[Avodah] Taking Midrashim Literally

[kennethgmiller at juno.com]

R"n Lisa Liel wrote:

> Pirkei Avot mentions 10 things that were created erev shabbat
> bein hashemashot.  All of them are miracles that don't fit in
> nature.  Short of a literal statement in Tanakh, I assume this
> means that everything else God does in the world is derekh
> ha-teva.

How do you understand the story of the Burning Bush? That seems to be a literal statement in Tanakh, and in the Torah in fact.

One might want to interpret the "burning" as poetic, referring to bright colors or something, but then one would have to explain Moshe's surprise that the bush was not being consumed. Whatever was happening, it seems clear to me that Moshe did NOT consider it to be derech hateva. But the Burning Bush is not included in that list (Avos 5:8 in the siddur, 5:6 in Mishnayos) of supernatural miracles.

Come to think of it, this question is not specifically directed to RLL, but to that Mishna. If that Mishna is an all-inclusive list of things which *had* to be created during Bereishis because there's no way to pull off those miracles within teva, then what is the natural explanation for the Bush?

Akiva Miller

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