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Midrash Tanchuma, Ki Tisa 36

Midrash Aggadah Midrash Tanchuma, Ki Tisa 36

Curated by The Jewish Mythology Team · Published March 15, 2026

<b>And he was there with the Lord forty days and forty nights (Exod. 34:28).</b> How did Moses know when it was day? When the Holy One, blessed be He, taught him the Written Law he knew it was the day time, and when He taught him the Oral Law, the Mishnah and the Talmud, he was aware that it was night time. This was so because day and night are alike in the presence of the Holy One, blessed be He, as is said: <i>And the light dwelleth with Him</i> (Dan. 2:22). And as it is also written elsewhere: <i>Even the darkness is not too dark for Thee, but the night shineth as the day; the darkness even as the light</i> (Ps. 139:12). In what other way did he distinguish between night and day? When he beheld the constellations kneeling and bowing (descending), he realized that it was day, and when he saw the sun bowing, he knew that it was night, as it is written: <i>The host of heave worship Thee</i> (Neh. 9:6).

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Midrash Tanchuma, Ki Tisa 36

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