The Bush is Not Consumed

In the Book of Exodus the Torah describes Moses’ first prophetic experience (Exodus 3:2-4:17). We are told that Moses said to himself: “Let me turn and see this great sight; why will the bush not be burned?” We are then told that God saw that Moses had “turned to see” so God called to Moses from the bush.

The narrative of the Torah makes it clear that it was entirely possible for Moses not to “turn and see” the burning bush. If Moses would have chosen the path of ignoring the burning bush we get the impression that God would not have spoken to him. It is only because God saw that Moses “turned to see” that God then called and spoke to Moses.

There is a deep lesson to be learned from this detail of the Scriptural narrative. We tend to enjoy our comfort…