Why the Holy One Spoke to Moses From the Thornbush

"And Moses was shepherding" (Exodus 3:1), "in a flame of fire from within the thornbush." Rabbi Shimon ben Yochai says: Why did the Holy One, blessed be He, reveal Himself from the heights of heaven and speak with Moses from within the thornbush? Just as this thornbush is the harshest of all the trees in the world, and any bird that enters it does not come out from it whole but is cut limb from limb, so too the servitude of Egypt was harsher before the Omnipresent than all the servitudes in the world. Never did a slave or a maidservant go out free from Egypt except Hagar alone, as it is said, "And Pharaoh commanded men concerning him, and they sent him away, and his wife, and all that he had" (Genesis 12:20). Another interpretation of "from within the thornbush": Rabbi Yehoshua says: Why did the Holy One, blessed be He, reveal Himself from the heights of heaven and speak with Moses from within the thornbush? Because whenever Israel is in distress, it is as though there is distress before Him, as it is said, "In all their distress He was distressed" (Isaiah 63:9). And it says, "I am with him in distress" (Psalms 91:15). And it says, "For whoever touches you touches the apple of His eye" (Zechariah 2:12). Scripture thereby teaches that whoever harms Israel, it is as if, so to speak, he harms only the One who spoke and the world came into being. And thus would Rabbi Yehoshua say: Come and see how great are the mercies and merits of the Holy One, blessed be He, toward Israel. They went down to Egypt; the Divine Presence was with them, as it is said, "I will go down with you to Egypt" (Genesis 46:4). They went up; the Divine Presence was with them, as it is said, "And I will surely bring you up again" (ibid.). They went down to the sea; the Divine Presence was with them, as it is said, "And the angel of God moved" (Exodus 14:19). They came to the wilderness; the Divine Presence was with them, as it is said, "And in the wilderness, which you have seen, where the LORD your God carried you" (Deuteronomy 1:31) until they came to the Temple. When they dwell in suffering, He, so to speak, dwells with them in suffering, as it is said, "from within the thornbush." When they dwell in ease, He dwells with them in ease, as it is said, "to behold the good of Your chosen, to rejoice in the gladness of Your nation, to glory with Your inheritance" (Psalms 106:5). Another interpretation of "from within the thornbush": Rabbi Yose says: Why did the Holy One, blessed be He, reveal Himself from the heights of heaven and speak with Moses from within the thornbush? Because it is pure, and the nations of the world do not make it into an idol. Another interpretation of "from within the thornbush": A certain gentile asked Rabban Gamliel. He said to him: Why did the Holy One, blessed be He, reveal Himself to Moses from within the thornbush? He said to him: Had He revealed Himself upon a single carob or upon a single fig tree, I would have said there is a place on earth empty of the Divine Presence. Now He revealed Himself upon the thornbush to teach you that there is no place on earth empty of the Divine Presence. Another interpretation of "from within the thornbush": Rabbi Yose said: And why from within the thornbush? Rather, what is the way of a thornbush? A person puts his hand into it and is not injured, because its thorns bend downward; but if he seeks to take his hand out, the thorns seize it. So too, when Israel went down to Egypt, they received them, as it is said, "The land of Egypt is before you; in the best of the land settle your father and your brothers" (Genesis 47:6); but once they sought to leave, they seized them, as it is said, "And also Israel I will not let go" (Exodus 5:2). Rabbi Eliezer says of "from within the thornbush": A great miracle did Moses see, for he saw the thornbush sprouting and rising up out of the fire. And if you are astonished at this thing, come and see from the staff of Aaron, which was of dry wood and yet brought forth almonds and blossoms. Another interpretation of "why from within the thornbush": Rabbi Elazar ben Arakh says: Why did the Holy One, blessed be He, reveal Himself from the heights of heaven and speak with Moses from within the thornbush? Because the Omnipresent could have spoken from the tops of mountains and from the tops of hills, from the high places of the world and from the cedars of Lebanon; yet He lowered Himself and spoke from within the thornbush. And concerning Him, Solomon said, "And the lowly of spirit shall uphold honor" (Proverbs 29:23). You find no tree lower than the thornbush. And thus it says, "For though the LORD is exalted, He sees the lowly" (Psalms 138:6).