Part I
Many who visited Jabal Musa (“Moses’ Mountain”) on the Sinai Peninsula in the 1970’s (before Israel gave it back to Egypt) brought back rocks that had the image of a bush (more like a fern) on them, an image visible even after the rocks were split. Although there is a natural explanation (crystal dendrites), since the only mountain in the area with such rocks is the one associated with Mt. Sinai for at least 1,500 years, many believe God caused this phenomenon to occur there because of the burning bush, which was on Mt. Sinai (see Shemos 3:1-2).
Despite the Sinai Peninsula having the oldest tradition for the location of Mt. Sinai, other locations (including Saudi Arabia) have been suggested. There are several reasons why other locations have been considered; some are arguments why it couldn’t be on the Sinai Peninsula, some are reasons why it’s elsewhere. The fact that it’s called the Sinai Peninsula, in and of itself, does not indicate that Mt. Sinai is there, as its name is based on the tradition that it is. The tradition itself might be a valid argument, but any argument against that tradition would also be an argument against the name “Sinai Peninsula” being significant.
One of the reasons people started looking for possible locations outside the Sinai Peninsula is the lack of archeological evidence from the time period of the Exodus. Although, generally speaking, a lack of evidence is not evidence in and of itself, archeologists and scholars argue that a nation said to consist of 600,000 adult males (Bamidbar 2:32)—besides women and children—would leave evidence that they were there (just as there is evidence of others being there both before and after this time period). Putting aside any discussion of exactly when the Exodus occurred, since there’s no evidence from any of the possibilities, some question how the Sinai Peninsula could be considered a candidate for the location of Mt. Sinai.
In addition to the suggestion that being on the constant move and having few belongings to leave behind minimizes the relevance of not finding anything, there’s another reason why there would be no evidence of the nation’s travels before they reached the Plains of Moav. We are taught that they were led and surrounded by “clouds of glory” that did numerous wondrous things. It “lowered [terrain] that was high, raised [terrain] that was low, and killed snakes and scorpions” (Rashi, Bamidbar 10:34). Whether it physically changed the terrain (which reverted back to its original contours afterwards) or acted as a cushioned carpet (some suggest a moving carpet) that made the route level by adjusting its own thickness, no trace of these travels would remain afterwards. Their clothing never wore out (Devarim 8:4 and 29:4) because “the clouds of glory would rub against their clothing and clean them” (Rashi on 8:4), so there was no trail of discarded worn out clothing. The Tribe of Dan traveled behind everyone, picking up (and returning) anything left behind (Rashi on Bamidbar 10:25). Everywhere they went was left clean, without any garbage—even the food they ate was completely absorbed into their bodies, with no waste (Sifre on Bamidbar 11:6). Is it any wonder, then, that there’s no evidence of where the Children of Israel traveled or camped? With the “clouds of glory” acting as an eraser, wiping everything clean, and little (if anything) being left behind, a lack of evidence on the Sinai Peninsula does not preclude it from being where Mt. Sinai is.
The “burning bush” occurred when Moshe was living in מדין (Midian), tending his father-in-law’s sheep, so Mt. Sinai must be within grazing range of מדין. Since מדין is widely accepted to have been on the eastern bank of the Gulf of Aqaba (the eastern fork of the Yam Suf— the Sea of Reeds), this puts the Sinai Peninsula (which lies between the western and eastern forks of the Yam Suf), especially its southern part, quite a distance from מדין (see Tur on Shemos 3:1). Nevertheless, there are several reasons why Moshe would have ended up far from מדין when he encountered God.
When Moshe first arrived in מדין, Yisro’s daughters, who were shepherding their father’s sheep, were being hounded by the local shepherds (Shemos 2:16-17) because their father had abandoned his idolatrous ways (Rashi). Yisro’s status as an outcast likely didn’t improve after Moshe’s arrival, so when Moshe took over the shepherding duties, he likely didn’t stay nearby, but traveled far enough away not to be bothered by the locals. Additionally, Moshe purposely led the sheep into the desert (3:1) in order to avoid grazing on private property, which would be stealing (Rashi). Notice, though, that the Torah doesn’t say he led them into a desert, but into the desert, i.e. the known desert. Which desert would Moshe be familiar with? The one he had crossed when fleeing from Egypt to מדין, on the Sinai Peninsula.
The only real grazing area on the Sinai Peninsula is in its southern part. As Itzhaq Beit-Arieh (“The Route Through Sinai: Why the Israelites Fleeing Egypt Went South,” BAR 14:3, May/June 1988) put it, “compared to other parts of Sinai this region is ecologically better adapted to the sustenance of life, because it is covered by assorted vegetation consisting of acacia and palm trees and a fairly dense growth of perennial bushes, along with a seasonal cover of grasses and weeds suitable for pasturing sheep and goats.”
The Zohar (2:21, quoted by Torah Shelaima, Shemos 3:18) says that Moshe was able to sense the special holiness in that desert, so he purposely went there; it follows that he would go as far into the desert as this holiness led him. Pirkei d’Rabbi Eliezer (40) says that Moshe shepherded his father-in-law’s sheep for 40 years; he likely went out grazing for extended periods of time, certainly long enough to come across “God’s mountain.” Since God wanted to communicate with him to send him on a special mission, Moshe would have been divinely led to this mountain despite it being so far from מדין. Shemos Rabbah (2:2) says that a young goat (or sheep) ran away, and Moshe ran after it, with the commentators explaining that it ran to Mt. Sinai so that God could speak to him there.
Therefore, even though it may seem more intuitive to place Mt. Sinai near מדין, there are enough reasons Moshe would have led his sheep (or been led) to the distant Sinai Peninsula to prevent excluding it from being the location of Mt. Sinai.
Rabbi Dov Kramer hopes to present arguments for and against a Saudi Arabian location next week. Stay tuned!
