(א) וּמֹשֶׁ֗ה הָיָ֥ה רֹעֶ֛ה אֶת־צֹ֛אן יִתְר֥וֹ חֹתְנ֖וֹ כֹּהֵ֣ן מִדְיָ֑ן וַיִּנְהַ֤ג אֶת־הַצֹּאן֙ אַחַ֣ר הַמִּדְבָּ֔ר וַיָּבֹ֛א אֶל־הַ֥ר הָאֱלֹהִ֖ים חֹרֵֽבָה׃ (ב) וַ֠יֵּרָא מַלְאַ֨ךְ יְהֹוָ֥ה אֵלָ֛יו בְּלַבַּת־אֵ֖שׁ מִתּ֣וֹךְ הַסְּנֶ֑ה וַיַּ֗רְא וְהִנֵּ֤ה הַסְּנֶה֙ בֹּעֵ֣ר בָּאֵ֔שׁ וְהַסְּנֶ֖ה אֵינֶ֥נּוּ אֻכָּֽל׃ (ג) וַיֹּ֣אמֶר מֹשֶׁ֔ה אָסֻֽרָה־נָּ֣א וְאֶרְאֶ֔ה אֶת־הַמַּרְאֶ֥ה הַגָּדֹ֖ל הַזֶּ֑ה מַדּ֖וּעַ לֹא־יִבְעַ֥ר הַסְּנֶֽה׃ (ד) וַיַּ֥רְא יְהוָ֖ה כִּ֣י סָ֣ר לִרְא֑וֹת וַיִּקְרָא֩ אֵלָ֨יו אֱלֹהִ֜ים מִתּ֣וֹךְ הַסְּנֶ֗ה וַיֹּ֛אמֶר מֹשֶׁ֥ה מֹשֶׁ֖ה וַיֹּ֥אמֶר הִנֵּֽנִי׃ (ה) וַיֹּ֖אמֶר אַל־תִּקְרַ֣ב הֲלֹ֑ם שַׁל־נְעָלֶ֙יךָ֙ מֵעַ֣ל רַגְלֶ֔יךָ כִּ֣י הַמָּק֗וֹם אֲשֶׁ֤ר אַתָּה֙ עוֹמֵ֣ד עָלָ֔יו אַדְמַת־קֹ֖דֶשׁ הֽוּא׃ (ו) וַיֹּ֗אמֶר אָנֹכִי֙ אֱלֹהֵ֣י אָבִ֔יךָ אֱלֹהֵ֧י אַבְרָהָ֛ם אֱלֹהֵ֥י יִצְחָ֖ק וֵאלֹהֵ֣י יַעֲקֹ֑ב וַיַּסְתֵּ֤ר מֹשֶׁה֙ פָּנָ֔יו כִּ֣י יָרֵ֔א מֵהַבִּ֖יט אֶל־הָאֱלֹהִֽים׃
(1) Now Moses, tending the flock of his father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian, drove the flock into the wilderness, and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. (2) An angel of the LORD 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. (3) Moses said, “I must turn aside to look at this marvelous sight; why doesn’t the bush burn up?” (4) When the LORD saw that he had turned aside to look, God called to him out of the bush: “Moses! Moses!” He answered, “Here I am.” (5) And He said, “Do not come closer. Remove your sandals from your feet, for the place on which you stand is holy ground. (6) I am,” He said, “the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God.
(Sefer Agadah, page 63)
"A heathen asked R. Joshua ben Korhah: Why did the Holy One see fit to speak to Moses out of a thornbush and not out of another kind of tree? He replied: Had he spoken to Moses out of a carob tree or out of a sycamore tree, you would have asked me the same question; but to dismiss you with no reply is not right. So I will tell you why. To teach you that no place on earth, not even a thornbush, is devoid of the Presence.
(16) Do not go tailbearing amongst your people. Do not stand by the blood of your fellow: I am the LORD.
| 10 Songs in Tanach | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1st Song | Mizmor Shir l'Yom Ha-Shabbos-A Psalm for the Sabbath Day: this is the Song that Adam sang after the Creation was completed. | Psalm 92 |
| 2nd Song | Shirat Ha-Yam -The Song of the Sea: this Song is sung by the Hebrews following the drowning of the Egyptian army in the "Sea of Reeds" and the saving of the Hebrews from returning to slavery in Egypt. | Exodus 14:30-15:19 |
| 3rd Song | Shiras Ha-Be'er-Song of the Well: This Song was sung as a result of the miracle that G-d created to save the Hebrews from being ambushed by the Amorites, in what is now Jordan on their way to Canaan after 40 years of wandering in the Sinai Desert. Because those who carried the Ark of the Covenant preceded the Hebrews, it caused the mountains to sink and the valley to rise, crushing the Amorites in their hideouts in the caves. The Hebrews would not have noticed this if the Well of water which accompanied them did not throw up pieces of the corpses. Thus this miracle created by G-d with the Well resulted in the Hebrews bursting forth in the "Song of the Well" in commemoration of this miraculous event. | Bamidbar (Numbers 21:16-18) |
| 4th Song | "Ha'azinu" ("to hear", "to listen" in Hebrew): the Hebrew/Jewish people must actively listen to the message that is being said to them by Moses so that they will be able to pass this message down to future generations. "Ha'azinu" was sung to the Hebrews by Moses prior to his death and at the conclusion of the Hebrews' 40-year wanderings in the Sinai Desert. This Song was sung by Moses to help assure the spiritual future of the Hebrews and included words of warning, of instruction, and of hope, and reaffirms G-d's care and love of the Hebrews to the Hebrews in all circumstances. "Ha'azinu" reflects the vicissitudes of the present and future destiny of Israel, the ups and downs, the rises and the declines. It is not a testimony to the past, but rather a warning for the present and the future. It was sung to a people who were mostly already born into physical freedom, so there was no need for the Hebrews to suddenly rejoice in song as at the "Sea of Reeds" or the "Red Sea", but rather, to listen and hear Moses in a restrained and dour manner. In contrast, the "Shiras Ha-Yam" or "Song of the Sea", sung a little over 40 years earlier by Moses and his sister Miriam at the "Sea of Reeds" or the "Red Sea", was sung as an instantaneous outburst of joy at the realization of the Hebrews' physical freedom after the miraculous event at the "Sea of Reeds" or the "Red Sea". | Deuteronomy 32:1 - 32:52 |
| 5th Song | "Shirat Ha-Givon" - "Givon" is a place in the valley of Ayalon near Jerusalem. Joshua was the leader commissioned to lead the conquest of Canaan, and he exhorted the "sun [to] stand still upon Gibeon/And you, the moon, in the valley of Ayalon" in order to enable him to wage war and to defeat Adoni-Zedek, king of Jerusalem and his allies and enable the Hebrews to enter Canaan and set up the divisions of land for each Hebrew tribe as well as establishing a sanctuary at Shiloh, which served as a holy city and stood for 200 years until the First Temple was built by King Solomon. | Referenced in: Joshua 10:12-15 |
| 6th Song | Song of Devorah. This Song was sung by the Prophetess Deborah after the Hebrew armies defeated the armies of Canaan, led by their general, Sisera. Devorah also sings about Yael, the wife of Heber the Keni, who used a spike and a hammer to drive the spike through the head of Sisera while he slept. | Judges 4:4-5:31 |
| 7th Song | Song of Hannah. Hannah was the mother of the Prophet Samuel. The Song of Hannah calls attention to the "humiliation" and "misery" of a barren woman, namely Hannah herself (1 Samuel 1:11), who confides her pain to G-d. After her prayers are completed, she is then blessed with a child, Samuel. Essentially, the Song of Hannah is the story of a woman who was barren for a long time and then was blessed with a child. This is but one of many examples of the power of prayer in the Hebrew Bible. | I Samuel 2:1-10 |
| 8th Song | Shirat David. In this Song, which has the distinction of being the only Song of the 10 Songs or 10 Shirot to be mentioned twice in the Hebrew Bible, King David recounts the desperate state of his very survival and existence during parts of his long and varied career, and he sings a Song of praise to G-d and dedicates the Song to G-d after the G-d had saved him from the hands of all his enemies and from the hands of Saul, the King of Israel prior to David. | 2 Samuel 22; Psalm 18 (minor differences ) |
| 9th Song | Song of Songs or Song of Solomon ("Shir Ha-Shirim" in Hebrew). The Song of Songs is traditionally seen to be an allegory for the relationship between G-d and Israel by utilizing the example of the love between a man and a woman. | Song of Songs is one of the five "megillot". |
| 10th Song | Song of Mashiach or Song of the Messiah: this Song has yet to be sung. It will be sung during the times of Mashiach or the Messiah, after Mashiach appears on Earth. | Isaiah 9:2-7, 26:1 |