That's the situation Moses found himself in.
We all know the story: Moses encounters the burning bush. But there's so much more to it than just a fiery spectacle. According to Ginzberg's retelling in Legends of the Jews, that initial "Draw not nigh hither" wasn't just about physical proximity. It was a message about the very nature of the mission God was entrusting to him. It was for Moses, and Moses alone.
The voice warned him, Ginzberg continues, not to take on honors meant for others – the priesthood for Aaron, royalty for David. Talk about setting expectations! Then comes the command to remove his shoes, a symbolic act of severing ties with earthly concerns. That meant everything, even his marriage!
Can you imagine being told to give up your conjugal life? Apparently, the angel Michael had the same thought! He questioned God, "Can it be Thy purpose to destroy mankind? Blessing can prevail only if male and female are united..." God's response, as recorded in Legends of the Jews, was that Moses had already fulfilled his duty in that regard. Now, God desired him to unite with the Shekinah, the Divine Presence, so that it might descend upon the earth for his sake. Heavy stuff.
But here's where it gets really interesting: God reveals to Moses not just the near future – Israel receiving the Torah on Mount Sinai – but also the far future, their eventual worship of the golden calf. As we find in Midrash Rabbah, even knowing their future failings, God chose to redeem them based on their present actions, upholding the promise to Jacob: "I will go down with thee into Egypt, and I will also surely bring thee up again."
God then commanded Moses to go to Pharaoh and demand the release of His people. But Moses, understandably, balked. "Thou didst undertake to do it Thyself," he argued, "and now it is Thy purpose to send me thither?" He had legitimate concerns, practical ones. How could he possibly feed and care for such a massive population, especially the vulnerable – pregnant women, newborns, children? How could he face the dangers of Egypt? And, most importantly, did Israel even deserve redemption?
He even argued with God about the timeline, pointing out that the appointed time of oppression, according to his calculations from the covenant with Abraham, wasn't yet complete!
But God, in His infinite wisdom, had answers for everything. "I will be with thee," He reassured Moses. "Whatever thou desirest I will do." He promised to provide for the people and assuaged Moses' fears about Israel's worthiness, saying they would be redeemed on account of the merits they would acquire at Mount Sinai. And as for the timeline? God clarified that the four hundred years of bondage began with the birth of Isaac, not Jacob's descent into Egypt.
Finally convinced of God's unwavering resolve, Moses made one last plea: to know God's Great Name. He didn't want to be stumped when the Israelites inevitably asked. God's answer, as recounted in Legends of the Jews, is profound: "My Name is according to My acts." Elohim when judging, Lord Zebaot when battling, El Shaddai in patience, Adonai in mercy. But for the Israelites, he was to say, "I am He that was, that is, and that ever will be." According to the text, Moses' reaction to learning about God's name seems reluctant, with Moses saying “Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof."
And get this: God even revealed the future was only for Moses' ears, not for the people. A little too much to handle at once.
But the story doesn't end there. Moses, still hesitant, questions why God first identified Himself as the God of his father but now only as the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. God, in a moment of striking honesty, admits that the initial flattery was just that – flattery. The true relationship was with the patriarchs themselves.
Ultimately, God agreed to reveal His Great and Holy Name to Moses, a secret so powerful that the celestials themselves cried out in praise. And, knowing Pharaoh's stubbornness, God forewarned Moses of the challenges ahead, lest he later accuse God of deception.
It's a powerful story, isn't it? It reminds us that even the greatest leaders grapple with doubt, fear, and a sense of inadequacy. Moses' initial refusal, his questioning, his bargaining… it all makes him so relatable, so human. And it highlights the immense responsibility that comes with being chosen, with being called to a purpose larger than oneself. What would we do if we were in Moses' sandals?
When Moses turned aside to see the great sight, that the bush was not consumed, he heard a voice calling to him, "Draw not nigh hither." These words were to convey that the dignity to be conferred upon him God intended for Moses personally, not for his descendants, and further he was warned not to arrogate honors appointed for others, as the priesthood, which was to belong to Aaron and Aaron's descendants, or royalty, which was to appertain to David and the house of David. Again the voice spake: "Put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground." These words conveyed the desire of God that he cut asunder every bond uniting him with earthly concerns, he was even to give up his conjugal life. Hereupon the angel Michael spoke to God: "O Lord of the world, can it be Thy purpose to destroy mankind? Blessing can prevail only if male and female are united, and yet Thou biddest Moses separate from his wife." God answered, saying, "Moses has begot children, he has done his duty toward the world. I desire him to unite himself now with the Shekinah, that she may descend upon earth for his sake." God spake furthermore, addressing Moses, "Thou seest only what is to happen in the near future, that Israel is to receive the Torah on Mount Sinai, but I behold what cometh after, bow the people will worship the steer, the figure of which they will see upon My chariot, even while My revelation will be made on Sinai. Thus they will excite My wrath. Nevertheless, though I know all the perverseness of their hearts, wherein they will rebel against Me in the desert, I will redeem them now, for I accord unto man the treatment he merits for his present actions, not what he will deserve in the future. I promised their father Jacob, 'I will go down with thee into Egypt, and I will also surely bring thee up again,' and now I will betake myself thither, to bring Israel up in accordance with My words unto Jacob, and bear them to the land I swore unto their fathers, that their seed should inherit it. So long as the time of affliction that I had appointed unto his seed in My revelation to Abraham was not past, I hearkened not to the supplication and the groaning of his children, but now the end hath come. Therefore, go before Pharaoh, that he dismiss My people. If thou dost not bring about the redemption, none other will, for there is none other that can do it. In thee doth Israel hope, and upon thee doth Israel wait. The matter lieth in thine hands alone." Moses, however, refused to take the mission upon himself. He said to God, "Thy promise unto Jacob was, 'I will surely bring thee up again out of Egypt.' Thou didst undertake to do it Thyself, and now it is Thy purpose to send me thither. And how, indeed, were it possible for me to accomplish this great matter, to bring the children of Israel up out of Egypt? How could I provide them with food and drink? Many are the women in childbirth among them, many are the pregnant women and the little children. Whence shall I procure dainties for those who have borne babes, whence sweetmeats for the pregnant, and whence tidbits for the little ones? And how may I venture to go among the Egyptian brigands and murderers? for Thou art bidding me to go to mine enemies, to those who lie in wait to take my life. Why should I risk the safety of my person, seeing that I know not whether Israel possesses merits making them worthy of redemption?' I have reckoned up the years with care, and I have found that but two hundred and ten have elapsed since the covenant of the pieces made with Abraham, and at that time Thou didst ordain four hundred years of oppression for his seed." But God overturned all his objections. He spake to Moses, saying: "I will be with thee. Whatever thou desirest I will do, so that the redemption will in very truth be realized through Me, in accordance with My promise to Jacob. The little ones that Israel will carry up out of Egypt I will provide with food for thirty days. This shall prove to thee in what manner I will supply the needs of all. And as I will be at thy side, thou hast no need to fear any man. Respecting thy doubt, whether Israel deserves to be redeemed, this is My answer: they will be permitted to go forth from Egypt on account of the merits they will acquire at this mountain, whereon they will receive the Torah through thee. And thy reckoning of the end is not correct, for the four hundred years of bondage began with the birth of Isaac, not with the going down of Jacob into Egypt. Therefore the appointed end hath come." Persuaded now of God's unalterable resolve to use him as His instrument in the redemption of Israel from Egypt, Moses entreated God to impart to him the knowledge of His Great Name, that he be not confounded if the children of Israel ask for it. God answered, saying: "Thou desirest to know My Name? My Name is according to My acts. When I judge My creatures, I am called Elohim, "judge"; when I rise up to do battle against the sinners, I am Lord Zebaot, "the Lord of hosts"; when I wait with longsuffering patience for the improvement of the sinner, My name is El Shaddai; when I have mercy upon the world, I am Adonai. But unto the children of Israel shalt thou say that I am He that was, that is, and that ever will be, and I am He that is with them in their bondage now, and He that shall be with them in the bondage of the time to come." In reply to the latter words of God, Moses said, "Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof," and God assented thereto. He admitted that it was not proper to force the knowledge of future suffering upon Israel in a present that was itself full of evil and sorrow. And the Lord said to Moses: "My words about the future were meant for thee alone, not also for them. Tell the children of Israel, besides, that at My behest an angel can stretch his hand from heaven and touch the earth with it, and three angels can find room under one tree, and My majesty can fill the whole world, for when it was My will, it appeared to Job in his hair, and, again, when I willed otherwise, it appeared in a thorn-bush." But the most important communication from God to Moses concerning the Divine Names were the words to follow: "In mercy I created the world; in mercy I guide it; and with mercies I will return to Jerusalem. But unto the children of Israel thou shalt say that My mercy upon them is for the sake of the merits of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob." When Moses heard these words, he spoke to God, saying, "Are there men that transgress after death?" and when God assured him that it was not possible for the dead to sin, Moses asked again, "Why, then, is it that Thou didst reveal Thyself to me at the first as the God of my father, and now Thou passest him over?" Whereupon God said, "In the beginning it was My purpose to address thee with flattering words, but now thou hearest the whole and exact truth, I am only the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob." Moses prayed to God, entreating Him to reveal His Great and Holy Name unto him, so that he might call upon Him with it and secure the fulfilment of all his wishes. The Lord granted the prayer of Moses, and when the celestials knew that He had revealed the secret of the Ineffable Name, they cried out, "Blessed art Thou, O Lord, gracious Giver of knowledge!" God is always regardful of the honor of the elders of a people, and He bade Moses assemble those of Israel and announce the approaching redemption to them. And as God knew beforehand how Pharaoh's obduracy would display itself, He made it known to Moses at once, lest he reproach God later with the Egyptian king's frowardness.
