2021/5781
This week’s Parashah is titled Shemot, and it happens to contain one of the most significant instances of names in the Torah in the Parashah. However, this is not found in the beginning, but in another episode. This episode occurs in Perek Gimmel, when Moshe has what might just be the strangest question and answer session in all of history.
Moshe Rabbeinu opens up with the classic icebreaker of, “Madua Lo Yivar HaSeneh,” “why is the bush not burning” (Shemot 3:3), to which Hashem does not answer. Instead, Hashem tells Moshe that he has seen and heard everything that happened to the Jews in Egypt and that Moshe will take them out. Then, Moshe tells Hashem that his resumè is severely lacking in the section of confronting foreign Kings and leading a nation out of slavery, and asks why he is the one chosen. Hashem replies that Moshe is correct, but he wants him to lead anyway. Then, Moshe asks an extremely puzzling question: “Ve’Amarti LaHem Elokei Avoteichem Shelachani Aleichem Ve’Ameru Li Mah Shemo Mah Omar Aleihem,” “When I come to the Jews and say to them ‘The God of your forefathers sent me to you’ and they ask ‘what is his name’, what should I reply”(Shemot 3:13). What is even more interesting is the reply from Hashem: “Ko Tomar LiVenei Yisrael Ehyeh Shelachani Aleichem,” “This is what you should say to the Jews: Ehyeh sent me”(Shemot 3:14). What is this name and how does it answer Moshe’s question?
To answer this, one must first understand the question. The first way to read this would be simply: the Jews just want to know who this “God of [their] forefathers” is, but this does not make sense. If the Jews did not know the identity of this God, then they have lost all attachment to Hashem, so why would a name change their believing Moshe Rabbeinu? Besides, if a name is sufficient, then why doesn’t Hashem provide Moshe with signs? These points are all raised by Ramban, who comes to a different conclusion. Ramban asserts that Moshe Rabbeinu could guess Hashem’s name, but what was troubling him, was the nature of his name.
Rabbeinu Bachya Ibn Pakuda, in his work Chovot HaLevavot, says that Moshe wanted to know Hashem’s essence. Moshe never asked for Hashem’s name in a shallow way, he wanted Hashem’s essence. What is interesting is that a name expresses one’s essence. Zig Ziglar once said, “I believe it's important that we use names of endearment that reflect a special feeling for the individual involved,” and behind this is a fundamental truth: when calling someone by a certain name, it captures a certain part of that being’s essence. There might be a boy named Ephraim who is called “son” by his father, “sweetie” by his mother, and “buddy” by someone else. Yet, none of these names capture his entire essence aside from Ephraim. When his father calls him “son,” the father is looking at the boy through a certain lens that captures this boy in a certain way. The father is surely not talking to the boy the same way the person who calls him “buddy” is. It is clear that a rose by another name just might not smell as sweet.
This can likewise be applied to Hashem. When Hashem is referred to by a certain name, it is looking at Hashem through a certain lens that captures a certain part of Hashem, but not necessarily His entire essence. Thus, Moshe wanted a view that would capture Hashem’s core. When the Jews would ask for Hashem’s essence, Moshe would give it to them. Still, why would Hashem respond with this name and what does it mean?
The word “Ehyeh” literally means I will be, but this does not seem to capture Hashem’s essence in any way. Hashem reveals almost no information. However, maybe the opposite is true, Hashem reveals so much, precisely because of how little information he gives. Perhaps, the best way to capture Hashem’s essence is to say that there is no way to do so. All Hashem can tell us that we can entirely comprehend is that He is just concentrated will that we can not understand. Other than this, there is no way to understand Hashem.
This might reveal why Hashem tells this name to Moshe Rabbeinu to relay to the Jews. The Jews would want to understand Hashem, but they could never really do so in full. Therefore, Hashem tells Moshe to tell the Jews that they can’t understand Him, except for the fact that He was pure will. It is fitting that Hashem wants the Jews to know this is a point of transition when the Jews will go from being treated and working like beasts of burden to seeing the most powerful nation in the world on their knees. It would be incomprehensible to the Jews how Hashem would let them undergo such harsh conditions for so long and then have witnessed such a miraculous event, but that is the answer to their question: Hashem can not be understood, but what happens is ultimately His will. His will goes beyond anything, and, therefore, even though It can not be understood, should be accepted.
Hashem goes beyond this and goes as far as to scare Moshe and forces him to trust Him. Moshe casts his staff on the ground, only to find a snake. Now, Moshe must trust Hashem and pick the snake up. Though this might seem somewhat odd, Hashem appears to demonstrate the idea that He can not be fully understood, but what can be understood is that He is complete will. Therefore, Hashem also scares Moshe with Tzara’at.
Seforno writes that Hashem used these two signs to demonstrate that he could control life and death. My Rebbi, Rabbi Daniel Fridman, suggested that Hashem was showing that he could ‘revive’ the Jews. Despite how hopeless they felt, Hashem could lift them up. This might also explain why Moshe Rabbeinu was chosen. Moshe knew how the Jews felt and that could help him be a greater leader. When he ran away from Mitzrayim, he felt hopeless and desperate. Hashem is also telling Moshe that, he too, can be revived.
Thus, Hashem answers every question by saying his name is “Ehyeh”. He explains why the bush is not burning even though it is on fire too - this can only be explained as Hashem wanted it that way. In fact, why was Moshe chosen? Hashem has His will and can do anything, including uplifting Moshe. He also answers what His essence is; it is something that can not be fully grasped. Hashem teaches Moshe an essential part of existence, that Hashem can never be understood.