Inner Stream
Moses' Shoes

By Lazer Gurkow

There was a steep mountain pass just outside Premishlan that was impassable during the winter because of its treacherous icy conditions. The Chassidic master, Rabbi Meir of Premishlan, would navigate this pass on a regular basis. When asked for his secret he answered simply, "One who is bound to the heavens above doesn't fall to the earth below."

Harnessing the power of heaven to enhance the quality of earth has long been a Jewish goal. In our Parshah, we read that Moses herded a flock of sheep across the desert and from there to G-d's mountain.1 As he led his sheep across the desert he contemplated the parallels between his current flock and the nation that he would one day lead across that very terrain.2

Because of its docile character and gentle temperament, the sheep is symbolic of humility.3 The Jewish mandate at Sinai would be to sublimate themselves to G-d in total and abject humility.4

The Jew will be asked to function on earth but to engage the heavens. "Is it possible to bridge the two?" Moses mused. "And, how will the Jew survive on earth? Will the sanctity of heaven not lure him in?" Moses marveled at this paradox as he gazed upon the desert.

The desert, Moses prophetically knew, is where mankind would receive its first glimpse of Jewish greatness.5 The desert, Moses realized, was also the place where Jews would first encounter G-d. Can this relationship with G-d be the spiritual root of their ability to amalgamate heaven and earth?6

An Experience on the Mountain

He set out on a journey of discovery across the desert, exploring one uninhabited spiritual frontier after another in his search for an answer. He found himself inexorably drawn to G-d's mountain, as some metals are drawn to magnets. This, he knew was where heaven and earth would meet, where G-d would descend and mankind ascend.

He approached the mountain and beheld a fascinating sight. A thorn bush was engulfed in flames, yet the bush was not consumed. In his meditation Moses immediately grasped the meaning behind the vision.

The fire was symbolic of the smoldering passion for G-d within the Jew, which burns brightly but doesn't consume him.7 Moses was mesmerized. Why will the bush not burn? Why does the allure of heaven not consume the Jew?

Moses was no stranger to the meditative experience, but this time he wanted to rise to the next level.8 He instinctively knew that pulling away from his ego would elevate his meditation to the level of prophecy.9 He quietly murmured, "I shall pull back from here so as to behold this great vision," and reached for the prophetic plateau.10

The earlier vision now leaped into focus. Moses perceived the fire as an angel calling to him from the bush. The summons excited his passion and he was seized by a sudden impulse to rush forward, to abandon everything and luxuriate in G-d's beatific presence. Enthused, he cried out in total readiness, "Here I am."

At that moment G-d appeared and sternly instructed, "Do not draw closer. Remove your shoes from your feet for the ground you stand upon is hallowed."11

One Response, Two Meanings

G-d's response was not given in reproof but in guidance, not only to Moses but also to us, across the generations.

The Jewish experience is suspended between heaven and earth. To inherit it we must enhance both dimensions within us, that of heaven and that of earth. How? In both cases we must remove our shoes.

Shoes are outer garments that protect our feet as they tread upon the earth's soil. Thus, the "shoe" represents the body--the outer garment that encases and protects the soul as it sojourns in the soil of the material realm.12 To ascend G-d's mountain, to enhance our spirit, we must first remove our shoes, our materialism. The body is appropriate for a material climate but on G-d's mountain it is a hindrance. Here we must divest ourselves of material considerations and be fully devoted to a holy existence.13

One who has removed his shoes and reached the summit finds descent unappealing. From the peak of G-d's mountain the material realm loses its allure. One prefers to float in the heavens above and never return to earth below. Camping out on the peak is tempting; but in the final analysis G-d wants us to descend.

How? Once again by removing our shoes. Another interpretation of these words follows the opposite notion that shoes are floatation devices: they detach our feet from the ground and separate us from our own materialism. According to this interpretation, shoes must be worn when climbing the mountain but must be removed when descending.14

G-d calls on us to remove our shoes and descend because the ground below is hallowed. What makes the ground holy? G-d's wish. It is His wish that we share the insights and inspiration gleaned above with those who have yet to make the climb. This is why the foot of the mountain is so much holier than its peak.15

Comment

FOOTNOTES
1.	Exodus 3:1-5.
2.	Zohar, Exodus 21a.
3.	Midarash Shir Hashirim ch. 2 17a. The Midrash enumerates many forms of relationship that we share with G-d such as father and son, husband and wife, etc. Among these it counts the relationship between shepherd and sheep, as it is written, "And I shall place my sheep, the sheep of my flock." See Ohr Hatorah, p. 755, and Likutei Sichot vol. 15, p. 253.
4.	Likutei Torah, Leviticus p.37.
5.	Midrash Rabbah, Shemot 2:4.
6.	The Midrash (Shemot Rabbah, 2:2) relates that Moses chased a sheep who ran for many miles. When the sheep finally reached water, Moses cried out, "Had I only known that you were thirsty, I would have brought the water myself." And he carried the Sheep back. When G-d saw this he commented that Moses who knows how to care for the need of each individual is worthy of being a shepherd to the Jewish people. This story may also be understood allegorically. The sheep is Israel, and the water is the Torah. Moses chased the sheep to find out what drives it and discovered that Torah is the source of its nourishment. When he saw this he carried the nation in his arms and brought the Torah to them.
7.	The classic understanding of the metaphor is that the bush is Israel and the flames are its persecutors. Despite the intensity of its persecutions, Israel will never consumed. Alternatively, the bush is Egypt and the flames are the ten plagues. Despite the intensity of the plagues Egypt would survive to absorb every last one of them. See Midrash Rabbah, Shemot 2:5, and Kli Yakar. But the interpretation in this essay follows the commentary of R. Bachye on this verse.
8.	Midrash Rabbah, Shemot 2:5: In the beginning an intermediary angel descended, then the Shechinah itself descended. See also R. Bachye, Ramban and Malbim on verse.
9.	Maimonidies, Laws of the Fundamentals of the Torah, ch. 7. R. Moses Shternbech in his book Taam Vadaat offers a unique view of the instruction to Moses to "remove his shoes" before approaching the Burning Bush: he explains that shoes lift a person up off the ground and are symbolic of arrogance. Moses was told to strengthen his sense of humility.
10.	The Hebrew word translated herein "I shall pull back" is asurah. Most commentators translate this word as "I shall turn towards" the fire, meaning I shall draw closer to the fire. The interpretation in this essay relies on the commentary of Kli Yakar on this verse and that of Kedushat Levi.
11.	Exodus 3:5.
12.	Malbim, Kli Yakar and R. Bachye. The commentaries add that this is why when a man refuses to fulfill the mitzvah of yibbum ("levirate marriage") and marry the widow of his childless brother, his shoe must be removed in the chalitzah ritual (see Deuteronomy25:5-10.. The symbolism therein is that since he refused to establish a material heir to his brother's lineage, his shoe must therefore be removed.
13.	R. Bachye sees the Hebrew word shal, "remove," from the root word shlilah, which means "negation." Hence the words "remove your shoes" read as "negate your materialism."
14.	Kedushat Levi. The Midrash (Shemot Rabbah 6:7) suggests that Moses asked to be granted royalty rights over the Jewish nation and he was refused. Kedushat Levi explains that the king is required to connect with the nation to exert a positive influence. Moses' thoughts were perpetually locked in the celestial sphere and focused on G-d, which made him unfit for the kingdom. Nevertheless he was king over the generation in the desert since, they too, were primarily focused on the study of Torah and spiritual pursuit. In this sense, Kedushat Levi sees the Hebrew word naal--"shoe"--from the root word neilah, "locked," and the Hebrew word raglecha--"your feet"--from the Hebrew root regilut which means "habit" or custom. The instruction would read, "Remove the lock that habitually fixes your thoughts upon the divine and pay more attention to the people."
15.	This is the mystical reason for the Jewish exile into foreign lands. G-d scattered his children to the lowest of the lowlands knowing that in exile the Jew would uplift his environment and make it holy. The further away from Israel we are sent the more we manifest the notion that the foot of the mountain is holier then its peak. See Sefat Emmet p. 1885.

	By Lazer Gurkow More articles... \|
	Rabbi Lazer Gurkow is spiritual leader of congregation Beth Tefilah in London, Ontario. He has lectured extensively on a variety of Jewish topics, and his articles have appeared in many print and online publications. For more on Rabbi Gurkow and his wrtings, visit InnerStream.ca.

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