Shmot via SALT #3

In yesterday's SALT, David Silverberg cites Shmot 3:1, where we are told that Moshe took Yitro's sheep to the wilderness. He cites Rashi who (in contrast to the medrash some of us learned as children about Moshe running after the thirsty sheep and carrying it home) cites a medrash to explain how Moshe ended up at Har Choreiv: “Across the wilderness – to distance himself from theft; so that they would not graze in the fields of others.”

The medrash and Rashi further develop the verse, which explains how Moshe got to the Sinai desert: “And Moshe was shepherding the sheep of Yitro his father-in-law, priest of Midyan. He led the sheep across the wilderness and came to the Mount of God, to Choreiv” The question is - what major element of Moshe's essence is being reveled to us by this comment of the medrash?

Sometimes the question is the answer. What might seem like a minor detail seems to be a major deal in the eyes of G-d. The medrash may be saying that you that to become a Moshe, the greatest prophet who ever lived, you have to work hard - from the bottom up. Moshe was, as was noted before, a private man of integrity. He simply wanted to do the right thing. Every time. In Moshe's day, it seems that theft was commonly rationalized. He made the unusual trek to the desert to ensure that his sheep would not wander off and graze off of private pastures. And it was there that he was called upon by G-d.

As Rabbi Silverberg puts it, "In light of the medrash's interpretation of this phrase, it is hard to ignore the connection that emerges between the two clauses of this verse: “He led the sheep across the wilderness, and came to the Mountain of G-d.” The lesson seems to be that if we wish to come close to G-d we should start with how we working our relationships with ourselves and with other people. To reach great spiritual heights, we need to start with entry level decency.

The medrash does not say that he wished to prevent himself from stealing. It sounds like the medrash is actually telling us that Moshe wanted to separate himself from a climate which lacked boundaries, "to distance himself from theft." The lesson seems to be that one must work carefully on oneself in order to reach the Mountain of G-d.