Dear Friends,
Temple Beth Jacob’s current logo is a sculptural depiction of the Burning Bush, which Moses, and we, encounter in this week’s Torah portion. It is a powerful and enigmatic vignette.
Moses was out tending the flock of his father-in-law in the wilderness. He arrived at a certain place, Horeb. “An angel of the Eternal appeared to him in a blazing fire out of a bush. He gazed, and there was a bush all aflame, yet the bush was not consumed. Moses said, ‘I must turn aside to look at this marvelous sight; why doesn’t the bush burn up?’ When the Eternal saw that he had turned aside to look, God called to him out of the bush: ‘Moses! Moses!’ He answered, "Here I am!” (Exodus 3:2-4)
Clearly, this was an epiphany, a human encounter of the Sacred and Divine. The text tells us so. But, so did Moses’ behavior. He stopped to witness this strange phenomenon, and he pondered why the wood was not destroyed by the flame, as was normative. Moreover, Moses thought to himself that he must turn aside. The experience was so compelling and mysterious that he intuited he was encountering the numinous – the Holy – and that he must demonstrate deference and awe by turning away.
This raises an interesting tension.
How should we respond to the presence of the Holy and the Awesome? Moses presented two opposite approaches: do we step forward with the response, “Here I am!” or do we step back out of deference, awe and perhaps even fear?
I have experienced both. I recall the first time that I approached the rim of the Grand Canyon and beheld the earth falling away from me and a chasm as beautiful and terrifying as imaginable, that I stepped back. Partially, it was in fear of falling. And, partially, it was from experiencing merging my presence with that of Eternity.
As well, twice I have been privileged to be in a room with the Dalai Lama. Years ago, he was in America, and he met with groups of rabbis to inquire regarding secrets of Jewish longevity and survival, for he was concerned about the perpetuity of his Tibetan faithful. Sitting with rabbis and His Excellency, chatting together about common worries, I was aware that I was sitting with one who is considered either Godly, an emissary from God, or God, Godself. I shivered. And, I leaned forward. I wanted to absorb what he exuded. His burning bush-like twinkle in his eyes, his divine smile, his radiant gentleness, was not terrifying, but embracing.
This Shabbat, our own TBJ logo reminds us of this dynamic tension – intimacy and distance with the Sacred. Day in and day out, we have interactions and intersections, and some of them may border on the sacred. Let’s hope we both approach, and step back, as necessary!
Shabbat Shalom, and wishes for a healthy 2023!
Rabbi Douglas Kohn
Temple Beth Jacob’s current logo is a sculptural depiction of the Burning Bush, which Moses, and we, encounter in this week’s Torah portion. It is a powerful and enigmatic vignette.
Moses was out tending the flock of his father-in-law in the wilderness. He arrived at a certain place, Horeb. “An angel of the Eternal appeared to him in a blazing fire out of a bush. He gazed, and there was a bush all aflame, yet the bush was not consumed. Moses said, ‘I must turn aside to look at this marvelous sight; why doesn’t the bush burn up?’ When the Eternal saw that he had turned aside to look, God called to him out of the bush: ‘Moses! Moses!’ He answered, "Here I am!” (Exodus 3:2-4)
Clearly, this was an epiphany, a human encounter of the Sacred and Divine. The text tells us so. But, so did Moses’ behavior. He stopped to witness this strange phenomenon, and he pondered why the wood was not destroyed by the flame, as was normative. Moreover, Moses thought to himself that he must turn aside. The experience was so compelling and mysterious that he intuited he was encountering the numinous – the Holy – and that he must demonstrate deference and awe by turning away.
This raises an interesting tension.
How should we respond to the presence of the Holy and the Awesome? Moses presented two opposite approaches: do we step forward with the response, “Here I am!” or do we step back out of deference, awe and perhaps even fear?
I have experienced both. I recall the first time that I approached the rim of the Grand Canyon and beheld the earth falling away from me and a chasm as beautiful and terrifying as imaginable, that I stepped back. Partially, it was in fear of falling. And, partially, it was from experiencing merging my presence with that of Eternity.
As well, twice I have been privileged to be in a room with the Dalai Lama. Years ago, he was in America, and he met with groups of rabbis to inquire regarding secrets of Jewish longevity and survival, for he was concerned about the perpetuity of his Tibetan faithful. Sitting with rabbis and His Excellency, chatting together about common worries, I was aware that I was sitting with one who is considered either Godly, an emissary from God, or God, Godself. I shivered. And, I leaned forward. I wanted to absorb what he exuded. His burning bush-like twinkle in his eyes, his divine smile, his radiant gentleness, was not terrifying, but embracing.
This Shabbat, our own TBJ logo reminds us of this dynamic tension – intimacy and distance with the Sacred. Day in and day out, we have interactions and intersections, and some of them may border on the sacred. Let’s hope we both approach, and step back, as necessary!
Shabbat Shalom, and wishes for a healthy 2023!
Rabbi Douglas Kohn
