Chasidut su Esodo 6:31

And El-him spoke to Moshe, etc (Exodus 6:2) - Seems to us that [we should] explain what is in the Gemara "the wicked:their beginning is harmony and their end is suffering but the righteous: their beginning is suffering and their end is harmony" (See Genesis Rabbah 66:4). There is to say that the righteous need to serve the Blessed Creator from the beginning with awe and guard oneself from [being manipulated by] the impulse for evil, and to break every physical appetite, and this is "their beginning is suffering" and after one has merited to break every appetite and one's enemy - this is the impulse for evil - he is in peace with himself, the "their end is harmony".

Genesis 6,3. Hashem.” We need to understand ‎where and when G’d “appeared” to the patriarchs in His ‎capacity as the G’d of Shaddai. We do not find ‎the word ‎וירא‎,‎‏ ‏‎“Shaddai appeared,” in ‎connection with G’d’s addressing any of the patriarchs. ‎Moreover, why did G’d speak of ‎ידיעה‎, a form of ‎intimate knowledge, in connection with His ‎communicating with Moses and the Israelites at this ‎time?
We have learned in Sifri, Mattot, 2 that all the ‎prophetic revelations that subsequent prophets ‎experienced were due to the residue of Moses’ ‎prophetic experiences who had preceded them in this. ‎In other words, no prophet was granted a type of vision ‎that had not already been granted to Moses before ‎him. Elaborating on that subject, we read in ‎‎Yevamot 49, that all the subsequent prophets ‎were only granted blurred visions whereas Moses had ‎been granted clear visions.
It is not possible to absorb “clear” visions of the ‎Creator unless the Creator had first garbed Himself in ‎garments that diffuse the powerful light that emanates ‎from Him. [Prophets of lesser stature than ‎Moses would become too blinded by being exposed to ‎G’d before he had thus screened Himself. Ed.] ‎G’d “garbs” Himself in accordance to whom He ‎dispenses His blessings, the most minimal of these ‎‎“screens” within which He garbs Himself is known in ‎the language of our sages as ‎מאירה‎, literally, ‎‎“illuminating” but in the sense of hiding the minimum ‎possible. It is this “minimal” screen that hid G’d’s ‎essence from Moses when He communicated with him. ‎All the other prophets received their visions as ‎derivatives of the visions which Moses had received. ‎Although Moses himself “dispersed” some of his ‎prophetic powers, [notably when the 70 ‎elders were chosen to assist him, and he “dispersed” ‎some of his holy spirit to them. (Numbers 11,17) ‎Ed.] ‎‎

I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob as El-Shaddai etc. (Ex. 6:3). Rashi explained, “Alas for those who are lost and not to be found!” etc. The meaning, as is known, is that the secret of Egyptian Exile is that the True Awareness was in Exile; they could not grasp the Awareness to serve the Blessed Creator, along the lines of what is stated, Know the God of your Ancestor and serve Him (1 Chron 28:9). For in truth, Awareness is the essence that brings one to complete Reverence and Love. For once a person knows and believes that the whole earth is full of [God’s] Glory (Isaiah 6:3) and no place is void of Him, and [God] is the pleasure of all pleasures, Blessed is He and Blessed His Name, Life of Lives – if so, for any of the pleasures if you imagine, God forbid, the absence of the influence of [God’s] Blessed Light and Life-Force among the created things, Creation would return to unformed and void (Gen. 1:2). And similarly for all the Upper and Lower Worlds, if you imagine, God forbid, the absence of [God’s] Life-Force, they would be as if they never were. And if that is the case, then [Awareness of God’s presence] is the essence in all things...

"And I appeared" (Ex. 6:3) - And Rashi, Z"l, wrote "And I appeared to the patriarchs". And at a first glance, what does Rashi want with this, doesn't the verse explain [itself] 'Avraham, Yitzchak etc' and we know that they are called 'patriarchs'. And it seems that the intention of Rashi with this is that Avraham was the attribute of Love (chesed), Yitzchak the aspect of Strength (gevurah) and Yaakov, Balance (tif'eret) and they influenced one another in their aspects, and if so, how was it applicable that El Shadai was seen to all? Isn't it that holiness (kedushah) comes from above according to a person's level? However, the root of this issue is this: from the side of the Blessed Creator there is no change whatsoever, rather, according to the service done by a person in their level [holiness] continues on them. We find that Avraham continued on himself the attribute of Love, and so Yitzchak in his attribute, and also too Yaakov, but from the side of the Blessed Creator, there is unified unique simplicity, and this is why Rashi z"l explained "I appeared to the patriarchs" meaning, that with regards to the Blessed Creator there is no separation or division between them at all, and everything is one, therefore [God] appeared to them in one aspect, as El Shadai. And this is easy to understand.

"And I appeared etc as El Shadai etc" (Ex. 6:3) - And we seek to explain with what appears in the Gemara "Shadai - that said to the world, 'enough (dai)'" (Chagigah 12a:15) so it would not keep expanding. And the issue is that our sages z"l made us listen to the great goodness that the Blessed Creator did to us: it is known that the Lofty one is more realized the farther it is from the one to whom [the Lofty one] delegated [action], and it is found that were it not for the fact that [God] said to God's world 'enough!' the world would continue to expand to no end, and the husks (kelipot) from the Depths of the Great Void (Nukvah deTehomah Rabah) would have become present in the world, and now that God said 'enough!' - this is the goodness, that the husks would not become so present. And there is also "SHaDDai - " that is, that this name loosens (meShaDeD) [the laws of] Nature for the good of Israel. (see Ramban on Genesis 17:1:1)

And this is "and I appeared etc as El Shadai" (Ex. 6:3) meaning, when I appeared to the patriarchs to promise them regarding the Land of Israel, I promised to them in the name El Shadai, which loosens the divisions, so that the husks and the nations will not have a grip on the Land of Israel, even if, God forbid, Israel aren't deserving. "And My name H' I did not make known to them", meaning, I did not promised them in the name Havaya, Blessed be the One and Blessed be the Name, lest, God forbid, they come to sin, and there is strengthening of the husks and the nations will grip, God forbid, the Land of Israel - therefore God was visible to them as El Shadai. And sit with this (think about it deeply).

Another aspect of the words: ‎וארא אל אברהם אל יצחק ‏ואל יעקב‎, “I used to appear to Avraham, Yitzchok, ‎and Yaakov, etc.” We find among the writings of the ‎‎Ari z’al that he does not understand Exodus ‎‎34,7 ‎נוצר חסד לאלפים‎ “He extends loving kindness to ‎thousands,” in the generally accepted meaning, but ‎that he understands the word ‎אלפים‎ as attributes of G’d ‎beginning with the letter aleph. These ‎attributes, though all being variations of the attribute ‎Justice, are “sweetened” by G’d through an addition of ‎a dose of ‎חסד‎, loving kindness.‎
In order to understand the Ari z’al we refer ‎first to a statement in Sh’mot Rabbah 47,11 ‎according to which Moses acquired the ability to make ‎the skin of his forehead shine, give forth light, (Exodus ‎‎34,29) because a drop of ink was left over from his ‎quill when he had completed recording the portion of ‎the Torah in writing. [Difficult to understand ‎as Moses did not write the Torah on Mount Sinai. ‎Ed.]‎
The author of the Or hachayim;Midrash had in mind ‎when writing that Moses merited this reward from left ‎over ink.‎
In order to illustrate the difference between a ‎‎“humble” person spelled with the letter ‎י‎, and a ‎‎“humble” person spelled without the letter ‎י‎, we need ‎to make a few introductory remarks. On the Torah’s ‎imperative for the Jewish people to strive to be “holy,”: ‎‎(Leviticus 19,2) to be “holy,” i.e. ‎קדושים תהיו כי קדוש אני ה'‏‎, ‎‎“be holy for I the Lord am holy,” we could have ‎misunderstood this line to mean that we must strive to ‎be as holy as G’d. Midrash Rabbah Vayikra ‎Rabbah 24,9 therefore writes that the words: ‎כי ‏קדוש אני‎, “for I am holy,” in that verse are a reminder ‎that only G’d is truly holy. G’d’s holiness transcends ‎anyone else’s holiness. Anyone who endeavours to ‎sincerely sanctify himself discovers that in spite of all ‎the progress he makes in this direction that he is still ‎far removed from his objective, i.e. total holiness. If a ‎person is under the illusion that he is already a worthy ‎servant of the Lord, this is proof that he is still far ‎from having reached his goal, that in fact he has not ‎even begun the journey leading to holiness. Anyone ‎who has begun this journey is painfully aware of how ‎far he still has to travel on that road. This is what the ‎Midrash had in mind when the author wrote, ‎explaining the words: ‎כי קדוש אני ה' אלוקיכם‎, “for I the Lord ‎your G’d am holy, ‎קדושתי למעלה מקדושתכם‎, “My holiness is ‎superior to your holiness.” [The author’s ‎version of this Midrash apparently had the ‎word ‎מסתלקת‎, “is receding,” instead of the word: ‎למעלה‎ ‎‎“is superior”. Ed.] ‎
Alternatively, this concept, instead of being ‎expressed negatively, may be expressed positively, as ‎we find in Eychah rabbah 11,3 where the ‎author writes that whenever the Jewish people sanctify ‎themselves they thereby strengthen the celestial ‎entourage of the Lord, i.e. they add holiness to His ‎holiness. The Midrash quotes psalms 60,14 in ‎support of this where the psalmist writes ‎באלוקים נעשה ‏חיל‎, “we will strengthen G’d by acting valiantly.” ‎‎(Compare likutim on that statement in the ‎‎Midrash) ‎

...Exodus 6:3: Rashi explains that Hashem "appeared to our forefathers." The explanation: Hashem told Moshe that Aaron will be happy to hear about Moshe's appointment [as leader] and won't be jealous. [Normally,] when a person sees another elevated, they, filled with jealousy and hatred, say "how did you merit this?". However, a real, G-d-fearing friend will rejoice, exclaiming "I didn't merit to be a tzaddik before Hashem, and it brings great joy to me that my friend, who serves Hashem and does His will, will be rewarded in heaven." In fact, we pray "Let us see the virtue of our friends and not their faults, and we should merit to see the virtue of our friends in heaven" [this is a prayer that's said in certain Hasidic groups]. This explains the statement of the Talmud that "every person is jealous of the chuppah of their friends". This means that if he was jealous of his friend today, he'll also be jealous of him in the future. It's important to note that he'll be jealous 'of his friend chuppah' but won't be jealous of the original tzaddikim [Abraham, Yitzhak, Yaakov] because he won't merit to see their virtue. This is the meaning of Rashi's comment that "Hashem appeared to the forefathers."

[Regarding] the statement in the Holy Zohar, “Come to Pharaoh (Ex. 10:1) – it should have said ‘go to Pharaoh!’” (cf. Zohar Bo, 2:34a), as well as the question posed by the commentators, which I wrote above – the miracle of the Exodus from Egypt was that the Awareness was in exile with wicked Pharaoh in Egypt; and therefore Israel was exiled there to bring the Awareness from there. And the difficulty of the servitude made it whole, as is stated in Tikkunei Zohar: “And the Egyptians made the children of Israel to serve… in mortar [be-homer] (Ex. 1:13-14), that is [the logical argument of] ‘…and certainly…’ [kal ve-homer]; and in brick [oo-vil’venim] (Ex. 1:14), that is the heating [libbun] of halakhah; and in all manner of service in the field (Ex. 1:14), that is the external sources; in all their service, wherein they made them serve with rigor [b’farekh] (Ex. 1:14), that is argumentation [pirkha]” (Tikkun 9, Supplement 147a), which is to say that all of this was in exile in Egypt. And through their servitude they took the Awareness, which is the Torah, out of the exile. When they served in mortar they brought [the logical argument of] “…and certainly…” out of the exile, and so on for all the other servitudes as we have stated. And therefore when Moses our Teacher, peace be upon him, said, Behold, the people of Israel have not listened to me [ – How then shall Pharaoh listen to me] (Ex. 6:12), and Rashi explained, “This is one of ten ‘…and certainly…’ [arguments] in the Torah,” that is to say that when [Moses] said this “…and certainly…” [argument] he brought the “…and certainly…” [argument] in the Torah out of the exile. For the all of the Torah was in the Egyptian exile, since the Awareness was in exile; and the Awareness is the Torah. Now, the Torah begins with [the letter] bet, In the beginning [God] created etc. (Gen. 1:1); but why didn’t the Torah begin with aleph, which is the first of all the letters? Because [if that were the case] the world would not be able to exist for even one hour, and would be nullified from existence because of the letter aleph’s great brightness, since it alludes to the Champion [aluf] of the World, who is Blessed God in [God’s] Glory and [God’s] Essence, as if it were possible. But because the LORD God is a sun and shield (Psalm 84:12) – which is to say just like one can not look at the sun because of its great brightness, only by way of a shade or a shield can one look at the sun’s light – so too, as if it were possible, with a thousand thousands of thousands of distinctions without end or boundary, would it be impossible to exist because of the letter aleph’s great brightness, since it is the Champion of the World. Only by way of a shade or a shield, which is the letter bet – [only] through it does it become possible to constrain the letter aleph so that it can also be in the Torah. For after the letter bet in bereshit we find several alephs, in the word bereshit and in the words bara elohim, once it was constrained by the letter bet. And that is [the meaning of] Come [בא] to Pharaoh, which is to say through the bet the aleph will be in the Torah. And since now the Torah is in exile, therefore I have hardened his heart and [the heart of his servants] (Ex. 10:1) so that Israel will serve in mortar and in brick (Ex. 1:14) to bring the Torah out of exile. And as is stated in Tikkunei Zohar, “… in mortar [be-homer] (Ex. 1:13-14), that is [the logical argument of] ‘…and certainly…’ [kal ve-homer],” as we said above – through this they brought [the argument of] “…and certainly…” out of the exile, and so on for the other servitudes. And that is [the meaning of] that I may show these signs [otot] of mine among them (Ex. 10:1), that the letters [otiot], which belong to the Torah, must be taken out of exile. And the verse concludes, that you may tell … how I have toyed (Ex. 10:2), which is to say that I made Myself small since the Awareness was in smallness. And now you may know (Ex. 10:2), as was stated above.

When G’d tells Moses in Exodus 6,3 “I appeared ‎to Avraham,” He means that the patriarchs were ‎not privy to the “second” level of ‎ראיה‎ ‎‎“seeing=understanding,” only to the level of ‎revelations originating in a domain in which Justice, ‎דין‎ ‎is at home. This level is defined by G’d as ‎ב-אל שדי‎, the ‎power known as the “G’d Shaddai.” This name of G’d is ‎widely known in many parts of the physical universe, ‎and is an allusion to the G’d, Who, at the end of the ‎sixth day of creation said: ‎די‎, “enough,” before He ‎sanctified the seventh day, the Sabbath. G’d added ‎explicitly, that He had not revealed His name ‎‎“Hashem” to the patriarchs, i.e. ‎ושמי ה' לא נודעתי ‏להם‎. The precise meaning of the word ‎נודעתי‎ is “I ‎became revealed on the level of man gaining intimate ‎knowledge of Me,” the dimension of Me that is ‎manifest only in the regions “above” the world of ‎אותיות‎, ‎‎“letters.” In that region, as we have explained already ‎there is no ‎דין‎, attribute of Justice,” but only ‎חסד‎ the ‎attribute of love, kindness. G’d implies that it was ‎impossible for Him to reveal this aspect of Himself to ‎the patriarchs as long as He had not proven its ‎existence through His having redeemed the Israelites ‎from their miserable fate.‎
This is also the reason why G’d did not say to ‎Moses: ‎לא הודעתי להם‎, “I have not made known to them,” ‎‎(active mode), but He said ‎לא נודעתי להם‎ I have not ‎become known to them, (passive mode). ‎חסד‎, loving ‎kindness, must be experienced by the recipient ‎passively; doling it out when the recipient is not aware ‎of it, i.e. something whose seed will take time to ‎blossom and eventually ripen, cannot be defined at the ‎outset in terms of its ultimate manifestation. This ‎dimension if and when it manifests itself, does not ‎require intervention by G’d in the affairs of men ‎through miracles, but is a natural development, easily ‎recognized by those who are privileged to experience ‎it. [Some of the words in this paragraph are ‎mine. Ed.]‎

After the conclusion of Shabbos, in the wee hours of the morning, when the crazed shouts of the taskmaster terrorized them with threats of beatings if they didn’t appear immediately back at work, their nobility melted away and their holy spirits dissipated into thin air. Again, they were broken slaves. Truly they believed that God would redeem them, but one look at the bitter desperateness of their situation managed to banish any pride of past glory or glimmer of future hope far away to a remote world. Yes, they would think to themselves, they were pure, holy noblemen, , but this was in the past, like the good their souls enjoyed in heaven before they were yet born, when the candle cast a halo over their heads. Their hopes of redemption even faded further and further away, as if to a different world, while they were captive in this world, a world where Pharaoh was the mighty king, his men their powerful taskmasters, and they where the scorned children of Israel, their spirits crushed and their bodies broken. Who among them would endure the suffering and live to see their salvation? They had faith, and they were despondent, but their despondency and utter loss of hope did not result from a lack of faith. It came from the degree to which their spirits were crushed, for to believe a man need a strong sense of his self, and a soul with which to believe. But their sense of self was trampled and their souls melted. The essential ingredient that faith required was lost, and the man who could otherwise have hoped was dashed. At the times when they read their scrolls which promised redemption the spirit of Israel would well up within them and their faith was renewed, but when the oppression intensified they fell and their newly renewed faith was shattered. “They did not heed Moshe from the anguish of their spirit and cruel bondage.” (Shemos, 6:9)

Exodus 6,7. “I will acquire you to be My ‎people,….and you will know that I am ‎‎Hashem.” (The Merciful One) The ‎new revelation to Moses here is that whereas other ‎nations cannot grasp the concept of Hashem ‎with their brains at all, the Jewish people have been ‎granted this dimension of perception of ‎‎Hashem. The tool which enables us to have ‎such insight is the Torah and the commandments ‎contained in it which G’d has given to us as a gift. This ‎‎“gift” is spelled out in verse 8. As a result of making ‎proper use of these gifts we, the Jewish people, have a ‎better understanding of the Shechinah, and ‎what this term implies.‎

Exodus 6,8.“I will bring you to the land ‎that I have sworn, etc.;” this line can best be ‎explained by means of a parable. If it is someone’s ‎nature to be a “do-gooder,” and to do so ‎indiscriminately even for people who detest him and ‎obstruct him, such a person will certainly be expected ‎to dispense his generosity to those who are his friends ‎and supporters. On the other hand, if that “do-gooder” ‎is known to restrict his generosity to people who are ‎his friends and have not harmed him in any way, he ‎will not be expected to support those who actively ‎obstruct him at every opportunity. ‎

Ad-nai spoke to Moshe, saying: I am Ad-nai ; speak to Pharaoh king of Egypt all that I am speaking to you. Moshe said before Ad-nai: Here, I am of foreskinned lips, so how will Pharaoh hearken to me? Ad-nai said to Moshe: See, I make you as a god for Pharaoh, and Aharon your brother will be your prophet (Exodus 6:29-7:1) We need to be precise: What is this, that the Holy One of Blessing said to Moshe 'I am Ad-nai'? What is the connection of it, here? And second, this that God said 'speak to Pharaoh all that I am speaking [dover] to you' also is not clear, since it should have said speak to Pharaoh what I will speak [adaber] to you. What is this 'that I am speaking'? It implies that even this very saying ' I am Ad-nai', that the Holy One of Blessing said to him, will be said to Pharaoh. And this is surprising. And the rest of the specific points will become obvious on themselves. And it appears that according to the simple meaning, behold, here it is written a secret of Hashem to those who have awe of God. One needs to understand what are the secrets of Torah that all Israel calls them secrets of Torah. One cannot say that the intention is directed to the wisdom of kabbalah and the writings of the Ariz"l, and the Holy Zohar, because behold, the expression 'secret' means something that is not possible to be revealed to others at all, and aren't all these writings, the kabbalah, the Arizal's, the Zohar able to be revealed to others and explained with some effort? And if so, since they are revealed, those are not 'secrets'. But what is really a secret, that no human can reveal to any other is the secret of Hashem, meaning, the essence of Godliness that was, is and will be, and this is the essence and the root of all worlds, what can't be revealed to any human, only each person assumes for themselves the comprehension of Godliness according to their mind, and according to the abilities/proportions of their heart. And everything that a person clarifies for themselves, and attains by themselves, with great effort to grasp what their mind can grasp, ever more clear. And what one can grasp with one's mind of God's Godliness. All that is what cannot be revealed to another human, it is inside the depths of the heart, and what is inside the depths of a person's heart, and their mind. Even if one can speak to others and bring the reality of God and the awe for God, blessed, inside their hearts, it is impossible to reveal all the consciousness of one's heart to them, as it is known to all those who are alive and enter truly to service. And this is called 'secret', because this is really secret, impossible to be revealed to any other human being, what is with a person in the deep point of their heart and thought, rather, each person understands according to their efforts and their self-purifying of their physical nature. And the more a human attains, in the understanding of Godliness, in general and in particular, which is the greater levels in understanding Godliness through self-purifying and analyzing, the harder it is to explain and reveal the consciousness of heart, and this is the secret of Hashem to those who have awe of Hashem (Ps. 25:14) meaning, that always remains with them in secret, impossible to explain. The more a person has awe of Heaven, the more secret is God, blessed, with the person, [until] it is impossible to reveal the depth of the consciousness of their heart, and it is impossible to understand from that person even the smallest of the great extent of what they understand from God, blessed. And those who are not yet at such great level in their grasping of God, blessed, is more able to explain to others what is in their heart, since there are no such great depths to their heart, and the simpler ones in the people can receive from them more than from the ones who have attained greater depths, as explained. And therefore, if a person who is great in their awe of Hashem, in great attainments of understanding of God, blessed be the Name, wants to reveal the depths of their consciousness so that others will understand, that person needs to translated to another person, smaller than them, who can understand their words and then tell them to others so that they can understand due to the smaller one telling them, and so they are able to receive and understand. And from this you can understand that this is the order of learning of all of our holy Torah, Aharon entered and taught his piece etc (Eruvin 54b), see there. We now return to explain the verses above...

Exodus 6,13., “He commanded them to ‎the Children of Israel and to Pharaoh the King of ‎Egypt, etc.” The reason why Moses’ and Aaron’s ‎mission here is portrayed as a “dual” mission, i.e. to ‎the Children of Israel and to Pharaoh the King of Egypt, ‎is that there are two types of ‎צדיקים‎ righteous people ‎each of whom try to guide the people by remonstrating ‎with them to follow in the ways of the Lord. The first ‎type of ‎צדיק‎ relies primarily on his eloquence in ‎delivering inspiring words to the people. He does not ‎need to give reasons for the need to keep the laws of ‎the Torah. In this tzaddik’s opinion, telling ‎the people which is the right path to pursue in serving ‎G’d is sufficient to achieve the desired result. The ‎second category of tzaddik is not so confident ‎of his eloquence, and endeavors to demonstrate why ‎the way of the Torah is the only way to serve the Lord. ‎In our verse above we find both of these types of ‎‎tzaddikim addressed by G’d, when the Torah ‎commands the eloquent messenger of G’d Aaron, to ‎deliver his rousing speeches, and Moses, the ‎messenger suffering from a speech defect, to do what ‎he knew how to do best, to prove to the people why it ‎was in their interest to listen to G’d’s commandments ‎as conveyed by him. Both Aaron and Moses were intent ‎on convincing the people that the all-powerful and ‎totally self sufficient G’d nonetheless enjoys the ‎prayers of the Jewish people and responds to their ‎service positively. They were to explain that it was ‎these prayers that opened the gates of G’d’s treasure ‎chambers that contained the material blessing needed ‎for successful life in the lower regions of the universe.‎

Rabbi Shimon admits the awesome sanctity of the teachings which preceded him, such as the Sefer Yetzira, the Sefer haMalbush, and the Sefer of Hanokh. Rabbi Shimon was expert in them and quoted them many times in the Zohar. In the Zohar (Pinhas, 217a) Rabbi Shimon mentions the holy covenant called, “Shemesh (sun).” Elsewhere in the Zohar it says (Shemot, 3b), “Sun and shield (from Tehillim, 84:12) is a holy covenant.” So too, the Zohar calls the attribute of Malkhut (Divine Sovereignty), “Tsedek (righteousness).” “‘He met righteousness wherever he set his foot,’ (Yeshayahu, 41:2) this is the lower firmament. (Lech Lcha, 86a)” See also the Zohar, Parshat Nasso (145b), “The word v’Zot (and this) is called righteousness.” In all of these instances, when the Zohar uses these expressions for God, it is doing so only in the context of a homily, or to hint at something. In the early teachings, however, they were expressions for God. Before the giving of the Torah, God’s names were not yet revealed. At this time, God would reveal his name according to the level of the particular generation. This is as it is said (Shemot, Ch. 6), “And I appeared to Avraham, Yitzhak, and Yaakov as ‘E-l Shaddai (the Almighty).’ “ This is because the appearance of Avraham in the world heralded in what our sages call, “the two thousand years of Torah.” Truly, there are many discourses in the Tikkunei Zohar on why God is called, “Shamayim (Heavens),” and it is learned from this very verse, “And I appeared.” Yet in these discourses, no active Godly force is ascribed to the name, “Shamayim.” Notwithstanding, we know that God’s name is hidden in every force. Yet for something to be called a name of God, meaning a name which expresses the force of God, the light must be totally revealed and seen clearly as separate from any created force. That is to say, God’s name represents a direct expression flowing from God’s essence. Anything that hides God’s light, and could be considered as a separate force cannot be termed as a Godly force or a name of God.⁷⁹This chapter is essentially clarifying the difference between Monotheism and idolatry. Idolary is defined as identifying any created force as the source of power or object of veneration. The author taking great care in this passage as a misunderstanding of verses like, “Your God is a sun and a shield,” could be problematic if not properly understood. This is why the Talmud only mentions the term, “Shamayim,” referring to God in a context where it does not want, for some reason, to mention God’s name directly. When the Talmud discusses the transgression of mentioning God’s name in vain, or for no good reason, it calls it, “mentioning the name of Heaven (Shamayim) in vain.” Here the Talmud does not say God’s name out of respect. From this, it is well for one to admonish those who are accustomed to saying, “Heaven help me.” In a situation where one is simply mentioning God, it is fitting to say, “Heaven.” Yet it is forbidden to call God, “the Heavens,” in a context where one is evoking God’s force of power and influence, because the Heavens are not Godly. One could instead say, “may He be merciful from the Heavens.” “From the Heavens,” is referring to God who dwells in the Heavens, and not to the Heavens themselves. It seems that there is an error in understanding the above mentioned Zohar where Rabbi Yehuda says that the Holy One, blessed be He, is called, “The Heavens.” Yet it must be clear that when Rabbi Shimon concludes, “we are not following these early teachings, we are following the way of the Torah,” he was correcting the statement of Rabbi Yehuda.

Exodus 6,25. “the same Aaron and Moses ‎to whom G’d had said: ‘take out the Children of ‎Israel from Egypt.’” In verse 27 the Torah ‎repeats the same once more, listing Moses’ name ‎ahead of that of Aaron. Rashi, basing himself ‎on the Mechilta, comments that the Torah ‎makes a point of alternating the order in which it ‎refers to Moses and Aaron, in order to demonstrate ‎that in G’d’s eyes they were both of equal stature.‎
Since G’d addresses Moses alone, as we know from ‎verse 29, ‎וידבר ה' אל משה לאמור‎, “Hashem ‎spoke to Moses, to say, etc;” we would have ‎deduced that Moses was of greater stature than his ‎older brother Aaron. In order for us not to arrive at the ‎conclusion that Moses was considered superior, the ‎Torah mentioned the name of Aaron first in verse 27. ‎In other words, the message of the Torah to us is this: ‎although G’d reserved His words for Moses’ ears alone, ‎this does not mean that in G’d’s eyes Moses was ‎superior to Aaron. ‎
When we will be reading about the many audiences ‎Moses had with Pharaoh, we will note that invariably it ‎was Aaron who conveyed G’d’s words to Pharaoh. This ‎was because Moses had complained to G’d of his ‎speech defect that in his opinion rendered him unfit to ‎speak to Pharaoh in public. [In 7,15 when G’d ‎sends Moses to speak Pharaoh privately, warning him ‎of the plague of blood, it was not an insult for Pharaoh ‎to be addressed by a messenger who had a speech ‎defect. Ed.] In order to make the point clear ‎that Aaron was to be Moses’ mouthpiece, the Torah ‎writes in 4,16 that Aaron would be the person ‎delivering G’d’s messages to Pharaoh, but that he ‎would do so in his capacity as Moses’ “prophet.” Seeing ‎that the Torah used the expression ‎אהרן אחיך יהיה נביאך‎, ‎‎“your brother Aaron will serve as your prophet,” there ‎was still room for thinking that Aaron was superior to ‎Moses; in order to make quite clear that this was not‏ ‏the case, the Torah had to write ‎הם המדברים אל פרעה‎ “they ‎were the ones who spoke to Pharaoh, etc.” (verse 27)‎

Exodus 6,25. “the same Aaron and Moses ‎to whom G’d had said: ‘take out the Children of ‎Israel from Egypt.’” In verse 27 the Torah ‎repeats the same once more, listing Moses’ name ‎ahead of that of Aaron. Rashi, basing himself ‎on the Mechilta, comments that the Torah ‎makes a point of alternating the order in which it ‎refers to Moses and Aaron, in order to demonstrate ‎that in G’d’s eyes they were both of equal stature.‎
Since G’d addresses Moses alone, as we know from ‎verse 29, ‎וידבר ה' אל משה לאמור‎, “Hashem ‎spoke to Moses, to say, etc;” we would have ‎deduced that Moses was of greater stature than his ‎older brother Aaron. In order for us not to arrive at the ‎conclusion that Moses was considered superior, the ‎Torah mentioned the name of Aaron first in verse 27. ‎In other words, the message of the Torah to us is this: ‎although G’d reserved His words for Moses’ ears alone, ‎this does not mean that in G’d’s eyes Moses was ‎superior to Aaron. ‎
When we will be reading about the many audiences ‎Moses had with Pharaoh, we will note that invariably it ‎was Aaron who conveyed G’d’s words to Pharaoh. This ‎was because Moses had complained to G’d of his ‎speech defect that in his opinion rendered him unfit to ‎speak to Pharaoh in public. [In 7,15 when G’d ‎sends Moses to speak Pharaoh privately, warning him ‎of the plague of blood, it was not an insult for Pharaoh ‎to be addressed by a messenger who had a speech ‎defect. Ed.] In order to make the point clear ‎that Aaron was to be Moses’ mouthpiece, the Torah ‎writes in 4,16 that Aaron would be the person ‎delivering G’d’s messages to Pharaoh, but that he ‎would do so in his capacity as Moses’ “prophet.” Seeing ‎that the Torah used the expression ‎אהרן אחיך יהיה נביאך‎, ‎‎“your brother Aaron will serve as your prophet,” there ‎was still room for thinking that Aaron was superior to ‎Moses; in order to make quite clear that this was not‏ ‏the case, the Torah had to write ‎הם המדברים אל פרעה‎ “they ‎were the ones who spoke to Pharaoh, etc.” (verse 27)‎

An alternative exegesis on the use of the ‎expression by Moses of the formula: ‎כה אמר ה' כחצי הלילה ‏אני יוצא בתוך מצרים‎, “thus has said Hashem: ‘at ‎around midnight I shall go forth within Egypt, etc.’” We ‎know that all the prophets with the exception of Moses ‎introduced their prophecies with the introductory ‎word: ‎כה‎, “thus,” whereas Moses introduced his ‎prophetic announcements with the word: ‎זה‎, “this.” ‎‎(Compare Sifri Mattot 2) In this verse too the ‎question arises why Moses did not use the formula ‎involving ‎זה‎, but used only the formula used by other ‎prophets, i.e. ‎כה‎?
We will try and explain this by referring to Exodus ‎‎6,6: “therefore say to the Children of Israel: ‘I‏ ‏am ‎Hashem,‎‏ ‏I and I will take you out of Egypt from under‏ ‏the ‎סבלות‎ ‎‏ ‏of Egypt and I will save you from labouring ‎for them; I will redeem you with an outstretched arm ‎and with great judgments and I will take you to be My ‎people and I will be your G’d.” You will note that ‎the Torah describes the redemption in stages, ‎commencing with the promise to take the people out ‎from the yoke of the Egyptians, ‎מתחת סבלות‎, “from the ‎yoke, etc.”; and culminating in ‎וגאלתי אתכם בזרע נטויה‎ ‎‎“orchestrating the redemption with an outstretched ‎arm.” At that point we would have expected the Torah ‎to have written: ‎אני ה' אלוקיכם אשר גאלתי אתכם בזרוע נטויה וגו'‏‎, “I ‎am the Lord your G’d Who has redeemed you (past ‎tense) with an outstretched arm, etc.;” we also need to ‎understanding precisely what is meant by the word: ‎סבלות‎.‎
We must keep in mind that for the Jewish people ‎the Torah and its commandments constitute something ‎from which they derive pleasure and a joy of living; for ‎the gentiles, on the other hand, pleasure and joy of ‎living revolves around the consumption of despicable ‎foods, such as pigs, shellfish, etc. When a gentile or a ‎Jew who had become an apostate converts or does ‎‎teshuvah, he realizes that he had previously ‎taken a delight in things which are abominations in the ‎eyes of the Lord.‎ ‎

And this is the aspect of the four cups of wine on Passover, which correspond to the four phrases of redemption - "and I will take out... and I will save... and I will redeem... and I will take them..." (Exodus 6:6-7)...

Everything that has been handed down to us about Avram ‎suggests that he was unwavering in his faith in G’d from his very ‎youth, and certainly did not have any theological relapses. ‎Nachmanides stated with absolute certainty, basing himself on ‎Genesis 25,8 that Avram had always considered anything that ‎happened to him as being G’d’s desire and meant for his own ‎good. Nachmanides understood this as being the meaning of the ‎words: ‎זקן ושבע ימים‎, “of old age, satisfied and satisfied in years.” ‎Contrary to most people, who are described in Kohelet ‎Rabbah, 5,9 as leaving behind many unfulfilled aspirations ‎when they die, Avraham died fully fulfilled. In Baba Batra ‎‎117, as well as in Sanhedrin 91 the meaning of the word ‎מורשה‎ is discussed, there being different opinions of how the ‎distribution of the ancestral plots in the Land of Israel was ‎determined by lottery; if the lottery only applied to the tribal ‎allocations, or to families. The discussion also concerns whether ‎only Jews who partook in the Exodus or their offspring were ‎allocated land, or whether the allocation included Jews who had ‎lived before that period, including Avram, Yitzchok, etc. Avram’s ‎question of ‎במה אדע כי אירשנה‎, meant: “how will I know that I ‎personally will be included in the distribution of the land at that ‎time? He knew that he would not inherit a plot of land in Israel as ‎part of his father Terach’s merit, as he had been the first convert ‎to Judaism, something that was confirmed in Sukkah 49. ‎Since he did not endure slavery in Egypt as did the generation of ‎the Exodus, he was not sure that he would qualify at the time of ‎the distribution.
Avram’s question had been triggered by G’d ‎saying to him:, ‎לתת לך את הארץ הזאת לרשתה‎, “to give to you this ‎land in order to inherit it.” (15,7) Avram wanted to know if he ‎would live long enough to take part in the distribution of the ‎land in Joshua’s time, or how he was to understand the words: ‎לתת לך‎, “to give to you.” The Talmud in Sukkah 49 quotes ‎psalms 47,10 where we encounter the expression ‎עם אלוקי אברהם‎, ‎‎“the nation that worships the G’d of Avraham”; a sage raised ‎question whether G’d perhaps is not also the G’d of the people of ‎Yitzchok and the G’d of the people of Yaakov.” The answer given ‎is that Avraham was the first convert from which the Jewish ‎people developed, so that he enjoys a special status. As a reward, ‎G’d gave the land of Israel especially to him. Avraham wanted to ‎know if, since the land of Israel becomes a ‎מורשה‎, his share would ‎be due to his father bequeathing it to him. The term ‎ירש‎, “to ‎inherit,” always implies that one inherits from a father. If ‎Avram’s question had been ‎במה אדע כי תתן לי‎, “how will I know ‎that You give it to me,” it would have been inappropriate, of ‎course. G’d had spoken about “giving;” Avram asked only about ‎the hereditary aspect, ‎אירשנה‎.
We will deal with the expression ‎במה אדע‎, somewhat later in this paragraph.‎ When G’d introduced His reply to Avram’s question with the ‎words: ‎ידוע תדע כי גר יהיה זרעך‎, “you must truly realize that your ‎descendants will be strangers, etc.,” this can best be understood ‎when referring to a commentary by the Zohar I 87 on the ‎verse: (Genesis 2,4)‎אלה תולדות השמים והארץ בהבראם ‏‎. The letter ‎ה‎ in ‎smaller script in the middle of this word alerts the reader not to ‎read the word as a single word, but as ‎באברהם ברא‎, i.e. G’d created ‎the universe on account of, or with the eventual assistance of ‎Avraham.” Had G’d not foreseen that someone like Avram will be ‎born, He would not have considered it worth His while to create ‎the human race. The fact that Avraham, on his own, without ‎prompting, would proclaim the name of the Creator, made it ‎worth G’d’s while to put up with all the sins man would commit. ‎Avraham would be the one to acquaint his peers with the concept ‎that G’d is One, is unique, is in charge of the universe and yet had ‎granted the creatures he made in His image freedom of choice to ‎choose their own path in life. The fact that this Avraham would ‎sire a Yitzchok, and Yitzchok in turn would sire a Yaakov who ‎raised 12 sons who would form the nucleus of the Jewish nation, a ‎nation of priests, made it all worthwhile for G’d. When the Jewish ‎people collectively accepted G’d’s Torah, without critically ‎examining what was written therein first, this was a crowning ‎moment not only for the Jewish people, but it enabled G’d to ‎converse with a mortal human being, Moses, as if he were on His ‎own level, i.e. ‎פנים אל פנים‎, face to face.‎
When G’d introduced His reply to Avram’s question with the ‎words: ‎ידוע תדע כי גר יהיה זרעך‎, “you must truly realize that your ‎descendants will be strangers, etc.,” this can best be understood ‎when referring to a commentary by the Zohar I 87 on the ‎verse: (Genesis 2,4)‎אלה תולדות השמים והארץ בהבראם ‏‎. The letter ‎ה‎ in ‎smaller script in the middle of this word alerts the reader not to ‎read the word as a single word, but as ‎באברהם ברא‎, i.e. G’d created ‎the universe on account of, or with the eventual assistance of ‎Avraham.” Had G’d not foreseen that someone like Avram will be ‎born, He would not have considered it worth His while to create ‎the human race. The fact that Avraham, on his own, without ‎prompting, would proclaim the name of the Creator, made it ‎worth G’d’s while to put up with all the sins man would commit. ‎Avraham would be the one to acquaint his peers with the concept ‎that G’d is One, is unique, is in charge of the universe and yet had ‎granted the creatures he made in His image freedom of choice to ‎choose their own path in life. The fact that this Avraham would ‎sire a Yitzchok, and Yitzchok in turn would sire a Yaakov who ‎raised 12 sons who would form the nucleus of the Jewish nation, a ‎nation of priests, made it all worthwhile for G’d. When the Jewish ‎people collectively accepted G’d’s Torah, without critically ‎examining what was written therein first, this was a crowning ‎moment not only for the Jewish people, but it enabled G’d to ‎converse with a mortal human being, Moses, as if he were on His ‎own level, i.e. ‎פנים אל פנים‎, face to face.
Moses reminded the people in Deut. 5,4 how 40 years earlier, ‎when most of them had not yet been alive, G’d had addressed the ‎whole nation on the ‎פנים אל פנים‎ “face to face level,” [until the ‎people asked Moses to be their interpreter instead. Ed.] At that ‎time all creatures on earth were in awe of their Creator. When the ‎people had consecrated the Tabernacle in the desert as a “home” ‎for Hashem in the lower parts of the universe, G’d took delight in ‎the world He had created, as we know from Taanit 26 where ‎the Talmud understands Song of Songs 3,11 ‎ביום חתונתו וביום שמחת ‏לבו‎, “on His wedding day, the day when His heart rejoices,” as ‎referring to G’d’s feelings on the day of the revelation at Mount ‎Sinai, and the day when the Tabernacle was consecrated, ‎respectively. This is the kind of ‎נחת רוח‎, “pleasure, satisfaction,” ‎that man in the lower part of the universe can contribute to G’d ‎in the loftier spheres, in heaven. On both of these occasions the ‎joy was reciprocal, G’d showing that He can associate with ‎earthlings and take pleasure from this. The Israelites’ enthusiastic ‎response after the splitting of the sea and their miraculous and ‎escape from Pharaoh’s pursuing armies, was another occasion ‎when the reciprocal nature of the relationship between G’d and ‎His “chosen” people was demonstrated publicly. Nowadays, ‎almost 4000 years later, we recall these events and praise the Lord ‎every week when we pronounce the blessings over wine. Not a ‎day goes by without our giving thanks to the Lord for the Exodus ‎from Egypt‎.
At the time when Avram lived, the world, i.e. the planet earth ‎and man on it, was still in a state of semi-collapse, its continued ‎existence far from assured, until Yitzchok and Yaakov continued ‎the work that Avram had started when he kept proclaiming the ‎power and goodness of the Creator. This assurance of the earth’s ‎continued existence was only confirmed with the creation of the ‎Jewish people, and this people’s leaving Egypt as G’d’s people, ‎after having slaughtered the Passover, and proven that they ‎considered the Creator as their highest authority.
The Tur, commenting on why we mention the Exodus ‎of Egypt in the weekly Kiddush, as opposed to the ‎‎Kiddush on the festivals whose link to the Exodus is self-‎evident, explains that the Sabbath harbours within it the ‎כח ‏המוליד‎, the power that enables creatures to regenerate themselves ‎by producing offspring. This “power” is conditional on the ‎observance of the Sabbath (in some form). Terach, Avram’s ‎father, while able to produce physical offspring, was unable to ‎produce offspring equipped with the kind of soul that would be ‎active in spreading the message that G’d is the one and only ‎Creator. [I have not been able to find where the Tur writes ‎this, although he writes about man as well as most other living ‎creatures becoming endowed with the ability to procreate bodies ‎in his Torah commentary. (Genesis 2,3)

An alternate approach to the line: ‎במה אדע כי אירשנה‎. There is ‎no question that Avram did not request a sign from G’d as proof ‎that his as yet unborn descendants would inherit the land of ‎Canaan.
The idea that his claim to the land of Canaan could be ‎remotely due to his having Terach as a father never even ‎occurred to him. If we needed proof of that, we need only recall ‎the Talmud B’rachot 16, according to which the Jewish ‎people have only three patriarchs and 4 matriarchs. The title ‎‎“patriarch” implies that one is the “root” of the son whom one ‎has sired by means of transmitting seed from the brain, the seat ‎of one’s intelligence, which transmits it to the semen. It follows ‎that the thoughts that preoccupy the father at the time when he ‎engages in marital relations are transmitted through his semen to ‎the ovum upon merging with it. If the father-to-be thinks holy ‎thoughts at the appropriate time, some of these will be ‎transferred to his seed, etc. There can be little doubt that ‎Avraham was not the product of a father who entertained such ‎godly thoughts when he helped conceive him. How could he ‎therefore be considered a patriarch of the Jewish people? Terach ‎was wholly consumed by thoughts and desires centered around ‎the physical part of his existence on earth. If his offspring was of ‎a diametrically opposite orientation this could not have been ‎attributed to his biological father at all. It must have been due to ‎G’d’s desire that with the development of the fetus resulting in ‎Avram, G’d intended to lay the foundation of a Jewish nation. We ‎can think of it in terms of G’d providing some additional spiritual ‎light to His universe at the time of Avram’s birth. He was ‎destined to become a new type of “tree of life,” albeit outside the ‎boundaries of Gan Eden. According to Ari’zal, Terach ‎and his wife became the “go-between” before this light could be ‎made available in the terrestrial domain of the universe in order ‎to assuage the feelings of Satan, who would otherwise have ‎accused G’d of having favoured the creatures in the “lower” part ‎of the universe. The fact that Terach, i.e. what he represented as ‎a merchant of idols, sired Avraham according to the norms ‎prevailing in our part of the “lower” universe, deprived Satan of ‎the opportunity of accusing G’d of such favoritism of the human ‎race versus other loftier regions and their inhabitants. [I have not ‎seen the words of the Ari’zal, but I trust that I have ‎understood them correctly. Ed.] The essential thing to remember ‎is that the actual birth of Avram was a result through ‎intervention by Divinely inspired intelligence.
Terach does not ‎feature at all in the ‎אב‎ part of Avram’s name; no part of his ‎intellect provided the characteristic in Avram’s personality that ‎enabled him to develop as he did.
[It is important to ‎remember, especially for people who have little background in ‎kabbalah, that the idea of G’d predetermining a person’s lifestyle ‎and his abilities has been spelled out in the Bible when G’d told ‎Jeremiah that He had destined him to be the prophet during the ‎period when the Temple was in danger of being destroyed. G’d ‎was nearing the end of His patience with the Jewish state of that ‎period even before he had been conceived. (Jeremiah 1,4) Ed.] In ‎spite of all the reasons for disqualifying Terach from being given ‎any credit as the indirect founder of the Jewish people, the fact ‎that Avram had spent 9 months inside the womb of his mother ‎after she had been impregnated with his semen, Avram was ‎required to undergo 10 “tests,” in order to cleanse himself ritually ‎from the spiritual contamination he experienced in his mother’s ‎womb.
Rashi [not found there, Ed.] writes about this ‎aspect of the ten trials Avraham had to undergo in his ‎commentary on Exodus 6,8 ‎נתתי אותה לכם מורשה אני ה'‏‎, “I have ‎given it to you as an inheritance, I am the Lord.” [The ‎contradiction in this verse is obvious; since when is an ‎inheritance “given?” it is transmitted from father to son upon ‎the father’s death! Ed.]

Regardless, of where that Rashi may be, both in our ‎chapter as well as in Exodus 6,8 G’d speaks about the gift of the ‎land of Canaan becoming an inheritance. If Terach had been ‎involved in the matter, why would G’d have to “give” the land to ‎Avram first? In his commentary on Choshen Mishpat, on the ‎section dealing with the laws of inheritance, the author of ‎‎Meirat Eynayim states that the expression ‎ירושה‎, ‎inheritance, in legal parlance, applies only to property inherited ‎from one’s biological father. From the wording in Exodus 6,8 as ‎well as from the wording in Genesis 15,18 it is clear that G’d ‎considers Himself as Avram’s “father” in the matter of bestowing ‎on him the “gift” of the land. His offspring, or the part of his ‎offspring to whom he deeds it, will henceforth “inherit.” It. When ‎Avram heard this, he was unclear if he had understood correctly, ‎as he had never heard of an inheritance originating as a gift. ‎Hence he asked ‎במה אדע כי אירשנה‎, by what legal process can I be ‎sure that it will be mine as something to bequeath?” In other ‎words, “who is my father from whom I can inherit this land?” ‎Avram’s question reflects his awareness that “his father” in this ‎instance could not possibly be Terach. In response to Avram’s ‎concerns, G’d answered him: “You shall be aware that your ‎descendants in their formative stages will experience both being ‎strangers and even slaves until at the end of the 400 years, I will ‎judge the people who have subjugated them and treated them ‎cruelly, so that they will leave that land with vast possessions.” ‎G’d’s message to Avram is that the Exodus of this people from the ‎land of their oppression will be due to their being his direct ‎descendants. His very birth paved the way for the Jewish people ‎to come into existence and to in due course accept the very ‎Torah that Avram had already been observing without having ‎been commanded to do so.
In light of this, your very birth ‎through Divine input of some holy spirit, seeing that I am your ‎‎“father,” enables Me to speak to you of “inheriting” the land that ‎I am promising to your descendants.” G’d implied that Avram had ‎been quite correct in surmising that Terach had nothing to do ‎with the events occurring in Avram’s future.‎ The author refers to his exegesis of a statement in Baba ‎Batra 117 where the Talmud states that the so-called ‎‎“inheritance” of the Israelites being given the land of Canaan, is ‎quite different from ordinary inheritances. Normally, the living ‎inherit the dead. In the case of the Israelites receiving ancestral ‎land in the Land of Canaan, the dead inherited the living. The ‎‎“normal” process of inheritance is based on the son being a ‎branch of the father, [the father being the trunk. Ed.] The trunk ‎‎(father) provides the elements that enable the branch to achieve ‎its perfection (producing fruit). This parable does not fit the ‎Jewish people and its development. In the history of the Jewish ‎people, the “dead” are the generation of the Israelites that ‎experienced the Exodus as adults, who although not physically ‎living to experience the conquest of the land, “inherited” it, ‎since, but for their existence the next generation could not have ‎taken possession of this land.