Shabbos Parashas Shemos - 5780

Shabbos Parashas Shemos - 5780

Rabbi Hal Miller

And He said, "For I shall be with you. And this is the sign for you that I have

sent you: when you take the people out of Egypt, you will worship God on

this mountain." [Shemos [3:12]

What is this sign that God refers to? Moshe did not ask for a sign, but rather

asked, "who am I that I should go to Pharaoh?" How does our verse answer

Moshe?

Onkelos interprets the first part of the verse, "My memra will help you", where

memra is Aramaic, meaning any of wisdom, word, command, will, teaching,

inspiration, power, or protection. In line with Onkelos' usual attempts to avoid

anthropomorphisms, he chose a word that cannot be interpreted as "I will be

with you". Perhaps memra could serve as a sign, but again it doesn't fit what

Moshe asked.

Rashi separates the verse into two. The first part is to say, Moshe, don't

worry about it because I'll be there with you. The second part refers to the

vision at the burning bush, that just as the bush was not destroyed by the

fire, neither would Moshe and the people be destroyed.

Rav Hirsch answers Moshe's question, then follows with additional information

by interpreting our verse, "Because I shall be with you! And just this will be the

sign to you that I have sent you." Thus, the sign is God's accompaniment. The

fact that Moshe and the people believe in Moshe's inadequacy is precisely

what God wants in order to prove Himself the Master.

On the simple reading of our verse, Malbim asks, "How can something that has

not happened yet, serving God on the mountain, provide a proof or serve as a

sign for some other event that precedes it, God's having sent Moshe on a

mission to free the Jews?" He answers that this is God's explanation that Moshe

need not worry about whether Pharaoh will listen to him, nor whether the Jews

will listen to him because with God there, nobody will care whether Moshe is

telling the truth or not. God's Presence is all that is necessary.

Rambam discusses the idea of Moshe needing a sign. He says, "The Jewish

people's faith in Moshe was not due to the signs he performed. Indeed, a belief

predicated on signs is precarious." This means that any religion that relies on a

sign that appears supernatural is bound to fail because at some point, someone

will manage to replicate or debunk the incident. The whole religion falls like a

house of cards. Signs are of a temporary effect only. Moshe's signs were to

impress the Jews to follow him out of Egypt. The religion is to be based on

Sinai, where God would be with, not only Moshe, but the entire nation. That

serves as the basis of a religion that will never die because it cannot be replicated

nor debunked. Worshiping, or experiencing God on Mt. Sinai is the sign that

Moshe needs. Everything else is "utilitarian", just to get them out of Egypt.