And the answer? Well, it's a bit…uncomfortable.

Let’s dive in.

The Zohar" target="_blank" rel="noopener" class="source-link">Tikkunei_Zohar" target="_blank" rel="noopener" class="source-link">Tikkunei Zohar, a later, and in some ways wilder, expansion on the core Zohar, tackles this very question head-on. It suggests something startling: that Moses's encounter with Pharaoh's daughter had a lasting spiritual impact.

You see, according to this passage in Tikkunei Zohar 96, when Pharaoh's daughter touched Moses, the Shekhinah—the feminine aspect of God, the Divine Presence—fled from him. Fled! It's a powerful image, isn't it?

And because of this separation, later, at the burning bush, when Moses wanted to draw near to Her, he received that famous command: "Do not approach here, remove your shoes from your feet" (Exodus 3:5).

But why the shoes? The Tikkunei Zohar interprets this as a symbolic instruction. Moses needed to divest himself of the spiritual residue, the “body,” that came from his contact with Pharaoh’s daughter. In other words, he had to purify himself.

Think about that for a moment. It's not just about physical cleanliness; it's about spiritual purity.

The text goes on to say that at the burning bush, God showed Moses that the human body in this world is “leprous, from the skin of the snake.” Ouch. That’s harsh language. But what does it mean?

It’s a reference to the serpent in the Garden of Eden, the source of temptation and mortality. Our physical bodies, in this view, are inherently flawed, marked by the consequences of that primordial sin. They are a barrier to pure spiritual connection.

But there's hope!

The Tikkunei Zohar continues that after a person sheds this "leprous" body and returns to the Garden of Eden (a metaphor for spiritual fulfillment, of course), they become clothed in a holy body. And here's where it gets really interesting. The text references Exodus 4:7: "and behold, it returned as his flesh."

This refers to the moment when Moses's hand, briefly afflicted with leprosy, is healed. The Tikkunei Zohar sees this miracle as a foreshadowing of ultimate spiritual transformation. It's a promise that we, too, can shed our flawed "skin" and be renewed.

So, what are we left with? A challenging, yet ultimately hopeful, message. Our interactions, our experiences, shape us spiritually. We carry the weight of the world, the "skin of the snake," within us. But through purification, through a conscious effort to connect with the Divine, we can, like Moses, be transformed. We can reclaim our original, holy nature.

It makes you wonder, doesn't it? What "shoes" do we need to take off? What baggage are we carrying that prevents us from fully experiencing the Divine Presence in our lives? It’s a question worth pondering, isn’t it?