mydrash: the burning bush

וַיֵּרָא מַלְאַךְ יְהוָה אֵלָיו, בְּלַבַּת-אֵשׁ--מִתּוֹךְ הַסְּנֶה; וַיַּרְא, וְהִנֵּה הַסְּנֶה בֹּעֵר בָּאֵשׁ, וְהַסְּנֶה, אֵינֶנּוּ אֻכָּל

"And the angel of the LORD appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush; and he looked, and, behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed, etc" (Exodus 3:2)

When he saw the burning bush Moses asked: "How is it possible for this bush [sneh] to burn and yet not be consumed by the flames?" God replied: "Because the ground in which this bush grows is holy. Take off therefore your sandals, Moses, when you step on this ground." And Moses took off his sandals and stepped on the ground that the Lord had made holy and he too was engulfed in a burning flame that burnt him not.
When Tzipora saw him like this she thought to herself: "The Lord has turned his hatred [sinah] toward my husband and wants to kill him." She picked a sharp rock off the ground and cut her son’s foreskin off right there and with the blood put out the flame. Then Moses said: "What have you done to me, woman, cutting me away like this, for the Lord was with me." But she said: "A bridegroom of blood you are now to me." But the Lord said: "Fear not for I shall give this thing to you and your children and the generations of your children."

And what did God mean by "this thing"?
He meant Sinai.


(NB: the vision of the burning Moses comes from Simone Zelitch's "Moses in Sinai")