The Cavern and the Sea - How Moses and God Spoke at Sinai

Midrash Tanchuma Buber, Ki Tisa 14:3

Curated by Arthur·Translated by Maggid (Beta)·

"And Moses said to the LORD" (Exodus 33:12). To what is the matter comparable? To a cavern set upon the edge of the sea, which the sea filled. From then on the sea gives to the cavern, and the cavern returns to the sea. "And the LORD spoke to Moses" (Exodus 33:1). "And the LORD spoke to Moses" (Exodus 33:5). "And Moses said to the LORD" (Exodus 33:12).

Themes

MosesProphecyRevelation

Biblical References

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Mekhilta DeRabbi Shimon Ben YochaiSpeak You With Us and the People Earn ProphetsAt the foot of the mountain the people make a request that turns out to shape all of Jewish history. They tell Moses, "You speak with us, and we will listen, buMekhilta DeRabbi Shimon Ben YochaiMoses Drew Near to the Thick Darkness Where God WasWhile the people held back at a distance, staggered twelve mil backward and drawn twelve mil forward with every word, Moses walked forward. The verse says he "dYalkut Shimoni on TorahThe Voice Between the Cherubim That Spoke to Moses AloneTwo verses seem to fight. One says God spoke to Moses from the Tent of Meeting; another says God spoke from above the ark's cover, between the cherubim. Which wYalkut Shimoni on TorahMoses Alone Heard the Voice in the Tent of MeetingRabbi Eleazar offers a reading that lifts Moses higher: when God called to Moses, all Israel could hear the call going out, and the verse records it precisely tMidrash Tanchuma Buber, ShemotMoses Alone Knew the Ways of the Holy One"Now Moses was tending the flock", and the verse in Psalms answers why this shepherd was chosen: "He made His ways known to Moses." Hear the weight of that lineLife of Adam and EveAdam Is Taken Into ParadiseOne such story, preserved in Vita Adae et Evae (The Life of Adam and Eve), tells of a remarkable vision. It's a bit obscure, not as well-known as other heavenly