by Rabbi David Katz

In this week’s Torah Portion, the Torah in the form that we identify with today, is about to take a giant leap to its written creation, as we are introduced formally to Moses, Mt. Sinai, and Hashem in one sweeping motion. If the Torah comes from Sinai, as it is generally taught in that language, then perforce we must expect a massive revelation at this junction in the Torah and its History, as Sinai defines Torah revelation as an eternal condition, all the more so upon first contact with the Mountain of Fire and the location of the Script of God. The most amazing discovery of all however, is the Torah has not forgotten “Pre-Sinai Torah” within its dialogue with Moses, for underneath the text, we find the roots of Ancient Torah, waiting to be vocalized. When Hashem advances to Moses, and reassures him, he does so in a very calm and gentle way, in that He uses the voice of Moses’ father, and lays hint to Moses’ OTHER father! Just as Shem was the “father” in spiritual terms to Abraham, the Torah’s big secret is that Shem, is Moses’ Spiritual father as well! The textual exchange at Sinai, reveals the magnitude of “The Entire Torah” forwards and backwards with one passing swoop in our introduction to Sinai. Just as Hashem gave the whole Torah within the word, “Bereishit” and again within “Anochi” the first word in the Ten Commandments; Sinai Revelation as well reveals to us the entire Torah, in its very secret definition of Moses and his direct relationship to Shem, as the father of the Torah. If we can identify Moses as synonymous with Torah, then it’s the logic and Torah Wisdom that reveals the opening of the wellsprings originating within Shem and his Torah.

After the Great Flood was over, Shem came off of the Ark, and implemented Torah into the World for 400 years, upon which it was only Abraham who really grabbed Shem’s Universal message, that would spawn a proper Nation that could work closely with Shem’s guidance. Shem had given his entire life, for the time period of two thousand years of Torah (after the Flood) to produce an Abraham figure, someone that would accept the Torah, and be a vision of Torah that Shem could influence, educate, and promote as a depiction of what Shem had known to be of himself and the ideal portrait and template that Torah could be extracted from. Thus after Abraham finished his famed ten trials with the Akeida (Binding of Isaac), Isaac, Abraham’s son could enroll with Shem and learn Torah from him. Ironically, we find that the Torah Isaac learned from the mouth of Shem, was Shem’s teachings he had perceived from within the fateful life of Abraham in accordance with delving into the two thousand years of Torah; thus the Torah began to take its final and eternal form – from Shem to Abraham, and ultimately onto the Sinai experience we find with Moses.

Fast forward to Mt. Sinai (Shemot 3:6) and we are introduced to a most fascinating verse:ויאמר אנכי אלהי אביך אלהי אברהם ... (And [He] said, I Am the God of your father, the God of Abraham…), the most basic commentary of this phrase suggests that Hashem has come upon Moses within the voice of Amram his father, to calm Moses, and then commenced with revealing this is none other than the God of the forefathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.  The commentary suggests that this may be a direct hint to a double connotation to Abraham, as the verse in Genesis 12:8 says in regards to Abraham and his visit to the Holy Land, “From there he relocated to the Mountain east of Beth-El and pitched his tent, with Beth-El on the west and Ai on the east; and he built there an altar to Hashem and invoked Hashem by Name. Two points that stick out quite clearly, is the association of a “mountain”, and “called by name”, which in the literal sense, it says,”with Shem.” The commentator Rashi explains in a way that only strengthens this position with our current understanding of Shem, in that he says, “And he prayed “there for his sons.” Using the literal Hebrew again (שם) “Shem”, one could read: and he prayed in the fashion of Shem does on High, here below, as two Priests to God Above, as was revealed at the Temple Mount with Malki Tzedek, for the safety of his sons who were destined to sin in this locale. Thus when  we find Moses at Mt. Sinai, this is the reference to Abraham…yet we found Shem too!

The ancient Midrash however, reveals to us yet another fascinating insight, that after Shem had delivered the Torah to Abraham, he ascended to Mt. Sinai, to await the Giving of the Torah, until it was firmly established down below, David was found to be a worthy father of Redemption to Shem’s Mission, and thus it was Solomon who upon his being anointed as king, came and found Shem at Mt. Sinai. This was a confirmation of sorts to Shem that he was free and successful in his mission of establishing Torah on Earth, a Redemption was now possible, and he could continue as a Priest to God Above now in the sublime Holiness of the upper worlds, after having eaten of the Tree of Life. It is from Midrashim like this, that we learn yet another tremendous secret, in that Shem was reincarnated somewhat into Moses himself! With the knowledge that Moses and Sinai are integral to Shem, are we really surprised to find him there, now at this point in the Parsha?

The Verse in the Torah is ever fitting! And God said I Am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, etc…But let’s read this a little differently, in that let’s not read into this only an aspect of Amram, rather the other father, a spiritual father to Moses, Shem! By Messiah son of David, David himself is called the father of this Messiah, in the words of the Rambam. So too here, Shem is the father of Moses, in his messiah role of redemption. Interestingly, The Gematria – numerical value of “God of Abraham” is 294, the value “Malki Tzedek”, Shem’s other name, and as we know Shem was the influence onto Abraham and his knowledge of God.

Moses is the reincarnation of Shem, and this can be seen as the name Moses [משה] contains the letters, “שם” / Shem. At Mt. Sinai, Shem has merged with the mountain, here waiting to connect his soul roots within Moses, and the Torah describes this as Hashem finding Moses as the God of his father, i.e. the God of Shem, who is here for the revelation as well.  When we take the whole verse in context of its implications, it can be read as the following decoded message: “And God said: first is Me – Anochi! (I Am), then Shem, as I am the God of Shem first, I am also the God of Abraham, etc…

In the end, we were acquainted with Sinai, and we got more than we bargained for: we found Hashem, Moses, Shem, Abraham, Torah – The entire Torah lineage and tradition has met upon this microcosm of the Torah Universe; part of the entire verse, numerically hints at the final redemption with a value of 897: Ephraim Messiah son of Joseph, the level of the final redemption, which Shem listed as one of the four craftsmen redeemers who will be present at the end of days, as he is called the Righteous Priest. Moses even hints at this time period later in this episode, as he says to Hashem, “Please Hashem!” (the value there is the value “Righteous Priest – 269), “Send who you will send in the future!” i.e. the four craftsmen, “Son of David, Joseph [897 aspect], Elijah, and Shem!” This is to say, make the Redemption complete and eternal, which is what Shem’s very essence expresses! For just as Shem was at Mt. Sinai, Shem is accounted for in the entire time span of Torah, as he should be: He is the father of Abraham in a spiritual sense, and in a way that goes all the way to Moses himself!

Thus we are about to be given the Torah, and by that very fact the Torah must be here in some hidden total fashion, waiting for an ultimate revelation. We have found Moses, yet within Moses we have found so much more, when we look with an ancient eye. Sinai predated Moses, as Shem was there as part of his mission to Give the Torah and help for the Jewish Nation, that in the end would also serve to help create and teach the Noahide Nation, thus making Shem ultimately successful and masterful of the Torah he taught for so long. All of the pieces were in place, and the Torah was there to testify to the ultimate truth, of what the Ancient agenda and reality is was and will be: It comes from Hashem, and that very concept was delivered from the mouth of Shem. The Torah may have been given to Moses, but even that final script, acknowledges its wellspring and roots: Shem the Son of Noah – the spiritual forefather to Abraham and Moses; The Torah assumes we know about the life of Shem, and when we connect to the true revelation of Moses’ Torah, one might realize, just like the Midrash says, Shem was there all along.