There is a well known story about a wealthy chasid who lost all his fortune. As time went on he got poorer and poorer. Eventually when on a begging trip all his clothes were stolen, and he awoke to the world with nothing but his underwear. He jumped up and started singing and dancing with joyful enthusiasm. Another chasid observed this phenomenon, and couldn't control his curiosity. "Reb Yid, what are you so happy about?" he burst out to his cavorting colleague. "Can't you tell? I've reached the absolute bottom. There's no place to go but up, B"H!"

There seems to be a certain mystical charm to humble circumstances. This idea finds support in this week's Torah reading. When Moshe Rabbeinu first encounters Hashem it is in the 'sneh' or bramble bush. God first appears to His greatest agent in the most miserable of vegetation. Again, we see the advancement of modest surroundings. But what is the message?

There are many comments on this from our sages. R. Shimon bar Yochai said, "Just as the bramble is the toughest of all trees, and a bird who enters gets cut up by the thorns, so, too, is the bondage in Egypt the toughest on earth." R. Elazar said, "Even though Hashem could speak to them from the highest of mountains, He lowered Himself to speak from the thorn bush, the lowest of trees." R. Yehoshua said, "He spoke from the bramble because all the time the Jews were immersed in suffering, He, too, was suffering." R. Yossi said, "He spoke from the bramble because it is pure since no gentiles worship it." R. Pinchas said, "The slavery was like the bramble. One can put a hand into the bush without feeling it, but when one tries to extricate the hand it gets all cut up." R. Eliezer said, "Just as the bramble is the lowest of all trees, so, too, the Jews had sunk to the lowest spiritual level." But my favorite is, "A gentile asked Reb Yehoshua ben Korcha, "What was Hashem thinking that He decided to speak to Moshe from a thorn bush?' R. Yehoshua responded, 'If He had spoken from a carob tree or sycamore, you would have asked me just the same. But why in the bramble, to teach that there is no place empty of the Divine Presence.'" Even the gentile is expected to understand that there is neither shortage of questions nor, for that matter, shortage of answers.

So, the thorn bush can symbolize whatever you want. It represents the toughness of Egypt, the degradation of Israel, the purity of Hashem's messengers, the empathy of Hashem, or the omnipresence of Hashem. We see many ideas gleaned from one image. In a world of 'these and those are the words of the Living God' one can find the approach which best speaks to his psyche or his needs. I'd like to take a look at two approaches which I think speak to real issues affecting us all.

The Noam Elimelech, Reb Elimelech of Lizhinsk, explains that when Hashem appeared in the flame within the sneh, "It seems to be interpreted that the root of the idea is man himself. That everyone must break his negative characteristics, like hatred, jealousy, vanity, lust, greed and the like, and repair his reprehensible attributes. That from the midst of this endeavor one may come to a great status of enthusiasm and devotion in his divine service. That's 'the flame in the midst of the bramble', departure from one's shortcoming's, which are like thorns, delivers one to high levels."

The Rebbe is emphasizing the use of the term 'm'toch' that 'out of the midst' of adversity emerges something new. The image becomes a metaphor for the redemption process. In the context it introduces the exodus from Egypt; to the Rebbe it speaks to each individual.

Reb Elimelech goes on to explain that 'the bush is not consumed' means that these negative aspects are not separated from us to be burned completely. Moshe Rabbeinu 'turns aside' to observe this phenomenon. That means Moshe assumed that to achieve spiritual success there must be a complete departure from these traits. But he's wrong. There is no 'biur' of the sneh. I explained in a previous article ('Search' for the Ten Days of Penitence) that the term 'biur' means to seek out for destruction and eradication. We don’t eradicate our negative traits we continually must overcome them. Only in Messianic times will we be free of these impediments. Even redemption in this world is partial.

Moshe, the soon to be freed Jewish nation, and us are being informed that it’s impossible to depart completely from ourselves. The Rebbe concludes, "Rather, you must understand the necessity to contend continually wherever there is any physical impediment and to sanctify that very object." We must extend spirituality to all our blemishes.

The Shem M'Shmuel, Reb Shmuel Hacohen from Radomsk, points out there’s an argument in the midrash over which angel appeared in the sneh. Rebbe Yochanan says it was Micha-el, and Rebbe Chanina says it was Gavriel. Micha-el sits at the right side of Hashem and represents grace and mercy. Gavriel sits on the left of the divine throne in the seat of justice. What attribute of Hashem precipitated the redemptive process in Egypt? Justice or Mercy. An interesting question, never answered by the Rebbe. But in another comment I believe an approach emerges.

Reb Shmuel comments on the midrash which states, "'Just as the bramble is the lowest of trees, so, too, Israel were lowly and oppressed in Egypt. Therefore He appeared to them and redeemed them.' The use of the term therefore is incomprehensible." The Rebbe then goes on to describe the Talmud in Rosh Hashanah (31b) which lists the ten exiles of the Sanhedrin from Jerusalem. The travelogue concludes in Tiberias (T'veriah). The Talmud comments that T'veriah is the deepest of them all. Now this is in fact a pun, but true. T'veriah is the only Sanhedrin seat which is below sea level. But the depth of T'veriah is obviously a spiritual statement. It was in T'veriah that the Jerusalem Talmud was composed (Where else to write the Jerusalem Talmud?), but it was in T'veriah that the Sanhedrin was disbanded. This august body reached its nadir in T'veriah. Rashi on the spot explains 'deep' as 'lowly'. But the Talmud goes on to cite the position of Rebbe Yochanan, "And from there it will in the future be redeemed." (I once heard Rabbi Schrader say that is why the Rambam wanted to be buried in T'veriah. So, he could in the future be present at the Sanhedrin's reconstitution.)

The Rebbe then cites a midrash on our parsha, "That our souls lay prostate in the dust. At that moment Hashem rose to assist us." The lowly state was a precursor of redemption. The Rebbe saying that the therefore is logical. One leads to the other. I think we can understand the Rebbe's attitude to the argument about the angels. The redemption is an act of grace. Our situation generated Divine mercy, Micha-el.

Down and out is not an enviable situation, but it should not result in despair. From our opening story through all the interpretations I've brought, we must accept our challenges with the strength of faith that Hashem's salvation is on the way. There are so many ways of dealing with the sneh, but they all lead to the same conclusion: We are never abandoned.

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