The stories surrounding Moses, our great leader and prophet, offer glimpses into just such an experience. It's more than just receiving the Ten Commandments; it's about a complete transformation and a journey into the heart of the Divine.
According to Legends of the Jews by Ginzberg, the encounter at the burning bush was a deeply personal one. While the other shepherds saw nothing, Moses alone witnessed the vision. He took just five steps closer, and God, seeing his distress over the suffering of Israel, recognized his worthiness.
But how do you reveal yourself to a prophet still finding his way? God considered this carefully. Too loud, and Moses would be frightened. Too soft, and he wouldn't grasp the gravity of the moment. So, God spoke in the voice of Moses' father, Amram. Imagine the relief Moses must have felt, believing his father was still alive!
"Here am I! What is my father's wish?" he replied.
But it wasn't Amram. "I am not thy father," God said, "I but desired to refrain from terrifying thee, therefore I spoke with thy father's voice. I am the God of thy father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob."
What a powerful moment! God invoking the patriarchs! And, interestingly, placing Amram's name before theirs! According to Ginzberg's retelling of the Midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary), it was as if Amram ranked even higher. Moses, overcome with reverence, covered his face.
When God revealed his mission – to free the Israelites from Egypt – Moses responded with humility, "Who am I, that I should go unto Pharaoh, and bring forth the children of Israel out of Egypt?"
God reassured him, promising to deliver Egypt into his hands and, incredibly, to allow him to ascend to the throne of glory, to gaze upon the angels.
This is where the story takes an extraordinary turn.
God commanded Metatron, the Angel of the Face, to escort Moses to the heavens, accompanied by music, song, and a bodyguard of thirty thousand angels! Can you picture that procession?
Understandably, Moses was terrified. "Who art thou?" he asked Metatron.
"I am Enoch, the son of Jared, thy ancestor," the angel replied, "and God has charged me to accompany thee to His throne." Enoch, as in, the Enoch who, Genesis tells us, "walked with God: and he was not; for God took him." (Genesis 5:24)
But Moses protested, "I am but flesh and blood, and I cannot look upon the countenance of an angel."
So Metatron transformed him! According to the story, Moses' flesh became torches of fire, his eyes became Merkabah (the Divine Chariot) wheels (referencing the Divine chariot described by the prophet Ezekiel), his strength became angelic, and his tongue a flame. He ascended, surrounded by his celestial escort.
The journey through the seven heavens is a breathtaking vision.
In the first heaven, Moses saw streams of water and countless windows, each overseen by angels. Metatron identified them: the window of prayer, of supplication, of weeping, of joy, plenitude, starvation, war, peace, and so on. Every aspect of human experience, it seems, has a celestial counterpart.
In the second heaven, he encountered the angel Nuriel, towering three hundred parasangs (an ancient unit of distance) high, surrounded by fifty myriads of angels made of water and fire, all praising God.
The third heaven revealed an angel so immense it would take five hundred years to climb to his height, with seventy thousand heads, each with mouths and tongues, all extolling the Lord. These were the Erelim, appointed over the natural world.
The fourth heaven held a Temple built of fire and precious stones, where angels sang praises to God. Here, Moses learned of the purpose of Venus and Mars: Venus cools the sun, while Mars warms the moon.
In the fifth heaven, he saw the Ishim, angels of snow and fire in perfect harmony, whose sole purpose was to praise God.
The sixth heaven housed the Irin ve-kadishin, "Watchers" and "Holy Ones," led by an angel made of hail.
Finally, in the seventh heaven, Moses encountered the terrifying angels Af ("Anger") and Hemah ("Wrath"), forged from black and red fire, created to execute God's will. Metatron reassured Moses, calming his fears.
He also saw Samael, the angel of death, and prayed not to fall into his hands. He beheld the seraphim with their six wings, covering their faces and feet in humility before the Shekhinah (Divine Presence), and singing, "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of His glory."
And he saw the Hayyot, the holy creatures supporting God's throne, and Zagzagel, the prince of the Torah and wisdom, who teaches the Torah in seventy languages. According to the tradition, it was from this angel that Moses learned the ten mysteries!
After witnessing all this, Moses declared, "I will not leave the heavens unless Thou grantest me a gift."
And God replied, "I will give thee the Torah, and men shall call it the Law of Moses."
So, what are we to make of this incredible journey? It’s more than just a fantastical tale. It's a powerful metaphor for spiritual transformation, for overcoming our human limitations to encounter the Divine. Moses’ ascent wasn't just a physical journey; it was a journey of the soul, a preparation for receiving the Torah and leading his people. It reminds us that even in our own lives, we have the potential to rise above our limitations and connect with something greater than ourselves.
The vision of the burning bush appeared to Moses alone; the other shepherds with him saw nothing of it. He took five steps in the direction of the bush, to view it at close range, and when God beheld the countenance of Moses distorted by grief and anxiety over Israel's suffering, He spake, "This one is worthy of the office of pasturing My people." Moses was still a novice in prophecy, therefore God said to Himself, "If I reveal Myself to him in loud tones, I shall alarm him, but if I reveal Myself with a subdued voice, he will hold prophecy in low esteem," whereupon he addressed him in his father Amram's voice. Moses was overjoyed to hear his father speak, for it gave him the assurance that. he was still alive. The voice called his name twice, and he answered, "Here am I! What is my father's wish?" God replied, saying, "I am not thy father. I but desired to refrain from terrifying thee, therefore I spoke with thy father's voice. I am the God of thy father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob." These words rejoiced Moses greatly, for not only was his father Amram's name pronounced in the same breath with the names of the three Patriarchs, but it came before theirs, as though he ranked higher than they. Moses said not a word. In silent reverence before the Divine vision he covered his face, and when God disclosed the mission with which He charged him, of bringing the Israelites forth from the land of Egypt, he answered with humility, "Who am I, that I should go unto Pharaoh, and bring forth the children of Israel out of Egypt?" Thereupon spake God, "Moses, thou art meek, and I will reward thee for thy modesty. I will deliver the whole land of Egypt into thine hand, and, besides, I will let thee ascend unto the throne of My glory, and look upon all the angels of the heavens." Hereupon God commanded Metatron, the Angel of the Face, to conduct Moses to the celestial regions amid the sound of music and song, and He commanded him furthermore to summon thirty thousand angels, to serve as his body-guard, fifteen thousand to right of him and fifteen thousand to left of him. In abject terror Moses asked Metatron, "Who art thou?" and the angel replied, "I am Enoch, the son of Jared, thy ancestor, and God has charged me to accompany thee to His throne." But Moses demurred, saying, "I am but flesh and blood, and I cannot look upon the countenance of an angel," whereupon Metatron changed Moses' flesh into torches of fire, his eyes into Merkabah wheels, his strength into an angel's, and his tongue into a flame, and he took him to heaven with a retinue of thirty thousand angels, one half moving to right of them and one half to left of them. In the first heaven Moses saw streams upon streams of water, and he observed that the whole heaven consisted of windows, at each of which angels were stationed. Metatron named and pointed out all the windows of heaven to him: the window of prayer and the window of supplication; of weeping and of joy; plenitude and starvation; wealth and poverty; war and peace; conception and birth; showers and soft rains; sin and repentance; life and death; pestilence and healing; sickness and health; and many windows more. In the second heaven Moses saw the angel Nuriel, standing three hundred parasangs high, with his retinue of fifty myriads of angels, all fashioned out of water and fire, and all keeping their faces turned toward the Shekinah while they sang a song of praise to God. Metatron explained to Moses, that these were the angels set over the clouds, the winds, and the rains, who return speedily, as soon as they have executed the will of their Creator, to their station in the second of the heavens, there to proclaim the praise of God. In the third heaven Moses saw an angel, so tall it would take a human being five hundred years to climb to his height. He had seventy thousand heads, each head having as many mouths, each mouth as many tongues, and each tongue as many sayings, and he together with his suite of seventy thousand myriads of angels made of white fire praised and extolled the Lord. "These," said Metatron to Moses, "are called Erelim, and they are appointed over the grass, the trees, the fruits, and the grain, but as soon as they have done the will of their Creator, they return to the place assigned to them, and praise God." In the fourth heaven Moses saw a Temple, the pillars thereof made of red fire, the staves of green fire, the thresholds of white fire, the boards and clasps of flaming fire, the gates of carbuncles, and the pinnacles of rubies. Angels were entering the Temple and giving praise to God there. In response to a question from Moses Metatron told him that they presided over the earth, the sun, the moon, the stars, and the other celestial bodies. and all of them intone songs before God. In this heaven Moses noticed also the two great planets, Venus and Mars, each as large as the whole earth, and concerning these he asked unto what purpose they had been created. Metatron explained thereupon, that Venus lies upon the sun to cool him off in summer, else he would scorch the earth, and Mars lies upon the moon, to impart warmth to her, lest she freeze the earth. Arrived in the fifth heaven, Moses saw hosts of angels, whose nether parts were of snow and their upper parts of fire, and yet the snow did not melt nor was the fire extinguished, for God had established perfect harmony between the two elements. These angels, called Ishim, have had nothing to do since the day of their creation but praise and extol the Lord. In the sixth of the heavens were millions and myriads of angels praising God, they were called 'Irin and kadishim, "Watchers" and "Holy Ones," and their chief was made of hail, and he was so tall, it would take five hundred years to walk a distance equal to his height. In the last heaven Moses saw two angels, each five hundred parasangs in height, forged out of chains of black fire and red fire, the angels Af, "Anger," and Hemah, "Wrath," whom God created at the beginning of the world, to execute His will. Moses was disquieted when he looked upon them, but Metatron embraced him, and said, "Moses, Moses, thou favorite of God, fear not, and be not terrified," and Moses became calm. There was another angel in the seventh heaven, different in appearance from all the others, and of frightful mien. His height was so great, it would have taken five hundred years to cover a distance equal to it, and from the crown of his head to the soles of his feet he was studded with glaring eyes, at the sight of which the beholder fell prostrate in awe. "This one," said Metatron, addressing Moses, "is Samael, who takes the soul away from man." "Whither goes he now?" asked Moses, and Metatron replied, "To fetch the soul of Job the pious." Thereupon Moses prayed to God in these words, "O may it be Thy will, my God and the God of my fathers, not to let me fall into the hands of this angel." Here, in the highest heaven, he saw also the seraphim with their six wings. With two they cover their face, that they gaze not upon the Shekinah; and with two their feet, which, being like a calf's feet, they hide, to keep secret Israel's transgression of the golden calf. With the third pair of wings they fly and do the service of the Lord, all the while exclaiming, "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of His glory." The wings of these angels are of prodigious size, it would take a man five hundred years to traverse their length and their breadth, as from one end of the earth to the other. And Moses saw in the seventh heaven the holy Hayyot, which support the throne of God; and he beheld also the angel Zagzagel, the prince of the Torah and of wisdom, who teaches the Torah in seventy languages to the souls of men, and thereafter they cherish the precepts contained therein as laws revealed by God to Moses on Sinai. From this angel with the horns of glory Moses himself learnt all the ten mysteries." Having seen what there is in the seven heavens, he spoke to God, saying, "I will not leave the heavens unless Thou grantest me a gift," and God replied, "I will give thee the Torah, and men shall call it the Law of Moses."
