Parshat Shemot5 min read

Moses Hid His Face at the Bush and Paid for It Later

Moses turned away when God appeared in the burning bush. That single motion shaped every vision he was granted and denied for the rest of his life.

Curated by Arthur · Told by Maggid ·
Table of Contents
  1. The Bush Was Already Strange Before He Turned Away
  2. Hineni Was Too Large a Word
  3. Seven Days God Tried to Persuade Him
  4. The Reward for What He Had Done

The Bush Was Already Strange Before He Turned Away

Moses had been walking behind animals for years by the time he reached Horeb. He had left the palace, left Egypt, crossed into Midian, and learned the slow discipline of herding sheep through terrain that scattered them. He had pressed God with the precision of a careful shepherd, asking how many in the flock were with young, how many remedies had been prepared. The text in Midrash Tanchuma Buber preserves a tradition in which Moses interrogates the divine commission in the language of the Song of Songs before he ever reaches the burning bush.

The bush was low and full of thorns. The rabbis in Midrash Tanchuma Buber, Shemot 12:3, read its lowness as a deliberate choice. God would not speak from a cedar while Israel was trapped in Egypt's pain. The thorn plant, the plant that catches on skin, was the right vessel for a message about a people caught and not released. The fire burned and did not consume, which was itself the first teaching: a people can burn for generations and still be alive.

Hineni Was Too Large a Word

When the voice called his name twice, Moses answered with a single word: Hineni, here I am. The rabbis in the Tanchuma heard the word doubled in its weight. Rabbi Joshua ben Qorhah taught that hineni said once was readiness for the priesthood, and hineni said again was readiness for kingship. Moses was, in that one breath of submission, offering himself for every crown that Israel would ever need.

But before the voice finished speaking, Moses hid his face. He was afraid to look at God (Exodus 3:6). The gesture was real, not theatrical. He covered his eyes. He turned away. God had been calling from a burning bush for a reason, had chosen a modest thorn plant and a manageable fire, and Moses still found it more than he could look at directly. He pulled back.

Seven Days God Tried to Persuade Him

Rabbi Samuel son of Nahman, teaching in the Midrash Tanchuma tradition from Chayei Sarah, says God spent seven days at the burning bush trying to move Moses toward the mission. Moses resisted with the full arsenal of his humility. He said O Lord, I am not a man of words (Exodus 4:10). He said O Lord, send by the hand of him whom You will send (Exodus 4:13). He had reasons. He had legitimate concerns. And underneath all of it, he had a face that was turned away.

Shemot Rabbah preserves a teaching from Rabbi Tanhuma bar Abba on the mechanics of what followed. Moses eventually asked to see God's glory (Exodus 33:18). He had grown. He had led the people out. He had stood in front of Pharaoh. And now he wanted the vision he had refused at the beginning. God's answer was immediate: when I revealed myself to you in the burning bush, you did not want to look at me. Now you are willing, but I am not. The refusal at the bush had become the limit on everything that came after.

The Reward for What He Had Done

The tradition does not leave Moses without compensation. Legends of the Jews, drawing on the same midrashic materials, describes the cave at Horeb, the same cave where Elijah later sheltered on his flight from Jezebel. Moses was placed in the cleft of the rock and shown God's back. He saw what a person could see while still surviving. The passage in Numbers 12:8 says he beheld the form of the Lord. More than any other prophet. Less than what he had asked for. Both things true at once.

What the rabbis built from these pieces is a ledger of spiritual consequence. Moses's humility at the bush was genuine and admirable. His refusal to look was also a contraction, a pulling away from what was being offered. The bush would not burn again. The open offer would not return in that form. What he later received, the vision of the back, the cleft in the rock, the luminous face that had to be veiled, was shaped by the one moment he chose to cover his eyes.

MosesProphecyBurning BushHumilityDivine Presence
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From the tradition

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The texts this telling draws on, in full. Open a card to read inline, or expand it for a wider, quieter read.

Midrash Tanchuma Buber, Shemot 12:3Midrash Tanchuma Buber, Shemot

Another interpretation (of Exodus 3:1): "And he drove the flock to the far side of the wilderness." Rabbi Joshua ben Korcha said: He foretold to him that his flock would perish in the wilderness, and that he would be gathered in together with it. "And he drove the flock", He hinted to him that he would lead Israel forty years, and afterward he would be gathered in. So too Moses, when he demanded the needs of Israel: when the Holy One, blessed be He, said to him, "Go on My errand," Moses said to Him, "Tell me, you whom my soul loves, where do you graze, etc." (Song of Songs 1:7), How many living ones are among them? How many pregnant ones are among them? How many remedies have you prepared for the pregnant ones who are among them? "Tell me, you whom my soul loves." The Holy One, blessed be He, answered him and said to him, "If you do not know, O fairest among women, go forth in the tracks of the flock, etc." (Song of Songs 1:8). Therefore, "and he drove the flock to the far side of the wilderness."

When he reached Horeb, immediately what is written? "And the angel of the LORD appeared to him in a flame of fire" (Exodus 3:2). Why "in a flame of fire"? In order to win his heart, so that when he would come to Sinai and see that fire he would be in awe; therefore, "in a flame of fire." Another interpretation: Why "in a flame of fire"? A flame is placed from two parts. Why from within the thorn bush and not from within another tree? The Holy One, blessed be He, said, "I am with him in distress" (Psalms 91:15), and they were placed in servitude, and shall I reveal Myself from within another tree? Therefore, from within the thorn bush, which is entirely of thorns.

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Midrash Tanchuma Buber, Shemot 16:1Midrash Tanchuma Buber, Shemot

"And he said: Here I am" (Exodus 3:4). Rabbi Joshua ben Qorhah said: What is the meaning of "Here I am, Here I am"? "Here I am" for priesthood, "Here I am" for kingship. The Holy One, blessed be He, said to him: In the place of the pillar of the world you are standing. Abraham said "Here I am," and you have said "Here I am."

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Midrash Tanchuma, Chayei Sara 6Midrash Tanchuma

"And Abraham again." This is what Scripture says: "Though your beginning was small, your end will greatly increase" (Job 8:7); it speaks of Moses. Rabbi Shmuel bar Nachman said: for seven days the Holy One, blessed be He, was persuading Moses at the bush, and he kept fleeing, as it is said: "Send, I pray, by the hand of him whom You will send" (Exodus 4:13). And it is written: "I am not a man of words" (Exodus 4:10). And it says: "And Moses hid his face" (Exodus 3:6). "And your end will greatly increase," as it is written: "And he beholds the form of the LORD" (Numbers 12:8). Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai said: he would see the likeness at once.

Another interpretation: "Though your beginning was small": this is Abraham, who was a hundred years old and had no son, and afterward the Holy One, blessed be He, appeased him.

Rabbi Yehudah bar Simon and Rabbi Chanan in the name of Rabbi Yochanan say: He raised him above the dome of the firmament, as it is said: "And He brought him outside and said: Look now toward the heavens" (Genesis 15:5). One says "look" only from above to below. The Holy One, blessed be He, said to him: One who is beneath the constellation fears it; you, who are above it, lift your head over it.

Even so, at a hundred years he begot a son. This is the meaning of "Though your beginning was small": this is Abraham. "And your end will greatly increase": that he married a wife and begot still more children at the end, as it is said: "And Abraham again."

"And Abraham again." This is what Scripture says: "In the morning sow your seed, and in the evening do not let your hand rest" (Ecclesiastes 11:6).

Rabbi Eliezer says: Scripture speaks of crops. Solomon said: if you sowed at the early rain, do not stand idle at the late rain, as it is said: "and in the evening do not let your hand rest." Why? "For you do not know..." Rabbi Yehoshua says: if seed of a commandment comes before you in the morning, sow it; and if a matter of a commandment comes before you in the evening, do not let your hand rest. Why? "For you do not know which of them will succeed for you, whether that of the morning or that of the evening, or whether both alike will be good."

Rabbi Akiva says: "In the morning sow your seed": if you raised up disciples in your youth, do not cease from raising them up in your old age. There was an incident with Rabbi Akiva, who had three hundred disciples in his youth, and they all died; and had he not raised up seven disciples in his old age, there would have been no disciple to recite teachings in his name. Another interpretation: "In the morning sow your seed." Rabbi Yose said: if you took a wife in your youth and she bore children and died, take another wife in your old age, "for you do not know..." And from whom do you learn this? From Abraham, who in his youth begot only two, and in his old age begot twelve.

Rabbi Levi said: this is what the Holy One, blessed be He, said to him: "And in him shall all the nations of the earth be blessed," for the sea went forth in the generation of the Dispersion and scattered thirty families of the sons of Ham, as it is said: "And the LORD scattered them" (Genesis 11:8). The Holy One, blessed be He, said to him: From you I will raise them up, as it is said: "And in him shall all the nations of the earth be blessed" (Genesis 18:18). He raised up families, and these are: the twelve princes that he raised up from Ishmael, and sixteen from here, and the "two nations in your womb." This is the meaning of "And in him shall all the nations of the earth be blessed."

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Shemot Rabbah 45:5Shemot Rabbah

The Torah is full of moments like that, and they teach us so much about ourselves and our relationship with the Divine.

We find a fascinating exploration of this idea in Shemot Rabbah 45. It all starts with Moses, bold Moses, asking God, "Show me, please, Your glory" (Exodus 33:18). But the Rabbis don't just take this request at face value. They unpack it, layer by layer, revealing deeper truths about humility, timing, and the very nature of reward and punishment.

Rabbi Tanhuma bar Abba kicks things off with a quote from Proverbs: "As it is better that it be said to you: Come up here, than that you should be debased" (Proverbs 25:7). It's a lesson in humility, echoed by Hillel, who famously said, "My debasing is my exalting, and my exalting is my debasing." It's better to be lifted up by others than to try and elevate yourself – a sentiment David expresses in Psalms, understanding that self-exaltation can lead to a fall.

What does this have to do with Moses and his request to see God's glory? Well, the Midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary) connects it to an earlier encounter, the burning bush. Remember that scene? "An angel of the Lord appeared." (Exodus 3:2). Rabbi Yehuda bar Neḥemya points out that Moses was new to prophecy. God, being the ultimate teacher, met Moses where he was. Instead of a booming voice that might scare him, or a whisper he might dismiss, God spoke in a familiar voice – the voice of Moses' father.

Moses, initially, even thought it was his father! Imagine that moment of confusion and then the realization: "I am not your father, but rather, 'the God of your father'" (Exodus 3:6). And then, crucially, "Moses concealed his face, for he was afraid to look upon God" (Exodus 3:6).

Now, Rabbi Yehoshua ben Korḥa has a pretty strong opinion about this. He says Moses didn't act well by hiding his face. Why? Because if he hadn't, God would have revealed secrets of the universe: what's above, what's below, and what's destined to be. Big stuff! But Moses recoiled, and perhaps, according to this view, he missed a monumental opportunity.

So, later, when Moses asks to see God's glory, it's almost like he's trying to make up for that missed chance. But, as Rabbi Yehoshua of Sikhnin says in the name of Rabbi Levi, God's response is nuanced. He does show Moses three things, as a reward for three actions: Because Moses "concealed" his face, God later speaks to him "face to face" (Exodus 33:12). Because he was "afraid," the people later become "afraid to approach him" (Exodus 34:30). And because he hesitated "to look upon God," he later "beholds [yabit] the image of God" (Numbers 12:8). (The word yabit here is important, meaning "he beholds.")

It's not a direct one-to-one, but a delayed and transformed reward. Moses' initial reluctance, his humility (or perhaps his fear), ultimately led to deeper, albeit different, encounters with the Divine.

But the Rabbis aren't done yet. They explore what Moses really wanted to see when he asked about God's glory. According to the Midrash, he wanted to understand the reward of the righteous and the tranquility of the wicked. Why do good people suffer, and bad people prosper? It's a question that plagues us still.

The Midrash connects "glory" to both the reward of the righteous ("The wise will inherit glory," (Proverbs 3:3)5) and, surprisingly, the tranquility of the wicked ("After glory You will take me," (Psalms 73:2)4). The idea here is that the wicked may experience fleeting "glory" in this world, but it's a temporary illusion before their ultimate reckoning.

God's response, "You will not be able see My face [panai]" (Exodus 33:20), isn't a simple denial. The Midrash interprets panai, "face," as referring to the tranquility of the wicked. As (Deuteronomy 7:10) says, God "repays His enemies to their face [el panav] to eradicate them." In other words, understanding the seeming unfairness of the world is beyond human comprehension. We can't fully grasp the divine accounting.

So, what do we take away from all this? Perhaps it's a reminder that humility and reverence are not weaknesses, but pathways to deeper understanding. That missed opportunities can sometimes lead to unexpected blessings. And that some questions, like the distribution of reward and punishment, may simply be beyond our grasp. We might not always get to see God's "glory" in the way we expect, but that doesn't mean it isn't there, working in ways we can't fully comprehend. And sometimes, maybe, that's enough.

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Legends of the Jews 2:123Legends of the Jews

The answer, as often in Jewish tradition, is layered with meaning. God spoke to Moses face-to-face, more clearly than to any other prophet. Yet, when Moses asks to see God's full glory, the request is denied. Why?

The simple answer, according to God Himself, is a matter of timing. "When I revealed Myself to thee in the burning bush," God says, "thou didst not want to look upon Me; now thou are willing, but I am not." There's a certain irony, isn't there? Moses, initially hesitant, now yearns for the ultimate vision.

There's more to it than just divine scheduling. The Legends of the Jews expands on this, painting a vivid picture of the scene. The cave where Moses hid, the very same one where Elijah later sought refuge on Horeb (Mount Sinai), becomes a focal point. Imagine the intensity!

Even shielded in the cave, Moses wasn't entirely protected. According to Ginzberg's retelling in Legends of the Jews, the reflection of God's glory was so potent that it made Moses' face shine. It's this radiance that we remember, the visible sign of his connection to the Divine.

But acquiring this distinction wasn’t without peril. The angels, those celestial beings who serve God constantly, were not pleased. "We, who serve Thee night and day, may not see Thy glory," they exclaimed, "and he, who is born of woman, asks to see it!" Can you feel their indignation? They saw Moses’ request as audacious, even blasphemous.

The angels, enraged, prepared to strike down Moses. He was in mortal danger, saved only by God's direct intervention. Legends of the Jews makes it clear: without God's protection, Moses would have been utterly destroyed. Then, amidst this celestial drama, God appeared in the cloud.

What does all this mean? Perhaps it’s about the limitations of human perception. We, mortal beings, can only glimpse fragments of the divine reality. Maybe it's about earning spiritual insight. Moses' shining face wasn’t just a gift; it was a evidence of his dedication, his willingness to stand in the presence of the unknowable, even at great personal risk. As we find in Midrash Rabbah, true connection to the divine is not about seeing everything, but about experiencing what we can with humility and awe.

So, the next time you think about Moses on Mount Sinai, remember the burning bush, the hidden cave, and the furious angels. Remember that even the greatest prophets could only perceive a fraction of God's glory. And maybe, just maybe, that's enough.

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Midrash Tanchuma, Shemot 19Midrash Tanchuma

"And He said, Moses, Moses, and he said, Here I am" (Exodus 3:4). What is the meaning of "Here I am"? Rabbi Yehoshua ben Korchah said: "Here I am" ready for priesthood, "Here I am" ready for kingship. The Holy One, blessed be He, said to him: You are standing in the place of the pillar of the world.

Abraham said "Here I am," and you say "Here I am." "Do not draw near here" (Exodus 3:5) -- "here" (halom) means nothing other than kingship, as it is said: "Who am I, O Lord GOD, and what is my house, that You have brought me thus far (halom)?" (Second Samuel 7:18). And so it says: "Has the man come here (halom) yet?" (First Samuel 10:22).

Of Joshua it is written: "And the captain of the LORD's host said to Joshua, Put off your shoe (singular) from your foot" (Joshua 5:15). But of Moses it is written: "Put off your shoes" (plural). "And He said, I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham," and so forth.

He was revealed to him in the voice of his father Amram, so that he would not be afraid. At that moment Moses rejoiced and said: My father Amram is still alive! The Holy One, blessed be He, said to him: "I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham," and so forth -- I came to you with coaxing, so that you would not be afraid.

Immediately, "And Moses hid his face" (Exodus 3:6). The Holy One, blessed be He, said to him: By your life, because you showed Me honor, I will show you honor before the eyes of all Israel. "And they were afraid to come near him" (Exodus 34:30), corresponding to what is written of him: "for he was afraid" (Exodus 3:6).

And because you did not wish to look, therefore "he beholds the form of the LORD" (Numbers 12:8). And because you hid your face, therefore "the children of Israel saw the face of Moses, that the skin of Moses' face shone" (Exodus 34:35). "Behold, the cry of the children of Israel has come" (Exodus 3:9) -- this teaches that the Holy One, blessed be He, was seeing their servitude and their oppression.

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