The King Rejoicing With His Children and the Pauses Given to Moses

Yalkut Shimoni on Torah 429:2

Curated by Arthur·Told by Maggid·

Another interpretation of "And He called to Moses" at the bush: to what may the matter be compared? To a king of flesh and blood who was angry at his servant and commanded that he be confined in prison; when he gives orders to the messenger, he gives them only from outside. But in the Tent of Meeting, when he is rejoicing with his children and his children are rejoicing with him, when he gives orders to the messenger, he gives them only from within, as one who seats him between his knees, like the hand of a man upon his son; therefore it is said, "And He called to Moses." "And He called and spoke" - He set the calling before the speaking. Is this not a matter of logic? Speech is stated here and speech is stated at the bush; just as the speech at the bush had the calling set before the speaking, so too here. [The argument is tested and refined through analogy: the bush was the first of the divine utterances, while the Tent of Meeting was not; Sinai shows that even speech which is not the first still had calling set before it; Sinai was to all Israel, the Tent was not.] What feature is common to them all? They are speech, and from the mouth of the Holy One to Moses, with the calling set before the speaking; so too every instance that is speech from the mouth of the Holy One to Moses has the calling set before it. [One might limit this to speech accompanied by fire, excluding the Tent of Meeting, which had no fire.] Therefore the verse teaches, "And He called and spoke" - He set the calling before the speaking. One might think the calling was only for that single utterance; from where do we learn it for all the utterances in the Torah? The verse teaches, "from the Tent of Meeting": whatever is from the Tent of Meeting had the calling set before the speaking. One might think the calling was only for the formal utterances [dibberot]; from where also for sayings [amirot] and commands [tzivvuyim]? Rabbi Simeon said: the verse teaches "speak," "and spoke," to include also the sayings and the commands. One might think also for the pauses; the verse teaches "and spoke" - the calling was for speech and not for the pauses. And what purpose did the pauses serve? To give Moses respite to reflect between one section and another and between one subject and another. And this is an argument from the lighter to the weightier: if one who heard from the mouth of the Holy One and spoke by the holy spirit needed to reflect between section and section and between subject and subject, then an ordinary person learning from an ordinary person, how much more so. And from where that all the callings were "Moses, Moses"? The verse teaches, "And God called to him from the midst of the bush, and said, Moses, Moses" (Exodus 3:4); for Scripture need not have said "and said," but it teaches that all the callings were "Moses, Moses." And from where that to every calling he answered "Here I am"? The verse teaches, "and he said, Here I am"; for Scripture need not have said "and he said," but it teaches that to every calling he answered "Here I am." "Moses, Moses," "Abraham, Abraham" (Genesis 22:11), "Jacob, Jacob" (Genesis 46:2), "Samuel, Samuel" (1 Samuel 3:10) - an expression of affection, an expression of urging.

Themes

MosesTorahProphecy

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