The bush is burning but it is not consumed-- וְהִנֵּ֤ה הַסְּנֶה֙ בֹּעֵ֣ר בָּאֵ֔שׁ וְהַסְּנֶ֖ה אֵינֶ֥נּוּ אֻכָּֽל. This is the miracle that leads Moshe to have his first encounter with God.
We are so familiar with this image, but what does it really mean-- that a bush was on fire and not consumed? Was it just a bizarre thing to see in the desert that would catch Moshe’s attention? Or was it alarming, like if we walked down the street and saw a building on fire? Why is הַסְּנֶה֙ בֹּעֵ֣ר בָּאֵ֔שׁ the symbol that God uses?
Rashi explains that God was trying to show Moshe that he would be like the bush on fire. כאשר ראית הסנה עושה שליחותי ואיננו אוכל, “Just as you saw the thorn bush performing My mission and not being harmed” כך תלך בשליחותי ואינך ניזוק “so will you go on My mission and not be harmed” (Rashi on Shemot 3:12).
As we know, Moshe will be in situation after situation where the laws of nature would rule that he shouldn’t survive-- he would challenge the Pharaoh-- a god and king to all of Egypt-- he would lead a nation through a split sea and through a wilderness for 40 years. He would receive God’s Torah on Har Sinai without eating or drinking for 40 days and 40 nights. He would speak with God-- panim el panim-- face to face in a way that no other human has or would do and survive. And all the while, he himself would be like the thorn bush-- standing alone and apart, ‘thorny’ so-to-say to those he would lead, davka because he would be a leader-- living without the human relationships most people need.
And so, God uses the burning bush to give Moshe hope-- to show him that fulfilling God’s mission will not destroy him. Quite the opposite-- through it, he will live and survive through almost anything. He shouldn’t worry about obstacles or even loneliness--God will be with him, כי אהיה עמך. This is why God chose the image of the burning bush.
I think of those moments in our own lives when we’re really struggling and we worry whether our mission will break us. Something heavy-- like if we are caring for a parent or loved one who is seriously ill, or if we or someone we love is in a crippling depression or anxiety. Or the everyday things-- like when we just can’t seem to make a break-through at work, or when we are juggling family life and our job, and then remember that last thing on the to-do list. We each have felt like the bush that was on fire-- that would certainly burn and be consumed. And then we survive. We get through it-- against all odds, God is with us.
The image of the sneh is the reminder God gives Moshe-- and us-- for those very moments: God will be with us. It doesn’t mean we won’t feel the fire-- that the struggle won’t be real. But we will survive. The key is for us to be messengers of God’s Torah-- to be people who do His will, just like the thorn bush and Moshe did-- to be in relationship with God, to stay in the ring. As we enter into Sefer Shemot this Shabbat, the book of exile and redemption, may we derive hope from this image of the sneh in whatever struggle we are in right now-- personally and as a community.
--Rabbanit Alissa
