of your life.

Three Excuses

But Moses is not easy to convince. He begins arguing with G-d<a href="javascript: void(0);" id="_edn8" name="_ftnref8" onclick="ty.scrollTo('_ednref8')">[8]</a>: “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh? Who am I that I should take the Jews out of Egypt?” And when G-d does not desist, Moses tries a different approach: “But the people, they won’t believe me; they will ask me ‘who is this G-d in whose name you speak!’” But G-d insists. Moses then speaks of the fact that he is not a man of words; his communication skills are compromised. Finally, Moses begs, “Please G-d, send in the hand of the right person.” G-d gets upset at Moses and promises him that He will be with him throughout the mission. Only then does Moses finally accept his calling. Once he accepted it, he never looks back again. The march toward redemption begins.

This is true in our lives too. There are three major handicaps that prevent people from finding themselves and living their lives to the fullest; there are three rationalizations for why we shirk our greatest responsibilities; three forms of paralysis.

Moses first says “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh? Who am I that I should redeem the Jews?” In our vocabulary this is the response of insecurity. We are afraid, we feel inadequate to meet the challenges of life. We blame ourselves or our mothers: I am helpless, I am incompetent, I am a victim, I stutter, I can’t communicate, nobody likes me, I am a small guy, a nobody. But G-d does not accept: To shy from responsibility due to feelings of inadequacy is not an act of humility, but one of cowardice, because it excuses inaction, avoids accountability, and most importantly it allows you to remain mediocre and for a people to remain enslaved. How can you allow your mediocrity to allow suffering of innocent people?

Another approach is not to blame ourselves, but to blame everyone else. In the words of Moses, “But the people won’t believe me! They will say who is this G-d in whose name you speak; what will I respond to them?” We often claim that we are ready, but what can we do, the world is not ready for us! We blame our spouses, our in-laws, our family, our community, the media, the government, the masses—for being unresponsive. We blame our families for being unappreciative and our communities for not respecting us. We blame everyone but ourselves.

Finally, there is a third excuse: Perfectionism. If I can’t be perfect, then I don’t want to be anything at all. This is encapsulated by Moses’ last argument: “G-d! Send in the hand of the right person.” Moses, says the Midrash,<a href="javascript: void(0);" id="_edn9" name="_ftnref9" onclick="ty.scrollTo('_ednref9')">[9]</a> was referring to Moshiach, the one intended to redeem us conclusively, permanently, and for all of eternity. Here Moses is saying, “I know that I am capable of fulfilling this mission to the fullest, and I know that the people will be responsive and will heed my call, but if my redemption is to be temporary, then I don’t want to bother with it at all! It is either all or nothing!”

But G-d, once again, disagrees. Perfectionism, when misused, is not a strength, but a weakness. It is the enemy of progress.

Your Struggles

How do I know where my unique mission lies?

The answer, again, is in the thorn bush. The call to Moses did not come from any bush; it came from a thorn bush. Thorns represent pain, where I was pricked, where I was hurt, where I have been left scarred. Many times it is specifically that area where I have been hurt deeply but have persevered, where I struggle the most, where the inner battle rages most intense, that can become my unique strength and contribution. My ‘heart of fire’ rages within and grows out of my own inner thorn bushes.

You, and only you, are equipped with your unique mission to open hearts, to move people to action, to keep people from losing hope, to help people forgive themselves and others, to help people laugh at their humanity, to save a soul, kindle a heart, to inspire a nation, to touch a community, to spread goodness and kindness, to share the light of Torah and Mitzvos with people around you, to reveal the energy of redemption in your part of the world.

Can we see the burning bush? Will we turn around? That is the question I must answer in my life; and you must answer in yours.<a href="javascript: void(0);" id="_edn10" name="_ftnref10" onclick="ty.scrollTo('_ednref10')">[10]</a>

_______________________

<a href="javascript: void(0);" id="_ednref1" name="_ftn1" onclick="ty.scrollTo('_edn1')">[1]</a> Exodus 3:4.

<a href="javascript: void(0);" id="_ednref2" name="_ftn2" onclick="ty.scrollTo('_edn2')">[2]</a> Midrash Rabah Shemos 2:6.

<a href="javascript: void(0);" id="_ednref3" name="_ftn3" onclick="ty.scrollTo('_edn3')">[3]</a> In Midrash Tanchuma here the version is “three steps,” not five steps. The midrashic commentators discuss this discrepancy, suggesting various explanations. Cf. footnote #6.

<a href="javascript: void(0);" id="_ednref4" name="_ftn4" onclick="ty.scrollTo('_edn4')">[4]</a> The Chassidic masters teach that there is a spark of Moses in each of us (Tanya chapter 42.) Hence, all of Moses’ experiences apply on some level to us.

<a href="javascript: void(0);" id="_ednref5" name="_ftn5" onclick="ty.scrollTo('_edn5')">[5]</a> Quintessence means the fifth essence. The ancient Greeks taught that there were four elements, or forms, in which matter could exist: fire, air, water, and earth. Then there was the fifth element known as the fifth essence (quintessence) ether, more subtle and pure than fire. Now the word stands for the essential principle or the most subtle extract, the pure, undiluted essence of an existence that can be obtained. These five dimensions are discussed in many works of Midrash and Kabbalah.

<a href="javascript: void(0);" id="_ednref6" name="_ftn6" onclick="ty.scrollTo('_edn6')">[6]</a> This also explains why according to one version in Midrash, Moses took three steps, since in many sources, the five levels of the souls are generally divided into the three levels of “naran,” Nefesh, Ruach, Neshamah.

<a href="javascript: void(0);" id="_ednref7" name="_ftn7" onclick="ty.scrollTo('_edn7')">[7]</a> This is similar to the idea the Lubavitcher Rebbe once expressed about prayer. Prayer is a ladder of many rungs. There are many different levels and layers we explore during prayer. But the foundation of all of them is “shtelen zeich davenen,” the person tearing himself away from everything and tuning-in to the mental state of communicating with the Divine. That in a way is deeper than all of the high levels following during the actual prayer (Likkutei Sichos vol. 2 Parshas Matos Massei.)

<a href="javascript: void(0);" id="_ednref8" name="_ftn8" onclick="ty.scrollTo('_edn8')">[8]</a> Exodus 3:11.

<a href="javascript: void(0);" id="_ednref9" name="_ftn9" onclick="ty.scrollTo('_edn9')">[9]</a> Midrash Lekach Tov. Pirkei Derabi Eliezer ch. 40.

<a href="javascript: void(0);" id="_ednref10" name="_ftn10" onclick="ty.scrollTo('_edn10')">[10]</a> My thanks to Rabbi Avraham David Shlomo (Cape Town, South Africa) for his help in preparing this essay.

It seems that life has worked out for Moses. The horrors of Egypt were a thing of the past. Egypt was a place of unspeakable crimes against humanity, but what could Moses do about that? Moses&rsquo; life in Midyan, hundreds of miles away from Egypt, is secure and peaceful. He builds a family and grows old. Moses is eighty years of age. By all calculations, a good time to retire&hellip;

But then everything changes&mdash;and it has something to do with a Burning Bush. A Midrashic tradition quotes an argument what Moses did when he saw the burning bush. One opinion says he took five steps; the other opinion says he merely turned his head to gaze at the blazing bus. Only then did G-d call out to him. What is the motif behind this strange argument?

The story of Moses is our own story. Each of us minds our own business until we experience our &ldquo;burning bush,&rdquo; our light bulb moment. How we respond to that inner feeling is the question which will determine our destiny. Will we live a life of quiet desperation, or will we achieve greatness?

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greatness

your mission

seneh

thorn bush

The Psychological Burning Bush

The Birth of Greatness

&nbsp;

The Inaugural Vision

The inaugural vision in which Moses was appointed to become the leader of the Jewish Nation and its eternal teacher, we should assume, contains within it the essence of Judaism. 
 
Moses, shepherding his father-in-law's sheep in the Sinai wilderness, suddenly sees a blazing thornbush. "G-d's angel appeared to Moses in a blaze of fire from amid a thorny-bush," we read in Shemos. "He saw and behold! The bush was burning in the fire but was not consumed. Moses said to himself, 'I must go over there and gaze at this great sight—why isn't the bush burning up from the flames'". When Moses approaches the scene, G-d reveals Himself to him, saying: “Don’t approach here. Remove your shoes from your feet, for the place upon which you stand is holy soil.” He then speaks to Moses, identifying Himself as the G-d of your fathers,” and charging him with the mission of leading the Jewish people to redemption. 
 
It is a perplexing story. Firstly, what was the symbolism behind the vision of a burning bush? G-d has made numerous appearances in the Torah till this point. Yet never was it in a burning bush not being consumed.

Second, why did G-d tell Moses not to approach the bush? What would be wrong with him coming closer?

Third, what does G-d mean when He says, “The place upon which you stand is holy soil?” Why was the actual earth upon which he was standing holy? The burning bush was holy, for G-d was present in the flame, thus Moses was standing in a holy place. But why the emphasis on the actual sand and earth?

Interpretations abound. Today I will present a profoundly moving insight on the matter.<a href="javascript: void(0);" id="_edn1" name="_ednref1" onclick="ty.scrollTo('_ednref1')">[1]</a>

The Thorns in the Fire

Since this revelation was the genesis of Moses's appointment as the leader of Israel who would transmit the Torah to Israel, this vision captures one of the common dilemmas in the life of the Jew and indeed of every searching human being.

One of the great challenges of any sincere person striving to grow spiritually is that even when he or she manages to ignite a fire in their soul, the fire never consumes the thorns present in the psyche. The passion is aglow, the heart is aflame, the ecstasy is ablaze, but the thorns refuse to be sublimated in the flame. Toxicity and anxiety take over. A person may be in the midst of sincere prayer to G-d, but suddenly a most ugly thought or craving will flare up in his brain. You may be experiencing a most happy moment in life, but suddenly the most obnoxious emotion surfaces in your heart. Even in our most potent fires, the thorns abound. Even in our most intimate, subtle, refined, joyous, spiritual experiences, we confront irrational fears, demons, and traumas. They often surface to the conscious in the most least expected moments.

The story of the burning bush which would not consume the thorns embodies the duality in every heart. On one hand, we experience a desire to be good and moral. But then, at other times, we are mundane and careless, overtaken by beastly tendencies, selfish impulses, and ugly emotions. What is worse, these polarities are often experienced in such close proximities with each other. In the morning, I may be infused with a sense of awe, wonder, splendor, amazement. At those times, I am inspired, motivated to serve G-d, to pray, to learn Torah, to engage in mitzvos, good and holy deeds. Barely several hours—sometimes minutes—pass, and boom! The sublime ecstasy withers away. This spiritual person suddenly has a hard time refusing a slice of pizza, a particular website, or a terrible angry impulse.

When my heart is idealistic, I say to myself, “I really love this. It’s great. Life is beautiful. I wouldn’t give this up for anything in the world.” And then, it’s all gone. The whole spiritual high is naught. I am reduced to a small, petty, ridiculous, fearful, depressed, and angry creature.

Doubt

This dichotomy is one of the main factors causing people to give up on living a meaningful and joyous life. The tension is too deep, and I can’t be a hypocrite.

Moses, the first and greatest Jewish teacher, approaches the thorn bush. He has one question: “Why does it not get consumed?” If the fire is real, why does it not consume the thorns?!&nbsp; How is it possible, Moses wonders, that if a person’s spirituality is authentic, it has no bearings on his or her thorns? Unless of course, the fire was a delusion.

G-d responds: “Remove your shoes from your feet because the place upon which you stand is sacred soil.” These words revolutionize our approach to the enduring struggle. Holiness lies in the very place upon which you stand. Don’t wait till you reach your own psychological utopia; rather, the very place where you stand is holy; a relationship with G-d does not mean that you are darkness-free, thorn-free, struggle-free. You must encounter the holiness in your present situation.

Then G-d continues to tell him: “I am the G-d of your father.” I am present in the midst of this thorny bush. I am in this flame, even though the thorns have not been eliminated.

The Tanya

It took another three millennia for the message to be articulated lucidly. This notion, one that has brought comfort and healing to millions of soul-climbers, is one of the central themes of the Tanya—the magnum opus of Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi, the founder of Chabad, known as the Alter Rebbe (1745-1812), whose passing 208 years ago, in 1812, will be marked today on the 24th of Teves.

The theme is captured in the very name of the book.

The Alter Rebbe termed this work with a very original and beautiful name: Sefer shel Banunim, which means The Book of the Intermediate People, or the Guidebook for the Ordinary Person.

Who is the banuni? Who is this prototype the Alter Rebbe places in the vortex of his great work? The banuni is a person who possesses in a conscious way a duality—not like the tzadik, who has achieved moral perfection. The banuni operates on two levels of consciousness, his life dichotomized between two souls: The “reptilian brain,” an insecure and self-centered consciousness, focusing on survival and fast comfort, and a Divine, transcendental soul, aligned with the infinite depth and purpose of existence. His life constitutes a struggle between these two perceptions of the self and the world.

Here is the Tanya’s profound idea—all based on that vision of the burning bush: “Remove your shoes from your feet because the place upon which you stand is sacred soil.” Never doubt the potency and authenticity of your inner holiness and Divinity, just because there are ugly thoughts still lingering in your brain. Never allow your external animal self to dictate and take control of the narrative of your life. The toxic voices are here to help you crystallize who you really are; each of them coming to make you grow and become the human being you are capable of becoming.

G-d does not want you necessarily to become the tzaddik, the toxic-free person. Not everyone can attain the spiritual perfection of the tzadik. But not everyone must achieve that state. The hero of the Tanya is the banuni: he opens up a door for every human being in every situation and on every level, to find his or her own place among those who are striving to soar on high—to connect and become true servants of G-d.

The banuni is not the individual who always wins, but he is also not the human being who is defeated. He is the individual who fights daily to uncover the truth of his own infinite depth; the clamor of his efforts is exquisite music to the Divine ear.

The Alter Rebbe termed his work the Sefer shel Banunim because he was attempting to address who we are rather than who we are not. He was attempting to make Judaism, to make the Divine path, real; to make it intimately close (“karov elecha”)—to you, to me, to us, people for whom the world seems no less real than G-d, maybe even more real. To human beings to whom materialism is as powerful as spirituality, maybe even more powerful.

Many previous books of Jewish ethics and spirituality aim to elevate and inspire man toward the ideal of the tzaddik, 'the perfectly righteous individual.' But there is a problem. Some people indeed can become truly righteous, the rest of us give up, or we become fake. Hence, the value and contribution of the Tanya. With it, the Alter Rebbe brought healing and hope to millions.

I would say that the entire Tanya is based on that single passage G-d told Moses: “for the place upon which you stand is holy.” Wherever you are, you can find holiness and develop a real relationship with the Almighty. Even as your thorns do not disappear and do not forfeit their sting in the flame of your soul, never doubt the truth of your core-identity, as a Divine ambassador in this world. Serving G-d does not mean becoming sacred; it means having the courage to fight for truth even amidst thorny foes that crave to undermine you.

Moses wants to approach the fire. We all want to transcend our conditions and become Divine. So G-d says, no! You must realize that holiness is where you stand today! You may have lots of earth and gravel—but that itself is holy. You were given the mission to light a candle of truth and hope in a space of darkness and hopelessness. Your inner darkness is waiting to be transformed. To be a Jew means to know that just as in math we have the Asymptote, a line that continually approaches a given curve but does not meet it at any finite distance, we may feel that we never reach the full truth. Yet, wherever you are in life, you can become a conduit for the infinite and bring heaven down to earth.

________________________

<a href="javascript: void(0);" id="_ednref1" name="_edn1" onclick="ty.scrollTo('_edn1')">[1]</a> Based on Degel Machane Ephraim Parshas Shemos. This Chassidic work was authored by Rabbi Moshe Chaim Ephraim, the Rabbi of Sedlikov, Ukraine (1748-1800). His mother was Udel, the daughter of the Baal Shem Tov. He is interred near his grandfather in Medzhebuzh, Ukraine. It is also interesting to note that the Alter Rebbe said, that the path of the Baal Shem Tov was based on this inaugural vision of Moses, cf. this essay: <a href="https://www.theyeshiva.net/jewish/6126/essay-shemos-souls-on-fire">https://www.theyeshiva.net/jewish/6126/essay-shemos-souls-on-fire</a>

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What was the symbolism behind the vision of a burning bush? G-d has made numerous appearances in the Torah till this point. Yet never was it in a burning bush not being consumed.

Interpretations abound. Today I will present one of the profoundest and moving insights on the matter. Since this revelation was the genesis of Moses appointment as the leader of Israel who will transmit the Torah to Israel, this vision captures one of the common dilemmas in the life of the Jew and indeed of every searching human being.

One of the greatest challenges of the serious human being is that even when he or she manages to ignite fire in his soul, the fire never consumes the thorns present in the psyche. The passion is aglow, the heart is aflame, the ecstasy is ablaze, but the thorns refuse to be sublimated in the flame. Toxicity abounds. I may be experiencing a most happy moment in life, but suddenly the most obnoxious emotion surfaces in my heart. 

The Alter Rebbe termed this work with a very original and beautiful name: Sefer Shel Banunim, which means The Book of the Intermediate Men. Or the Guidebook for the Ordinary Person. Many previous books of Jewish ethics and spirituality aim to elevate and inspire man toward the ideal of the tzaddik, &#39;the perfectly righteous individual.&#39;

But there is a problem. Some people indeed can become truly righteous, the rest of us give up, or we become fake. Hence, the value and contribution of the Tanya. With it, the Alter Rebbe brought healing and hope to millions.

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alter rebbe

tanya

benoni

The Burning Bush and the Tanya

Essay Shemos/24 Teves

Moses Confronts the Inner Human Struggle

Irritation, Aggravation, and Misery

A boy asks his father to explain the differences between irritation, aggravation, and misery.

Dad picks up the phone and dials a number at random. When the phone is answered he asks, "Can I speak to Ralph, please?"

"No! There's no one called Ralph here." The person hangs up.

"That's irritation," says Dad.

He picks up the phone again, dials the same number and asks for Ralph a second time.

"No--there's no one here called Ralph. Go away. If you call again I shall telephone the police." End of conversation.

"That's aggravation."

"Then what's ‘misery’?" asks his son.

The father picks up the phone and dials a third time:

"Hello, this is Ralph. Have I received any phone calls?"

The Yartzeit

This Friday, the 24th of the Hebrew month of Teves, January 5, 2024, marks 211&nbsp;years since the passing of Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi (1745-1812), known as the Alter Rebbe, one of those rare individuals who revolutionized the landscape of Jewish thought, synthesizing the rational, legalistic and mystical streams of Judaism into a unified, comprehensive program for life, in a system known as “Chabad Chasidus.”&nbsp;

For this occasion, I will share today an insight by this spiritual giant on the weekly Torah portion, Shemos.

The Vision

The inaugural vision in which Moses was appointed to become the molder of the Jewish Nation and its eternal teacher, we can&nbsp;assume, contains within it the essence of Judaism. 
 
Moses, shepherding his father-in-law's sheep in the Sinai wilderness, suddenly sees a blazing thorn-bush. "G-d's angel appeared to Moses in a blaze of fire from amid a thorny-bush," we read in Shemos<a href="javascript: void(0);" id="_edn1" name="_ftnref1" onclick="ty.scrollTo('_ednref1')">[1]</a>. "He saw and behold! The bush was burning in the fire but was not consumed. Moses said to himself, 'I must go over there and gaze at this great sight—why isn't the bush burning up from the flames.'" When Moses approaches the scene, G-d reveals Himself to him, charging Moses with the mission of leading the Jewish people to redemption. 
 
What was the spiritual and psychological symbolism behind the vision of a burning bush?

Human Trees and Bushes

"Man is a tree of the field," states the Torah<a href="javascript: void(0);" id="_edn2" name="_ftnref2" onclick="ty.scrollTo('_ednref2')">[2]</a>. All humans are compared to trees and bushes. Just like trees and bushes, we humans contain hidden roots, motives and drives buried beneath our conscious self. Just like trees and bushes, we also possess a personality that is visibly displayed, each in a different from and shape<a href="javascript: void(0);" id="_edn3" name="_ftnref3" onclick="ty.scrollTo('_ednref3')">[3]</a>. 
 
Some human beings can be compared to tall and splendorous trees, with strong trunks enveloped by branches, flowers and fruits. Others may be compared to bushes, humble plants, lacking the stature and majesty commanded by a tree. Some individuals may even see themselves as thorn-bushes, harboring unresolved tension and unsettled turmoil. Like a thorn, their struggles and conflicts are a source of constant irritation and frustration, as they never feel content and complete within themselves<a href="javascript: void(0);" id="_edn4" name="_ftnref4" onclick="ty.scrollTo('_ednref4')">[4]</a>. 
 
All people—all trees and bushes—are aflame. Each person has a fire burning within him or her, yearning for meaning, wholesomeness, and love. Just as the flame of a candle is forever licking the air, reaching upward toward heaven, so too each soul longs to kiss heaven and touch the texture of meaning and eternity<a href="javascript: void(0);" id="_edn5" name="_ftnref5" onclick="ty.scrollTo('_ednref5')">[5]</a>. 
 
Yet, for many human trees the longing flame of the soul is satisfied and ultimately quenched by their sense of spiritual accomplishment and success. These people feel content with their spiritual achievements; complacent in their relationship with G-d, satisfied with the meaning and love they find in their lives. 
 
The human thorn-bushes, on the other hand, experience a different fate. The thorns within them never allow them to become content with who they are, and they dream for a life of truth that always seems elusive. Thus their yearning flames are never satisfied. Their thirsty palates never quenched. They burn and burn and their fire—their longing, passion, and thirst—never ceases. Since the ultimate peace they are searching for remains beyond them, and the ultimate sense of oneness eludes them, their internal void is never filled, leaving them humbled and thirsty, ablaze with a flame and yearning that is never sated. 
 
With the sight Moses beheld in the wilderness, he was shown one of the fundamental truths of Judaism: More than anywhere else, G-d is present in the flame of the thorn-bush. The prerequisite to Moses' assuming the role of the eternal teacher of the people of Israel was his discovery that the deepest truth of G-d is experienced in the very search and longing for Him. The moment one feels that "I have G-d," he might have everything but G-d.

When Moses observed this spiritual truth, he exclaimed: “I must depart from here and go over there and gaze at this great sight—why isn't the bush burning up from the flames." This vision inspired a transformation even in Moses himself. This saintly man, the greatest prophet in history, recognized the infinity one encounters only in the void, in the longing, in the hunger, in the fire that never ceases to burn, because the thorns refuse to quench the flames.

The Master Key

A story<a href="javascript: void(0);" id="_edn6" name="_ftnref6" onclick="ty.scrollTo('_ednref6')">[6]</a>: 
 
One year, the Baal Shem Tov<a href="javascript: void(0);" id="_edn7" name="_ftnref7" onclick="ty.scrollTo('_ednref7')">[7]</a> said to Rabbi Ze'ev Kitzes, one of his senior disciples, "You will blow the shofar for us this Rosh Hashanah. I want you to study all the kabbalistic meditations that pertain to shofar, so that you should meditate upon them when you do the blowing."

Rabbi Ze'ev applied himself to the task with trepidation over the immensity of the responsibility. He studied the kabbalistic writings that discuss the significance of the shofar and its mystical secrets. He also prepared a sheet of paper on which he noted the main points of each meditation he needed to reflect upon while blowing the shofar. 
 
Finally, the great moment arrived. It was the morning of Rosh Hashanah and 
 
Rabbi Ze'ev stood on the platform in the center of the Baal Shem Tov's synagogue, surrounded by a sea of worshippers. In a corner stood the Baal Shem Tov, his face aflame. An awed silence filled the room in anticipation of the climax of the day -- the piercing blasts and sobs of the shofar. 
 
Rabbi Ze'ev reached into his pocket and his heart froze: The paper had disappeared. He distinctly remembered placing it there that morning, but now it was gone. He searched his memory for what he had learned, but his distress over the lost notes froze his mind. Tears of frustration filled his eyes as he realized that now he must blow the shofar like a simpleton, devoid of spiritual meaning and ecstasy. Rabbi Ze'ev blew the litany of sounds required by Jewish law and returned to his place, an emptiness etched deeply in his heart. 
 
At the conclusion of prayers, the Baal Shem Tov approached Rabbi Ze'ev, who sat sobbing under his tallis. "Gut Yom Tov, Reb Ze'ev!" he exclaimed. "That was a most extraordinary shofar-blowing we heard today!" 
 
"But Rebbe... Why?..." 
 
"In the king's palace," said the Baal Shem Tov, "there are many gates and doors leading to many halls and chambers. The palace-keepers have great rings holding many keys, each of which opens a different door. The meditations are keys, each unlocking another door in our souls, each accessing another chamber in the supernal worlds. 
 
"But there is one key that fits all the locks, a master key that opens all the doors, that opens up for us the innermost chambers of the Divine palace. That master key is a broken heart<a href="javascript: void(0);" id="_edn8" name="_ftnref8" onclick="ty.scrollTo('_ednref8')">[8]</a>."

<a href="javascript: void(0);" id="_ednref1" name="_ftn1" onclick="ty.scrollTo('_edn1')">[1]</a> Exodus 3: 1-3.

<a href="javascript: void(0);" id="_ednref2" name="_ftn2" onclick="ty.scrollTo('_edn2')">[2]</a> Deuteronomy 20:19. Talmud Taanis 7a.

<a href="javascript: void(0);" id="_ednref3" name="_ftn3" onclick="ty.scrollTo('_edn3')">[3]</a> Cf. Likkutei Sichos vol. 6 pp. 308-309. Igros Kodesh of the Lubavitcher Rebbe vol. 1, pp. 247-250.

<a href="javascript: void(0);" id="_ednref4" name="_ftn4" onclick="ty.scrollTo('_edn4')">[4]</a> See Tanya chapter 15, 27, 29, 30, 31.

<a href="javascript: void(0);" id="_ednref5" name="_ftn5" onclick="ty.scrollTo('_edn5')">[5]</a> See Tanya chapter 19, based on Proverbs 20:27.

<a href="javascript: void(0);" id="_ednref6" name="_ftn6" onclick="ty.scrollTo('_edn6')">[6]</a> Week In Review (VHH, 1996, edited by Yanki Tauber) Vol. 7 No 51.

<a href="javascript: void(0);" id="_ednref7" name="_ftn7" onclick="ty.scrollTo('_edn7')">[7]</a> 1698-1760. The Baal Shem Tov was the founder of the Chassidic movement. This year marks the 250th anniversary of his yartzeit.

<a href="javascript: void(0);" id="_ednref8" name="_ftn8" onclick="ty.scrollTo('_edn8')">[8]</a> This essay is based on a discourse by Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi (1745-1812), founder of the Chabad school of Chassidism. The kernel of this discourse he received from his mentor, Rabbi Dov Ber of Mezrich (d. 1772), who heard it from his teacher, the Baal Shem Tov.

During a public debate that took place in 1783 in the Russian City Minsk, between Rabbi Schneur Zalman and the great Lithuanian scholars who fiercely opposed Chassidism, Rabbi Schneur Zalman explained how Moses' vision of the burning bush served as the nucleus of the Chassidic contribution to Judaism. He pointed out that this quality of an unquenchable flame embodied the uniqueness of the simple Jew who's heartfelt prayer was filled with an Insatiable yearning for G-dliness, vs. the accomplished Torah scholar whose fire has been quenched by his intellectual creativity and innovations (The complete episode around the debate was related by Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak of Lubavitch in 1942 and published in Sefer HaSichos 5702 pp. 46-47; Kesser Shem Tov, 1998 edition, section b, pp. 19-21).

Shemos -- Does Religion Destroy People?

The Secret of the Burning Bush

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