Ki Tisa, this week's Torah portion, has several intriguing verses.

In Chapter 33, verse 8, Moshe says to God, "Show me now Your glory."  Some commentaries say the meaning of this statement is, "Show me how You work in the world.  I want to understand Your ways."

After God begins His response in verse 19, he continues with verses 20-23:

20. He said, "You will not be able to see My face, for no human can see Me and live."  21. The Lord said, "Behold!  There is a place near Me; you may stand on the rock.  22. When My glory passes by, I shall place you in a cleft of the rock; I shall shield you with My hand until I have passed.  23. Then I shall remove My hand and you will see My back, but My face may not be seen."

What do we see when we see a person's back?  Looking over that person's shoulder, we see what she sees.  Rabbi Shimshon Raphael Hirsch comments on verse 21:   "…only one point of view exists as the highest goal…and that is not to try and get a sight of God, but …to look at men and human conditions from a height, next to God, … to understand and appreciate all men and the conditions of human life."

Perhaps the implication of this insight is:  "Moshe, now as you stand next to Me and see from these lofty heights the world as it is, you, My partner, have a responsibility to do your share to mend this fractured world."

Another possibility:  Maybe God is saying:  "Moshe, I am going to give you a gift far greater than seeing My face (understanding My ways).  That gift: a glimpse of the world from the lofty heights of My perspective.  There is a place next to Me ['…Hiney makom iti…'].  Stand here, look with Me at the world as I see it ideally could be, and work with me to transform this vision into a reality."

However we understand what God shows Moshe, the message is the same for every human being:  Each of us has to do our share as God's partner in Tikkun Olam. 

In the words of Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, Chief Rabbi of  Great Britain, in his book To Heal a Fractured World – The Ethics of Responsibility, "To live the life of faith is to hear the silent cry of the afflicted, the lonely and marginal, the poor, the sick, and the disempowered, and to respond.  For the world is not yet mended, there is work still to do, and God has empowered us to do it – with him, for him and for his faith in us."

Written by Rabbi Meir Mitelman of Hofstra University Hillel.

This D'var Torah also includes some ideas of Rabbi Michael Paley and Richard M. Joel.