Why Did Moses Face Shine ?

[Apple Sky]

This has always fascinated me! For me this means that Moses must have been in the presence of God.

Exodus 34: 29-30
And it came to pass, when Moses came down from mount Sinai with the two tables of testimony in Moses' hand, when he came down from the mount, that Moses wist not that the skin of his face shone while he talked with him.
And when Aaron and all the children of Israel saw Moses, behold, the skin of his face shone; and they were afraid to come nigh him.

 

[Tom8907]

The glory of God!

 

[The Liturgist]

The uncreated light, which was also seen by the Holy Apostles Peter, James and John at the Transfiguration on Mount Tabor, which is reflected in the saints, and which is depicted in traditional iconography by a Halo, a circle of light surrounding the head. In the person of Christ this circle also features a radiant cross.

In Orthodoxy and most traditional churches, the Transfiguration is celebrated on August 6th. Some Western churches celebrate it, or moved the date of its celebration in some cases, to the last Sunday before Lent, which is doubly unfortunate, as this has led to the abolition in several liturgical rites of the Pre-Lent, the Sundays of Preparation for the Great Fast (Septuagesima, Sexagesisma and Quinquagesima), and also leaves the summer with one fewer holiday. In many churches, attendance is allowed to plunge over the summer months, which become the most ordinary of ordinary times, with frequently the choir not serving in the summer, as if for some reason there should be no music in the summer months (I can understand not having a boys’ choir active all months of the year, but in Orthodoxy the idea of an adult choir taking a vacation is unthinkable).

Also I would note that the Hesychast monks are in some cases able to see the uncreated light of Tabor through the pursuit of continual prayer of the heart, which requires an experienced elder. For the average layperson, the saying of the Jesus Prayer is sufficient.