Moses Was Pasturing

371) “A Psalm of David. The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.” “The Lord is my shepherd,” my shepherd. As the shepherd leads the flock to a good pasture, a lush grazing site in a place of springs, and straightens their walk with righteousness and justice, so does the Creator, as it is written, “He makes me lie down in pastures of grass; He leads me beside still waters, He restores my soul.”

372) It is the way of the shepherd to lead his flock with righteousness, to steer them away from robbery, to lead them in plains, and the rod is always in his hand lest they turn to the right or to the left.

373) Moses was a shepherd. As long as the shepherd manages his flock wisely, he is ready to assume the burden of the kingdom of heaven. If the shepherd is a fool, It is written about him, “There is more hope for a fool than for him.”

374) Moses was wise and proficient in leading his flock, as it is written about David, “and behold he was leading the flock.” David was a great sage and was leading his flock properly and rightly. For this reason, the Creator made him king over all of Israel. But why flock and not cattle? Israel are called “flock,” as it is written, “And you are My flock, you are men,” and as it is written, “Like the flock for holy sacrifices, like the flock in Jerusalem.”

375) Like the flock, when they are offered on the altar, because of them, he is rewarded with life in the next world. likewise, one who leads Israel properly and rightly, because of them, he is rewarded with life in the next world. Also, when the flock gives birth, the shepherd takes the lambs in his arms so they will not be tired and weary, and leads them after their mother, and has compassion for them. Similarly, the leader of Israel must lead them with compassion and not with cruelty. And so said Moses, “That You should say to me, ‘Carry them in your bosom, as a guardian carries a nursing child.’”

376) As a shepherd of a flock, when he is a good shepherd, he saves the flock from the wolves and the lions. Similarly, if Israel’s leader is good, he saves them from idol-worshippers and from the judgment of below and the judgment of above, and leads them to the life of the next world. Moses was a faithful shepherd, and the Creator saw that he was worthy of leading Israel by the same judgment that he was leading the flock. The sheep, as is fitting for them, and the females, as is fitting for them.

377) Therefore, it is written, “And Moses was keeping the flock of his father-in-law, Jethro, the priest of Midian,” and not his own. When Jethro gave his daughter Zipporah to Moses, did he not give him flocks and cattle? After all, he was wealthy! However, Moses did not lead his own flock so it would not be said that he was kind to them because he was leading his own flock. This is why it is written, “the flock of his father-in-law, Jethro,” and it is not written his own.

Although the priest of Midian was an idol-worshipper, because he was merciful with him, he led his flock rightly and properly, in a good, lush, and fertile pasture.

378) “And he led his flock past the desert.” Moses, since the day he was born, the spirit of holiness did not move from him. He saw in the spirit of holiness that that desert was holy, and was willing to take upon itself the burden of the kingdom of heaven. What did he do? He led the flock past the desert and not in the desert, for he did not want them entering it. Rather, he moved them away past the desert.

379) “And came to the mountain of God, to Horeb,” he alone, without the flock. Like a stone that pulls and receives iron, when the iron sees it, it jumps on it. So were Moses and Mount Sinai. When they saw each other, he jumped on it, as it is written, “And came to the mountain of God, to Horeb.”

380) They had been ready with each other since the six days of creation. That day, the mountain was excited facing Moses, and when it saw him entering it and leaping in it, the mountain stood, for they were happy with each other.

381) Moses knew that it was the mountain of God, as it is written, “And he came to the mountain of God.” What did Moses see in that mountain? He saw birds flying and spreading their wings, and they were not entering it.

382) He saw the birds flying away from there and falling at Moses’ feet. He immediately sensed the matter and positioned the flock past the desert, and went in alone.

383) “And the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush.” It was the time of the midday prayer, when the quality of judgment governs. It is written, “By day, the lord commands his mercy.” It is written the quality of mercy and not the quality of judgment, since once the light comes out until it sets, it is called “day,” the quality of mercy. When it sets, it is called “evening,” the quality of judgment,” as it is written, “And God called the light ‘day,’ and to the darkness He called ‘night.’”

388) When Moses entered Mount Sinai, why did it appear to him in a flame of fire, which is judgment? At that time, it was the time that caused. This was a time of judgment, the time of Minchah [afternoon prayer]. Everything—the core of fire and the name Horeb, and the bush—was rooted into one stem.

It is written, “And came to the mountain of God, to Horeb,” and it is written, “At Horeb you provoked the Lord to wrath,” and it is written, “And the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush.” This means that since they were destined to be as the bush, for the Creator caused Israel to be destined to sin there and to be as the bush, He therefore appeared in a flame of fire, which is judgment, which burns the wicked, as it is written, “like cut thorns which are burned in the fire.”