The Moses Files

The Moses Files

Look every ‘world leader’ in the eye, the righteous and the evil, and repeat, again and again: I will never forsake my people, I will never forsake my land, I will never forsake my G-d.
It’s well known that Jewish Torah study can be divided into several different categories, known in Hebrew by the first letter of each word, ‘Pardes.’ This relates to the ‘simple’ most literal meaning of Torah, through the most esoteric understanding, known as Kabbalah, or popularly, Jewish mysticism. Despite the growing popularity of the latter, even amongst non-Jews, in truth, very very few people can be called authentic Kabbalists, as genuine Kabbalah demands not only knowledge, but also an extremely high spiritual level, which few people ever reach.

For this reason, many Kabbalistic writings are extremely difficult to understand, and a massive amount of teachings are not even put down in writing; rather they are passed on from teacher to student orally, and are submitted only to those who are really deserving of this unique knowledge.

In addition there are a select few manuscripts which have been excruciatingly guarded over the centuries, viewed by the eyes of almost no human beings.

Being in Hebron has its advantages. I recently received one of the rarest manuscripts in existence, read it in one sitting, totally spellbound. I do not have permission to copy it for you, word for word, but I can repeat what I remember by memory.

The document is called ‘The Moses Files’ and was written some 3,300 years ago. The content is as follows.

Following Moses’ first meeting with Pharaoh in Egypt, the enslaved Jewish Israelites began grumbling. Here the promised leader had arrived and guaranteed free passage from the hell they’d been suffering for over 200 years. They watched and waited impatiently, knowing that a major summit was in process, with the two leaders haggling between them.

Then, when the meeting had concluded, not only weren’t they freed, but to the contrary, their conditions worsened. The Jewish Slaves Gazette, published by the Jewish Slaves Association, headlined: FAILURE! And the sub caption: Did Moses Blow It? Did Aharon Get the Words Right or Wrong?

An editorial demanded that Moses and Aharon be replaced with others, suggesting perhaps Datan and Aviram.

Moses, in an exclusive interview, suggested some patience, claiming that: “G-d will come through, just wait a bit. The best it yet to come.”

The next few pages of the Files are illegible, but the next readable chapter starts with the word PLAGUES in huge letters.

As the plagues began, an hysterical debate began between various Jewish slave factions. Some people screamed to Moses, “What are you doing? – this is only going to make things worse! Do you have any idea what the repercussions of this terror will be?! We’ll never get out of here! Not only with they throw the first-born into the river; they’re going to kill all of us! Leave us alone and let us just continue to live!”

And so it continued, plague after plague, with Moses and Aharon occasionally having to take cover from those demanding, time and time again, that they be immediately replaced with new leadership. As the plagues became harsher and harsher, so too was the opposition to the leaders. The Jewish Slaves Gazette headlined: HOW MANY PLAGUES WILL IT TAKE TIL THEY UNDERSTAND? Of course, this question was pointed not at Pharaoh, rather at Moses and Aharon.

Moses, despondent, with little strength left, told Aharon that he was leaving for a few days to take a walk in desert and perhaps confer with the Almighty, in an attempt to decide what to do. He told Aharon to set up a meeting with the opposition that could take place upon his return. Then he took off, as fast as his feet would take him.

Moses walked and walked, losing himself deep in the desert. The entire time he never stopped talking, praying, pleading, with G-d to help him, to show him the way. “Should I resign, should I form a coalition with them and bring a few with me to the next meeting with Pharaoh, what should I do?”

Night fell, stars glittered and rays of moonlight shined down, illuminating the rocky, sandy terrain. And that’s when it happened.

“Moses, Moses,” the Voice called, “Moses, Moses.” Moses looked up, and very nearly stopped breathing. The black sky above had opened up, and pictures started flashing before his amazed eyes. Not being able to speak, not being able to ask, yet the questions flew through his head: what am I seeing, who are these people?

The images were blurry yet clear at the same time. People, men, women, children, tens, hundreds, thousands of people, Moses felt like he could almost touch them, yet they flew past him so fast. And they all had one thing in common: they all stared at Moses, with a deep piercing look emanating from their eyes.

The words exploded from his mouth: “My Dear G-d, who are they, why are they looking at me like that?”

“Moses, Moses, look closely at these people, for they are your offspring, these are the Jewish people to be born on this earth through the generations, until the end of days. These are your children, the children of Moses, the children of Israel, My children, the children of G-d, who will fill the earth, bringing my message to all mankind.”

“Moses, Moses, they are looking at you so intently, because they know that without you, they have no future, they will never exist.

“Moses, Moses, not only you, the physical Moses, but the spiritual Moses, who has complete trust and faith in G-d, to follow the letter and spirit of the law, to lead the Israelites out from the slavery of the wicked Pharaoh, to receive My Torah, to lead them to the promised land, to Eretz Yisrael.” Because, Moses, Moses, if you don’t have faith, how will they have faith, how will they survive?” You are their anchor, their roots, from you they will absorb nourishment for eternity. All future Jewish leaders will look to you, as the preeminent example of what Jewish leadership should be.

And Moses continued peering into the hole in the sky, seeing fire and destruction, exile, return and exile, wanderings through foreign lands, inquisitions, Holocaust. And the Jews just continued staring at him. And he saw Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, David and Shlomo, the Caves at Machpela, Rachel in Bethlehem, Joseph in Shechem and the Temple in Jerusalem. He saw the foreigners and the Jews, and the conflicts and the questions, the weddings and the funerals, the laughter and the tears, and the Jews kept soaring past him, eyes glaring into his eyes.

“My Dear G-d in heaven, what must I do, what must I do?”

“Moses, Moses, just do what is right, you know what is right, just do what is right, have faith, keep the faith, just do what is right….”

And the voice faded away. And Moses suddenly saw all the millions and millions of souls lining up, as a huge group, one after the other, all staring at him. And Moses took a deep breath, stared back and said, “Yes My G-d, I promise, I will do what is right, I will never let my People down, I will never forsake My G-d – I believe, I believe, I believe.”

And that being said, all the millions of souls stopped staring and began smiling and cheering and reciting: We believe, we believe, we believe: we will never forsake our People, we will never forsake our G-d. Shema Yisrael, HaShem Elokaynu, HaShem Echad.”

And the great window closed, and the sky blacked again, for a moment, and then it was morning, the light of day brightened the sky, Moses returned, and, well, the rest is history.