This morning on NPR, Rep. John Lewis, the last living speaker from the March on Washington in 1963, spoke about his experience meeting Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. He talked about what inspired him to take action, specifically as a preacher, in the movement for racial equality. In a newspaper given to him by his grandfather, he read about the courageous actions of Rosa Parks, and he was inspired to slowly try to make change in his own town of Troy, Alabama. He had been primed for this moment, and it served as an experience of calling.
In this week’s parashah, Shemot, we read about the call that Moshe received, one unlike any other:
And the angel of Adonai appeared to him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush; and he looked, and, behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed. And Moshe said: 'I will turn aside now, and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt.' And when Adonai saw that he turned aside to see, God called unto him out of the midst of the bush, and said: 'Moses, Moses.' And he said: 'Here am I.' -Shemot 3:2-4
It is after this call that the course of our history changes. Commentators are fixated by the medium through which God communicates to Moshe, and one Midrash seeks to understand this image of the burning bush:
Why did the Holy Blessed One formulate God’s revelation this way? Moshe was afraid that the Egyptians would really destroy Israel. So the Holy Blessed One showed him a burning fire which did not consume. God said to him: Just as the bush burns with fire but is never consumed so Egypt will never destroy Israel. -Shemot Rabbah 2:1
This midrashic read of the burning bush instills a sense of resilience in Moshe, in those of us that read the Torah today, and in all people who still fight against oppression. It’s meant to remind us that we as human beings, when fighting for what is right, will not be destroyed. It reminds us that we can cultivate a belief in ourselves and overcome tremendous hardship. Rashi adds, more precisely, that “God is with those in distress,” quoting a verse from psalms. His addition to the text reminds us that when we endure painful and tough circumstances, we aren’t alone; God is struggling and fighting with us. These messages are important for our time as well, and crucial to those who fought and still fight for racial equality. When the world is in danger, when we personally might be feeling a sense of despair, we will not be burnt to the ground. The path to any redemption, even when excruciating, is also tied to hope and belief in the future. And like Rashi teaches, God will be with us in those moments. God is crying out with us at injustice, God is with us in our pain, and with us in our hope.
