Moses still cherished three other wishes: that the Shekinah might dwell
with Israel; that the Shekinah might not dwell with other nations; and
lastly, that he might learn to know the ways of the Lord whereby He
ordained good and evil in the world, sometimes causing suffering to the
just and letting the unjust enjoy happiness, whereas at other times
both were happy, or both were destined to suffer. Moses laid these
wishes before God in the moment of His wrath, hence God bade Moses wait
until His wrath should have blown over, and then He granted him his
first two wishes in full, but his third in part only. [288] God showed
him the great treasure troves in which are stored up the various
rewards for the pious and the just, explaining each separated one to
him in detail: in this one were the rewards of those who give alms; in
that one, of those who bring up orphans. In this way He showed him the
destination of each one of the treasures, until at length they came to
one of gigantic size. "For whom is this treasure?" asked Moses, and God
answered: "Out of the treasures that I have shown thee I give rewards
to those who have deserved them by their deeds; but out of this
treasure do I give to those who are not deserving, for I am gracious to
those also who may lay no claim to My graciousness, and I am bountiful
to those who are not deserving of My bounty."
Moses now had to content himself with the certainty that the pious were
sure of their deserts; without, however, learning from God, how it
sometimes comes to pass that evil doers, too, are happy. For God merely
stated that He also shows Himself kind to those who do not deserve it,
but without further assigning the why and the wherefore. But the reward
to the pious, too, was only in part revealed to him, for he beheld the
joys of Paradise of which they were to partake, but not the real reward
that is to follow the feast in Paradise; for truly "eye hath not seen,
beside the Lord, what He hath prepared for him that waiteth for Him."
[289]
By means of the following incident God showed Moses how little man is
able to fathom the inscrutable ways of the Lord. When Moses was on
Sinai, he saw from that station a man who betook himself to a river,
stooped down to drink, lost his purse, and without noticing it went his
way. Shortly after, another man cam, found the money, pocketed it, and
took to his heels. When the owner of the purse became aware of his
loss, he returned to the river, where he did not find his money, but
saw a man, who came there by chance to fetch water. To him he said:
"Restore to me the money that a little while ago I left here, for none
can have taken it if not thou." When the man declared that he had found
none of the money nor seen any of it, the owner slew him. Looking with
horror and amazement on this injustice on earth, Moses said to God: "I
beseech Thee, show my Thy ways. Why has this man, who was quite
innocent, been slain, and why hath the true thief gone unpunished?" God
replied: "The man who found the money and kept it merely recovered his
own possession, for he who had lost the purse by the river, had
formerly stolen it from him; but the one who seemed to be innocently
slain is only making atonement for having at one time murdered the
father of his slayer." [290] In this way, God granted the request of
Moses, "to show him His ways," in part only. He let him look into the
future, and let him see every generation and it sages, every generation
and its prophets, every generation and its expounders of the
Scriptures, every generation and its leaders, ever generation and its
pious men. But when Moses said: "O Lord of the world! Let me see by
what law Thou dost govern the world; for I see that many a just man is
lucky, but many a one is not; many a wicked man is lucky, but many a
one is not; many a rich man is happy, but many a one is not; many a
poor man is happy, but many a one is not;" then God answered: "Thou
canst not grasp all the principles which I apply to the government of
the world, but some of them shall I impart to thee. When I see human
beings who have no claim to expectations from Me either for their own
deeds or for those of their fathers, but who pray to Me and implore Me,
then do I grant their prayers and give them what they require from
subsistence." [291]
Although God had now granted all of his wishes, still Moses received
the following answer to his prayer, "I beseech Thee, show me Thy
glory": "Thou mayest not behold My glory, or else thou wouldst perish,
but in consideration of My vow to grant thee all thy wishes, and in
view of the fact that thou are in possession of the secret of My name,
I will meet thee so far as to satisfy thy desire in part. Lift the
opening of the cave, and I will bid all the angels that serve Me pass
in review before thee; but as soon as thou hearest the Name, which I
have revealed to thee, know then that I am there, and bear thyself
bravely and without fear.' [292]
God has a reason for not showing His glory to Moses. He said to him:
"When I revealed Myself to thee in the burning bush, thou didst not
want to look upon Me; now thou are willing, but I am not." [293]