'Psychology Professor Benny Shanon (of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem) says it was likely Moses was hallucinating under the influence of a mind-altering drug at the time of his biblical achievements.
To back up his theory, Professor Shanon says the acacia tree, frequently mentioned in the Bible, contains one of the most psychedelic substances known to man.

The professor, who came up with his theory after experiencing firsthand the effects of a hallucinogenic brew used in religious rituals in Brazil, said the story of Moses and the burning bush also had the hallmarks of a psychedelic experience.
The account in the Book of Exodus of the bush's ability to burn without being "consumed" is generally attributed to the presence and power of God.
But to the Hebrew University of Jerusalem's Professor Shanon, who freely admits to having experimented with mind-bending substance "about 160 times in various locales in contexts", it is evidence of the power of drugs.

Writing in the journal Time And Mind, the professor said the telltale signs of drug-induced visions included a loss of sense of time, seeing bright lights or fire, the blurring of the senses and profound religious and spiritual feelings.

"I propose that this event involved no change in the real world, having nothing to do with either the bush or the fire.
"Rather, it is reflected in the radical alteration in the state of consciousness of the beholder - that is, Moses.
"Moses's sense of time changed and an actual moment in physical time was subjectively perceived as an eternity...enough time for the bush in front of him to be burnt and consumed. But in the external physical domain, only a fraction of a second had elapsed, hence no actual change in the bush was perceived."

According to the professor, Moses was not alone in dabbling with drugs, with the assembled Children of Israel likely to have been in "an altered state of awareness" when Moses brought the Ten Commandments down from Mount Sinai.
Professor Shanon told Israeli radio: "As far as Moses on Mount Sinai is concerned, it was either a supernatural cosmic event, which I don't believe, or a legend, which I don't believe either, or finally, and probable, an event that joined Moses and the people of Israel under the effect of narcotics."'

Source: Daily Mail, 05 March 2008