How God Makes Contact

Rabbi Moshe Ben-Chaim

Maimonides wrote:

The Jews did not believe in Moses, our teacher, because of the wonders that he performed. [For] whenever anyone's belief is based on wonders, [the commitment of] his heart has shortcomings, because it is possible to perform a wonder through magic or sorcery [sleight of hand].

What is the source of our belief in Moses? Revelation at Mount Sinai [where] our eyes saw, and not a stranger's. Our ears heard, and not another's. There was fire, thunder, and lightning. Moses entered the thick clouds; the Voice spoke to him and we heard, "Moses, Moses, go tell them the following..."  (Foundations of Torah 8:1)

Maimonides was not there. We were not there. What then is meant by “Our eyes saw, and not a stranger’s, our ears heard, and not another’s?”  Maimonides means that our received unanimous transmission that God communicated with 2 million Jews at Sinai is equal to witnessing that event first-hand. Those attendees have no greater proof than us. How so?

It is impossible to cause masses to conspire and exchange their known history for a fabricated story, let alone that our received account is the only history of the Jews of that era, and it remains intact over three thousand years later. Think about it for a moment: if you tried to convince a nation that they witnessed something stupendous, when in reality they did not, they would treat you as delusional and they certainly wouldn't teach their children your story. That nation would continue maintaining their known history, and that's the only history they would transmit. The only story we have on that date of Sivan 6, 2448 is God's revelation to the Jews at Sinai, transmitted to us unanimously by the entire Jewish people. This is the proof that the event took place and this history is no less provable than eyewitnesses. 

Moses wasn’t believed due to miracles. But other prophets were. What was the difference in Moses’ role as prophet? Moses “initially” transmitted God’s communication. No other prophet did; they all transmitted man’s communications. As miracles leave doubt, how do we accept prophets based on miracles, like predicting the future? This must be because we are not trusting the prophet’s miracle alone, but also Moses’ command “You must listen to him” (Deut. 18:15). Doubt can exist regarding a prophet’s validity, but we follow him as Moses taught us to do through God’s directive “You must listen to him.”

However, no doubt is tolerated regarding proving Torah’s divinity, our initial receipt of Torah. Thus, miracles don’t suffice to validate our trust in Moses’ communication of Torah from God. Proof of God’s intervention, i.e., God’s true Torah authorship, was demanded, and Maimonides says at Sinai we all heard God instructing Moses “Go tell the Israelites…”  The Jews further unanimously affirmed the following through transmitting the following through today:

“It was not with our ancestors that God made this covenant, but with us, the living, every one of us who is here today” (Deut. 5:3).

“Face to face God spoke to you on the mountain out of the fire” (Deut. 5:3)

“God said to Moses, ‘Thus shall you say to the Israelites, ‘You yourselves saw that I spoke to you from the very heavens’” (Exod. 20:19).

We would not have these three Torah affirmations, had the Jews not witnessed Revelation. We experienced God’s intervention giving us His Torah. It is not on Moses’ authority, but on God’s witnessed intervention that we know Torah is indisputably God’s words. This was essential in order that there could be no person or people that can argue that they have God's religion. Throughout all history there has never been another event of God communicating a religion to man. Thus, all other religions are false. 

Things like miracles and predicting the future which a prophet must do, can validate his status as a prophet, a person who encourages obedience to God’s Torah. But Moses’ role was not to merely to encourage Torah obedience, but to initially transmit God’s words to mankind, to validate Torah as divine. Miracles alone do not prove Torah’s divine origin; God’s intervention is the only method. 

Because of God's love for us, and to uphold the oath He made to Abraham, our patriarch, He created Moses (Laws of Star Worship 1:3)

This means Moses was a unique creation, not a human level naturally attained. His level was necessary in order that he could stand fully conscious in communication with God, not hearing God's words in dreams or losing control of his senses like other prophets, which would cast doubt on his accurate apprehension of God's Torah:

Principle VII. The prophetic capacity of Moses our Teacher, peace be upon him

And this is that we accept that he was the father of all prophets that were before him and that will be after him. He was on a qualitatively different level than any other, and he is chosen from all other people before and after him of any that have any knowledge of God; for his level was the greatest. And he, peace be upon him, rose to the levels of the angels. He was granted all areas of knowledge and prophecy and his physical attributes did not diminish. His knowledge was different and it is through this difference that it is ascribed to him that he spoke to God without any intermediary or angel. (Maimonides 13 Principles)

Moses’ level of prophecy forms a seventh principle regarding our knowledge of God. Moses’ higher level was vital to secure the Torah. Furthermore, if another prophet equaled Moses’ level, and he would conflict with Moses, Torah’s authority would be in question. 

Why say “Moses rose to the levels of the angels?”  What is an angel? Angels carry out God's will without deviation. This could be the same reason why Maimonides says that Moses was on the level of angels: to express how God’s desire that His Torah was received and transmitted without any deviation was fulfilled. Moses functions like an angel who is God's faithful and capable emissary to successfully grasp and communicate precisely all which God wills for man.

How is it known that the [revelation] at Mount Sinai alone is proof of the truth of Moses' prophecy that leaves no shortcoming? [Exodus 19:9] states: "Behold, I will come to you in a thick cloud, so that the people will hear Me speaking to you, [so that] they will believe in you forever." It appears that before this happened, they did not believe in him with a faith that would last forever, but rather with a faith that allowed for suspicions and doubts. (Foundations of Torah 8:1)

Torah’s divine origin was demonstrated by God’s intervention, not a prophet’s miracle. Torah’s divine nature was proven by the masses hearing intelligence emanating from fire. Such a phenomenon could not be originated by any biological or earthly organism. This is precisely why God used fire. As Torah’s divine origin is the most crucial piece of knowledge for mankind, validation could not be left to questionable miracles. It had to be unquestionably God who gave Torah, and received by a man with the mind to grasp it all accurately and transmit it with perfection. The man was Moses, whom God created with a unique soul on par with angels.