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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
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