“An angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire from the midst of the bush. He looked, and behold, the bush burned with fire, but the bush was not consumed” (Exodus 3:2).
This verse from Exodus is so much more than just a pretty image. It's a powerful metaphor, and the Rabbis in Shemot Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic homilies on the Book of Exodus, unpack it beautifully.
The text opens with a verse from (Song of Songs 5:2), “I am asleep, but my heart is awake.” The Rabbis interpret this as, "I am asleep from the mitzvot (commandments)," the commandments, "but my heart is awake to perform them." What does that mean? It means even when we feel distant or disconnected, our core connection to the Divine, our intention, remains. And that perfect faith? Rabbi Yannai compares it to twins – when one hurts, the other feels it. So too, the Holy One, blessed be He, said, "I will be with him in trouble" (Psalms 91:15).
It’s a two-way street. When we're in distress, we call out to God. We see it in Egypt: "their cry came up to God" (Exodus 2:23). At the sea: "and the children of Israel cried to the Lord" (Exodus 14:10). And God? Well, "In all their trouble, He was troubled" (Isaiah 63:9). The Holy One, blessed be He, says to Moses, "Don’t you sense that I am suffering just as Israel is suffering? Know that from the place that I am speaking with you, from the thorns, as it were, I am party to their suffering.” : God feels our pain, right there with us in the thick of it.
Now, about that angel... Rabbi Yoḥanan says it's Michael. Rabbi Ḥanina says it's Gabriel. And wherever Michael appears, there's the glory of the Divine Presence. But only Moses saw it. Like Daniel, who said, "I, Daniel, alone, saw the vision" (Daniel 10:7). Why him? Why not everyone?
The fire itself is described as “belabat esh,” a flame of fire. It’s there, says the Midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary), to give Moses courage, lelabevo, so he won’t be afraid when he sees the fires at Sinai. It's also described as being "from two thirds of the bush and above, just as the heart [lev] is placed at two thirds of the person and above." Interesting. A gentile once asked Rabbi Yehoshua ben Korḥa, "Why a bush? What did God see in a bush?" The Rabbi's response is classic: "Had He spoken from a carob tree or a sycamore, would you ask the same?" But he doesn't dismiss the question. He explains, "It is to teach you that there is no place that is vacant of the Divine Presence, even a bush." Even in the most humble, ordinary places, God can be found.
Rabbi Eliezer adds that just as the bush is the lowliest of trees, Israel was lowly in Egypt. So God appeared to them and redeemed them. Rabbi Yosei sees the bush as the harshest of trees, like the harshness of Egyptian slavery. He points to the doubled expression in (Exodus 3:7), "ra’o ra’iti," "I have surely seen," to emphasize God's awareness of their pain. It’s like God is saying, "I know its pains."
Rabbi Yoḥanan offers another perspective: The bush is a fence for a garden, and Israel is a fence for the world. It thrives on water, and Israel thrives on the Torah. It grows in gardens and by rivers, just as Israel exists in this world and the World to Come. And just as the bush produces thorns and roses, Israel has both righteous and wicked.
Rabbi Pinḥas, son of Rabbi Ḥama, compares the bush to Israel's descent into Egypt. No one knew them then, but they emerged with "signs, with wonders, and with war" (Deuteronomy 4:34). Rabbi Yehuda bar Shalom makes a similar point, referencing Abraham's time in Egypt.
Rabbi Naḥman, son of Rabbi Shmuel bar Naḥman, points out that the bush has five leaves, alluding to the merits of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, and Aaron. He even connects the Hebrew word for bush, hasneh, to the number 120, suggesting Moses' lifespan.
And what about the fire itself? Heavenly fire, they say, generates light but doesn't consume. Earthly fire is red and consumes but doesn't produce light. The burning bush shows Moses that even though the Egyptians might try to destroy Israel, they won't succeed. “Just as the bush burns in fire but is not consumed, so too, the Egyptians will be unable to eradicate Israel.”
Ultimately, the burning bush was a way to get Moses' attention. He was busy shepherding, focused on his work. God showed him this incredible sight so he would turn and see, so He could speak to him. “An angel of the Lord appeared to him,” and Moses didn’t go. Once he stopped working, he went to see, and immediately, “God called to him” (Exodus 3:4).
So, what's the takeaway from all this? Perhaps it's this: even in the midst of our own "burning bush" moments – those times when we feel overwhelmed, consumed, and perhaps a little lost – we are not alone. God is with us, feeling our pain, guiding us, and reminding us that even the lowliest bush can be a source of divine revelation. And just like that bush, we too can endure, we too can find a way to burn brightly without being consumed.
“An angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire from the midst of the bush. He looked, and behold, the bush burned with fire, but the bush was not consumed” (Exodus 3:2). “An angel of the Lord appeared to him” – that is what is written: “I am asleep, but my heart is awake” (Song of Songs 5:2). I am asleep from the mitzvot, but my heart is awake to perform them. “My perfect one [tamati]” (Song of Songs 5:2) at Sinai, as they had perfect faith [shenitamemu] with Me at Sinai, and they said: “Everything that the Lord spoke, we will do and we will obey” (Exodus 24:7). Rabbi Yannai said: Just as it is with twins [teomim], if the head of one hurts, the other feels it, so too, the Holy One blessed be He said, as it were: “I will be with him in trouble” (Psalms 91:15). Alternatively: What is: “I will be with him in trouble?” When they have trouble they call out only to the Holy One blessed be He. In Egypt – “their cry came up to God” (Exodus 2:23); at the sea – “and the children of Israel cried to the Lord” (Exodus 14:10), and many others like that. And it says: “In all their trouble, He was troubled” (Isaiah 63:9). The Holy One blessed be He said to Moses: ‘Don’t you sense that I am suffering just as Israel is suffering? Know that from the place that I am speaking with you, from the thorns, as it were, I am party to their suffering.’ “An angel of the Lord appeared.” Rabbi Yoḥanan said: That is Michael. Rabbi Ḥanina said: That is Gabriel. [Regarding] Rabbi Yosei the tall, everywhere that they would see him, they would say: ‘Here is our saintly rabbi.’12Rabbi Yosei was an attendant of Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi. Similarly, everywhere that Michael appears, there is the glory of the Divine Presence. “To him” – what is “to him?” It teaches that there were people with him and they did not see, only Moses alone. As it is written regarding Daniel: “I, Daniel, alone, saw the vision” (Daniel 10:7). “In a flame [belabat] of fire” – to give him courage [lelabevo], so that when he arrives at Sinai and sees those fires, he will not fear them. Alternatively, belabat esh, from two thirds of the bush and above, just as the heart [lev] is placed at two thirds of the person and above. “From the midst of the bush” – a gentile asked Rabbi Yehoshua ben Korḥa: ‘What did the Holy One blessed be He see that led Him to speak with Moses from the midst of the bush?’ He said to him: ‘Had he spoken to him from a carob tree or a sycamore tree, would you ask me the same? However, to dismiss you outright is impossible. Why from the midst of the bush? It is to teach you that there is no place that is vacant of the Divine Presence, even a bush.’ “In a flame of fire” – initially, only one angel descended, which stood in the center of the fire, and then the Divine Presence descended and spoke with him “from the midst of the bush”13In Exodus 3:2 it says: “He saw an angel of the Lord in a flame of fire in the midst of the bush” and then in verse 4 it says: “God called him from the midst of the bush.” (Exodus 3:4). Rabbi Eliezer says: Just as a bush is the lowliest of all the trees in the world, so too, Israel was lowly and humble to the Egyptians; therefore, the Holy One blessed be He appeared to them and redeemed them, as it is stated: “I came down to deliver them from the hand of Egypt” (Exodus 3:8). Rabbi Yosei says: Just as the bush is the harshest of all the trees, and any bird that enters the bush does not emerge from it unharmed, so too, the enslavement in Egypt was the harshest of all the enslavements in the world before the Omnipresent, as it is stated: “The Lord said: I have seen [ra’o ra’iti] the affliction of My people” (Exodus 3:7). Why does the verse state ra’o ra’iti twice?14The question is based on the doubled verb, combining the absolute infinitive ra’o with the first person past tense ra’iti, meaning ‘I have seen.’ This formulation is common in Biblical Hebrew and is often understood to indicate emphasis. In any case, the midrash takes the opportunity to expound upon the double verb. It is because after they would drown them [the Hebrew children] in the river they would then crush them under the construction. This is analogous to one who took a rod and struck two people and both of them receive the lash and know its pain.15 It is as if God also feels the pain of Israel. So too, the pain and enslavement of Israel was revealed before the One Who spoke and the world came into being, as it is stated: “As I know its pains” (ibid.). Rabbi Yoḥanan said: Just as this bush, one makes it into a fence for a garden, so too, Israel is a fence for the world. Alternatively: Just as this bush grows on any water,16It grows both from rainwater and irrigation. so too Israel grows only due to the merit of the Torah, which is characterized as water, as it is stated: “Ho, everyone who thirsts, go to the water” (Isaiah 55:1). Another matter: Just as this bush grows in a garden and by a river, so too, Israel is in this world and in the World to Come. Alternatively, just as the bush produces thorns and produces roses, so too, in Israel there are both righteous and wicked. Rabbi Pinḥas the priest, son of Rabbi Ḥama said: Just as the bush, when one inserts his hand into it, one doesn’t feel anything, but when one removes it, it is scratched, so too, when Israel descended to Egypt, no creature knew them, but when they emerged, they emerged “with signs, with wonders, and with war” (Deuteronomy 4:34). Rabbi Yehuda bar Shalom said: Just as the bush, when a bird enters it he doesn’t feel it and when it emerges, its wings are plucked, so too, when Abraham descended to Egypt, no creature knew him, and when he emerged: “The Lord plagued Pharaoh” (Genesis 12:17). Another matter: “From the midst of the bush” – Rabbi Naḥman, the son of Rabbi Shmuel bar Naḥman says: All trees – some of them produce one leaf, some two or three. The myrtle produces three, as it is called: “a leafy tree” (Leviticus 23:40); however, the bush has five leaves. the Holy One blessed be He said to Moses: Israel is redeemed only due to the merit of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and your merit and the merit of Aaron. Alternatively, “from the midst of the bush [hasneh]” – He alluded to him [to Moses] that he would live one hundred and twenty years, corresponding to the numerical value of hasneh.17Heh – 5, samekh – 60, nun – 50, heh – 5 = 120. “He looked, and behold, the bush burned with fire.” From here they say that heavenly fire generates rays of light and burns but does not consume,18It burns without consuming fuel. and it is black. Earthly fire does not produce light rays, it is red, and it consumes but does not burn. Why did the Holy One blessed be He show Moses this matter? It is because he was contemplating in his heart and saying: Perhaps the Egyptians will eradicate Israel; therefore, the Holy One blessed be He showed him a burning fire that is not consumed. He said to him: ‘Just as the bush burns in fire but is not consumed, so too, the Egyptians will be unable to eradicate Israel.’ Another matter: Because the Holy One blessed be He [wanted to] speak with Moses, but he [Moses] did not want to interrupt his work [of shepherding], He showed him this thing so that he would turn his head and see, and He could speak with him, as you find initially: “An angel of the Lord appeared to him,” and Moses did not go. Once he stopped working he went to see, immediately: “God called to him” (Exodus 3:4).
