06 Jan SHEMOT: HASHEM BELIEVES IN US!

Hashem’s first prophecy to
Moshe Rabbenu occurred at
the “burning bush.” While
tending to his father-in-law’s
flocks, Moshe came across
an unusual sight – a bush that
was on fire but was not being
consumed. He stepped toward the bush to get
a closer look, and then Hashem spoke to him.
He commanded Moshe, Al Tikrav Halom –
not to step any closer, and to take off his
shoes, because the ground he was standing on
was sacred. Hashem proceeded to instruct
Moshe to return to Egypt and begin the
process of leading Beneh Yisrael out of
bondage.
What is the significance of this vision – a
burning bush – and why was Moshe told to
remove his shoes?
Moshe lived in Midyan but was well aware of
the suffering endured by his people back in
Egypt. And in his mind, they had no hope of
being saved. They were enslaved by the most
powerful empire on earth, and they had no
merits through which they could earn
Hashem’s salvation. During their years in
Egypt, they became assimilated and even
worshipped idols. How could they possibly be
worthy of Hashem performing a miracle to
rescue them from bondage?
Moshe saw the burning bush and realized that
this was a symbol of Beneh Yisrael. They

were “on fire,” in grave crisis, but yet, they
could not be “consumed,” they could not be
destroyed. No matter what their enemies try
doing to them, they somehow survive. This is
why Moshe was so surprised. He did not
understand how this was possible. How could
Beneh Yisrael miraculously survive the
efforts made by powerful nations to destroy it,
if they had no merits through which to earn
Hashem’s salvation?
Hashem responded to Moshe’s questions by
saying Al Tikrav Halom – “Don’t come any
closer.” He was telling Moshe to stop thinking
such thoughts, to stop asking such questions,
to do an about-face, to change the way he
thought about the people. He told Moshe to
remove his “shoes” – meaning, to stop looking
down on the people, to stop “stepping” on
them, thinking that they were lowly and
unworthy of being helped. Because in truth,
“the place upon which you are standing, it is
sacred ground.” The people he was looking
down on were, in fact, sacred people. They
may have fallen to low spiritual levels, but
they were full of kedushah, full of vast
spiritual potential. They were, in fact, worthy
of being saved, because they had the potential
to rise to greatness.
The first words we are to utter when we wake
up in the morning are Modeh Ani Lefanecha
Melech Chai V’kayam Shehechazarta Bi
Nishmati – “I thank you, the living, eternal

G-d, for Your having restored to me my soul.”
During the night, we experience a temporary
“death,” as our soul departs our body, and it is
returned to us in the morning.
To appreciate what this means, let us consider
the analogy of someone who borrows his
friend’s car. When he returns it at the end of
the day, there’s a noticeable scratch on the
side.
Several days later, he needs to borrow it again,
and the friend unhesitatingly agrees. At the
end of the day, he brings it back – and there’s
an even larger scratch, on the other side.
Nevertheless, when the fellow asks his friend
to borrow the car again a couple of days later,
the friend happily agrees. This time, he gets it
back with a dent in the front fender.
Two days later, the man asks to borrow the car
again – and the friend agrees…
No matter what the guy does to his friend’s
car, the friend continually lends it to him, over
and over, without complaint, no matter how
many dents and scratches the car has…
The same is true of our souls. Hashem
graciously “lends” us our soul each morning,
and we return it with “scratches” and “dents.”
Invariably, we make mistakes during the day.
We might not pray properly, we might forget
to recite a berachah or birkat ha’mazon, we
might say something hurtful to our spouse,
child, or friend, we might turn down a request
to help someone who needs us, or we might

do something else
wrong. When we
turn in at night
and return to Hashem the soul which he had
entrusted to us, we give it back “damaged.”
And yet, Hashem returns it to us the next
morning, and the next morning, and the next
morning, and every single morning.
Why does He do that? Why does He keep
entrusting us with something that we keep
“damaging”?
The answer is found in the last two words of
the brief Modeh Ani prayer that we recite
right when we wake up: Rabah Emunatecha
– “abundant is Your faith.” Some explain this
to mean that Hashem has great faith in us. He
gives us back our souls because He believes
in us. He knows that no matter what we did
the day before, or the day before that, or the
day before that, or at any point in the past, we
have the capacity to attain greatness. He
knows better than we do how much potential
we have. He believes in our abilities, and so
He gives us back our soul each morning.
Our past mistakes don’t say anything about
how much potential we have. The very fact
that we opened our eyes this morning and got
out of bed means that Hashem believes that
we can be great, regardless of what happened
in the past. We need to believe this, too, and
work each day to maximize our potential and
pursue greatness.