And G-d said to Moses, “I will come to you in a thick cloud, in order that the people may hear when I speak with you and so trust you ever after. (E. 19:9)
Why is it necessary that, in the wilderness, G-d appears in a physical form? That this somehow adds to Moses’ credibility?
Could it be that the people were simply unready to comprehend G-d as an entirely incorporeal entity, without any physical manifestation at all?
Is this why G-d chooses “fuzzy” images, instead of something more concrete, like an image of an animal or the sun or moon? Because it is much harder to make an idol that looks like a cloud?
If so, is the Torah telling us that this period, of the midbar, was always meant to be transitional, helping us move toward an understanding of G-d as spiritual and not physical?
If so, might this also apply to the other physical manifestations, like the horn, fire and smoke, the sights and sounds of Sinai? That ideally, we should be able to connect with G-d and His presence without any physical clues at all?