Exodus 1,1. “And these are the names of the tribes of Israel; Reuven, etc.”; the reason why the names of the holy tribes are enumerated once more is because their qualifications as being part of the twelve holy tribes is already alluded to in their names, as we shall see. Reuven was called by that name as his mother had proclaimed at his birth (Genesis 29,32) “G’d has seen my distress; now my husband will love me.”
When Leah bore Shimon (verse 13 ibid), she gave thanks to G’d to listening to her prayer. When Levi was born (verse 34) she expressed her conviction to G’d that from then on her husband would devote more of his time to her. Both Shimon’s name from the word שמע “to hear,” and Levi’s name from the word ללוות, “to keep company with,” reflect the connection to G’d that Leah saw in these sons as accompanying them already from birth.
When the reader will once more peruse the relevant chapter in Parshat Vayetze he will see that all the names bore testimony to the mothers seeing in these sons being born a gift of G’d, so that it was no more than natural that the sons when growing up would excel in their service to G’d, i.e. they would qualify for the title: קדוש, “holy.”It would be quite inconceivable that the matriarchs would have named their children in commemorating a physical craving of theirs as having been fulfilled.
The fact that the Torah refers to these tribes, i.e. שבטים, not by their secular name, but calls them מטות, a word reminding us of someone, i.e. G’d leaning out of a window to see what goes on beneath him. According to our author it is used to describe physical cravings which have been sublimated to become spiritual cravings. A different approach to the line: ואלה שמות בני ישראל. We have mentioned earlier that the matriarchs who named their sons did so by referring to their personal experiences.
The letters ראו in Reuven’s name, meaning: “see!”, for instance having been barren, she realized now that G’d had “seen” her misery and she felt grateful.When Leah bore Shimon, she called him thus as she realized that G’d had heard her prayer and had responded. This pattern is repeated with the birth of the other tribes to their respective mothers.If the שבטים are also called מטות, the reason is to discredit the wicked people who, even if believing in a Supreme G’d, consider this G’d as so lofty in His heaven that He does not concern Himself with what the creatures on earth do or fail to do, and, that seeing that this is so they are free to do as they please and do not need to fear having to give an account of their actions The שבטים are therefore also called “the twelve extremities of the diagonal pattern” of the globe.
The creation of a physical universe involved on the one hand that the totally disembodied Creator contracted Himself, condensed Himself into something kabbalists call קו ישר, whereas the arrangement that ensures that in spite of G’d having thus “reduced Himself,” His ultimate goal for the universe will not be jeopardized, is called קו האלכסון, a line traveling from the higher regions to the lower regions of the physical universe.
When Israel serves the Lord, performs His wishes, this may be viewed as the קו האלכסון traveling from the “bottom upward” instead. The 12 tribes, seeing that it is their destiny to promote worship of the Creator, are therefore also known as the 12 extremities of this קו האלכסון. Exodus 1,6. “and Joseph had meanwhile been in Egypt already.” We need to examine why the Torah had to repeat the word במצרים, “in Egypt,” when it would have sufficed to simply write ויוסף היה שם, “while Joseph had already been there.” Perhaps the Torah wanted to stress that during all the years that Joseph had been in Egypt without the moral support of his family he had not changed his name (although Pharaoh had given him an Egyptian title, i.e. צפנת פענח).
He himself used to refer to himself by his Jewish name. Even Pharaoh realized this when during the early days of the famine he had instructed the people to turn to Joseph for help, i.e. לכו אל יוסף אשר יאמר לכם תעשו, “what Joseph will tell you, you are to do.” (Compare Bereshit Rabbah 20 slightly differently wording.) Exodus 1,21. “It was because the midwives had demonstrated fear of the Lord, that He built houses for them.”
In these houses the midwives lived and could practice their G’d fearing ways undisturbed. In the event that someone would think that the midwives continued their dangerous way of saving Jewish boy babies on account of the heavenly reward they expected for this, the Torah twice mentioned that they were G’d-fearing, so that there was no element of serving G’d for the sake of the eventual reward. Exodus 2,1. “a man from the house of Levi went and married Levi’s daughter.”
The deeper meaning of this verse is that from now on souls belonging to the family of Levi would be placed in children sired by Amram, who up to now had only sired Aaron, whose soul was from a family destined to produce priests. [I trust that I understood the meaning of our author correctly. Ed.] When Yocheved, at the time Moses was born said that she saw that the child “was good,” (Exodus 2,2) Moses‘ name (though given by Pharaoh’s daughter, כי מן המים משיתהו, “for I have drawn him from the water,” also alludes to this concept.
The author refers to having elaborated on this in his commentary on psalms 132,9. [He does not say in what context he commented on that. Ed.] Exodus 2,4. “his sister positioned herself at a distance, in order to find out what would be done with him.” This verse helps us understand Jeremiah 31,2 “the Lord appeared to me from a distance, etc.;”There is a general rule that when the people in the physical universe are fully preoccupied with their secular concerns, they will not be able to elevate themselves to true service of the Lord. This idea is hinted at when the Bible uses the term מרחוק. [The term does not describe distance in terms of kilometers.
Ed.] Rapprochement to the Creator progresses at the same speed as distancing oneself from purely secular concerns. The Torah chose to describe Miriam as אחתו, “his sister,” as it wished to allude to the word מאחה, meaning “attached,” i.e. מדובק. Miriam was anxious to see if the attribute of אין, the eternal element of G’d, would continue to influence the baby’s fate.
On some occasions this attribute אין is also known as מה, the word used in our verse. Exodus 2:10, “She named him Moses, for I have pulled him from the water.” There is a rule that when we have a combination of light, water and fire, the creature whose soul (essence) consists of fire can elevate itself to the level of water, whereas the creature whose essence is water can elevate itself to the level of light.
Seeing that Moses was essentially connected to water, having been “pulled from the water,” he can elevate itself to the level of light. This principle is alluded to in Exodus 34,29 ולא ידע משה כי קרן עור פניו, “Moses was unaware that the skin of his face radiated light.” [This “rule,” I have found explained in an article on Parshat Miketz where Pharaoh is described as standing above the water, and the expressions יאור, נהר,אור are explained also by Onkelos as basically parts of one basic concept.
When on different levels of spiritual significance, they are called by correspondingly different names. The interested reader will find a very enlightening article about this written in 2004 in Google under the heading פרשת מקץ. The question I had asked Google, was: אור, אש, ומים. Ed.] Exodus 2,25.
“G’d looked upon the Children of Israel and took notice of them.” G’d foresaw that there would be Children of Israel who would accept the Torah in due course, although at this stage they were still worshipping idols, also. The word וידע always describes an intimate relationship to another person, so that when it is used here for G’d and His relationship to the Children of Israel, after previously the Torah only spoke of וישמע אלוקים, וישמע אלוקים, וירא אלוקים, the verb וידע introduces a more intimate relationship.
G’d was now able to relate to the virtues of the Jewish people, whereas previously He had paid attention only to their shortcomings. Another way of understanding the verse of וירא אלוקים את בני ישראל וידע אלוקים, helps us explain a verse in Chabakuk 3,2 ה' פעלך קרב שנים חייהו בקרב שנם תודיע ברוגז רחם תזכור, “Oh Lord I have learned of Your renown; I am awed O Lord by Your deeds. Renew them in these years.
O make them known in these years! Though angry, may You remember compassion.” The verse may be best understood by means of a parable. A poor man requests that a wealthy man grant his request as he knows that it is within the rich man’s power to grant same, and that once the rich man seriously considers the sorry state the poor man is in he will not be able to deny his cry for assistance.
The Jewish people when in pain and in need, turn to G’d, as they are well aware that He has the power to help them. Because they are aware of this, it is their duty to keep this factor in mind and to turn to G’d in prayer. Moreover, the very word תפלה, “usually translated as “prayer,” is a word which expresses התחברות, a close association, joining together. We know this from Genesis 3,8 when Rachel called her second son by proxy (Bilhah) נפתלי, indicating that she felt that G’d had come closer to her, and that she was comparable to her sister now.
Following the Jewish people’s first recorded prayer to G’d during over 80 years of enslavement, G’d immediately responded by coming closer to His chosen people and going about appointing their redeemer, Moses. The word וידע אלוקים was chosen therefore to remind us of this term used by the Torah when Adam for the first time had marital relations with Chavah, or as the Torah says elsewhere, “man and wife are to become one flesh.” (Genesis 3,24) [The author quotes Genesis 4,25, but my quote, I think is even more appropriate.
Ed.] The words בקרב שנים in the verse from Chabakuk above, mean that “pain” is something that exists only in our world, a world that is limited in space and time. In regions that are not influenced by time, i.e. celestial regions, there is no such thing as pain, suffering, etc.; G’d now being in a relationship of וידע, i.e. establishing close contact with His people, their pain and suffering will come to an end as a result of their coming closer to these regions of the universe. Exodus 3,1. “he came to the mountain of G’d, to Chorev.” חכמה, “wisdom,” is also known as חרבה, a point made by the Raa’vad in his introduction to the Sefer Yetzirah describing G’d’s essence.
David, in psalms 111,10 defines the basic ingredient of wisdom as reverence for G’d. This is the deeper meaning of Moses having being afraid to “look” at G’d, as reported in verse 6 of our chapter. Exodus 3,2. “An angel of Hashem appeared to him within the flame of fire, etc.;” whereupon Moses said to himself: “I will turn away to investigate why this bush is not consumed by the fire;” when G’d noticed that Moses had, after all, turned to investigate the phenomenon, He called out to him, warning him not to approach closer while wearing his sandals as the location was holy soil.There is a strange story in Pessachim 57 according to which one of the Kings of the Hasmoneans and his queen had an argument during their meal as to whether meat from a lamb is tastier than meat from a fully grown sheep.
When they could not agree, they asked the High Priest to settle the argument, as he had experience from eating the sacrificial meat of both many times. The High Priest upon being consulted, waved with his hand pointing heavenwards: saying: “if the meat of a lamb would be tastier surely the Torah would have commanded that the daily communal offering should consist of a lamb?”The Talmud relating this incident must not be taken at face value, of course, but the argument described concerned the question if the fate of the Jews is influenced by astrological considerations, or if the Jewish people are quite independent of the configurations of the stars.
When the High Priest pointed heavenward, he implied that the “Mazzal” of the Jewish people is אין, the word describing the essence of G’d. This also explained the statement in the Talmud Shabbat 156 that אין מזל לישראל, commonly translated as “the Jewish people’s fate is not determined or influenced by constellation of the zodiac.” The true meaning of the statement is that the celestial force determining the fate of the Jewish people is none other than אין, “the essence of G’d Himself.”
Moreover, the word מזל is closely related to יזל as in יזל מים מדליו, ”water flows out of its buckets,” (numbers 24,7). This verse alludes to what the queen in above parable had in mind when she said that a lamb tastes better, i.e. she was referring to people who depend on nature, water, etc., for their sustenance, a largesse from G’d which originates in a celestial domain known as האותיות עולם.[Heaven, not unlike the physical universe, consists of several layers, one of which is known as עולם האותיות, another, ”lower” layer is better known as עולם האצילות, to which the Torah referred when the highest echelon of the Jewish people accompanied Moses immediately prior to his ascending Mount Sinai to receive the Tablets (Exodus 24,9-11) where these people are called for short אצילי בני ישראל.Ed]When G’d warned Moses not to approach the “domain” הלום this refers to the domain of מלכות, “Royalty,” a domain which Moses wished to attain.
It was not granted to him, i.e. he functioned as Royalty only during the generation of the Israelites who had participated in the Exodus, but did not found a dynasty. The function of a king is to dispatch “spiritual sparks” for them to attach themselves to the Creator, and this is what is meant when the Torah describes the function of a king to wage war. When he succeeds in doing this he is perceived as having been victorious in “war”.
Within the parameter of his task, a king sometimes of necessity has to elevate some people’s status, whereas at the same time he will demote others. The king, in order to be successful, has to surround himself with advisers, i.e. he must be part of the people. The function of a prophet is the reverse, he must isolate himself.We have already explained on a previous occasion that when the righteous engages in dispatching “spiritual sparks” ניצוצות, heavenward, he may himself “dress up” in these holy thoughts in order that his “holy clothes” carry him with the sparks on their “wings.” The Talmud refers to such a concept when it states in Avodah Zarah 4 that “King David did not commit the sin with Bat Sheva except in order to teach the people the power of repentance of an individual.”
According to the Talmud the same reasoning applies to the Jewish people having committed the sin of the golden calf, in order to teach the people the power of collective repentance.Moses had not been able to set such an example for the people as his whole orientation was toward heaven all the time, so that he could not become guilty of what appeared like a sin, [resulting from human weakness, cravings.
Ed.] He hinted at his preoccupation with the celestial rather than the terrestrial, when he said: אסורה נא ואראה, “let me turn away from heavenly concerns and look at earthly concerns and parameters.” He wished to examine the “celestial” element manifested by this bush that refused to be consumed by fire.Actually, the words אסורה נא, “allow me to turn aside,” confirm what we mentioned earlier, that Moses was totally “celestially” oriented.
In order to get him to pay attention to events on earth he had to be forced to be diverted from his usual preoccupation. The burning bush of dry thorns and thistles that refused to collapse and turn into ash was the vehicle G’d used to accomplish this. This is why the Torah emphasizes: כי סר לראות, “he had to force his entire orientation to concentrate on matters terrestrial,” abandoning his normal method of thinking in the process.
The material of which the burning bush was constructed certainly did not symbolize something “worthwhile;” on the contrary it reminded him of the negative side of the emanations, commonly known as the סטרא אחרא, “the other,” (inferior) side.”He now had to concentrate on how to deal successfully with matters that required sublimation, i.e. how to help elevate the mundane, secular, to spiritually higher regions.
G’d had to caution him not to approach such an undertaking without proper preparation, hence He warned him that the site of the burning bush was “holy,” not as he might have thought, worthless. Warning Moses to remove his נעלים, “shoes,” had a dual meaning. The word נעלים is derived from נעל, “locking up,” as in “locking a door.” Moses’ shoes had been an instrument that “locked him away” from direct contact with the mundane, the earth underneath his feet.
He had to divest himself of this barrier to become an effective leader of people very much connected to earth and what goes on in our part of the universe. Contrary to what he might have thought, the angel informed him, holiness can be found also on earth, the site of the burning bush being one such example. This was a hint that “sparks” from the Shechinah can be found in our domain of the universe. Exodus 3,7.
Hashem said: “I have surely seen the sorry state of My people who are in Egypt, and I have heard their outcry on account of their oppressors.” Exodus 3,9.“and now, here the outcry of the Children of Israel has come to Me;”It is important for anyone petitioning G’d for help to realize that he must not do so from predominantly egotistical motives, but he must make up his own mind and then convey this to G’d, that the principal reason he is asking for G’d’s help is so that he can become a better servant of the Lord.
When he does so, He will be far more likely to find G’d responsive to his needs, or what he thinks are his needs.G’d therefore had to perform 2 separate acts of loving kindness for His people. First of all, He had to improve their lot drastically on a mundane level, by redeeming them physically. Secondly, he had to treat them as if their appeal to Him had been based on their desire to serve Him better.
This is hinted at when in verse 7 G’d is reported as saying: ראה ראיתי את עני עמי, i.e. “I have taken note of the fact that My people wish to be truly My people, something that will entitle them to be called ‘My people’.” Secondly (verse 9), הנה צעקת בני ישראל באה אלי, “the outcry of the Children of Israel has come to me, (arrived at My throne), I am aware that it is their desire to be My people by their wishing to serve Me better.”
The verse ends by making the physical suffering endured by the people now appear as a secondary consideration in G’d’s response to them. G’d, so to speak, makes excuses for the people’s low spiritual level as being due to the constant physical pressures they are exposed to in their status as slaves of the lowest human level. Exodus 3,10 “come, therefore I will send you to Pharaoh, etc.;” In order to understand the ensuing developments, i.e. interminably long negotiations between Moses and Pharaoh about the release of the Israelites, the author suggests that we look at psalms 117,1 הללו את ה' כל גוים שבחוהו כל האומים כי גבר עלינו חסדו ואמת ה' לעולם הללויה, “praise the Lord all you nations, extol Him, all you peoples; for He is great and steadfast toward us; the faithfulness of the Lord endures forever.” The Talmud Pessachim 118 appears to understand David’s words as meaning that if the gentiles acknowledge the miracles G’d has performed for them, then they surely must acknowledge and praise the Lord even more for the miracles He has performed for the Jewish people, i.e. וגבר עלינו חסדו, “for great is His steadfast love toward us;” at first glance this line is difficult, as we would have expected David to refer to the miracles G’d has performed for us, the Jewish people.
According to the Talmud, David meant that the nations are requested to acknowledge the miracles performed by G’d for His people. From this it follows that they must all the more acknowledge the miracles G’d has performed for them.After all, we have proof of this in Deuteronomy 4,34. When Moses there extols the mind-boggling nature of the miracles performed by G’d for us, he compares these miracles to others that G’d, on occasion, has performed even for the gentiles.
These mind-boggling miracles performed on behalf of His people have usually been predicted by a prophet announcing time and location of each miracle. They usually took the form of penalizing the enemies or oppressors of the Jewish people at the same time.It is quite out of the question that in psalms 117 or elsewhere, David intended for the gentiles to salute and praise the Lord for miracles He had performed for them.We will try therefore, with G’d’s help to explain what the Talmud had in mind when speaking of miracles G’d performed for the gentiles.
In order to do this plausibly, let us remember a statement from the Haggadah shel Pessach, where the author refers to: והכיתי כל בכור בארץ מצרים אני ולא מלאך, אני ה' הוא ולא אחר; ”I will smitten every firstborn in the land of Egypt, ‘I and not an angel, I the Lord, it is I and no one else.’” [The author presents a slightly condensed quote, which does not detract from the point under discussion.
Ed.]. Why was the killing of the firstborn carried out by Hashem personally, whereas for all the other plagues He employed “angels,” i.e. terrestrial phenomena, though all were G’d’s messengers, agents?We must explain however, that harmful phenomena never originate with G’d. Only beneficial phenomena originate with G’d. When our eyes will be opened to see the great troubles that befall the wicked, we will realize that the wicked themselves have been the architects of their problems, or even destruction.
If they would be intelligent enough to realize that all of these phenomena are warnings, they would, instead of cursing the day they had been born, turn to G’d in love, grateful to have been given such opportunities to improve their ways. These “disciplinary measures” by G’d are designed to lead to His name becoming sanctified and aggrandized throughout the universe, especially the part of it where His name had not been known previously.
Not only will His existence be revealed to them by such disciplinary actions, but the fact that He is involved in the personal fates of all His creatures will also be demonstrated by His intervention in the affairs of man by means of miracles. [The plagues that the Egyptians were afflicted with had far-reaching consequences, so that 40 years later Rachav, the innkeeper in Jericho told Joshua’s spies that all her friends and acquaintances were still in awe of how G’d had split the sea to allow the Israelites to pass through, while at the same time drowning the pursuing Egyptians in it. (Joshua 2,10) Ed.]An intelligent Jew or gentile, using his brain without prejudice, will, instead of being frustrated by misfortune, use same as a jumping off board to establish closer ties with his G’d, Who had been kind enough to alert him to His existence in heaven by inflicting harsh penalties on him instead of summarily condemning him to eternal perdition without warning.
The Jewish people did not realize all this until after the plagues that G’d visited upon the Egyptians, they had not only been spared, but had seen how G’d had elevated them to become His עם סגולה, especially precious people.Some leading personalities in our history used this concept to wish for the day when they could demonstrate that they had learned this lesson. The Talmud in B’rachot 61 relates a conversation between Rabbi Akiva (aged 120 at the time) in which the students are quoted as asking their mentor, who at that time was undergoing torture at the hands of the Romans for having publicly violated the decree not to teach Torah, “how long are you going to praise the Lord under such conditions?”
He answered them that far from being disheartened, he had been waiting for a lifetime to be able to fulfill the commandment to love G’d בכל נפשך, “with your entire life force,” i.e. at the price of a painful death. How could he possibly allow himself to succumb now when finally this opportunity had presented itself for him? Rabbi Akiva’s final lesson to his disciples was to teach them to make use of adversity, even the most painful adversity, to rise to spiritual levels that would have remained in the realm of a potential only, had they not been able to fulfill this commandment publicly. [It is doubtful, in my opinion, that we are obligated to wish ourselves such opportunities as Rabbi Akiva had deliberately invited by public disobedience of Roman decrees, as the sages tell us that when David wished to become one of the patriarchs, G’d warned him that in order to do so one had to successfully cope with difficult temptations.
Since David had insisted, he was tempted by the matter of Bat Sheva, and, having been unable to resist the temptation, he did not wind up as one of the patriarchs mentioned in our daily amidah prayer at the very outset. (Sanhedrin 107) Ed.]To sum up, the principal purpose of our existence on earth is to mobilize all our faculties to serve the Lord in the best way we know how. Fondness of the Lord cannot be better demonstrated than to walk through fire or water when necessary, and to see in this an opportunity to prove to Hashem that we love Him and are convinced that what He has decreed for us is for our ultimate benefit, even if we cannot realize this at the time when we are suffering the afflictions concerned.Expressed slightly differently, we must train ourselves to view trials and tribulations not as “afflictions, attempts to make our lives uncomfortable or even unbearable,” but as medicines designed to cure our ills, especially the ones (like high blood pressure) that we were totally unaware of.
Just as none of us would refuse to swallow a bitter tasting medicine prescribed by his favourite physician, so we must not refuse to accept with good cheer the medicine prescribed for us by the “Healer” of the universe, its architect. [The reader may have guessed that I paraphrased some of the author’s words. Ed.]As to the plagues in Egypt, the Jewish people experienced this lesson by watching how G’d dealt with the Egyptians; we learned vicariously, instead of our having to learn this on our own bodies.[As the author proceeds to describe the ideal Jew as eagerly looking forward to more yissurim, afflictions, and this editor recalls numerous prayers that include specifically the plea not to elevate us by means of painful yissurim, I will omit part of this chapter, as it is not addressed to the average reader like myself.
Ed.]The author, coming back to his original question of why the killing of the firstborn had to be orchestrated by G’d Himself, points to our opening statement that nothing bad ever originates with G’d Himself. If G’d therefore, personally carried out the killing of the firstborn, this too could not have been something bad, something negative, else He would have had to entrust it to one or more of His angels.When G’d concludes with what appears as if a repetition, that it is He and no one else who has done this, He means that by orchestrating this “plague” Himself He achieved that His name became great and well known all over the inhabited parts of the globe.
If the death of the Egyptians served the purpose of sanctifying the holy name of the Lord, they themselves had served a holy purpose, though unwittingly. This is why, initially, the Talmud questioned what David said in his psalm 117,1 saying that that surely what David meant were miracles G’d has performed for the Jewish people and not any miracles performed for the gentile people. However, David did not mean miracles performed for the gentile nations, but “by means of the gentile nations,” i.e. the firstborn in Egypt who all died at the very same moment, regardless of where in the land they found themselves at the time, became the vehicle by means of which G’d’s reputation became so greatly enhanced.
The death of these firstborn was also the catalyst that prompted the –up to now- stubborn Pharaoh not only to release the Jewish people but to actually expel them.As an additional proof that his interpretation of the father of Rabbi Yishmael son of Rabbi Yossi, quoted on psalms 117,1 was correct, our author stresses that the Talmud uses the word בעדייהו when justifying David’s demand to “praise the Lord all you nations.”
Had the Talmud used the word עמהייו the meaning would indeed have been “for them.” Seeing that the Talmud refrained from using that word, substituting בעדייהו which means “with them,” there is no way to misunderstand the explanation of Rabbi Yishmael ben Yossi’s father on that verse in psalms: 117,1-2. The simple explanation of this verse in psalms is that in response to the unarticulated question of what it is for which the nations should praise the Lord, the answer is: “for the fact that G’d’s loving kindness triumphed as we the Jewish people are able to state from our historical experience.”
When detailing the praise that is due to G’d, we refer to His enduring faithfulness demonstrated time and again in His relations with us. These loving deeds of G’d were how He repaid the Egyptian oppressors of His people for their totally unprovoked subjugation of His people.In His answer, G’d explains to Moses, that actually, He would be with Moses all along his mission, i.e. כי אהיה עמך, “for I, personally, will be with you;” the reason G’d says, that He can do so, is that ultimately, what appears like something bad for Egypt will result in the Egyptians< According to Ari’ z’al the verse commencing with לכה ואשלחך אל פרעה, “go and I’ll send you to Pharaoh,” means that this mission would contain both parts that were good for Israel, and others that were not, i.e. good for the Egyptians.
It was good for Israel and bad for the Egyptians. On the face of it this appears to contradict the rule that nothing bad originates with G’d Himself. In order to show that this is indeed so, G’d said to Moses: “as far as Egypt is concerned, I will use you as My messenger to Pharaoh.” This also explains why Moses countered: “who am I that I should go to Pharaoh?”
He meant that if G’d Himself did not want to become the origin of harm to Pharaoh, why he, Moses, had to perform such a distasteful task? Moses’ reply, phrased as a question, is to be understood as if an ordinary person when charged with a task that clearly spells disaster for someone, indicates that he does not wish to accept such a mission. Moses Implies that if we human beings are to model ourselves in accordance with the virtues demonstrated by the Creator, why would this not be true in this situation also?Having become a tool in Moses’ hands to aggrandize G’d’s universally great name, so that through their being smitten if they did not respond to the call to release the Israelites, they will serve the greater good, i.e. G’d becoming feared and revered all over the world when Pharaoh and Egypt’s “punishment” for mistreating G’d’s people will become known.
Proof of G’d Himself being with Moses all along, will be demonstrated when, after the Exodus, the Jewish people will be given the Torah that G’d will reveal Himself to them, and Moses will have a private “interview” on the top of Mount Sinai or in the celestial spheres. The ten plagues are to be understood as only a prelude to the ultimate good resulting from this, i.e. the spiritual elevation of the Jewish people in which also the Egyptians will play a significant, though passive part.
The words: תעבדון את האלוקים על ההר הזה “you will serve G’d on this mountain,” are the key of Moses’ mission, a constructive mission, not a destructive one. [I have paraphrased the author’s words slightly. Ed.] The exegesis just outlined by our author, is based also on psalms 94,10 היוסר גוים הלא יוכיח, “shall He Who disciplines nations not punish?” The psalmist asks, rhetorically, “is it not in order for you to ask when watching G’d disciplining and punishing nations, that seeing He does so, surely, evil, harm for man does emanate from Him?
When the psalmist continues in verse 12 of that psalm that a person who is being disciplined by G’d should view himself as fortunate, he refers to what happened to the Egyptians when they became an instrument of spreading G’d’s glory and the knowledge of His power.The author refers to numerous occasions when he had said that if something is to occur after some time it is described in the Torah as אהי'ה, whereas when it is something that is about to occur immediately it is described as הויה, a word commencing with the letter ה.
When G’d does not tell Moses that He “is,” but that He “will be,” using the prefix א, He hints to him that the ultimate purpose of his mission will not become apparent to him until after some time has elapsed. The way Moses would recognize when that point in time had been reached is the אות, “the sign” i.e. the communal service of the Lord by the entire people at Mount Sinai. At that time, all of mankind will become aware that there is only a single Creator, and that He is the sole ruler of the entire universe. This is a good opportunity to explain the question of Eliezer, Avraham’s foremost servant, and the answer he received from Avraham.
Prior to the battle against the mightiest kings of the Orient and Occident undertaken in order to rescue Avraham’s nephew Lot from captivity, the sages quote Eliezer as having been asked how he killed the soldiers of all these kings. He told the questioners that Avraham told him to take clods of earth and to throw them in their direction. If he would do this, the earth clods would turn into arrows. [While the story in Bereshit rabbah 43,3 is similar, the common feature is that earth would turn into either swords or arrows.
Ed.]The question we must ask is why this miracle had to be performed by means of clods of earth. Why could some other vehicle in nature not have served G’d for the same purpose? We hope to explain this by referring to how David conquered the nations against whom he went to war.Let us remember that when David found himself in need of vanquishing his enemies, he himself was attached closely to the attribute known as אין, [the eyn sof, essence of G’d. Ed.]
He was conscious of the fact that all parts of his life, including his body, i.e. the ability of the living to move at will, were a part of Divinity. [Compare Tikkuney Hazohar Tikkun 1) This means that there is no single spot in the universe that is not permeated by some aspect of Divinity. In fact, if one were to find any part of the universe devoid of a spark of Divinity, such a part would be totally devoid of “Life.” be it human, animal vegetable or even the kind of life with which inert bodies such as the planets are equipped.
Ed.] The author refers to his commentary on Deuteronomy 32,39 on the words כי אני אני הוא, “that I, I am He,” where G’d makes the point that neither man nor any of the various categories of angels, such as שרפים, חיות, אופנים are able to say of themselves that אני הוא, “it is I,” when speaking to one another. The word אני, when used by a person, suggests that he is a person of substance, [in the sense of a physical presence, an independent personality, Ed.]
In other words, by using that word when referring to himself, the speaker invites the person whom he addresses to regard him as someone of substance, of importance.When we consider such a statement and reflect upon it, we realize that such a person wishes to convey to those opposite him that his very existence, חיות, his being alive, is something that he is in control of. What greater lie could he possibly convey than this false impression, seeing that not only does he not control other people’s lives, but he is not even in control of the next minute of his own life!
Seeing that his own life is in the hands of his Creator, how could he arrogate to himself the right to speak of himself in terms of being an אני? We now understand why Moses quoted G’d in Deuteronomy 32,39 as saying ראו עתה כי אני אני הוא ואין אלוקים עמדי, “See then that I, I am He; there is no god beside Me.” What G’d is saying there is nothing other than that no-one but He is entitled to refer to himself as אני “I.” If a human being were (mistakenly) to describe himself as אני, he would in fact credit a “nothing” with such a grandiose title.When we described this word as alluding to the Divine attribute of אין, the absolute disembodied essence of G’d, we also refer indirectly to the essentially disembodied nature of our real self, i.e. our immortal soul.
The soul is immortal precisely because it can function without our bodies. This very fact is testimony to the fact that it is part of the Creator Himself, as He is the only Existence in the universe that functions without a body.When we now consider the statement of our sages in Avot 6,12 [last Mishnah, Ed.] that everything the Creator created He created only for the sake of His greater glory, it is easy to understand that when one or more of His creatures no longer contribute to the purpose for which he or they have been given “life,” they have forfeited their claim to existence and deserve to die.
Considering this basic truth, when David had to secure victory over his various enemies, he first had to “garb” himself with this attribute אין i.e. [אני, spelled in a manner that avoided that he really compared himself to his Creator. Ed.] When he would be confronted by uncircumcised pagans, he therefore felt entitled to put an end to their lives.When Avraham confronted the four kings, symbolizing the anti-god from all four corners of the globe, who had taken Lot, who also shared that attribute, captive, he acted on behalf of G’d [although he had not consulted Him.
Ed.]When Avraham confronted the four kings, symbolizing the anti-god from all four corners of the globe, who had taken Lot, who also shared that attribute, captive, he acted on behalf of G’d [although he had not consulted Him. Ed.][This editor is troubled by the fact that at that time Avraham himself had not been circumcised, had not even been told that circumcision was an essential part of becoming Jewish.
I am also troubled by the fact that Lot’s eventual escape from Sodom is not credited to his merit, but to G’d’s “pity” (Genesis 19,16. Ed.]It is well known that the attribute אין also occurs in connection with Moses, at the time when he and Aaron were the victims of the Israelites’ complaints for their suffering from thirst. (Exodus 16,7) They replied with the words: ונחמו מה, “and what do we amount to?” [The reader will notice that Moses and Aaron spelled the word אנחנו without the letter א signifying the pronoun “I.” We also find David referring to himself in such derogatory fashion when he said: ואנכי תולעה “and all that I amount to is worms.” (Psalms 22,7) Avraham referred to himself as dust and ashes when he said: אנכי עפר ואפר. (Genesis 18,27) This is what the sages in the Midrash had in mind when they spoke about Avraham killing the mightiest armies in the world at that time by means of “earth, or dust.”
By allying oneself with the Divine attribute of אין, Avraham was able to turn these pagans back into the raw-material they had been made of, i.e.עפר, as when G’d had said to Adam after his sin in Genesis 3,19, עפר אתה ואל עפר אתה תשוב, “you are dust and to dust you will have to return.” Seeing that Avraham was aware of his entire “life” being dependent on the אין סוף, “never ending (nor beginning) Creator,” so that the essential part of what he perceived as his “life” was bound up with this source of eternal life, he could function as the messenger that would terminate useless lives, lives that had not and would not contribute to the glory of the Creator on earth.Ed.] Having said this, we can now understand psalms 145,13: מלכותך מלכות כל עולמים, “Your Kingdom is an eternal kingdom.” Why did the psalmist have to repeat the word: מלכות in this verse?With the help of G’d I hope to be able to explain why, if G’d expects us to attain the level of the attribute of אין, did He create the evil urge which serves as an almost impenetrable curtain preventing us from attaining our destiny.
Especially in view of the fact that all manner of “life” is dependent directly on the Creator at every moment and in every place on earth, why did G’d throw up obstacles to our proceeding smoothly along the right path? The obstacle called “evil urge” is almost bound to cause us to leave this life prematurely, without our having fulfilled our task! Moreover, how can we reconcile the existence and constant activity of the evil urge with the statement at the end of tractate Avot that everything that G’d has created, He created only for the sake of His greater glory?
Does not the wording of that Mishnah, i.e. כל מה שברא הקדוש ברוך הוא לא ברא אלא לכבודו, ”everything that the Holy One blessed be He has created, He did not create except in order to increase His glory,” suggest that there is also another purpose? [What bothers our author in the text of the Mishnah is the word אלא, “except,” which suggests that after eliminating other alternatives the one presented here is the only correct choice.
In fact the sages of the Talmud debated for two and a half years if it would have been easier (נוח לו) for man never to have been created at all; after that long debate they took a vote and the consensus was that indeed it would have been “easier” for man never to have seen the light of the world, but seeing that G’d in His wisdom had decreed otherwise, it is, of course, our duty to accept the challenges with which He has presented us after we have been born. (Compare Eyruvin 13) Ed.] It is noteworthy that Maimonides in his “Guide for the Perplexed,” when commenting on the words (in our daily morning prayer) יוצר אור ובורא חושך, “He Who fashions light and creates darkness,” asks why the sages composing this paragraph chose different words for describing the light and its coming into existence, and darkness and its coming into existence?
The answer is that seeing that light was a necessary component of our universe, G’d had to proceed beyond the stage of merely creating it, whereas darkness which is not needed for our daily activities, did not have to be developed beyond the stage of merely bringing it into existence, i.e. בורא. G’d only had to allow darkness to remain in its state, not adding any brightness. The resulting absence of light, night, was therefore not of G’d’s origin. [If darkness is perceived as something negative, it cannot therefore be attributed to Him.
Ed.]Keeping the above definition in mind, it is easy to understand that the evil urge within man is also known as בור, as it is a variant of “darkness,” lacking brightness.The true glory of a King becomes manifest when it results from the subject having had a choice if to serve the King or not. When the subject has been coerced into service by the King, the King cannot point to his subject’s performing the duties imposed upon him as an accomplishment, a proof of the subject holding his King in high esteem.
G’d’s objective in creating a free willed creature in His universe therefore included the creation of the evil urge, without which the “glory” of which the Mishnah in Avot 6,12 spoke would be totally meaningless, as man’s servitude then would not result from his having recognized the greatness of his Creator. The greater the potential power of the evil urge, the greater is the glory of G’d when, in spite of the power of the evil urge, His free-willed creature overcame the obstacles placed in his path to come truly close to his Creator. This then is the hidden meaning of the word אלא in the Mishnah quoted, which at first glance sounded as if a contradiction of the principle expressed in that Mishnah. The creation of the evil urge may therefore be regarded as a “void”, deliberately left by G’d in the universe, in order to His having a chance that all His creatures could serve him out of their own free will. From all the above we learn that the term מלוכה, “Royalty,” or “dominion,” in order for it to truly possess meaning, implies that opposition to such “Royalty,” is allowed for.
It follows that despots who do not tolerate opposition to their rule cannot be considered as “kings.” This explains why G’d allows the seventy nations to develop in their various ways without overtly interfering in their affairs of state. Were they to remain constantly aware of their dependence every second on G’d’s tolerant attitude or they would perish, His “standing,” enhanced through those of His creatures who serve Him without fear of immediate punishment for failing to do so, would not result in His being glorified.
If they were indeed conscious of their dependence on Him, their service even when performed most meticulously, would not add to G’d’s greater glory. If they serve G’d, even partially, although feeling almost omnipotent themselves, arrogant, then this does add to G’d’s greater glory.When Isaiah 2,3 describes a scenario when the gentile nations offer to accompany the Jewish people on their pilgrimage to Jerusalem to worship the One and only G’d, describing this as באור ה', this contributes to G’d’s greater glory.
The full text of that verse, after the prophet’s introduction of what will occur “in the days to come,” translated reads: “Come, let us go up to the Mount of the Lord to the House of the G’d of Jacob, etc.” The same thought is repeated slightly differently in verse 5 of the same chapter. Seeing that the nations will be doing this without having been compelled to do so, G’d’s almost everlasting patience will have been rewarded at that time, a period which the prophet had described as an era when war as a means of settling ego trips, or even legitimate disagreements will have become an anachronism. Followers of the Ari z’al are familiar with his writing on the words וימלוך....וימת, “he reigned…..he died;” he saw in this formula used in the Bible a summary of a period during which certain kings ruled, concerning which the author of that chapter in the Bible wishes to convey that once a king begins to display arrogance, i.e. he perceives himself as a ruler, he is already as if dead.The act of elevating oneself is tantamount to the act of killing oneself.
When David characterizes G’d’s “Kingdom” with the words: מלכותך מלכות כל עולמים, “Your Kingdom is an everlasting Kingdom,” (psalms 145,5) repeating the word מלכות, he speaks of different eras. The era of which Isaiah had spoken when he described the nations of the world eagerly joining the Jewish people in accepting the rule of Heaven, is when that Kingdom will become eternal and irrevocable.
David hints that this came about precisely because G’d allowed for opposition to His rule until mankind matured. Another way of explaining the expression מלכותך מלכות כל עולמים, is to imagine a comma after the word מלכותך, i.e. when the concept of “Kingdom” is applied to Your Kingdom, it is radically different from the so-called “Kingdoms” man is familiar with, in that it is not temporary, the kings being replaced by death or revolution, etc; Yours is an eternal Kingdom and therefore a real מלכות. Going back to Moses’ question of:מי אנכי כי אלך אל פרעה וכי אוציא את בני ישראל ממצרים?, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh, and that I should take the Children of Israel out of Egypt?”
We can explain the meaning of Moses’ question by referring to the verse in Job 25,2 עושה שלום במרומיו, “He makes peace in His heights.” According to our tradition, the angel Michael is in charge of water, whereas the angel Gavriel is in charge of fire. Seeing that these two elements are constantly at war with one another, G’d has to make peace between them. (Based on the Talmud Rosh Hashanah 23, where the manner in which G’d positioned moon and sun so that they would not face each other’s weak spots, and Shir Hashirim rabbah 3 where G’d is described as arranging that the stars, representing the element of “fire” are positioned in such a way that they never face the “upper waters” in the firmament, רקיע השמים.)
As a result of this arrangement the angel in charge of the pious is unable to perform deeds of valour, as no angel is allowed to perform several tasks. Only G’d personally, is able to reconcile opposing forces. This is the meaning of the line that (“only”) G’d Himself can impose peace and harmony in the celestial regions. Moses therefore questioned how it was possible for him to perform the acts of valour necessary in order to secure the release of the Children of Israel.
He implied that this was something only G’d Himself, not a messenger of His, could accomplish. G’d responded that he was right, but that He Himself, would be with him all the way. Exodus 3,12. “and this will serve you as a sign (proof) that I have sent you on this mission, etc.” We find in Song of Songs 1,3: לריח שמניך טובים תורק שמך על כן עלמות אהבוך, ”for fragrance your oils are good; your name is ointment poured forth; therefore do young maidens love you.”
Seeing that all of Song of Songs can only be understood properly by resorting to the allegories employed by its author to convey his message, we hope to explain this verse with the help of G’d by referring to Moses’ question how he should answer the Israelites when they would ask him about the name of the G’d in whose name he would claim to have been sent to them. We first need to explain how to understand G’d’s answer to Moses, i.e. אהיה אשר אהיה (שלחני אליכם), “the G’d Who says concerning Himself) I shall be who I shall be” (has sent me to you).The righteous person serving the Creator needs to be conscious at all times, and especially every time he experiences the feeling that he has accomplished something, that there are further challenges to be met and that he cannot rest on his laurels.
He must never consider any spiritual accomplishment of his as having attained his target to become perfect. He must remain aware of his relative inadequacy as long as he has not attained the next rung on the ladder to attaining spiritual perfection. This thought is reflected in the words of Eliyahu as quoted in the Pardess Rimonim of Rabbi Moshe Cordovero, that one must be aware of one’s lack of knowledge of G’d, no other detail is important other than that He is the Supreme G’d. The desire to continuously ascend spiritually in order to be able to cleave to the Creator is the principal characteristic of the true servant of G’d.The author quotes some remarks on this subject that he personally heard from the well known Tzaddik Yechiel Michel. This Tzaddik interpreted psalms 27,4 אחת שאלתי מאת ה' אותה אבקש שבתי בבית ה' כל ימי חיי לחזות בנועם ה' , “one thing I ask of the Lord, only that do I seek; to live in the house of the Lord and to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord, (constantly) etc.” In this psalm David does not aspire to something static, a goal achieved in order to derive the satisfaction of having scaled these spiritual heights.
By emphasizing אותה אבקש in the future mode, instead of אותה אני מבקש in the present mode, the petitioner (David) expresses his awareness that there will always be further spiritual heights that beckon to him to be scaled. He expresses confidence that G’d will assist him further in pursuing this path. This is also what he alludes to in psalm 118,19 when he exclaims: פתחו לי שערי צדק אבוא בם אודה י-ה, “open the gates of the attribute of loving kindness for me, so that when entering there I can thank G’d.”
David always views himself as facing more closed doors, and he begs to be admitted to gaze upon what is behind these doors. The very fact that he faces closed doors is the most potent reminder to him that he has not yet attained the end of his quest of being as near to the Lord as it is possible for mortal human beings to be. This is why in the verse immediately following he says: זה השער לה' צדיקים יבואו בו, “this is the gateway to the Lord, the righteous are permitted to enter it.”
His words are not addressed to G’d, but are a message to his fellow Jews that he who remains aware that there are always further gates on the way to the Lord, gates that will open when they steadfastly pursue their goal, they will find that these gates will open themselves to their quest. By speaking of צדיקים in both verses, he defines who such “righteous” are, i.e. the ones who do not rest on their spiritual laurels, but remain aware of their continuing relative inadequacies. [The words שערי צדק in verse 18 must therefore be translated as “the gates for the righteous” when using this interpretation.
Ed.]Keeping this interpretation in mind, we can better understand what G’d meant when He told Moses to introduce himself to his people –after a 60 year absence- as coming at the behest of the G’d who is defined by the constant future, i.e. אהיה אשר אהיה. G’d tries to explain to Moses here by a hint, what He will explain to him in chapter 6 verse 1, when He tells him that עתה תראה “you will see ‘now’” i.e. only the immediate developments, implying that Moses will not live to see the fulfillment of the אהיה part, the future developments which will retroactively justify the past that he had been unable to understand. [I have paraphrased some of the author’s words.
Ed.] In light of the foregoing it is appropriate to explain the words in Song of Songs 1,3 (page 297) in accordance with the words of the Baal Shem Tov of sainted memory. He first explains psalms 48,15 הוא ינהגנו על מות, “He will lead us beyond mortality,” by using a parable. A father teaches a very young son how to walk two or three steps at a time. When the little boy has walked a few steps toward his father, his father distances himself from him a little farther in order to encourage his son to “walk the extra mile.”
The father repeats this maneuver every time his son is about to catch up with him. G’d encourages us to “catch up with Him” in a similar fashion, by appearing to be more and more out of our reach. The message we (the tzaddikim) are to receive from this maneuver is that we have not yet attained perfection. This is what David meant when he said הוא ינהגנו על מות, “in order for G’d to lead us into immortality.”
He has to encourage us to “catch up with Him,” step by step.[You the reader, may have noticed that the word: עלמות contains the same letters in the same sequence as the two words על מות in psalms 48,15. Ed.]To get back to Song of Songs 1,3 לריח שמניך טובים, “for your oils are good as fragrance;” the Hebrew word שמן, oil, is used allegorically to describe a person’s good deeds. When Solomon in Kohelet 9,8 warns that ושמן על ראשך אל יחסר, “may your head never lack oil (ointment),” he does not refer to perfumed oils, but to the fragrance emanating from a person who has many good deeds to his credit.
Under what circumstances are such fragrances compared to שמן תורק שמך, “Your name being poured forth like oil?,” when the tzaddik has the feeling again and again after having scaled a rung on the ladder of spiritual ascent, that he is empty and needs to replenish spiritual energies possession of which would bring him closer to perfection. When this is what the tzaddik worries about constantly, his head gives forth the fragrance of the oils mentioned by Solomon in Song of Songs. Exodus 3:14 let us spend a minute on the principal Name of the Creator which is the name הויה, better known to us as י-ה-ו-ה (same letters rearranged).
One of the remarkable features about this “Name” is that when you multiply any one of its letters by itself, you will find that that letter remains constant. You will always find that the last letter in the resulting sum (when written in Hebrew letters) remains the same, something you do not find when you do this with any letter in the א-ב that is not part of the letters used in the Holy Name of G’d.
If you were to multiply a word ending with the letter ב or any other letter, by itself, the last letter in the sum resulting would not be the same as the original letter (number). When you multiply the letter ב by itself the result is a different letter, i.e..ד. When you multiply the letter ג by itself, i.e. 3 times 3, the result is the letter ט. When you multiply the letter (number) ד by itself the result being 16, the Hebrew equivalent is יו.
The only letters that remains constant when you perform the same exercise are the letters in the Holy Name of G’d, which when multiplied by themselves result by ending with the identical letter. When you multiply 5 by 5 the result (25) is כה If you were to continue this experiment by now multiplying כה by itself, i.e. 25 times 25, the result is 625, or תרכה. If you were to do something similar with the letter (number) 6 (ו) you would get is 36, i.e. לו in the Hebrew equivalent. [The reader may continue to prove the accuracy of this using his calculator.
Ed.]. We can now explain precisely what it was that G’d revealed by telling Moses to employ His “name” אהיה. G’d simply alerted Moses to the fact that by demonstrating to the Jewish people the experiment that we just outlined, that this was proof that Hashem does not change, He is not a chameleon that adjusts its colours to what circumstances appear to demand, but expects “time” to adjust to His objectives in due course.
We need to understand also why G’d repeated His name, i.e. twice “אהיה” in the message Moses was to take to the people.[The reader may have noticed that the letter י in G’d’s name presents a difficulty in the scenario the author has presented as we have to rely on the Arabic system of only 10 digits, the digit “0” being one we do not know when using Hebrew letters as numbers. We must remember that that letter when used in that system is a two digit number.
We must also remember that in the abbreviated form of G’d’s name available to us in exile, only the letters ה and י appear. The letter ה alludes to G’d as the Creator of earth, whereas the letter י alludes to G’d in His capacity of the Creator of the heavenly spheres. Both of these letters have no “partner” i.e. 8+2, 7+3, 6+4, 9+1. This fact by itself points at the uniqueness of G’d, Who needs no partner. Ed.]We know that when the Creator sends some unpleasant phenomena to discipline His people, these phenomena must not be viewed as an end in themselves, but that the objective of such phenomena is that they will eventually be seen to have been for the ultimate benefit of the “victims.”
When we look at nature we will understand this very easily. A fruit-bearing tree does not grow a fruit before it protects it by a skin, rind, or whatever protective device, but it grows this protective shell before the fruit within it begins its development. Calling G’d by the name אהיה, is itself a reminder to whoever pronounces it, that G’d will continue for an indefinite length of time, as opposed to the subject who utters this name.
In periods when G’d is about to send unpleasant phenomena that will make life more difficult for His people, it is appropriate that they will remember this by referring to Him as eternal, in order to reassure themselves that He has not forgotten them, nor has He lost His power, but that in due course their fortunes will improve.On the other hand, when G’d is about to set in motion phenomena that are manifestly welcomed by all members of His people, He will be called by His שם הויה.
In G’d’s relations with the nations of the world He first showers them with all manner of welcome blessings; these blessings, however, are not of unlimited duration but are very finite, so that when the time for retribution for their sins has arrived, He will appear to them as אהיה, indicating that their new situation will not be subject to reversal. While they enjoyed His blessings, they could refer to Him as שם הויה, signifying the temporary nature of these blessings.
Seeing that at this stage, the period of His people’s distress was about to come to an end, He made plain by emphasizing the word אהיה twice, that the reversal of their fate through redemption would not be temporary but was intended to be an enduring freedom. A different approach to the verses commencing with אהיה אשר אהיה. What follows is based on the common perception that the name of G’d (tetragram) known as הויה, refers to His activity in the present, whereas the name אהיה suggests G’d’s being active in the future, as we know from Sotah 14 where the Talmud quotes Deuteronomy 3,25 in which Moses pleads to be allowed to cross the Jordan before his death.
The Talmud there examines what prompted Moses to be so anxious to cross the Jordan, and concludes that Moses was concerned to perform commandments of the Torah that are only capable of fulfillment when on the soil of the Holy Land.From this we learn that the Jewish people while in Egypt had acquired only the potential merit of performing these commandments, a merit which could not be fully acquired until after their arrival in the Holy Land.
G’d explains this to Moses when He tells him in verse 12 that once He will let Moses take the people out of Egypt, this is preparatory to their serving the Lord i.e. בהוציאך את העם ממצרים תעבדו את האלוקים. He thus links the people’s serving G’d to Moses’ taking them out of Egypt and (presumably) bringing them to the Holy Land where they will be able to claim the credit for fulfilling the Torah.
Actually, it had been G’d’s desire to bring the people to the Holy Land in order that they could “cash” His I.O.U. there by performing the commandments. Seeing that the capacity of the Jewish people to understand such lofty ideals was limited by their present sorry condition, G’d first stressed the physical qualities of the land of Israel, comparing it favourably with the land of Egypt which has been described in Genesis as “like a garden planted by G’d.” (Genesis 13,11) By describing the land of Israel as a land flowing with milk and honey, a land in which rain falls regularly, without farmers having to bring water for irrigation to their fields, G’d had to arouse the people’s desire to leave a land which was as excellent for its owners as Egypt. [We know that even after the Egyptians had been drowned in the sea the Israelites wanted to return there and take over that land, rather than to march through the desert to a land they did not know. (Compare Exodus 15,22, ויסע משה את ישראל “Moses forced Israel to journey forward.”)]
Once the Israelites would reach their destination they would appreciate that life in the land of Israel involved much more than their bodies being “elevated;” their spiritual horizons would be broadened due to their performing the commandments applicable only in that land. This is the reason why in verse 13 in our chapter G’d stresses the fact that the patriarchs had lived in that land, i.e. the fact that they lived in that land had enabled them to become the founding fathers of this holy nation.
This is why in connection with the patriarchs we find the name of G’d, i.e. הויה, present tense, whereas in respect to their descendants, at this stage G’d has to speak of His name as something primarily still in the future, אהיה. Still another approach to the same verse. During the first exile (Egypt), the Israelites saw evidence of G’d’s overwhelming power to save them. In light of our (collective) experience at that time, we are well equipped to retain that faith during any future exiles that have been decreed for us.
We have learned that prayer is something that G’d truly desires from His people, so that the Egyptian exile served as a preparation for all future exiles, should they become necessary. Every “preparation”, seeing that it is forward looking, is in the nature of אהיה, i.e. “I will be.” However, when redemption is bound up with the performance of miracles, we realize how impotent we really are, so that only through the gift to us of G’d’s Torah can our self-confidence in our own worth be restored somewhat.
This is G’d’s message in repeating with אשר אהיה, after having already said אהיה once. Exodus 5,22. “Moses said to G’d: ‘what is the purpose of Your having brought harm to this people, etc;?”, ויאמר ה' אל משה עתה תראה כי ביד חזקה וגו', “G’d said to Moses: ‘now you will see that with a strong hand, etc.’”We do not only need to understand what Moses meant by adopting what sounds like accusatory attitude vis a vis G’d, but that far from this being the case, he alluded to a very important aspect of Judaism with his wanting to know G’d’s purpose in the details of how He guides the fortunes of the Jewish people. [After the sin of the golden calf, Moses again persists in his desire to be taken into G’d’s confidence. [Compare Exodus Exodus 33,13-16 Ed.]In our daily prayers in the amidah we pray for Hashem to redeem us, justifying our request by the conviction that it is within His power to do so by saying: כי גואל חזק אתה, “for You are a powerful redeemer.”
Why did the sages who formulated this prayer find it necessary to add the adjective חזק, “powerful,” after the word גואל, “Redeemer?” The very idea of G’d “requiring” to resort to התחזקות, “strengthening Himself,” is strange, seeing that we perceive of Him as the personification of “Strength.” Let us first explain another verse in Exodus 13,2: וידבר ה' אל משה קדש לי כל בכור פטר כל רחם וגו', Hashem said to Moses: ‘sanctify unto me every first born male produced by the womb of a Jewish mother, etc.’” In an apparent response to this commandment, the Torah quotes Moses as saying (verse 3) ויאמר משה אל העם זכור את היום הזה אשר יצאתם ממצרים...כי בחוזק יד הוציא ה' אתכם מזה, “Moses said to the people to remember this day when you left Egypt, for Hashem took you out from here using the “strength of His hand.”
Moses appears to have departed materially from what G’d had told him to tell the people in His name. Instead of telling the people to sanctify their male firstborns, both of man and beast (in most instances) he tells them to remember the day that they left Egypt! In explaining this verse we must, of course, assume that Moses told the people what G’d had asked him to tell them. The Torah took it for granted that the reader will understand this. The Torah, however, saw fit to also record some explanatory remarks that Moses made when conveying the law of the sanctity of the firstborn to them.
Let us now refer to another verse in our portion (Exodus 3,13) ויאמר משה אל האלוקים הנה אנכי בא וגו', “Moses said to G’d, here when I come to the Children of Israel, etc., (who shall I say has sent me?)” to which G’d replied אהיה אשר אהיה, adding further: ה' אלוקי אבותיכם שלחני אליכם. Surely this would be confusing for the Israelites who were aware that the G’d Who had communicated with the patriarchs was known as הויה and not as אהיה.
It appears that the best way to resolve this "confusion" is by reminding the reader that there are two types of redemption. One type of redemption was accompanied by the Israelites receiving the Torah and the good deeds commanded therein, as a result of which the people had become entitled to be redeemed. At that time miracles, i.e. extra terrestrial means, גבורות, were needed to bring about their redemption.
When Moses came to Egypt to orchestrate the redemption, the Israelites were very far from such a spiritual level, so that G’d had to resort to other means, known as גבורות, חוזק יד, זרועה נטויה, “heroic deeds, heavy hand, outstretched arm,” in order to accomplish His objective. G’d did not consider the merits that the Jewish people lacked at that time, but He gave them an “advance” on the merits they would acquire as a result of accepting the Torah at Mount Sinai 49 days after the Exodus.When Moses had enquired what merits the Jews possessed at the time so that they could be entitled to redemption, G’d explained to Moses that they would acquire these merits in the near future, hence He described Himself as the G’d known as: אהיה, i.e. looking toward the future.
At this time only G’d can foretell the future, i.e. that this people will accept the Torah at Mount Sinai, the spot that Moses was standing on, and they would accept it enthusiastically. G’d assured Moses that what seemed now like a far off future, would shortly be transformed into a present. There had been a time in the past however, when He had been very much the G’d of the present, i.e. during the lives of the patriarchs.
It was because of their past, i.e. their roots, that He was able now to extend credit to them so that He could redeem them before they had really deserved it. The word חזק, although popularly translated as “strong,” is defined as the ability to control powerful urges and not to allow oneself to become overwhelmed by them. In the parlance of the Mishnah in Avot 4,1 איזהו גבור הכובש את יצרו, “who is a true hero?
He who controls his biological urges.” When we describe G’d in our prayers as a גואל חזק as a powerful Redeemer, we refer to His suppressing His urges, overcoming His natural reactions by doing something that according to the “Book,” should not be done at that time. Doing something that was supposed to be done does not require ”heroism,” so that anything that involved miracles, supernatural input, must by definition be an expression of “heroism” i.e. חוזק יד.
The concept of בעל כרחו, against one’s will, i.e. under “duress,” when applied to G’d is called בעל כרחו. Whenever G’d has redeemed us in the past, He had done so against His will (attribute of Justice) and He has had to invoke the attribute of Mercy after the attribute of Justice had opposed His plan of action. When we described Him as redeeming us למען שמו, “for the sake of His name,” this means that only because of His invoking the attribute of Mercy was G’d able to redeem the Jewish people. When we appreciate the foregoing, we can better understand what Moses said to the people in Exodus 13,3 "to remember this day, etc,.”
It is interesting that the Talmud is in two minds whether the day Moses wanted the people to remember was a day in Nissan or in Tishrey. Moses left open if the redemption in the future would be under the auspices of the attribute of Mercy or under the auspices of the attribute of Justice. If the former, it would have to occur in the month of Nissan, as had the original redemption when it occurred under the auspices of the attribute of Mercy.
If it would occur in Tishrey, this would be proof that the people had sufficient merit to be redeemed even in the month in which G’d sits on His throne as King and judges us all. The Talmud in Rosh Hashanah posits that if the redemption does not occur until the last day in G’d’s “timetable,” it will occur under the auspices of the attribute of Mercy in Nissan. If the redemption will occur sooner, i.e. as a result of the people having accumulated the necessary merits, it will occur in Tishrey under the auspices of the attribute of Justice.When G’d said to Moses in Exodus 13,2 קדש לי כל בכור, “sanctify for me every firstborn, etc.;” He reminded him that as far as the attribute of Justice was concerned every Jewish firstborn required to be sanctified seeing he had just been spared by the attribute of Justice when it killed the Egyptian firstborns. The Jewish firstborns had been redeemed together with the whole people by an act of Mercy.
But the firstborns had a special reason to be grateful; therefore they had to be sanctified to G’d. This is why before relating the content of this legislation concerning the holiness of the firstborn, Moses added a preamble reminding them of the date on which this had occurred. The reminder was an oblique reference that their lives had been spared although they had not been worthy of this at the time.
He did not want the Jewish firstborn to interpret the fact that they had survived as proof that they had been more deserving than the rest of the people.Now we can also understand the verse (5,22) in which Moses asked G’d what had been His purpose in allowing the Jewish people to become subjected to more abuse by the Egyptians since he had appeared on the scene so that he could not understand why G’d had sent him to orchestrate their release. Moses had lived in an atmosphere so different from that of his people, being attached to G’d, whereas his people were mired in the deepest mud of an apparently hopeless purely physical existence, that while he was consumed with fear and awe of G’d, they were forever consumed with fear and awe of Pharaoh.
Moses was forever consumed with the knowledge of the greatness of the Creator, observing how all the phenomena in the universe meticulously obeyed the will of their Creator, that he could not understand how the people would fail to believe the words of the Creator to him that He would redeem them from their misery. The gulf between Moses’ and the people’s relations to G’d is best demonstrated in Exodus 19,21 when G’d told Moses to go down from the Mountain and to warn the people once more not to approach too closely to the edge of the Mountain.
He had done so already once, and could not imagine that anyone would require a second warning that their lives would be in danger if they disobeyed. He told G’d (verse 23) that the people could not disobey Him seeing that they had been warned already. Similarly, he could not imagine that having told the people in His name that He would forthwith take them out of Egypt that they would not believe the message.
Having been challenged by the people with the words: “may G’d judge who of us is more righteous, we who do not believe the tidings or you who insists that in spite of an initial reverse G’d is true and will keep His word,” (Exodus 5,21) he turned to G’d in frustration at the lack of faith by the Jewish people. [not because he did not believe G’d’s promise. Ed.] Moses could simply not understand that there is a human being who could doubt the word of G’d.When Moses asked G’d a question which sounded as if he himself had developed doubts about the success of his mission, the real thrust of his words was: “why did You, G’d give the people such a strong evil urge that that they do not believe Your promise?”
The Talmud, B’rachot 32, using somewhat different words, uses a similar approach in interpreting Moses’ question. In the above cited question, Moses also added that he, personally, could not stand having to watch his people’s misery for another minute, so that he failed to see why G’d had sent him at a time when the people were clearly not ready to be redeemed seeing that they lacked the necessary merit. ...In psalms 92,6 Moses expressed this very clearly (with hindsight) when he said: מה גדלו מעשיך ה' מאד עמקו מחשבותיך איש בער לא ידע וכסיל לא יבין את זאת, ”how great are Your works O Lord, how very subtle Your designs!
A brutish man cannot know, a fool cannot understand this.” In this psalm Moses acknowledges that G’d operates on a totally different wavelength from man so that man does not understand that only by doing what He does can He bring about that His designs be fulfilled without His having interfered with man’s freedom of choice.[some of these words are mine. Ed.](Isaiah 55,8 had phrased this differently when he quoted G’d as saying: כי לא מחשבותי מחשבותיכם, “for My thoughts are not like your thoughts.”
G’d answered both of Moses’ questions, the second one by hinting that when it would come to the wars preceding capture of the land of Canaan, he would no longer be the people’s leader, as the people by that time would need someone who was closer to their level of understanding than was Moses. In the meantime, Moses would witness how by performing miracles, G’d would orchestrate the redemption of the people by means of the attribute of Mercy, as we have explained, although they were not ready for this through their own merits.