The Mystery of Mount Sinai's Stones: A Testament to Divine Origins

The awe-inspiring event at Mount Sinai on the 6th of Sivan, in the year 2448, left an everlasting mark on the mountain: The image of a bush is embedded within its stones and still visible today. Each fragment and splinter from the mountain exhibits tiny bush-like patterns resembling delicate veins. This marvel has fascinated scholars throughout history.

Today, travelers continue to witness this extraordinary phenomenon in the stones of Mount Sinai. A few years ago, a group of tourists visited the mountain and returned with some stones. The author of these lines owns one such stone. Remarkably, no matter how the stone is broken down into smaller pieces, each fragment reveals the bush pattern in its entirety, albeit smaller.

A booklet titled "The Divine Painting of the Bush on Mount Sinai's Stones" notes: "Rabbi Naftali Tike from Petach Tikva, who has studied the bush motif for years, took Mount Sinai stones to the Jerusalem University pathology lab. When crushed to dust and viewed under an electron microscope, the bush pattern was evident even on the tiny particles."

Testimonies Through the Ages

From ancient times, this marvel was known to Jews worldwide. Visitors to the Holy Land would collect handfuls of these extraordinary stones from Mount Sinai, taking them abroad to show their brothers in the diaspora. Touching them imbued foreign Jews with sacred feelings, knowing these stones stood where they faced Hashem amidst the consuming flame. The bush patterns, unmatched by any mountain globally, fascinated observers.

Ancient Testimony: A notable Barcelonian from the descendants of Ben Hasdai visited the Holy Land and Mount Sinai. Captivated by the stones' marvels, he took several pieces home. He gifted some of these inscribed stones to the sage Rabbi Moshe Hanirboni.

Rabbi Shem Tov Afudi, who lived about 700 years ago, references Rabbi Moshe Hanirboni's testimony in his commentary on Maimonides' "Guide for the Perplexed." He notes: "The sage Rabbi Moshe Hanirboni stated: It is known Mount Sinai is embossed with bush patterns, thus named 'Sinai' after the bush (as detailed in Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer, Chapter 41). He brought stones showing the pattern perfectly engraved, and, amazingly, even when broken, each piece revealed the bush design internally, repeatedly down to pieces resembling nuts."

This account is mentioned by the Kabbalist Rabbi Nathan Shapira of Krakow, who lived about 400 years ago in "Magleh Amukot," and by the great Rabbi Yaakov Emden about 300 years ago in "Migdal Oz."

Later Testimonies: Rabbi Yaakov Sappir Halevi, a Jerusalem community emissary, is known for his travels across Jewish communities worldwide over a century ago. Rabbi Yaakov was not "suspected" of credulously accepting traditions and folk stories. He was inclined to believe only what he saw. During his Mount Sinai journey, he encountered the fascinating stones and was overjoyed, describing his travel in "Even Sappir."

Explaining the Bush Motifs

The renowned Rabbi David Solomon Eibeschitz, who died about 200 years ago, delved into this mystery. His book "Arvei Nachal" elaborates how the bush motif relates to Mount Sinai's and Moses' humility. He notes Moses was the humblest man. Mount Sinai, being the lowest mountain, received the Torah, and the bush is the lowliest of trees—both in size and quality. Thus, the Torah endures in those with humble spirits like the bush, Mount Sinai, and Moses.

"Further," Arvei Nachal states, "Moses lived 120 years, 'sneh' (bush) equals 120 in gematria, as does 'Sinai,' excluding its silent letter 'yud.' This relates to the name of Hashem, consisting of 120 permutations, encompassing all holiness from the heights to the end of all existence." Thus, the bush patterns on Mount Sinai's stones hold hidden secrets and deep mysteries.

A simple-scientific explanation for the bush patterns, given by the great Rabbi Meir Mazoz, referencing Rabbi Emanuel Toledano, suggests that during the Torah's giving, a fierce fire engulfed the mountain. This heat likely melted the stones, imprinting the bush that grew there onto them. Rabbi Toledano mentioned this theory, heard from a French geologist familiar with the depths of the earth. (Beth Neeman Bulletin, Issue 59, Item 19).

A concluding note: Many argue stones with patterns exist elsewhere—what is Mount Sinai's novelty? The significant difference is that in other mountains, patterns appear outer-layered and disappear when the stone is broken. At Mount Sinai, every break reveals a bush pattern.

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