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בס"ד


SATIS FACTI ENGAIR INTEDE
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He is not here. Search Elsewhere.

Saturday, December 11, 2004


The Consuming Fire 

When G-d spoke to Moshe through the burning bush, Moshe hid his face. He was afraid of the consequences of intimately communicating with G-d. He felt that a certain distance between himself and G-d needed to be maintained.

When G-d spoke to Bnei Yisrael at Har Sinai (out of a fire), they requested of Moshe that he should speak with G-d, and be the intermediary between G-d and Israel "... for this great fire will consume us; if we hear the voice of the LORD our God any more, then we shall die."

Pirkei Avos 2:15- "Rabbi Eliezer said... Warm yourself opposite the light of the Sages, yet be careful of their coals so that you are not burnt..."

We learn that everything in this world contains a lesson. Perhaps we can learn this lesson from the moth. The moth is attracted to the light of a fire, but repelled by its heat. And yet, singed by the fire, it continues trying to return to it.* This is the dance that we have to perform; to come close to G-d in certain ways, but not to become overly casual with Him.

*I believe that Rabbi Aharon Lichtenstein used this example.

posted by Eliyak at 11:40:00 PM