What would you ask?
Well, according to Ginzberg’s Legends of the Jews, Moses wasn’t just curious about any old thing. He wanted to know about the Beit HaMikdash, the Holy Temple. Not the one that existed in his time (obviously!), but the future, heavenly one. He asked God, "When will this Temple built here in heaven come down to earth below?"
Can you blame him? After all the trials and tribulations, the yearning for a perfect, lasting connection with the Divine is a powerful thing.
But God, in His infinite wisdom, wasn't giving away any spoilers. "I have made known the time of the event to no creature," God said, "either to the earlier ones or to the later, how then should I tell thee?" It's a reminder that some things are simply beyond our knowing, locked in the realm of divine timing.
Still, Moses, ever the persistent leader, pressed for a sign. Just something to give hope, to show that the time was drawing near. "Give me a sign," he pleaded, "so that out of the happenings in the world I may gather when that time will approach."
And here's where it gets really interesting. God gives Moses a sign involving the ultimate Jewish experience: exile and return. God says, "I shall first scatter Israel as with a shovel over all the earth...and then shall I 'set My hand again the second time,' and gather them..."
This idea of a great scattering, a galut, and then a great ingathering, a kibbutz galuyot, is a recurring theme in Jewish thought. It speaks to the resilience of the Jewish people, their ability to survive and even thrive in the face of adversity, and the unwavering promise of eventual redemption.
The passage specifically mentions those who "migrated with Jonah, the son of Amittai, to the land of Pathros, and those that dwell in the land of Shinar, Hamath, Elam, and the islands of the sea." This paints a picture of a global return, from all corners of the earth, fulfilling the ancient prophecies.
What does this mean for us today? Is the "ingathering" already underway? Is the rebuilding of the Temple a literal event, or something more symbolic? The text doesn't give us easy answers, but it does offer a powerful message of hope and the enduring promise of a brighter future. It reminds us that even in times of darkness, the seeds of redemption are being sown. The tikun olam, the repairing of the world, is a continuous process, and we each have a part to play.