Subject: Parashat Shemot 5758 - "Moshe's Shoes"
Date: Thu, 15 Jan 1998 23:02:58 +0000
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Subject: Parashat Shemot 5758 - "Moshe's Shoes"
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PARASHAT SHEMOT 5758
MOSHE'S SHOES
The angel of Hashem appeared to [Moshe] in a flame of fire inside
of a bush.... Moshe said, "Let me approach and have a better look
at this awesome sight -- why is the bush not burning?" ...Hashem
called to him from within the bush and said... "Remove your shoes
from upon your feet, for the place upon which you are standing is
holy!"
(Shemot 3:2-5)
Wherever the Divine Presence of Hashem appears, it is forbidden to
wear shoes; similarly, Yehoshua was told [by the angel of Hashem
that appeared to him], "Remove your shoes!" (Yehoshua 5:15), and
the Kohanim (priests) serve in the Holy Temple barefoot.
(Midrash Shemot Raba, end of 2:6)
When Hashem appeared to Moshe in the burning bush, Moshe was told
to remove his shoes, in deference to the sanctity of the place where the
Divine Presence had appeared. Similarly, when Hashem's angel (and with it,
the Divine Presence -- Bereishit Raba 97:3) appeared to Yehoshua, he was
told "Remove your shoe from upon your foot."
There are a number of subtle differences between the story of Moshe
and the story of Yehoshua, though. First and most obvious, Moshe was
commanded to remove "his shoes," while Yehoshua only removed "his shoe"
(singular). Second, the verse in Yehoshua continues, "And Yehoshua did so"
(i.e., he removed his shoe as commanded). In the story of Moshe and the
burning bush, however, we are never told that "Moshe did so." Why not?
The great Shelah (17th century Poland/Israel) poses these questions
(Torah shebi'Chetav, at the end of this week's Parasha; most of his words
on this subject appear to be based on Rabeinu Bachye's interpretation of
this verse). In order to answer them, he delves into the broader subject of
why it is at all necessary to remove shoes in the proximity of the Divine
Presence.
At face value, removing shoes when treading upon Terra Sancta would
seem to be a simple act of courtesy; shoes are often dirty on their
undersides, it is inappropriate to bring mundane dirt into a holy place.
The Shelah explains, however, that there is a much deeper symbolism to the
removal of shoes.
II
"Skin" symbolizes that the material world imposes a dividing film,
as it were, between us and the Creator, making it difficult for us to
clearly perceive the Divine Presence. After Adam and Chavah sinned by
eating from the Tree of Knowledge, Hashem dressed them in "cloaks of skin"
(Bereishit 3:21). Hashem showed them that their sin caused His presence to
be "cloaked" from their eyes, in the future, by a mantle of "skin," or the
physical world. (See Parasha-Page, Metzora 5757 section II, where we
discussed this concept at length.)
A person commonly wears two types of skin: (1) Shoes, which are
made from leather, or the skin of animals; and (2) his own skin. A person's
own skin represents the fact that as long as he is flesh and blood, he
cannot come to a full appreciation of Hashem in this physical world. Shoes
represent the fact that in this physical world, one builds up yet more
dividing membranes between himself and Hashem by becoming accustomed to
"animalistic" traits and tendencies.
Before approaching the Divine Presence as it appears on earth, one
must "remove his shoes," that is, strip himself of these dividing skins.
Normally, however, it is impossible to strip one's self entirely of
physical qualities. One's skin must remain in place. Therefore Hashem told
Yehoshua to "remove his *shoe* (singular)," i.e., just his "outer" layer of
skin. He should remove his footgear, symbolizing perfection of his
character.
Moshe, however, would actually leave behind all physical qualities,
for a time, when he would ascend Mt. Sinai and remain in heaven for 40 days
and nights (Shemot 34:28). Hashem therefore asked him to "remove his
*shoes* (plural)," implying that he would not only remove his footgear, but
Hashem would help him to leave behind all physical qualities as well.
However, this was not something that Moshe did immediately, while standing
before the burning bush. He did not totally strip himself of physical
qualities until he went to receive the Torah on Mt. Sinai, much later. That
is why the Torah does not say that "Moshe did so," in the story of the
burning bush.
III
We have shown that the "shoe" (= animal skin worn on the body),
like our own "skin," symbolizes our physical attributes that prevent us
from attaining spirituality. This, the Midrash says, is the reason that we
do not wear leather shoes on Yom Kippur. On that holy day, every one of us
is elevated to a lofty spiritual level comparable to that of the angels. We
strip ourselves of our physical vices and go barefooted, like the angels
(Tur, OC #606).
On a deeper level, aside from the fact that the shoe is made of
animal skin, the symbolism of the shoe rises from the fact that it is worn
on the feet. The feet, the part of the body that is closest to the ground
and farthest from the heavens, symbolize the lowest, most physical part of
a person's character. The heel of the foot in fact has the thickest skin in
the body. It contains lifeless, insensitive flesh (Tosfot, Nazir 51a DH
Rekev). Similarly, the shoe is the hardest, thickest piece of apparel that
a person wears.
Also, other clothes are worn to grant the human body distinction
(Sanhedrin 94a), shoes are only worn for comfort, or to prevent the ground
from digging into the feet (Shabbos 61a). For this reason, after thanking
Hashem for providing us with clothes we make a separate blessing thanking
Hashem for our shoes every morning. Shoes are not included in the category
of "clothing"; they serve a more physical purpose than other clothes
(Maharal, Devarim 8:4).
IV
This analysis of Chazal's view of shoes serves to explain many
other Talmudic statements and Halachic practices.
The Gemara tells us in Berachot (57b) that if a person sees, in a
dream, a deceased person removing something from his house, it is a good
sign. However, if the deceased removes a *shoe or sandal* from his house,
it is not a good sign, since it implies that someone in the house is
destined to pass away. Removing shoes symbolizes the removal of all
physical barriers by joining the spiritual and passing away from this
world. (This analysis is actually alluded to in the Midrash ha'Zohar,
3:179b.)
If a person dies without children, the Torah prescribes levirate
marriage (Yibum) as a manner of "preserving the name of the deceased"
(Devarim 25:6). If the levir (= [deceased] husband's brother) opts to
forego this option, the Torah requires that a Chalitzah ceremony be
performed. The wife of the deceased removes the shoe of the levir in front
of a Jewish court (ibid. 25:9). By removing a shoe from the foot of her
husband's brother, she is hinting that Chalitzah causes the last physical
remnant of her husband to be removed from this world -- that is, it stifles
her last hope to establish seed in the name of her previous husband. (See
Zohar, ibid.)
When a person loses a close relative, he must observe seven days of
mourning during which (among other things) he does not put on leather
shoes. Aside from self-affliction, doing so reminds the mourner that his
loved one has passed away from the physical realm to a non-physical,
spiritual world. At the same time, it reminds the mourner that life has
more to it than the physical, and that he should make it his own goal to
strive for the spiritual. "It is better to go to the house of a mourner...
that the living should take [the inevitability of death] to heart" (Kohelet
7:2).
In a different sense, the strange practice of a Jew who mourned for
the loss of the Holy Temple can be explained through our newly-gained
insight into the significance of shoes. Eliezer Zeira wore black shoes as a
sign of mourning for Yerushalayim and the Holy Temple (Bava Kama 59b). In
the Temple, not only was the service of the Kohanim done without shoes, but
all who entered the Temple grounds removed their shoes (Berachot 62b).
Before entering the spiritually elevated world of the Temple, people had to
remove their shoes, as a sign of leaving behind their physical vices (just
as Moshe and Yehoshua removed their shoes before the Divine Presence for
this reason, as explained above). Eliezer, in order to display that he felt
a sense of loss for the Temple, changed his shoes to black in mourning. By
doing so he indicated that without the Temple, we do not have the
opportunity we once had to be inspired to remove our physical "shoes"
through watching the Temple service. (See Parasha-Page, Vayigash 5758
section II.) Our shoes must therefore express our mourning.
In a similar manner, on Tisha b'Av, the day that was designated as
a time for mourning the loss of the Holy Temple en masse, we do not wear
leather shoes. This is our way of saying that we have taken to heart the
barrier that prevents us from properly serving Hashem. We are hoping and
praying that Hashem will return to us the Holy Temple, that we may learn to
remove the physical barriers and serve Him properly, with all our hearts!
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