Rabbenu Bachye regards the burning bush as a revelation that our nation, despite its hardships, is eternal. “The burning bush conjures up the image of a lowly nation in iron chains, constantly aflame with suffering. Threatened on all sides and against all odds, the Jewish People continue to survive miraculously among their enemies.”

This interpretation is found in Midrash Shemot, regarding the Exile in Egypt, “Just as the bush burns but is not consumed so too, Egypt [and Iran today – E.S.] cannot destroy the Jewish People.”

Rashi states that G-d appeared in a lowly, prickly thornbush to teach that G-d suffers and feels the pain of every Jew. As King David states in Psalm 91, “I (G-d) am with him (Israel) in all afflictions.”

The Torah tells us that Moshe Rabbenu grew up as a prince in Pharaoh’s royal palace. He enjoyed a life of wealth, luxury and privilege. When he grew up, the Torah tells us in Parshat Shemot, “He went out to his brothers and observed their burdens.” Rashi explains that Moshe cared about his enslaved and oppressed brothers and sisters, but he knew that he could not share their experience while living in the lap of luxury. So, “He went out to his brothers,” to connect with them. Rashi comments, “He focused his eyes and his heart so that he could suffer with them.”

Sharing the burden of suffering Jews is called in the Talmud “nosei b’ol im chaveiro” which means “he bears the yoke with his friend”. The Talmud says that this is part of the Mitzvah of “V’halachta bidrachav” which means walking in the ways of G-d. However, how is identifying with Jewish suffering – “walking in the ways of G-d”?

At the Giving of the Torah, (Shemot 24:10) the Jewish People saw G-d sitting on the Throne of Glory and at His feet there were sapphires cut in the form of bricks. What was the purpose of this strange, mystical prophetic vision? The question is why bricks? Rashi explains that while the Jewish People were enslaved in Egypt, G-d always kept these bricks at His feet to remind Him, so to speak, of the Jewish People’s pain and suffering.

What is the meaning of this vision? Why, of all the Divine Attributes, is this the one that the Jews saw displayed at G-d’s Throne of Glory? Also, does G-d need a brick as a prop to help Him remember the bondage and suffering of the Jewish People in Egypt?

Surely, G-d needs no reminder! However, the bricks that the Jews saw at G-d’s feet are a message for us, a lesson in what is most vital in being a loyal Jew. If you want to be a true Jew, you have to share the burdens and pain of other Jews. How do we share the burdens? We share them by keeping the needs and concerns of our fellow Jews foremost in our consciousness. It is not enough that we have knowledge of their suffering and anguish. It is not enough that we are concerned about their plight. We have to live with their concerns and anguish. They have to be front and center in our own lives. This is what we learn from the vision of the bricks at G-d’s feet.

That is why G-d chose Moshe Rabbenu, because he, more than any other Jew, keenly felt the pain and suffering of every Jew. Thus, G-d chose Moshe, an individual, who personifies and represents the quality of Divine Compassion. Moshe was the person, as it were, “after G-d’s own Heart”.