출애굽기 3:1의 미드라쉬

(Exod. 10:21:) THEN THE LORD SAID UNTO MOSES: STRETCH OUT YOUR HAND TOWARD THE HEAVENS <THAT THERE MAY BE DARKNESS OVER THE LAND OF EGYPT>….¹Note that both Tanhumas seem to omit the beginning section (Exod. 10:1–20) of parashah Bo. The missing passage seems to include a whole parashah of the so-called triennial cycle. This text is related (to Ps. 105:28): HE SENT DARKNESS, AND IT BECAME DARK; [FOR THEY DID NOT DEFY (maru) HIS WORD]. The darkness which the Holy One sent upon Egypt was very severe. R. Aha said: <It was> because they did not accept the {regulations middotaw} [authority (marut)] of the Holy One over themselves.²By interpreting the verb maru as coming from the same root as the word for authority, R. Aha has interpreted the second part of Ps. 105:28 to mean: FOR THEY DID NOT ACCEPT THE AUTHORITY OF HIS WORD. Similarly Tanh., Exod. 3:1; Exod. R. 14:1; M. Pss. 105:9. Our Masters have said: What is the meaning of THEY DID NOT DEFY (MRH) HIS WORD? <It is> in reference to their having disregarded (rt.: MRH) the word of the Holy One. The Holy One said to the ministering angels: The Egyptians deserved to be smitten with darkness. Immediately they agreed and said: Yes. Not one of them rebelled (rt.: MRH) against the Holy One. (Ps. 105:28b:) THEY DID NOT DEFY (MRH) HIS WORD. (Vs. 28a:) HE SENT DARKNESS, AND IT BECAME DARK. To what is the matter comparable? To a king whose servant sinned against him. So he said to someone: Go and give him fifty lashes. He went and gave him a hundred. Thus he increased <the punishment > on his own. So did the Holy One send darkness over Egypt, and the darkness increased. (Ibid.:) HE SENT DARKNESS, AND IT BECAME <even more> DARK.

... Our teachers have said: Once, while Moses our Teacher was tending [his father-in-law] Yitro’s sheep, one of the sheep ran away. Moses ran after it until it reached a small, shaded place. There, the lamb came across a pool and began to drink. As Moses approached the lamb, he said, “I did not know you ran away because you were thirsty. You are so exhausted!” He then put the lamb on his shoulders and carried him back. The Holy One said, “Since you tend the sheep of human beings with such overwhelming love - by your life, I swear you shall be the shepherd of My sheep, Israel.”

And Moshe was a shepherd and a gentleman in a fire out of the bush. Rashbi tells what God Almighty discovered from my name and would talk to Moshe out of the bush, what this bush is tougher than any tree in the world and every bird that enters it does not go right out of it but cuts limb organs, so that Egyptian labor is difficult before the place of every slave in the world. A slave or slave Ben Horin never left Egypt but only Hagar said (Genesis 2: 2) and Pharaoh would go on him and send him and his wife and all that he had: Merom and he would talk to Moshe out of the bush as long as Israel was in such trouble

Another interpretation: Just as Jacob hid from his father for twenty-two years, so did Joseph hide from his father for twenty-two years. It is therefore stated (in Gen. 37:2): THESE ARE THE GENERATIONS OF JACOB: JOSEPH.¹¹So Rashi with considerable explanation on Gen. 37:34. R. Levi said: Rabbi Johanan said: Wherever it says, HE WAS, the HE saw three worlds.¹²Cf. Gen. R. 30:8; Esth. R. 6:3. It is written of Noah (in Gen. 6:9): HE WAS PERFECT. He saw the world when it was inhabited before the flood came, he saw it destroyed, and he saw it afterwards in its restoration. It is therefore said of him: HE WAS. In the case of Moses, it is written (in Exod. 3:1): HE WAS TENDING < THE FLOCK OF HIS FATHER-IN-LAW JETHRO, THE PRIEST OF MIDIAN >…. He saw Israel before the bondage tightened its grip, he saw the bondage, and {they} [he] saw them when they had been redeemed. [Of Mordecai it is written] (in Esth. 2:5): THERE WAS (literally: HE WAS) A CERTAIN JEW IN THE CITADEL OF SHUSHAN. He saw them (Israel) before they were enslaved at the hand of Haman, he saw them under the edicts which had been decreed against them, and he saw them in their redemption. Of Job it is written (in Job 1:1): THERE WAS (literally: HE WAS) A MAN IN THE LAND OF < UZ >, and he saw three worlds. He was whole, he suffered afflictions, and he was healed. So also in the case of Joseph, HE WAS is written of him (in Gen. 37:2): THESE ARE THE GENERATIONS OF JACOB: JOSEPH AT THE AGE OF SEVENTEEN WAS (literally: HE WAS) TENDING < THE FLOCK WITH HIS BROTHERS >….

“The young woman who will please the king will reign in place of Vashti. The proposal pleased the king and he did so” (Esther 2:4).
“The young woman who will please the king” – who is fitting for this thing? ¹⁵Fit to raise the woman who would be chosen as queen. Mordekhai – “there was a Jewish man in the Shushan citadel, and his name was Mordekhai” (Esther 2:5).¹⁶This is the immediately following verse. This and the subsequent passages are all cases where the midrash addresses the juxtaposition of two verses. It asks about the first verse: who is fitting for this thing? It then finds the answer in the next verse.
Similarly, “God saw the children of Israel and God knew” (Exodus 2:25). Who is fitting for this matter? Moses – “And Moses was herding” (Exodus 3:1).
Similarly, “Samuel said to the men of Israel: Go, each man to his city” (I Samuel 8:22). Who is fitting for this thing [to be appointed king]? Saul, as it is stated: “There was a man of Benjamin, and his name was Kish…[and he had a son and his name was Saul…]” (I Samuel 9:1–2).
Similarly, “Saul and all Israel heard these words of the Philistine, and they were dismayed and were greatly afraid.” (I Samuel 17:11). Who is fitting for this thing [fighting Goliath]? David – “David was the son of that Efrati [from Bethlehem]” (I Samuel 17:12).
Rabbi Yehoshua bar Aviram said two things. It is written: “He [Yavin king of Canaan] oppressed the children of Israel strongly [beḥozka] for twenty years” (Judges 4:3). What is beḥozka? Rabbi Yitzḥak said: With cursing and blaspheming. That is what is written: “Your words have been harsh against Me” (Malachi 3:13). Who is fitting for this thing? Deborah, as it is written: “Deborah was a prophetess, wife of Lapidot” (Judges 4:4).
Rabbi Yehoshua bar Aviram said another: “The people, the princes of Gilad, said one to another: Who is the man who will begin to wage war against the children of Amon? He will be the head of all the inhabitants of Gilad” (Judges 10:18). Who is fitting for this thing? Yiftaḥ – “Yiftaḥ the Giladite was a mighty warrior” (Judges 11:1).

“Was [haya] [a Judean man in the Shushan citadel]….” Rabbi Yoḥanan said: Everyone about whom “haya” is stated, it is he at the beginning and it is he at the end.⁹ He was righteous from beginning to end. They objected to him; but isn’t it written: “One was [haya] Abraham” (Ezekiel 33:24)?¹⁰ Abraham began his life as an idolater; he wasn’t the same at the beginning and the end. He said to them: That is not, in fact, a refutation, as Rabbi Ḥanina and Rabbi Yoḥanan said: At age three Abraham identified his Creator. That is what is written: “Because [ekev] Abraham heeded My voice” (Genesis 26:5). The number of years that Abraham heeded the voice of his Creator is the equivalent of ekev (172),¹¹Ayin – 70, kof –100, beit – 2 and he lived one hundred and seventy-five years. [If one does not accept this explanation,] how do I find expression for haya about him? It means that he was fated from the beginning to guide the entire world to repent.¹²Although Abraham was not a believer in God his whole life, he had the potential from the beginning.
“[The Lord God said:] Behold, the man has become [haya] [like one of us, knowing good and evil]” (Genesis 3:22) – he became fated to die. “The serpent was [haya] more cunning” (Genesis 3:1) – he was fated for punishment. “Cain was [haya] a cultivator of the ground” (Genesis 4:2) – he was fated for exile, as you say: “Cain departed from the presence of the Lord” (Genesis 4:16); saying that he would be “restless and wandering” (Genesis 4:12). “There was [haya] a man in the land of Utz” (Job 1:1) – he was fated for suffering. “Noah, a righteous man, was [haya] faultless” (Genesis 6:9) – he was fated to acknowledge his Creator. “Moses was [haya] herding (Exodus 3:1) – he was fated for salvation. Mordekhai was fated for redemption.
Rabbi Levi and the Rabbis: Rabbi Levi said: Anyone about whom haya is stated witnessed a new world. Rabbi Shmuel bar Naḥman said: They are five.
Noah – yesterday “Water eroded stone” (Job 14:19), as Rabbi Levi said in the name of Rabbi Yoḥanan: Even millstones were dissolved during the flood, and now [after the flood] it says: “The sons of Noah who emerged from the ark…” (Genesis 9:18),¹³Immediately following this verse, the Torah relates how the earth was repopulated by Noah’s sons while Noah was alive. indicating that he witnessed a new world.
Joseph – yesterday “they tortured [his feet] with chains” (Psalms 105:18), and now “And Joseph was [haya] was the ruler over the land” (Genesis 42:6); that is, he witnessed a new world.
Moses – yesterday he was fleeing from Pharaoh and now he is drowning him in the sea; that is, he witnessed a new world.
Job – yesterday “He spills my bile onto the ground” (Job 16:13), and now “and the Lord gave Job double what he had had” (Job 42:10); that is, he witnessed a new world.
Mordekhai – yesterday “he wore sackcloth and ashes” (Esther 4:1), and now “he emerged from before the king in royal garments” (Esther 8:15).
“And his name was Mordekhai” (Esther 2:5). Just as myrrh [mor] is first of all the spices,¹⁴It is first on the list of ingredients of the sacred oil of anointment (Exodus 30:23). so was Mordekhai first among the righteous in his generation.

Now Moses was keeping the flock (Exod. 3:1). Scripture states elsewhere: Every word of God is tried; He is a shield unto them that take refuge in Him (Prov. 30:5). The Holy One, blessed be He, does not confer greatness upon a man until He tests him in lesser things. Only then does He elevate him to greatness. Two great men in the world were tested and found to be faithful before He raised them to positions of greatness. He tested David by means of a sheep. What did David do? He led the sheep into the desert to keep them from feeding from the field of others, and that is why his brother Eliab said to him: With whom hast thou left those few sheep in the wilderness? (I Sam. 17:28). The Holy One, blessed be He, said to him: Thou hast been found trustworthy with regard to sheep, and so now I shall entrust My flock to you that you may shepherd them, as it is written: Thou shalt shepherd My people Israel (I Chron. 11:2). And Scripture likewise says: From following the ewes that give suck He brought him to be shepherd over Jacob, His people, and Israel, His inheritance (Ps. 78:71).

Another interpretation (of Numb. 1:1): THEN THE LORD SPOKE UNTO MOSES IN THE SINAI DESERT. <Sinai> was called by six names: Mountain of God (as in Ps. 68:16 [15]), Mount Bashan (ibid.), mountain of peaks (ibid.), mountain of desire (HMD), Mount Horeb (Exod. 3:1; 33:6; etc.), Mount Sinai.⁴⁴Tanh., Numb. 1:7; Numb. R. 1:8. The mountain of God is <so called> because on it God sat in judgment, as stated (in Exod. 21:1): NOW THESE ARE THE JUDGMENTS⁴⁵Mishpatim. In the biblical context the word would more normally be translated ORDINANCES. WHICH YOU SHALL SET BEFORE THEM. Mount Bashan is the mountain where (sham) Holy One came (ba').⁴⁶In the Hebrew text sham and ba’ appear in the opposite order and next to each other as ba’ sham. The mountain of peaks (gavenunnim, rt.: GBN) is the mountain where he carved out and rejected⁴⁷Pasal. The word can mean both “carved” and “rejected.” In carving a statue one rejects what is chipped away. The statue itself, like Israel, is what remains. all the <other> mountains.⁴⁸See Gen. R. 109:1, which depicts the mountains contending with each other to host the revelation of the Torah and generally expands what follows. Where is it shown? <It is> just as you say (in Lev. 21:20): OR A HUNCHBACK (GBN) OR A DWARF.⁴⁹The context is a list of those rejected from serving in the priesthood. The implication here is that, unlike Sinai where the ordinances for priesthood where given, the other mountains were hunchbacks or dwarfs and therefore rejected. The mountain of desire (rt.: HMD) is <so called>, because on it the Holy One desired (HMD) to dwell, as stated (in Ps. 68:17 [16]): THE MOUNTAIN GOD DESIRED FOR HIS DWELLING. Mount Horeb (rt.: HRB) is <so called>, because upon it the sword (rt.: HRB) <of judgment> was unsheathed, as stated (in Lev. 20:10): THE ADULTERER AND THE ADULTERESS SHALL SURELY BE PUT TO DEATH, <and> (in Numb. 35:16): THE MURDERER SHALL SURELY BE PUT TO DEATH. Mount Sinai is <so called>, because on it the peoples of the world became hateful (rt.: SN') to the Holy One, and he rendered a verdict⁵⁰Gk.: apophasis. against them, as stated (in Is. 60:12): AND THE GENTILES SHALL BE UTTERLY (HRB) DESTROYED (rt.: HRB). R. Abba bar Kahana said in the name of R. Johanan: AND THE GENTILES SHALL BE UTTERLY⁵¹In this repetition of Is. 60:12 the Buber text alters the word translated UTTERLY from harov to mehurav. This change also appears in the parallel text of ySot. 7:5 (21d), but not in the traditional parallel texts of Tanh., Numb. 1:7, and Numb. R. 1:8. DESTROYED. <It was> where they received a verdict.

(Numb. 1:1) “Then the Lord spoke unto Moses in the Sinai desert.” [Sinai] was called by six names: Mountain of God (as in Ps. 68:16), Mount Bashan (ibid.), Mountain of Peaks (ibid.), Mountain of Desire (hmd), Mount Horeb (Exod. 3:1; 33:6; etc.), and Mount Sinai.³¹Numb. R. 1:8. The Mountain of God is [so called] because on it God sat in judgment, as stated (in Exod. 21:1), “Now these are the judgments³²Mishpatim. In the biblical context the word would more normally be translated ordinances. which you shall set before them.” Mount Bashan is the mountain where (sham) Holy One, blessed be He, came (ba').³³In the Hebrew text sham and ba’ appear in the opposite order and next to each other as ba’ sham. The Mountain of Peaks (gavenunnim, rt.: gbn) is the mountain where He disqualified all the [other] mountains,³⁴See Gen. R. 109:1, which depicts the mountains contending with each other to host the revelation of the Torah and generally expands what follows. just as you say (in Lev. 21:20), “or a hunchback (gbn) or a dwarf.”³⁵The context is a list of those rejected from serving in the priesthood. The implication here is that, unlike Sinai where the ordinances for priesthood where given, the other mountains were hunchbacks or dwarfs and therefore rejected. Mountain of Desire (rt.: hmd) is [so called], because on it the Holy One, blessed be He, desired (hmd) to dwell, as stated (in Ps. 68:17), “the mountain God desired for His dwelling.” Mount Horeb (rt.: hrb) is [so called], because upon it the sword (rt.: hrb) [of judgment] was unsheathed, as stated (in Lev. 20:10), “the adulterer and the adulteress shall surely be put to death,” [and] (in Numb. 35:16), “the murderer shall surely be put to death.” Mount Sinai is [so called], because on it the peoples of the world became hateful (rt.: sn') to the Holy One, blessed be He; and He rendered a verdict³⁶Gk.: apophasis. against them, as stated (in is. 60:12), “and the gentiles shall be utterly (hrb) destroyed (rt.: hrb).” R. Abba bar Kahana said in the name of R. Johanan, “’And the gentiles shall be utterly destroyed’ – it was where they received a verdict.”

(Exod. 3:1:) NOW MOSES WAS TENDING <THE FLOCK>. This text is related (to Ps. 103:7): HE MADE HIS WAYS KNOWN TO MOSES….⁴¹Cf. Exod. R. 2:1; M. Pss. 103:10. Why would he make known his ways to Moses? Because Moses knew all the ways of the Holy One, but no one else knew them. It is written (in Exod. 33:13): AND NOW, […,] PLEASE MAKE YOUR WAYS KNOWN TO ME. The Holy One said to him: Do you desire to stand upon my⁴²The Buber text reads “his.” ways? By your life, I will make <them> known to you. (Ps. 103:7): HE MADE HIS WAYS KNOWN TO MOSES.

Another interpretation (of Ps. 103:7): HE MADE HIS WAYS KNOWN TO MOSES. The Holy One <did so> because he alone knew the final end of the captivity in Egypt. Thus it is stated (in Exod. 2:25): GOD SAW THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL, AND GOD KNEW. To whom did he make known <what he knew>? To Moses, as stated (in what follows, i.e., Exod. 3:1ff.:) NOW MOSES WAS TENDING <THE FLOCK…>.⁴³This reference to Exod. 3:1 must be understood as a reference to the whole story of the burning bush in which God reveals to Moses the plan for delivering Israel.

[(Exod. 3:1:) NOW MOSES WAS TENDING <THE FLOCK>.] This text is related (to Ps. 11:4): THE LORD IS IN HIS HOLY TEMPLE….⁴⁴Cf. Hab. 2:20. R. Samuel bar Nahman said: Before the destruction of the Sanctuary, the Divine Presence was situated in the Temple, as stated (Ps. 11:4): THE LORD IS IN HIS HOLY TEMPLE;⁴⁵Exod. R. 2:2; M. Pss. 11:3. but, after the Temple was destroyed, (ibid. cont.:) THE LORD'S THRONE IS IN THE HEAVENS. He had removed his Divine Presence to the heavens. R. Eleazar ben Pedat said: Whether the Temple is destroyed or not destroyed, the Divine Presence has not moved from its place, as stated (in Ps. 11:4): THE LORD IS IN HIS HOLY TEMPLE. And where is it shown? Where it is stated (in I Kings 9:3): MY EYES AND MY HEART SHALL BE THERE FOR ALL TIME. It also says so (in Ps. 3:5 [4]): I RAISE MY VOICE UNTO THE LORD, AND HE ANSWERS ME FROM HIS HOLY HILL. SELAH. For even though it is <only> a hill,⁴⁶Midrash Tanhuma (Jerusalem: Eshkol: n.d.), vol. 1, appendix, p. 90, n. 2, suggests emending HR (“hill”) to HRB (“destroyed”) so that the clause would read in agreement with Codex Vaticanus Ebr. 34 and Exod. R. 2:2: “For even though it is destroyed.” here he remains in his holiness. R. Eleazar ben Pedat said: See what is written (in Ezra 1:3): AND LET HIM BUILD THE HOUSE OF THE LORD GOD OF ISRAEL. HE IS THE GOD WHO IS IN JERUSALEM. He has not moved from there. R. Aha said: The Divine Presence has never moved from the West Wall (i.e., the Wailing Wall) of the Sanctuary. Thus it is stated (in Cant. 2:9): THERE HE STANDS BEHIND OUR WALL. Ergo (in Ps. 11:4): THE LORD IS IN HIS HOLY TEMPLE. R. Jannay said: Although they said (in Ps. 11:4): THE LORD IS IN HIS HOLY TEMPLE; THE LORD HAS HIS THRONE IN THE HEAVENS; < nevertheless > (the verse continues), HIS EYES BEHOLD, HIS EYELIDS TEST THE CHILDREN OF ADAM. To what is the matter comparable? To a king who had an orchard⁴⁷Pardes. Cf. the Gk.: paradeisos, i.e., “paradise.” and brought in the workers. Now by the orchard gate there was a certain storehouse full of everything good. The king said: Whoever does his work wholeheartedly will receive his reward from here, but whoever does not do his work wholeheartedly, him I shall return to my palace⁴⁸Lat.: palatium. and judge. Who is this king? This is the Supreme King of Kings, the Holy One. And what is the garden? It is this world. Within it the Holy One has put the children of Adam so that they may observe the Torah. But he has made a stipulation with them and said to them: For everyone who truly observes the Torah, here is paradise < lying > before him; but for everyone who does not truly observe the Torah, here is Gehinnom < lying > before him. The Holy One said: Although I seemed to have removed my Divine Presence from the Sanctuary, still (in Ps. 11:4): MY EYES BEHOLD, <MY EYELIDS TEST THE CHILDREN OF ADAM >.⁴⁹The Masoretic Text of this verse reads “his” for MY in both places. Whom does he test? (According to vs. 5:) THE LORD TESTS THE RIGHTEOUS. And why does he not test the wicked? R. Jannay said: When the flax worker is pounding away and sees that the flax is good, he pounds it a lot; but, when he sees that it is not good, he does not pound on it, lest it be spoiled.⁵⁰Gen. R. 32:3; 34:2; 55:2; Cant. R. 2:16:2. Ergo (in Ps. 11:4:) HIS EYES BEHOLD, HIS EYELIDS TEST THE CHILDREN OF ADAM. [And whom does he test? The righteous, as stated (in vs. 5):] THE LORD TESTS THE RIGHTEOUS.

Another interpretation (of Ps. 11:5): THE LORD TESTS THE RIGHTEOUS. R. Isaac said: In what does he test the righteous? In the pasture. David was tested in the pasture, as stated (in Ps. 78:71): HE BROUGHT HIM FROM FOLLOWING THE NURSING EWES TO SHEPHERD <HIS PEOPLE JACOB, EVEN ISRAEL HIS INHERITANCE>. Amos was tested in the pasture, [as stated (in Amos 7:15):] BUT THE LORD TOOK ME FROM FOLLOWING THE FLOCK. Moses also was tested in the pasture. Thus it is stated (in Exod. 3:1:) NOW MOSES WAS TENDING <THE FLOCK>….

(Exod. 2:21:) THEN MOSES CONSENTED TO DWELL WITH THE MAN. R. Judah asks: What is the meaning of THEN <MOSES> CONSENTED (wayyo'el)? That he swore to him.⁵⁵Tanh., Exod. 1:12; Exod. R. 1:33. <This usage is in accord with> what is stated (in I Sam. 14:24): FOR SAUL MADE THE PEOPLE SWEAR (wayyo'el). He agreed to live with him. Thus CONSENTED (wayyo'el, rt.: Y'L) is actually a word of lodging, <in accord with> what is stated (in Jud. 19:6): SO NOW PLEASE CONSENT (rt.: Y'L) TO STAY THE NIGHT. (Exod. 2:21, cont.:) AND HE GAVE MOSES HIS DAUGHTER ZIPPORAH. When he took his daughter, he appointed him to tend his flock, as stated (in Exod. 3:1): NOW MOSES WAS TENDING (rt.: R'H) <THE FLOCK OF HIS FATHER-IN-LAW JETHRO >. What is the meaning of HE WAS TENDING <THE FLOCK>? R. Johanan said: In the case of everyone about whom it is stated: HE WAS, what HE WAS at his beginning, HE WAS at his end.⁵⁶Gen. R. 30:8; Esth. R. 6:3; cf. Tanh., Exod. 1:13; Exod. R. 2:4. He was worthy at his beginning and worthy at his end. The Rabbis say: Everyone⁵⁷The translation reads KL for KY in agreement with Tanh., Exod. 1:13. In this literature KY is rarely used without the prefix W apart from biblical quotations. See M. H. Segal, A Grammar of Mishnaic Hebrew (Oxford: Clarendon, 1956), section 302, n. 1. about whom it is stated: HE WAS nourished and sustained. They said to him: But look (at Gen. 3:1): NOW THE SERPENT WAS THE MORE SUBTLE. He said to them: He also was being prepared (by the word WAS) for divine punishment (in Gen. 3:14–15). They said to him: But here it is written (in Gen. 4:2): CAIN WAS A TILLER OF THE GROUND. He said to them: He also was being prepared for exile. They said to him: And here it is written (in Jer. 38:28): AND IT WAS WHEN JERUSALEM WAS CAPTURED. He said to them: It was a good omen⁵⁸Gk.: semeion. for it; because, if Jerusalem had not been captured, Israel⁵⁹The text here reads “the enemies of Israel,” but this expression is here a euphemism for Israel, as in Suk. 29a. So Jastrow, s.v., sone. would have been consumed. R. Levi has said: Everyone about whom it is stated: HE WAS, has seen a new age.⁶⁰According to Gen. R. 30:8, there were five such people: Noah, Joseph, Moses, Job, and Mordecai. Ergo (in Exod. 3:1): NOW MOSES WAS TENDING <THE FLOCK >.

(Exod. 3:1, cont.:) SO HE DROVE THE FLOCK TO THE FARTHEST END OF THE DESERT. Why was he seeking THE FARTHEST END OF THE DESERT? In order to keep himself far away from despoiling (the pasturage of others).⁶¹Exod. R. 2:3. Another interpretation: He sought the desert because he saw that he would receive greatness from the desert.⁶²Tanh. Exod. 1:14; Exod. R. 2:4. Torah came from the desert; commandments came from the desert; a tabernacle came from the desert; the Divine Presence came from the desert; kingdoms and priesthood came from the desert; the well came from the desert; the manna came from the desert; clouds of glory came from the desert. For that reason he sought THE FARTHEST END OF THE DESERT.

Why did Jethro compel him to take an oath? Lest he do to him what Laban had stated: If thou shalt afflict my daughters and take wives (Gen. 31:50). The Holy One, blessed be He, said to him: The righteous Moses risked his life for the sake of My children and was forced to flee to Midian, but he will redeem them from Egypt. Therefore it is written: And Moses was keeping the flock (Exod. 3:1).

(Exod. 3:1, cont.:) AND HE CAME TO HOREB, THE MOUNTAIN OF GOD. R. Simeon ben Jose ben Leqonya said: Moses' flock went forty days without eating and without tasting anything, just as Elijah, of blessed memory, did. [It is so stated (in I Kings 19:8): ARISING, HE ATE AND DRANK. THEN ON THE STRENGTH OF THAT FOOD HE WENT FORTY DAYS AND FORTY NIGHTS UNTO HOREB, THE MOUNTAIN OF GOD.]

Another interpretation (of Exod. 3:1): SO HE DROVE THE FLOCK TO THE FARTHEST END OF THE DESERT. R. Joshua ben Qorhah said: <The Holy One> portended to him that his flock (the Israelites) would perish in the desert and that he would be removed (i.e., die) along with them. (Exod. 3:1:) SO HE DROVE THE FLOCK. <Thereby the Holy One> was hinting to him that he would drive the children of Israel forty years. Then after that he would be removed. So also in the case of Moses, when he sought the needs of Israel. When the Holy One, blessed be he, said to him: Go on my mission, Moses said to him (in Cant. 1:7): TELL ME, YOU WHOM MY SOUL LOVES, WHERE DO YOU TEND <YOUR FLOCK >…? How many midwives are there among them? How many are pregnant among them? How many ointments have you prepared for the pregnant ones who are among them? TELL ME, YOU WHOM MY SOUL LOVES. The Holy One answered and said to him (in Cant. 1:8): IF YOU DO NOT KNOW, O FAIREST AMONG WOMEN, COME OUT IN THE TRACKS OF THE FLOCK…. Ergo (in Exod. 3:1): SO HE DROVE THE FLOCK TO THE FARTHEST END OF THE DESERT. When he reached Horeb, what is immediately written (in vs. 2)? THEN THE ANGEL OF THE LORD APPEARED UNTO HIM IN A FLAME OF FIRE. Why IN A FLAME OF FIRE? In order to attract him. When he came to Sinai and saw that fire, he would be awe-struck.⁶³The verb here normally means “be afraid.” If it is so understood, there should probably be a negative here, i.e., “he would not be afraid,” in agreement with Codex Vaticanus Ebr. 34 and Tanh., Exod. 1:14. Ergo: IN A FLAME OF FIRE. Another interpretation: Why IN A FLAME OF FIRE? Because a flame is given from two thirds.⁶⁴Tanh., Exod. 1:14 (as interpreted by Enoch Zundel’s commentary, ‘Ets Yosef), elaborates further: “Why IN A FLAME (LBH) OF FIRE? <Because it> is from the upper two thirds of a bush, as the heart (LB) is placed in the upper two thirds of a human.” So also Codex Vaticanus Ebr. 34 and Exod. R. 2:5. Why FROM THE MIDST OF A THORN BUSH and not from the midst of another tree? The Holy One said (in Ps. 91:15): I WILL BE WITH HIM IN DISTRESS. Now they (the Israelites) were placed in the < thorns of> slavery; so shall I be revealed from the midst of another tree? Therefore, <I was revealed> (in Exod. 3:2): FROM THE MIDST OF A THORN BUSH, because it is all thorns.

Now Moses was keeping the flock (Exod. 3:1). R. Levi stated: Everyone about whom it is written was, his beginning and his end were proper. R. Johanan said: Everyone about whom it says was, fed and sustained others. Others contended that it is written: Now the serpent was subtle (Gen. 3:1). And he answered: Because he was subtle, he was predestined to punishment. It is also written that Cain was a tiller of the ground (ibid. 4:2), they said. To which he replied: Therefore he was predestined for exile. Then they argued that it is written: So Jeremiah abode in the court of the guard until the day Jerusalem was taken (Jer. 38:28). And He answered: That too is an excellent example, for if Jerusalem had not been taken, the “enemies of Israel” (euphemism for Israel) would have been destroyed. Moreover, Israel (thus) experienced full punishment for her sins. The punishment of thine iniquity is accomplished, O daughter of Zion (Lam. 4:22). Our sages of blessed memory maintained that everyone concerning whom it is written was would experience a new world. Therefore it is written: And Moses was keeping the flock.

And he led the flock to the farthest end of the wilderness (Exod. 3:1). In answer to the query Why did he go into the wilderness? R. Johanan said: He went into the wilderness because he foresaw that Israel would be exalted through the wilderness, as it is said: Who is this that cometh up out of the wilderness? (Song 3:6). The ascent from Egypt was through the wilderness, the Torah was given in the wilderness; the manna and the quail were obtained in the wilderness; the Tabernacle, the Shekhinah, the priesthood, kingship, the well, the clouds of glory—all occurred in the wilderness. Therefore, he led the flock to the farthest end of the wilderness.

And came to the mountain of God, unto Horeb (Exod. 3:1). R. Simeon the son of Yosé maintained that Moses’ flock roamed about for forty days, and that, like Elijah of blessed memory, he tasted no food (during this time), as it is said: And he arose, and he did eat and drink, and went in the strength of that meal forty days and forty nights (I Kings 19:8). And he led the flock to the farthest end of the wilderness (Exod. 3:1). This informed him that (the older generation of) Israel, which was called the flock, would perish in the wilderness.

(Numb. 11:16:) “Gather Me seventy men.” This text is related (to Eccl. 12:11), “The words of the wise are like goads (kedarbanot) [...].” Kedarbanot [signifies] kadur shel banot (a ball for girls). Just like a ball for girls is thrown here and there, so were the words [of Torah] thrown at Sinai. Another interpretation of “like goads.” Just as a goad brings living (hayyim) [animals] to their yoke (l'wlm) so do the words of Torah bring life (hayyim) to the world (l'wlm).⁵⁸See ySanh. 10:1 (28a); Numb. R. 14:4; 15:22; Eccl. R. 12:11:1; PR 3:2. It is so written (in Deut. 30:20), “[To love the Lord your God, heed His commands, and hold fast to Him] for that is your life and your length of days.” [Another interpretation (of Eccl. 12:11), “The words of the wise are like goads”:] Just as the goad directs the cow to plow and even out the furrows;⁵⁹TSot. 7:11; Sifre to Deut. 11:13 (41); Hag. 3b; ARN A 18. so do the words of Torah direct those who study them to say, “Forbidden,” over what is forbidden, [to say,] “Permitted,” over what is permitted; and [the words of the wise also] show interpretations and directives from the Torah. (Eccl. 12:11:) “The words of the wise are like goads.” Three names are applied to it (i.e., to a goad), darban, mardea', malmad.⁶⁰PRK 23:7; Lev. R. 29:7. Why is it named malmad (mlmd)? Because it teaches (mlmd) the cow to plow. Mardea'? Because it teaches knowledge (moreh de'ah) to the cow for plowing. Darban? Because it (the goad) dwells (dar) in it (bah, i.e., in the cow) as understanding (binah) for plowing.⁶¹See Targum Eccl. 12:11. And therefore the words of the wise are compared to goads, as it teaches knowledge and understanding to people. And if you say, “Just as the goad is removable, so are the words of Torah removable,” the text reads (ibid. cont.), “and like implanted nails (msmrwt).” (Eccl. 12:11, cont.:) “Those that are gathered in collections.” What is the meaning of “those that are gathered in collections?” When are they implanted in a man? When their masters are gathered (dead) from them. The whole time that his master is alive, [the student] asks him. [When] his teacher dies, he toils day and night to fulfill his teaching, as there is no one for him to ask. Hence it is written, “those that are gathered in collections.” (Eccl. 12:11:) “And like implanted nails (msmrwt).” R. Berekhya the Priest Berabbi said, “It is written, ‘like the watches (mshmrwt),’ but we read it ‘like nails (msmrwt).’ [This is to teach that] just as the watches (mshmrwt) of the priests number twenty-four, so also do the books [of the Bible] number twenty-four.” Another interpretation: Why is it written, “like the watches (mshmrwt),” but we read it “like implanted nails (msmrwt)?” To teach you that if you have implanted them like a nail in your heart, they will watch you. Another interpretation (of Eccl. 12:11 cont.), “and like implanted nails.” From here the sages have said, “It is forbidden to read in the profane (chitzoniot) books.” It is therefore stated (ibid.), “and like implanted nails (msmrwt).” (Ibid. cont.:) [“(The masters of) collections.”] These [masters] are the Sanhedrin.⁶²Gk.: synedrion. And if you say, “This person permits what another forbids, this one declares unfit what another declares fit, this one declares unclean what another declares clean, R. Eliezer obligates while R. Joshua exempts, and Bet Shammai prohibits while Bet Hillel permits; to whom should I listen?” [That is why] the Holy One, blessed be He, said, “Nevertheless (according to Eccl. 12:11 end) ‘all of them were given from one shepherd.’” This [shepherd] was Moses, as stated about him (in Exod. 3:1), “And Moses was a shepherd.” [And] he received it from the One of the world. And they are unified words, except that this one gives one explanation, and that one gives another explanation. Hence it is stated, “all of them were given from one shepherd.”

"and they came to the river-bed of Eshkol": so-called by reason of the cluster (eshkol) of grapes (that they were to take from there [viz. Bamidbar 13:24]) Similarly, (Shemoth 3:1) "and he came to the mountain of G-d to Chorev": so-called because of what would occur there in the future.

And he led the flock until he came to Horeb, as it is said, "And he led the flock to the back of the wilderness, and came to the mountain of God, unto Horeb" (Ex. 3:1). There the Holy One, blessed be He, was revealed unto him from the midst of the thorn-bush. Moses saw the bush burning with fire, and the fire did not consume the bush, and the bush did not extinguish the flames of fire. Now the bush does not grow in the earth unless it has water beneath it. Moses saw and was wondering very much in his heart, and he said: What kind of glory is there in its midst? He said: I will now turn aside and see this great sight, why the thorn-bush is not burnt. The Holy One, blessed be He, said to him: Moses ! Stand where thou art standing, for there in the future will I give the Torah to Israel, as it is said, "And he said, Draw not nigh hither; put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground" (Ex. 3:5). The Holy One, blessed be He, said to him: Go. Hence (the sages) said: Anyone who enters the Temple must remove || his shoe, for thus spake the Holy One, blessed be He, to Moses: "Put off thy shoes from off thy feet" (ibid.).

Rabbi Elazar of Modein said: From the day when the heavens and the earth were created, the name of the mountain was Horeb. When the Holy One, blessed be He, was revealed unto Moses out of the thorn-bush, because of the word for the thorn-bush (S'neh) it was called Sinai (Sinai), and that is Horeb. And whence do we know that Israel accepted the Torah at Mount Horeb? Because it is said, "The day that thou stoodest before the Lord thy God in Horeb" (Deut. 4:10).

And Zipporah walked in the way of the women of Jacob; she never failed in the least from the ‎righteousness of Sarah, Rebekah, Rachel and Leah. And Zipporah conceived and bare a son, ‎and he called his name Gershom, for he said: I have been a stranger in a strange land. But ‎Moses did not circumcise him, at the command of Reuel, his father-in-law. And she conceived ‎again and bare a son, whom he did circumcise, and he called his name Eliezer, saying: The God ‎of my father was my helper, and he delivered me from the sword of Pharaoh. And Pharaoh, ‎the king of Egypt, continued to increase the labor of the children of Israel, and to make his ‎yoke heavier upon them in those days, and he ordered it to be proclaimed throughout all ‎Egypt, saying: Ye shall no more give the people straw to make brick, as hereto fore; let them ‎go and gather straw for themselves. And the tale of bricks which they did make heretofore, ye ‎shall lay upon them; ye shall not diminish aught thereof, for they are negligent in their work. ‎And when the children of Israel heard this, they mourned and sighed, and they cried unto the ‎Lord in the bitterness of their souls. And the Lord became jealous of his people and of his ‎inheritance, and he heard their voice, and he decided to bring them forth from the affliction of ‎Egypt, and to give unto them the land of Canaan for a possession. And in those days Moses ‎was feeding the sheep of his father-in-law, Reuel, the Midianite, beyond the wilder ness of ‎Zin, and the rod which he took from his father in-law he had with him. And one day a kid of the ‎goats ran astray from the flock, and Moses searched for it and pursued it, until he came to the ‎mountain of God, to Horeb. And when he came to Horeb the Lord appeared unto him in the ‎bush, and he saw the bush burning with fire, but the fire could not prevail over the bush to ‎consume it. And Moses was greatly astonished at the sight, and he wondered why the bush ‎was not consumed; and he drew nigh to examine that awful thing. And the Lord called unto ‎Moses from the midst of the fire, and he commanded him to go down to Pharaoh, king of ‎Egypt, to release the children of Israel from bondage. And the Lord said unto Moses: Go thou ‎and return to Egypt, for all those men are dead who sought thy life, and speak unto Pharaoh, ‎that he send forth the children of Israel from his land. And the Lord showed unto him how to ‎perform signs and wonders in Egypt before the eyes of Pharaoh and his servants, so that they ‎might believe that the Lord had sent him; and Moses hearkened to all that the Lord ‎commanded unto him, and Moses returned to his father in-law and informed him of this thing, ‎and Reuel said: Go in peace.‎