PARSHAT KEE TEESA
DO JEWS HAVE HORNS?
"Aaron and all the Israelites saw that the skin of Moses' face was radiant; and they shrank from coming near him." (Exodus 34:30)
It is a story I have heard numerous times over the years. One of my members meets someone from a small town or out-of-the-way community. It may be in a college dorm or military base, or even a business meeting. This person learns that he or she is speaking to someone Jewish. And then the question is asked, "How come you don't have horns? I thought all Jews have horns."
How could such a preposterous idea even be considered? Actually, it is not so preposterous. One of Michelangelo's most famous sculptures, commissioned in 1505, depicts Moses with horns. But the original idea comes from this week's Torah reading. Moses comes down from Mt. Sinai after his forty day and night encounter with God. His face is radiant, so much so that the people shy away from looking at him. Moses must make a mask to cover his face.
The Torah actually describes rays of light coming from Moses' face. But the Hebrew word for ray, keren, is also the Hebrew word for horn. One could easily mistranslate the verse that Moses came down the mountains with horns on his head. Some people, particular defenders of Michelangelo, say that horns were actually a symbol of authority. But of course, eventually the idea that Jews have horns became a nasty anti-Semitic canard.
Perhaps there are insights from this image of Moses coming down the mountain. Moses had spent time in God's presence. Did Moses see God face-to-face? The Torah is inconsistent. This week's portion has God saying, "You cannot see My face, for man may not see Me and live." (Exodus 33:20) But later in Deuteronomy the Torah teaches, "Never again did there arise in Israel a prophet like Moses - whom the Lord singled out face-to-face." (Deuteronomy 34:10) Obviously God does not have a real face. But God does have a presence, and Moses stood in that presence. Being in the presence of God transformed him, and that transformation become noticeable when Moses walked down the mountain.
Other faiths also speak of an almost physical transformation after being in the presence of God. Buddhism is not a theistic religion, and yet it describes a similar story about the Buddha. I used this story in the introduction to my book The Kabbalah of Love: Once in a far off land there lived a great spiritual teacher with a huge following of students and disciples. As the years went by his following grew and he became extremely popular. People came from all over to visit him and learn at his feet.
One day a reporter came to write a story about this spiritual teacher. She asked, "Tell me, do think you are God?"
The spiritual teacher answered, "No, I am not God."
"Do you think you are an angel?"
"No, I am not an angel."
"Do you think you are a prophet?"
"No, I am not a prophet."
"Do you think you are a saint?"
"No, I am not a saint."
The reporter looked at him with great skepticism. "If you are not God, nor an angel, nor a prophet, nor a saint, tell me, what are you?"
The spiritual teacher answered with great simplicity. "That is simple. I am awake."
Being in the presence of God ought to be a transforming experience. The German Romantic poet Novalis once called the great Jewish philosopher Spinoza "a God intoxicated man." If Spinoza, excommunicated by the Jews of Amsterdam was God intoxicated, how much more so those Jews who practice the faith. Jews may not have literal horns. But living in God's presence ought to make us give off a light. After all, the prophet Isaiah teaches that the Jews should be "a light unto the nations." (Isaiah 42:6)
May You and Your Family Have a Joyous and Restful Shabbat.
