Commento su Esodo 3:23

אחר המדבר [HE LED THE SHEEP] BEHIND THE DESERT — in order to keep them away from private property (גֶזֵל i. e. things which can be appropriated only as the result of “robbery”) — that they should not graze in other people’s fields (Exodus Rabbah 2:3).

MOSES, TENDING THE FLOCK ETC. The Holy One, blessed be He, appeared to him and commanded him to return to Egypt, and Moshe did not want to do so, because he was afraid until the Holy One, blessed be He, told him, "all the men who sought to kill you are dead" -- this is Par'oh, who had died. That is why it says (Exod. 2:23), "the king of Egypt died," to testify to what the Holy One, blessed be He, said, that "all the men ... are dead." This is similar to (Gen. 9:18) "Ham being the father of Canaan."

ויבא אל הר האלוקים חורבה. Moses, all by himself; he wanted to pray and meditate there in complete isolation and concentration. The phrase is similar to Numbers 13,22 ויבא עד חברון, where we find that one of the spies, Calev, reportedly, came to Chevron. [the sudden singular ויבא instead of ויבואו, there prompted the sages to say that Calev went to pray at the graves of the patriarchs. Ed.]

ומשה היה רועה…וינהג את הצאן, And Moses was a shepherd….and he led the sheep, etc. The Torah means that G'd had His hand in this, i.e. He caused the sheep to move in that direction. Alternatively, it means that Moses was in the habit of guiding his flocks as usual but the sheep walked to that mountain on that occasion for G'd wanted to speak to him there.

וינהג את הצאן אחר המדבר. “he guided the flock out into the wilderness;” Ibn Ezra understands this expression in light of the fact that Midian was sort of a satellite state, subject to Pharaoh’s sphere of political influence. This necessitated that Moses became a shepherd, a vocation that enabled him to operate beyond the reach of Pharaoh and his secret service. Once G’d told him that Pharaoh and the members of his regime whom he had fled had died, he was able to name his son Eliezer by saying that G’d had saved him from the sword of Pharaoh. (compare Exodus 18,4)

Kap. 3. V. 1. מדבר ist zunächst nicht Wüste in dem Sinne einer öden Steppe, vielmehr weist das Wort selbst auf eine zur Viehtrift sich eignende Gegend hin. Grundbedeutung von דבר (verwandt mit דור: Zeitgenossenreihe, Geschlecht, auch טור ,תור: Reihe, תפר: aneinander nähen) eine Verbindung gleichartiger Dinge. Daher auch דוברות: Floß, דבורה: Bienenschwarm und ganz speziell: ורעו כבשים כרברם ,דֹבֶר (Jes. 5, 17) כעדר בתוך הדברו (Micha 2, 12): die Vereinigung der Herde. So auch das Zusammen führen der Völker unter einen Herrn, וַיַדְבֵר עמים תחתי (Ps. 18, 48). — Der Choreb wird hier bereits Gottesberg genannt; denn zur Zeit des Niederschreibens war dort ja bereits die Gesetzesoffenbarung geschehen. Tief bedeutsam aber ist es, dass hier die Erlösung vom Choreb ausgeht, von der künftigen Geburtsstätte des Gesetzes. Es hat damit von vornherein die Erlösung nur מתן תורה zum Ziele, das Volk hierher zu führen, und es hier zum Volke des Gesetzes zu konstituieren.

וינהג את הצאן, “he led the flock after the desert.” The choice of the word אחר here is to serve as a hint that when G–d’s flock in the desert, i.e. the generation that left Egypt as adults had all died, and he had been buried where they had been buried, in the desert, He could bring the next generation to the land of Israel right away; this is why the verse ends with describing the mountain where Moses stood as being already “the Mountain of G–d.”

אל הר האלהים TO THE MOUNTAIN OF GOD — Scripture so names it with reference to what happened there in the future (Sifrei on Deuteronomy 1:24).

אל הר האלוקים חרבה, “to Mount Chorev, the mountain of G’d.” Some people are astounded and cannot understand that Moses took the sheep of his father-in-law such a great distance away from Midian, seeing that the territory of Midian is far to the east of Sinai. Pirkey de Rabbi Eliezer (chapter 40) claims that on occasion the flock Moses tended went for 40 consecutive days without food.

אחרי המדבר, “beyond the desert.” [Presumably Moses went beyond the desert to avoid encroaching on privately owned land for Yitro’s sheep to graze on. Ed.]

חרבה, “near Mount Chorev;” this is about 3 days’ march from the border of Egypt, as we know from Exodus 5,3, where Moses asks permission for his people to offer sacrifices there to Hashem and he asks for them to be allowed to walk that distance, i.e. three days’ march. The reason why the Mountain is better known as Sinai, is because this is where the miracle of the burning bush, סנה occurred. (Ibn Ezra)

בלבת אש means IN A FLAME OF FIRE, i. e. in the very heart of (לב) the fire. Similarly is לב used of inanimate objects in: (Deuteronomy 4:11) “in the heart of (לב) heaven”; (II Samuel 18:14) “in the midst of (לב) the terebinth”. Do not be puzzled by the ת, although the ordinary word for heart, לב. does not require the suffix ת in the construct form, because we have another example of this form, viz., (Ezekiel 16:30) “how weak is thy heart (לבתך)”.‎

AND THE ANGEL OF THE ETERNAL APPEARED UNTO HIM IN A FLAME OF FIRE. Because Scripture originally states, And the angel of the Eternal appeared, and then it goes on to say, And when the Eternal saw that he turned aside to see, G-d called unto him,¹³⁵Verse 4. Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra explained that elohim mentioned here [in the second verse] is the angel mentioned [in the first], as in the verse, For I have seen ‘elohim’ face to face.¹³⁶Genesis 32:31. The reference there is to an angel. See Ramban on Verses 26 and 30, there. The expression, I am the G-d of thy father,¹³⁷Verse 6. is a case of the deputy speaking in the name of Him Who sent him.¹³⁸See Vol. I, p. 260, for a similar instance. But this is not correct. Moses the greatest in prophecy, would not have hidden his face from an angel [as is related in Verse 6].
Our Rabbis have said in Bereshith Rabbah:¹³⁹Bereshith Rabbah 97:4. The complete quote mentioned here by Ramban is found in Shemoth Rabbah 2:8. “Angel. This refers to the angel Michael. Wherever Rabbi Yosei Ha’aruch¹⁴⁰Literally: “Rabbi Yosei the tall one.” He was an outstanding pupil of Rabbeinu Hakadosh, or Rabbi Judah the Prince, redactor of the Mishnah. was seen, people would say, ‘There is Rabbeinu Hakadosh.’ Similarly, wherever the angel Michael appears, there is also present the Glory of the Divine Presence.” The Rabbis intended to say that at first, the angel Michael appeared to Moses, and there was also the Glory of the Divine Presence, but Moses did not see the Glory, as he had not duly prepared his mind for prophecy. When he duly prepared his heart for it and he turned aside to see, then the vision of the Divine Presence revealed itself to him, and G-d called unto him out of the midst of the bush.¹³⁵Verse 4.

איננו אוכל. Even at the point where the flame came forth from the bush there was no evidence of coal or ash.

וירא מלאך ה' אליו, in a prophetic vision. When angels appear to humans in human garb this is not considered a prophetic vision, i.e. it is something of a lower order of Divine manifestation. Divine communications to Avraham, Lot, Bileam, and others like them are not described as וירא, vayeyrah, “it appeared.” However, the recipient is described as וירא, “he saw,” i.e. he is described only in his active role, not his role as receptacle of G’d’s communication. Examples of the latter kind of communication occur in Genesis 18,2 as well as in Genesis 19,1 and in Numbers 22,31.

1 "He saw an angel": and then it explains what he saw, since in all places the Holy Blessed One does [G!d's own] mission.

וירא מלאך ה', “An angel of the Lord appeared to him;” First the Torah reports that an angel of the Lord appeared to Moses, and afterwards we read that G’d saw that Moses had taken note of the spectacle of the burning bush whereupon G’d called out to him. This prompted Ibn Ezra to say that the word אלוקים in verse 4 refers to the angel mentioned in verse 2 as מלאך ה', “an angel of the Lord.” We find a parallel construction in Genesis 32,31 where Yaakov describes himself as having “seen G’d face to face.” This in spite of the fact that G’d had described himself to Yaakov as “the G’d of your father.” The fact is that the messenger is permitted to assume the name of the One Who has dispatched him while he is carrying out the instructions of his master. [clearly, Yaakov had not had a vision of G’d Himself, face to face, something which is impossible, as explained by G’d to Moses in Exodus Ed.] Nachmanides disagrees with the commentary of Ibn Ezra, claiming that Moses, the most outstanding of all the prophets would certainly not be afraid to look at the vision of an angel, a vision granted to many prophets who were inferior to him. He goes on to say that our sages describe the angel Moses saw as being Michael, a most high ranking angel, not one of the lower ranking angels that appeared to other prophets. He identified this angel with the one described by Yaakov before his death as המלאך הגואל אותי in Genesis Elsewhere this angel is described by G’d as incorporating some of G’d’s essence, שמי, “within him.” (compare Exodus 23,21). (see Bereshit Rabbah 97,3 that whenever Rabbi Yossi ha-aruch is mentioned the listeners felt that his mentor, Rabbi Yehudah hanassi, was personally present. [Rabbi Yossi ha-aruch was not only a disciple but a personal valet of Rabbi Yehudah hanassi while the latter was alive. Ed.] The Midrash brings this example in order to illustrate the concept of angels of the caliber of, for instance, the one describing himself as שר צבא ה' in Joshua This type of angel, the one described as bearing the name of the Lord, is understood as being the category closest to the throne of G’d in the celestial regions. At the revelation of the burning bush, Moses encountered one of these angels.

V. 2. לבת von לבב, wie לב, das Innere, die Mitte des Feuers. Der Engel erschien somit in der Mitte des Feuers und das Feuer war in der Mitte des Dornbusches, das Feuer umloderte also den Dornbusch nicht, es kann also die Bedeutung der Erscheinung nicht gewesen sein, dass hier ein Dornbusch im Feuer stand, ohne zu verbrennen und also auch nicht haben veranschaulicht werden sollen: Israel werde in dem Galut nicht untergehen. Vielmehr, wie es auch die Weisen auffassen: das Feuer ruht im Dornbusch und der Engel im Feuer, so ja auch später: שוכני סנה. Wie es bei מתן תורה heißt: והר סיני עשן כלו מפני אשר יוד עליו ד׳ כאש (Schmot Kap. 19.18) und ומראה כבוד ד' כאש אכלת בראש ההר (K. 24, 17), so kündigt sich das im irdischen Kreis Stätte nehmende und finden sollende Göttliche immer als Feuer an, die תורה selbst ist nichts, als das zum Gesetz sich gestaltende Feuer — אש דת — das auch als solches Feuerskraft und Feuerbestimmung behält, uns durchdringen und läutern, wärmen und beleben will, und das wir, durch Dahingebung aller unserer Beziehungen als לחם אשה ד׳, als "Nahrung des göttlichen Feuers" auf Erden, nähren und erhalten sollen. Die Gotteserscheinung im Dornbusch spricht daher, allgemein gefasst, die bedeutsame Wahrheit aus: אין מקום פנוי בלא שכינה אפי׳ סנה, auch die niedrigste Stätte ist nicht zu niedrig, um Stätte für das Göttliche zu werden, alles Irdische, auch das in den Augen der Menschen Geringfügigste, hat die Bestimmung und Fähigkeit, Träger des Göttlichen zu werden (והסנה איננו אכל ,(שמות רבה: und nicht Vernichtung durchs Göttliche, sondern Verbindung mit dem Göttlichen heißt die Aufgabe für jegliches, das sich dem Aufnehmen des Göttlichen in sein Inneres öffnet; oder, national begriffen, spricht es: שותף אני בצערן ,עמו אנכי בצרה, auch in dieser dornvollen Erniedrigung bin ich bei ihm, nehme Teil an seinen Leiden, bin mit ihm im "Dorn". (Ebendas.)

”out of the burning bush.” The reason that G–d chose this bush to reveal Himself in was that one could not construct a deity or symbol of a deity out of the bush.

בלבת אש, “in the heart of the fire;” G-d wanted Moses to get used to such a phenomenon so that when the time came for the revelation at Mount Sinai, he would not become frightened by either it or the lightning.

מתוך הסנה OUT OF THE MIDST OF A BUSH (a thornbush) — and not from any other tree, in accordance with the idea (Psalms 91:15) “I will be with him in trouble” (Midrash Tanchuma, Shemot 14).

AND, BEHOLD, THE BUSH ‘BO’EIR’ (BURNED) WITH FIRE. [The word bo’eir] has the same meaning as doleik (burning),¹⁴¹Ramban’s intent is to solve this difficulty: In the verse before us it says, and, behold, the bush ‘bo’eir’, and in Verse 3 it says that Moses asked, why the bush is not ‘yiv’ar’? Ramban explains that in the first case, bo’eir has the same meaning as doleik (burning), while yiv’ar means “consumed.” i.e., [the bush] was in the midst of a burning fire, and it is like the verse, and the fathers ‘m’va’arim’ the fire,¹⁴²Jeremiah 7:18. meaning, “kindling” and burning the wood with fire. But the expression, why the bush is not ‘yiv’ar’?¹⁴³Verse 3. means, “why is it not consumed and wasted?” Similarly, As flax that was ‘ba’aru’ with fire¹⁴⁴Judges 15:14. means “consumed.” And so is the opinion of Onkelos, who translated the first [bo’eir] as bo’eir (burning), and the second one [yiv’ar] as mitokad, [the Aramaic word for “consumed”]. It may be that yiv’ar has the same meaning as in the verses, ‘Uvi’arta’ (So shalt thou put away) the evil from the midst of thee;¹⁴⁵Deuteronomy 17:7. Then a man useth it ‘l’va’eir’ (for fodder).¹⁴⁶Isaiah 44:15. The expression “for fodder” suggests destruction and annihilation. See R’dak, (mentioned in my Hebrew commentary, p. 288), who so interprets this verse. Here then the sense of the verse would be: “why does the fire not remove or eat up the bush altogether?” Such is the style of the Sacred Language to use [one term in the same instance with two different meanings], as in the verse: They rode on thirty ‘ayarim’ (ass colts) and they had thirty ‘ayarim’ (cities).¹⁴⁷Judges 10:4. Thus the word ayarim has two separate meanings in the same verse. In the instance before us here, the Hebrew root bo’eir is used with two separate meanings: burning, and consuming or removing.

וירא והנה הסנה בוער באש, it kept burning; This phenomenon indicated the prophetic nature of the experience. Unless the angel had been within the bush, this could not have happened as something natural. The fire Moses saw burning enveloped the angel. The implied message was that the righteous members of the Jewish people, who are themselves angels of G’d, i.e. His messengers on earth, and who are surrounded by the Egyptian nation who treated them as burning thistles or less, would themselves become subject to this fire when enduring the ten plagues, but would remain unharmed by all those plagues. This is what Moses was taught when he saw והסנה איננו אוכל. it was not consumed by the flames which kept burning. The level of Moses’ prophecy at that time was not yet at the level it would be later on. The very fact that the Torah describes Moses as being even afraid to look at the spectacle before his eyes is proof of this (compare verse 6). From the day the Torah was given, as the Torah testifies in Numbers 12,8 ותמונת ה' יביט, G’d extended the power of Moses’ prophetic visions so that He shows him a visual image of G’d. The entire Jewish people had had a brief revelation of G’d’s glory at Mont Sinai only. Their power of endurance was so limited even at that time that the Torah reports them as saying that they could not even endure hearing the voice of the Lord, not to speak of enduring a visual image. Only Moses was able to retain the level of prophecy which the entire nation experienced during the revelation at Mount Sinai. This is the meaning of Deuteronomy 5,27-28 שובו לכם לאהליכם ואתה פה עמוד עמדי, “you (pl.) go back to your tents, and you (sing.) remain standing here beside Me.” This is also borne out by Exodus 20,18 ויעמוד העם מרחוק, “the people stood at a distance,” followed by ומשה נגש, “whereas Moses approached.” (to the cloud within which the glory of G’d was enveloped). Moses’ level of prophecy from that time on remained on the level known as פנים אל פנים, “face to face,” i.e. direct, not indirect. G’d told Miriam and Aaron there that He does not speak to Moses in riddles but by showing him a visual image (Numbers 12,8)

"In the heart of the fire": libah instead of lehava, and thus in the Mishna [Bava Qama 6:4]. From the bush [sneh]: from the thorn bushes that were on that mountain, and thence it was called Sinai (cf. ibn Ezra). Now the bush was on fire, but it was not really burning, but was surrounded by flames like a burning object, since the fire was flashing between the thorns, but did not take to them, and thus at first Moses saw the fire amid the bush, and the bush flashing with fire, and then he saw that it was not burnt, and he said: 'Let me turn aside to see' why this bush is not burning. The root b.'.r. in Qal is an active verb, and its meaning is the flames of fire and also the burning of the object which is on fire, since it is customary in the world that there is no separation between the flames and the burning, but here the bush was on fire, but was not burnt.

והנה הסנה בוער, “and lo, the bush continued burning.” The word בוער is equivalent to the expression דולק באש, “is in flames.” As to the Torah describing Moses as wanting to investigate why the bush did not turn into ash,מדוע לא יבער הסנה הסנה, he marveled at the phenomenon, seeing that flax in similar circumstances would have disintegrated into ash without delay. It is also possible to understand the word יבער as a form of בעור, destruction, elimination, as in ובערת הרע מקרבך, “you must eliminate evil from your midst.” (Deut. 13,6 and 8 other times in the Torah) Some commentators follow a forced approach to the words אסורה נא ואראה, understanding these words as an introduction to the statement that Moses wanted to find out why this bush would not be consumed by the flames. [I suppose the reason why our author describes this interpretation as “forced,” is that the Torah had already described Moses as having observed the phenomenon. He had not remained at a safe distance. Ed.]

An angel of Hashem appeared. Moshe’s prophecy was unique and unlike that of the other prophets in the following ways: 1) Other prophets received Hashem’s word in a dream, and Moshe prophesized while fully conscious. 2) The other prophets fell into a trance and trembling and lost control of their body, whereas Moshe was upright and in control of his faculties. 3) The other prophets saw visions influenced by their imagination, but Moshe received prophecy directly to his intellect without interference from the imagination, thus, he saw no visions. 4) The others prophesized in riddles and metaphors that lack clarity, but Moshe prophesized in complete clarity. 5) Other prophets received Hashem’s word by means of an angel, but Moshe spoke to Hashem face to face. However, the vision in this verse demonstrates that Moshe also began his prophecy as the other prophets. For in this first prophecy Hashem spoke to him by means of “an angel;” secondly, he saw a vision influenced by the imagination, for the angel appeared to him as “a blaze of fire from amid the bush;” thirdly, the prophecy was a riddle and a metaphor, for “the bush was burning in the fire but the bush was not consumed”.

מתוך הסנה, some commentators explain that seeing that an angel is a completely disembodied “intelligence,” has no physical aspect at all, he could not be presented as if it had emanated from something etched into stone or painted onto something.

אֻכָּל means DEVOURED, eaten. It is of the same grammatical form as, (Deuteronomy 21:3) “which hath not been wrought with (עֻבַּד)”; (Genesis 3:23) “whence he was taken (לֻקַח):

"Consumed": Passive pa'al, see my grammar, sections 374, 422.

והסנה איננו אוכל, “but the bush was not being consumed by the fire.” This was a symbol for both Israel and the Egyptians. The Israelites’ enemy, Egypt, is portrayed as an all consuming fire, while his prey, Israel, is supposed to be represented by the bush that refuses to be consumed by the fire. (Sh’mot Rabbah 2,5)

אָסוּרָה means I WILL TURN ASIDE from here in order that I may approach thither.

אסורה נא ואראה; I will try and understand the phenomenon by looking at it more closely. מדוע לא יבער הסנה. Why the Egyptians do not perish from the many plagues they have to endure. The normal reaction to burning is that the object afire is consumed by the fire, as mentioned in Ovadiah 18.

מדוע לא יבער הסנה, “why the bush refused to burn up and turn into ash.” The root בער used here for burning up is used to describe the process of something being utterly destroyed, leaving no trace of having existed. Compare the confession of the farmer in Deuteronomy 26,13: בערתי הקודש מן הבית, “I have utterly destroyed anything sacred from the house;” my teacher preferred to interpret Moses’ words as being phrased as a question: “seeing that the fire has not consumed the bush, why is this so?”

מדוע לא יבאר הסנה, “why the bush fails to burn.” This is a verse that has been artificially shortened. After having observed that the bush had not been consumed by the fire, Moses wanted to investigate the reason for this, i.e. “why does it not burn?” As it is written, it makes no sense, since Moses had witnessed that it was burning; he had only not observed the outcome of this, i.e. that the fibers would be turning into ash.

וירא ה', the angel, who is called “G’d,” seeing he is carrying out G’d’s assignment.

וירא ה' כי סר לראות, When G’d saw that Moses took a deeper interest in the phenomenon,

ויאמר הנני, he said: "I am ready." This was different from the time G'd first called out to the prophet Samuel (Samuel I, 3,4) when Samuel thought that the High Priest Eli had called him. Moses knew right away that G'd was speaking to him. This was because Moses was a prophet already from birth; this was merely his first vision. On the other hand, perhaps the words את המראה הגדול הזה "this great spectacle," merely indicates that compared to previous contacts between G'd and Moses this one seemed infinitely more remarkable.

ויקרא אליו אלוקים מתוך הסנה, “G’d called out to him from inside the bush.” A reference to the immediate area of thorns, the raw material attacked by the flames, a place which was uncontaminated, seeing that neither man nor beast would walk there, being afraid of being stung by the thorns. This was the reason that site qualified for a manifestation of the Divine. Ibn Ezra writes that the reason that this mountain was subsequently known as הר סיני, was in commemoration of the סנה, the burning bush which refused to be consumed by the flames.

And God saw that he had turned to see since the level of 'through a glass, darkly' which he had prophesied at up until now needed no preparation. And the vision he saw now was allegorical and by means of a riddle, and from the midst of the strength of this metaphor, his soul didn't need to extend out from his body. For his bodily powers hadn't failed, at this moment - for he was prepared in his nature, from his fathers, for this prophecy. But after he turned to look, and the soul extended out of his body - for then he grasped at the level of 'an illuminated glass', and through this it may be that, since he turned to see, through an illuminated glass - "no human may see Me and live" (Shemot 33:20). And for this reason "God called to him... and said Moshe, Moshe" (Shemot 3:4). Our sages of blessed memory have already explained that every "saying" is preceded by a "calling", and it's said in Sifra 61:3/section 3 that Moshe Moshe, Avraham Avraham, etc., are the language of affection and encouragement. Another take: he was Moshe before he had spoken with Them, he is Moshe now that he has spoken with Them. And I explained there that in the beginning They said her name, that They doubled the calling, did it twice - the calling itself teaches of encouragement, and the doubling of the calling teaches of affection. And again it gives a reason for the distinction between calling Moshe Moshe - for no separating trope note had come between the ruler of the names [?] and Avraham. And so with every two names that come next to each other - there's always a separating trope note between them. Regarding this I say an alternative: he was Moshe before he spoke with Them, etc - means to say, for all the prophets who were unprepared in their natures for prophecy needed one calling to awaken their material selves and to prepare them for the extending of the soul out of them, and the second calling was to the weak houses of the soul. And for this reason there is a separating trope note for them. But for Moshe, whose materiality was already prepared for this extending in its nature, didn't tremple or quake from it, and so there's no separating trope mark between them, for the callings had begun immediately to the innermost soul. And regarding this it is said in the Midrash that God stopped [הפסיק, same word as separating trope mark] speaking to all the prophets, but to Moshe he didn't stop. It means to say that Moshe always stood ready for the Word with no break, and this is why God said to him, Moshe Moshe, to awaken hem in this because he was prepared by means of his nature. And Moshe said "Here I am", meaning to say he was ready and prepared for the Divine Word.

ויאמר הנני, “He said: “I am at Your disposal.” G–d responded that though you showed your preparedness with the same word as your forefather Avraham when I called upon him, (to offer his son to Me as a sacrifice) this is not what I come to ask of you. We know from Proverbs 25,6: במקום גדולים אל תעמוד, “do not stand in the place of great men.” (do not aspire to be important actively or passively) Aaron was commanded to come close to holy sites, the altar, (Leviticus 9,7) Not so Moses. He had to shun a holy site. Neither was allowed to aspire to Royalty, as opposed to David. He acknowledged that G–d had brought him הלום, instead of as Moses: אל תקרב הלום. (Compare Samuel II 7,18 and Sh’mot Rabbah 2,6)

ויקרא אליו אלוקים, to explain the phenomenon to him, in accordance with the well known principle ofהבא לטהר מסיין אותו, “when someone wants to purify something impure one extends a helping hand to him “ A well known example of this is Exodus 19,3 where we find that as soon as Moses ascended the mountain G’d descended toward him.

משה משה, there is no comma between these two words. It is similar to אברהם אברהם in Genesis 28,19, or יצחק בני יצחק, (Chronicles I 1,34) [the author quotes a couple more examples of such constructions, without elaborating. Ed.]

כי סר לראות, “that he had turned to have a look;” whenever the expression סור appears and is followed by the prefix letter מ, it means that the subject of whom the verse speaks has distanced himself further from the phenomenon under discussion. Best known example: סורו ממני, ”turn away from me!” (Psalms 6,9) On the other hand, if the word following is either אל or the prefix ל, it invites the person addressed to come closer.

של means DRAW OFF and take off. It is of the same root as, (Numbers 19:5) “and the iron-head slippeth off (נשל) from the handle”; (Deuteronomy 28:40) “for thine olives shall drop off (ישל)‎”.

APPROACH NOT HITHER. Moses had not yet reached the highest degree of prophecy, for at Mount Sinai he drew near unto the thick darkness where G-d was.¹⁴⁸Further, 20:18. This also accounts for the hiding of his face [in this instance], for he had not yet reached that high [degree of prophecy of] which it was said of Moses, and the similitude of the Eternal doth he behold.¹⁴⁹Numbers 12:8.

של!, throw off!. The word is from the root נשל, meaning a form of removal, as in Deuteronomy 7,1 ונשל גוים רבים, “He dislodges many nations, etc.”

של נעליך, even on the spot you are standing on now.

אל תקרב הלום, של נעליך, "Do not come closer; remove your shoes, etc." G'd gave two instructions. 1) not to come closer. 2) to remove his shoes because even the site on which Moses was standing at that moment was already holy ground. Why did G'd not instruct Moses to remove his shoes before he had accidentally stepped on holy ground wearing shoes? At that time G'd could have warned Moses not to step on holy ground (even without shoes).

אל תקרב הלום, “do not come any closer.” This was a warning to Moses that he had not yet attained the degree of holiness permitting him unrestricted entry to holy sites. We know that prior to the revelation at Mount Sinai, Moses entered the thick cloud in which the holy mountain was enveloped at the time without hindrance or harm befalling him. (Exodus 20,18) The Torah describes G’d there as being behind this thick cloud. Moses having turned aside his face when coming face to face with a supernatural spectacle, was prompted by the same consideration of his inadequacy in matters spiritual, which at that time were still very strong within him.

The place. Rashi is answering the question: אדמת (ground) is feminine, but הוּא [the pronoun ostensibly referring to it] is masculine. Therefore Rashi explains that הוּא refers to המקום (the place).

V. 5. "Tritt nicht hierher, vielmehr ziehe die Schuhe von deinen Füßen, denn die Stätte, auf welcher du bereits stehst, ist ein heiliger Ort, ist ein Boden heiliger Bestimmung", ist von Gott erwählt worden, dass von ihm aus die Erlösung der Menschheit durch Erlösung und Erwählung eines Volkes ausgehe. Statt die außerhalb deiner Stätte liegende Erscheinung erkennen zu wollen, begreife die hohe Bestimmung des Bodens, auf dem du dich bereits befindest, und gib dich ganz an ihn hin. Ausziehen der Schuhe drückt die gänzliche Hingebung an die Bedeutung einer Stätte aus, seine Persönlichkeit ganz und unvermittelt auf ihr und in ihr Stand und Stellung gewinnen lassen. So hatten die כהנים im מקדש nur barfuß zu gehen und es durfte zwischen dem Boden und ihren Füßen ebensowenig etwas Scheidendes, חוצץ, sich befinden, wie bei Handhabung der Geräte zwischen diesen und ihren Händen, oder zwischen den Priestergewändern und deren Leib. Alles Heilige ist kein menschenkünstliches, nach außen wirkendes Schaugepränge. Zurück auf die Persönlichkeit wirkt alles, und unmittelbar sie muss sich mit dem Heiligen vereinigen und durch es geheiligt werden, wenn sie in seinem Dienste wirken will. הרצפה מקדשת, der Boden heiligt den Priester. (Sebachim 24.2.)

!של, “remove!” the reason why the Torah had to write: מעל רגליך, “from your feet,” when we all know that he was not asked to remove his sandals from his hands, is that there are two kinds of sandals. There is a kind worn on one’s hands. [In fact, in German, the word for gloves is: handschuhe, “shoes worn on one’s hands.” Ed.] This was the נעל that Boaz gave to the redeemer who was first in line to perform a levirate marriage ceremony with Ruth, the daughter-in-law of Naomi. (Ruth, 4,7) As far as the question why Moses had to remove both his sandals, whereas Joshua had to remove only a single sandal (Joshua 5,15), the reason is that in this instance the Presence of the Spirit of G–d preceded the arrival of Moses on that site, whereas in the Book of Joshua, Joshua had already been on holy soil (the land of Israel) before the appearance to him of the angel, i.e. the Spirit of G–d.

של נעליך, “throw off your shoes.” The expression של is from the root נשל, “to disengage;” we find it both in Deuteronomy 28,40, כי ישל זיתך, “for your olives will fall off,” and in Deuteronomy 7,1, ונשל גוים רבים, “and He will dislodge many nations.”

אדמת קדש הוא the place IS HOLY GROUND (i. e. the masculine pronoun הוא refers to the word המקום and not to אדמת, which is feminine).

FOR THE PLACE WHEREON THOU STANDEST IS HOLY GROUND. Even though Moses was far from the bush, the angel warned him [not to approach], for the whole mountain became sanctified when the Divine Presence came down upon the mountain—top, just as it did at the time of the Giving of the Torah.¹⁵⁰Further, 19:20. Now Moses was on the mountain for he had ascended thereto, as it is said, and he came to the mountain of G-d, unto Horeb,¹⁵¹Verse 1. and the bush was on the top of the mountain.¹⁵²Accordingly we must understand that before the burning of the bush began, Moses had already gone up on the mountain but not to its top. It was later when he desired to approach the top of the mountain to see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt, that he was warned not “to approach.” Had he not been on the mountain at all, the warning should have been not “to come up.” Thus the entire site became holy and therefore the wearing of sandals was forbidden. A similar case is found in Joshua.¹⁵³Joshua 5:15. Likewise, the priests ministered in the Sanctuary only while barefoot.

של נעליך!, “remove your shoes!” It is noteworthy that whereas when Moses and Ezekiel were commanded to remove their shoes, they were told to remove both shoes, or in the case of Ezekiel, not to remove them, whereas Joshua was commanded to remove only one shoe, נעלך, (compare Joshua 5,15) The reason may have been that Moses being a shepherd by vocation, wore big boots in the manner of the shepherds. Ezekiel, who was also a farmer, may similarly have worn big boots. Joshua being a highly placed officer, almost a crowned head, wore only light shoes in the manner of all the kings. Both of his shoes, נעליך, would have been equivalent to only one of Moses’ shoes in size and weight. Furthermore, the angel speaking to Joshua described only the immediate site on which Joshua was standing as a holy site, אדמת קודש, whereas in the case of Moses the entire mountain was holy ground. It is also interesting that whereas Joshua is reported as having complied with the command to remove his shoes, no such thing is reported of Moses. Perhaps, Moses not having entered holy ground before being told to take off his shoes, preferred not to come closer so that he would not have to remove his shoes, whereas Joshua was told to do so only after he had already been standing on holy ground, so that he had no other option.

We observe throughout the Torah that G'd's principal concern is with the negative commandments, since failure to observe them is injurious to the soul of the person who violates them. This is what Solomon referred to in Kohelet 12,7 when he spoke about the importance of the spirit G'd has given man returning to G'd after man dies. Shabbat 152 understand the word נתנה as if it it were written אשר נתנה לך, "which has been given to you," meaning that just as a pure soul was given to man so a pure soul has to be returned to G'd. On the other hand, positive commandments are designed to enable man to achieve the "good" G'd has made available to man. As a rule, failure to observe the positive commandments does not result in penalties with the exception of certain basic commandments such as Passover and circumcision [without which a Jew cannot demonstrate his Jewish identity, Ed.].

מעל רגלך, “from your feet.” The reason is that you might have stepped on something unfit to be found in a holy place. The reason why the Torah added: “from your feet,” seeing we normally wear shoes on our feet, is that the word נעל also occurs for gloves, as in Ruth 4,7: שלף איש נעלו “where the translation is: נרתק יד ימינה, “sleeve of the right hand/arm.”Our sages in B’rachot 54 have ruled that no one may ascend the Temple Mount while wearing (leather) shoes. [The reason is that at a place where the reverence for the Temple prevails, it would like a lack of faith if one had to rely on shoes to be protected against snake bites, etc., instead of trusting in G-d to be protected. [I have seen this in commentary by Bartenura on Megillat Ruth. Ed.]

In this instance G'd commanded Moses both something negative, i.e. "do not come closer!" as well as something positive, i.e. "remove your shoes!" Our sages in Eyruvin 96 state that wherever the Torah uses the expression פן or אל such as here, what follows is a negative commandment. The words "remove your shoes," are a positive commandment, however. If Moses were to cross the invisible dividing line by approaching closer to the burning bush (as he had intended to) he would be violating a negative commandment. Were he to fail to remove his shoes, however, this would imply a lack of respect for G'd but it would not constitute transgression of a negative commandment because the commandment had been phrased positively, though it implied that no shoes were to be worn there. The Torah always speaks about שמירה, i.e. care not to violate a negative commandment, before demanding עשיה, performance of a related positive commandment (compare Deuteronomy 4,6; 15,5, Genesis 26,5 et al). This is why the sequence in which G'd commanded Moses at this point is no departure from the Torah's norm.

'כי המקום אשר אתה עומד וגו, “for the place that you are standing on is sacred.” Wherever we find that the Shechinah opens a dialogue with man, be it here, or with Joshua 5,14-19, or the revelation of the Torah in Exodus 19,21-27, the location is a sacred location. In other instances where G-d addressed prophets, the place is not automatically holy.

אדמת קודש הוא, “it is holy ground.” The word אדמת is in the construct form of the word קדש, i.e. Mount Sinai is holy ground. Compare Psalms 68,18 אדנ-י בם סיני בקודש, “the Lord is among them as in Sinai in holiness.” Now that Moses was only at the very beginning of his career as a prophet he was not yet allowed to step on this holy ground. The word הלום is itself a reference to the שכינה, as it is a word describing Majesty, Royalty (Shemot Rabbah 2,6). This is based on Samuel I 10,22: הבא עוד הלום איש?, “has anyone else come here?” [Samuel referred to Saul who was to be king, Ed.]. The word is again used in that sense in Samuel II 7,18: כי הביאותני עד הלום, “for He has brought me thus far?” [David acknowledging his position of King over Israel by grace of the Lord. Ed.] Seeing that the שכינה is emanated from a holy source, Moses was given his first inkling of the meaning of holiness in terms of “holy ground.”

We still have to answer what G'd had in mind when He did not call out to Moses before the latter had a chance to stand on holy ground clad in shoes. Perhaps Moses did not qualify for an address by G'd unless He had been told not to come still closer. Perhaps the site on which Moses stood at that time became sanctified only by reason of G'd having revealed Himself to Moses there. Perhaps the reason G'd wanted to speak with Moses at that site was in order to have an excuse to sanctify that spot. Perhaps this was the reason for the extra word הוא in the expression אדמת קודש הוא. That word was not really necessary.

I AM THE G-D OF THY FATHER. In accordance with the plain meaning of Scripture, this is equivalent to saying, “the G-d of thy fathers.” However, He mentions the singular instead of the plural, for the intent is “the G-d of each one of your ancestors,” since people refer to all ancestors as fathers. Similarly: the G-d of thy father;¹⁵⁴II Kings 20:5. These words were spoken by the prophet Isaiah to King Hezekiah. Now since David was not Hezekiah’s father, it proves that people call an ancestor “father.” this is my G-d, and I will glorify Him; my father’s G-d, and I will exalt Him,¹⁵⁵Further, 15:2. meaning “the G-d of my fathers.”
Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra said [that the word “father” in the phrase], the G-d of my father, refers to Abraham since he was the first who began to call upon the name of the Eternal.¹⁵⁶Genesis 12:8. See Ramban there, Vol. I, p. 172. After that, He mentioned Abraham by name and then joined the rest of the patriarchs to him.¹⁵⁷The verse before us reads: I am the G-d of thy father, the G-d of Abraham, the G-d of Isaac, and the G-d of Jacob. In the opinion of our Rabbis,¹⁵⁸Shemoth Rabbah 3:1. [“father” in the phrase] The G-d of thy father, means Amram. This is just as if He had said, “I am thy G-d,” [i.e., Moses’ G-d], but He desired to associate His Name with that of a righteous man who had already died - [namely, Amram] - rather than with that of one yet alive, [i.e., Moses].¹⁵⁹The reason for it is stated by Rashi in Genesis 28:13: “Because it is said, Behold He putteth no trust even in His holy ones” (Job 15:15). As long as a person lives, the evil inclination in him is still present. After that, [He mentioned] the G-d of Abraham, the G-d of Isaac, and the G-d of Jacob, meaning that He is the G-d of all Israel.
The reason for His mentioning “the G-d of” with each one [of the patriarchs] instead of saying “the G-d of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob” is that He referred to His Name and His memorial,¹⁶⁰See further, Verse 15. [thus alluding to the special attributes by which He was associated with each of the patriarchs],¹⁶¹“It is with reference to them [the separate attributes associated with the patriarchs] that Moses mentioned, the great G-d, the mighty, and the feared (Deuteronomy 10:17). ‘The great’ alludes to Abraham, as it is said, and of great kindness (Psalms 145:8); ‘the mighty’ to the Fear of Isaac (Genesis 31:42); and ‘the feared’ to Jacob, as it is said, For with Thee there is forgiveness, that Thou mayest be feared” (Psalms 130:4). (Ricanti in his work here on the Torah). blessed and magnified be He. I will explain yet more on this point in the chapter.¹⁶²Further in Verse 15.

אנכי אלוקי אביך, “I am the G’d of your father, etc.” according to our sages, Amram, Moses’ biological father, is referred to in this verse. Nachmanides writes that when the sages said this they meant that G’d meant that He was Moses’ G’d, but that He preferred to associate His name with a righteous man who had already died, instead of with a living person, whose freedom of choice still enables him to turn his back on G’d at some time in the future if he so desires, and to thereby make G’d’s association with him a mockery. At a later stage, G’d referred to Himself as the G’d of the patriarchs, implying that He was the G’d of the entire Jewish people. Ibn Ezra explained that the word אביך in our verse refers to the first patriarch Avraham, seeing he had been the first to proclaim G’d’s name and his faith in Him in public. In subsequent visions G’d speaks of also being the G’d of the other patriarchs. According to the plain meaning of the text, the expression אלוקי אביך is not materially different from the Torah having written אלוקי אבותיך, “the G’d of your forefathers.” The reason why the Torah uses the word אביך in the singular mode here is that people generally refer to G’d as their “father.” We find a similar description in Kings II 20,5 when Isaiah is instructed to give a message to King Chiskiyah, a parallel verse in Isaiah 38.5 when G’d describes Himself as the G’d of his father.

V. 6. אלקי אביך, den dich dein Vater kennen gelehrt. אלקי אברהם וגו׳, der sich schon euren Vätern nicht nur in dem steigenden Glücke eines Abraham, nicht nur in dem dauernden und dann abwärts steigenden Glücke eines Isaak, sondern auch in dem niederen Geschicke eines Jaakow gegenwärtig gezeigt. — אל האלקים, zu der ihm offenbar werdenden Gotteserscheinung.

אנכי אלוקי אביך, I am the G-d of your father;” by saying these words G-d revealed to Moses that his father had already died, for we have a tradition that G-d does not associate His Holy name to living persons, as He does not know if they will abandon Him before they die. The rule is: הן בקדושים לא יאמין, “He does not display trust even in His holy ones,” until they have departed life on this earth. The reason why G-d decided to tell Moses in this way that his father Am ram, who had been the leader of the Jewish people in Egypt, would not be used by Moses as an excuse to decline his appointment as his father’s successor. If Moses was reluctant to accept the appointment out of respect for his older brother, how much more would he decline out of respect for his father.

ויסתר משה פניו, Moses hid his face; the fact that Moses hid his face at this point was the reason that he merited that he eventually attained a spiritual level when his own face radiated spirituality to the degree that unless he was discussing Torah, the people could not bear looking at him. (Exodus 34,30). Compare also Numbers 12,8, where G-d explains this level of Moses to Miriam and Aaron.

כי ידעתי את מכאביו FOR I KNOW THEIR SORROWS — The verb has the same meaning as in (Exodus 2:25) “and God knew”, signifying as much as: for I have set my heart upon noticing and understanding their sorrows, and I have not hidden my eyes from their distress, nor have I stopped my ears against their cry.

AND THE ETERNAL SAID. Scripture mentions Him in the attribute of mercy since it is in connection with His compassion for the people [in bondage], even though the entire chapter mentions Him by the name of Elokim (G-d), [a name signifying the attribute of justice].

ואת צעקתם שמעתי מפני נוגשיו, their outcry which was prompted because the taskmasters are constantly harassing them, I have heard.

ראה ראיתי את עני עמי, “I have indeed seen the plight of My people.” A reference to the righteous ones among them who groaned and sighed over the sins of their generation and their resulting plight, praying. In response to the prayer of these righteous people the angel answered out of the burning bush. The meaning of the words ראה ראיתי is “indeed I have seen, taken notice.” This construction is normal wherever the Torah employs a dual, duplicate construction. The reason for the duplication is as if to contradict someone who denies that G’d has seen what goes on. It is as if saying: ‘in spite of anything you think or say, I insist that you are wrong and I am right.” It is similar to Yaakov negating Joseph’s trying go correct the position of his hands when he was blessing Ephrayim and Menashe. At that time Yaakov simply said: “I know my son, I know.” (Genesis 48,19) The angel confirmed to Moses that in spite of G’d being aware of the Israelite’s problems and the fact that He was going to inflict numerous plagues on the Egyptians, the latter would not simply collapse in spite of all the plagues. My intention with the plagues is not to destroy the Egyptians and to leave the Israelites in their place, on their land, but I want to save the Israelites and to take them out of Egypt in order to settle them elsewhere.

ויאמר ה׳ ראה ראיתי את עני עמי, G'd said: "I have surely seen the plight of My people, etc." Why did G'd speak about two "sightings?" Why did He have to add the words "in Egypt?" If Moses had not been aware of the fact that the Jews were G'd's people how would the fact that G'd referred to them as being in Egypt help Moses identify them? There were very many different peoples in Egypt! Perhaps no other people in Egypt suffered persecution except the Jewish people. At any rate, Moses must have known that Israel was G'd's people and His heritage on earth.

ויאמר ה' ראה ראיתי, “The Lord said: ‘I have truly seen, etc.” Although throughout this portion G’d appears in His attribute of אלוקים, the attribute of Justice, in this verse He is referring to Himself as the attribute of Mercy, the ineffable name. The reason is that here He demonstrates His pity on the condition His people find themselves in.

ויאמר ה’, “the Lord said.” We have to understand why the whole paragraph up until now employs the name אלו-הים to describe G’d, whereas in this verse the name of G’d mentioned is the tetragrammaton. The reason is simple. This is the moment at which G’d promises for the first time that the time has arrived for Him to display His pity for His people and to arrange for their redemption.

V. 7. ה׳, die neue Zukunft gestaltend. עני עמי אשר במצרים, die jetzt in Mizrajim in tiefster Erniedrigung gehaltene Menschenmasse habe ich in ihrer Bestimmung, mein Volk zu werden, angeschaut, d. h. als das künftige, nur mir untergeordnete und von mir Leitung empfangende Volk, und habe ihre Erniedrigung in Zusammenhang mit jener ihrer wartenden großen Bestimmung angeschaut. ואת צעקתם שמעתי מפני נגשיו, und auch abgesehen von dieser ihrer wartenden Zukunft, habe ich ihr Geschrei als den Hilferuf ihrer Menschenrechte gewalttätig beraubter Menschen, und zwar im gegensätzlichen Zusammenhang mit dem sittlichen Gehalt ihrer Dränger vernommen; כי ידעתי את מכאביו denn ich bin seinen persönlichen, individuellen Leiden nicht fremd geblieben, habe jeden Streich und jede Pein und jede Bitterkeit mitgefühlt. — Es sind hier wieder die drei das Galut Mizrajim charakterisierenden Seiten hervorgehoben: עני עמי אשר במצרים :עבדות ;צעקתם שמעתי מפני נגשיו :גרות ;מכאובי :וענוי.

ראה ראיתי, according to Ibn Ezra the formula here describes G’d’s response to the unnecessarily harsh and violent conduct of the Egyptians vis a vis their Hebrew slaves. G’d assures Moses that although the Egyptians had usually chosen to practice their violent attacks on the Israelites in the privacy of their homes or the dark of night, He, the G’d of the Israelites, was aware of it all. He was also aware of the feelings of the Israelites that were being so maltreated.

G'd mentioned that He had observed two distinctly different things. 1) The time of redemption had not yet arrived; in spite of this, however, G'd had taken into consideration the plight of His people and the misery they experienced in Egypt. Shabbat 10 tells that the immediate cause of the descent of the Jewish people to exile in Egypt was due only to the extra two shekalim Jacob had spent on Joseph's striped coat which had aroused the brothers' envy. Tossaphot challenge this explanation saying that exile had long ago been decreed in the days of Abraham? They answer that the exile prophecy could have come true in some other country where the Israelites would not have been enslaved so cruelly. The words אשר במצרים are to indicate that the very fact that the Israelites experienced their exile in Egypt instead of somewhere else was a reason for G'd to to commence the process of liberation already at this time. Although the time had not come for redemption, the time certainly had come for relief from the oppressive measures the Egyptians had introduced against the Jewish people.

G'd may also have seen the pain the Jews were suffering. The Torah may have written ראיתי עני עמי in order to demonstrate G'd's identification with the Jews. Inasmuch as they were His people, He was part of their suffering.

Another reason why G'd speaks of ראה ראיתי is that in addition to the suffering of the Jews which G'd had seen, He also saw that there were no more holy souls which had been taken captive by the forces of the קליפה and which were to be rescued by the Jewish people. Seeing that the exile had accomplished also this part of its function, the way was now clear for redemption. Pessachim 119 compares Egypt at the time to a pond which had been drained of fish. There was therefore no point in continuing to angle (for souls) there. Continued residence of the Jews in Egypt could only have counterproductive effects from that time on.

ואת צעקתם שמעתי, "and I have heard their outcry," etc. G'd added that in addition to factors already mentioned, He had also heard the outcry which was occasioned by the fact that the Egyptians had been more cruel than warranted in their application of Pharaoh's decrees. All these statements were in order to justify the fact that G'd was appointing a redeemer already at this time. The Israelites, of course, had believed that the exile would last for 400 years. Besides, G'd revealed to Moses that as soon as the Egyptians would suffer the first of the plagues G'd had in store for them, the Jewish people would cease to perform slave labour for them. I shall explain this in detail when commenting on verse eight.

When the Torah added מפני נגשיו, "on account of its taskmasters," after having mentioned that G'd had heard צעקתם "their outcry" (plural instead of singular) whereas the word נגשיו is in the singular this may describe that the Jewish people prayed to G'd as a single body as we explained on the words ותעל שועתם. Had the Torah written: ואת צעקתם מפני נגשיו שמעתי, I would have thought that their outcry was merely a reflection of their forced labour without an element of prayer.

The reason that the word "their outcry" is in the plural whereas "its taskmasters" describes the people as a single unit is simply that no two people cry out with the same intensity. The more people cry out, the greater the divergence between the relative intensity of these various people. Since they all had the same taskmasters, however, the use of the singular with the word נגשיו is perfectly justified. These various factors contributed to the appointment of Moses as the redeemer long before the time the Israelites expected their exile to end.

Another meaning of the additional words מפני נגשיו is in line with Isaiah 65,24 והיה טרם יקראו ואני אענה, "before they pray I will answer." In our situation G'd explains that He is sensitive to the abuse practised by even a single one of Israel's taskmasters. He does not wait until they all exceed their authority and abuse His people. G'd adds that the reason for this is that "I know their pains." The implication is that G'd is aware even before the people bring this to His attention through their prayer/outcry. All of this underscores G'd's strong love for His people, a love comparable to that of a father for his son.

According to our earlier explanation, the words כי ידעתי את מכאוביו would refer to the pains that are already way beyond what Israel could be expected to bear. The words refer both to the visible and to the invisible hardship inflicted on Israel.

G'd conveyed to Moses that He had not needed Israel's prayers in order to become aware of their problems. This awareness obligated Him to redeem Israel in accordance with His attributes. G'd's attribute of Mercy received further impetus when He looked at the injustices suffered by His creatures so that He decided to apply special yardsticks known as לפנים משורת הדין in order to alleviate their suffering. G'd told Moses that He had decided to "descend" in order to save His people.

AND I AM COME DOWN TO DELIVER THEM. That is, “for I have revealed Myself in fire on this mountain.” This has the same meaning as in the verses: And the Eternal came down upon Mount Sinai;¹⁶³Further, 19:20. Because the Eternal descended upon it in fire.¹⁶⁴Ibid., Verse 18. It may be that [the expression come down has the same meaning here] as in the verse, I will go down now, and see whether they have done altogether according to the cry of it, which is come unto Me.¹⁶⁵Genesis 18:21. See Ramban there (Vol. I, p. 245) where he explains that the meaning is, “I will go down from the attribute of mercy to the attribute of justice.” Here the meaning would be: “and I am come down from attribute to attribute.” I have already explained its secret there.

וארד, to this bush in order to speak to you so as to save them from the Egyptians.

וארד להצילו...ולהעלותו מן הארץ ההיא אל ארץ, I revealed Myself to you in this manifestation only to acquaint you with the fact that I will save the Israelite nation and lead them out of Egypt, not in order to destroy Egypt.

וארד להצילו… ולהעלותו מן הארץ ההיא, "I shall descend in order to save…and to bring them out of this land, etc." The reason G'd speaks about His "descent" is that it is not really in keeping with the dignity of the supreme G'd to convey His instructions to a vile human being such as the Pharaoh who now oppressed the Jewish people. This was all the more so seeing that Pharaoh had the effrontery to exclaim "who is G'd that I should heed His words?" (5,2) G'd explained that He waived some of the honour due to Him in order to expedite the redemption of Israel. It is worthwhile to study the comment in the introduction to Eycha Rabbah section 14 on Proverbs 29,9: איש חכם נשפט את איש אויל ורגז ושחק ואין נחת. "If a wise man goes to Court with a fool there is no peace whether the fool rages or laughs." It is remarkable that Solomon uses the form נשפט instead of שפט. He means that getting involved in litigation with a known fool can only result in the so-called wise man becoming convicted. G'd had to mention that He was going to "descend" to show that despite the fact that it was inappropriate for Him to deal with Pharaoh, He would do so for the sake of Israel. The meaning of להצילו refers to the near-term cessation from their slave labour, whereas the expression ולהעלותו refers to the longer term objective of G'd's intervention.

אל ארץ טובה ורחבה, “to a good and spacious land.” G’d first praises the quality of the land, i.e. its climate which is healthy for its inhabitants, and secondly, that the land is spacious so that it can accommodate the entire nation without danger of the country becoming crowded. It is also possible that the meaning of the words ארץ רחבה is that the land contains wide expanses of both valleys and mountainous regions, and that though there are mountains, they do not cover most of its territory. The Torah comes back to describe the land as especially suitable for cattle and sheep raising, i.e. a land flowing with milk and honey. This also implies that the water supply in this land is ample and that it is of good quality, as otherwise it would not be ideal for raising sheep and cattle. Seeing that mountainous regions do not produce fat cattle, G’d assures Moses that the land is suitable to raise good cattle also.

וארד להצילו ...אל ארץ טובה, “I shall descend in order to save it....to a good land, etc.” What was the need for the Torah to lavish so many compliments on the stones and trees of the land of Canaan? Was it not enough for a people in the condition of abject slavery such as the Jewish people to be told that they would be redeemed and would become free? Would they not consider this a welcome message even if the land they would go to would be of inferior quality? The fact is that all the compliments in our verse apply to the Torah. Torah has been described as לקח טוב, “good” instruction; (Proverbs 4,2) it has been described as רחבה, “spacious” (Psalms 119,96). All the adjectives in this verse apply to Torah as if the Torah had written “to a land (Torah) which is good, spacious flowing with milk and honey” (compare Song of Songs 4,11).
The details of the land of Israel itself are described only commencing with the words: אל ארץ הכנעני, “to the land of the Canaanite, the Hittite, etc.” G’d’s message to the Israelites is that they would inherit the land of these nations as these people are not worthy of living in a country in which the Torah makes its home. Our commentary corresponds to what I have found in Bereshit Rabbah 16,7 on Genesis 2,12: “the gold of this land was good;” the Midrash says: “there is no Torah comparable to the Torah in the land of Israel and there is no wisdom comparable to the wisdom to be found in the land of Israel.” We may add that the words אל מקום הכנעני “to the place of the Canaanite,” instead of the usual “to the land of the Canaanite,” contain an additional message, i.e. that the Israelites would wipe out the present inhabitants of that land and inherit their land. They would not merely live there as residents as had their forefathers.

V. 8. Das Land ist טובה: es entspricht der beabsichtigten geistigen und sittlichen Entfaltung des Volkes, und es ist רהבה: geräumig, dass es sich darin auch numerisch entfalten kann. — זבת וגו׳. Es ist sehr eigentümlich, dass die Bezeichnung der Produktenfülle durch — זוב nur bei א׳׳י und sonst nie wieder in solcher Bedeutung vorkommt, bei dem jüdischen Lande aber der stete Ausdruck ist. זוב heißt im תנ׳׳ך nie: überfließen. Es kommt vorzugsweise nur zur Bezeichnung eines krankhaften Zustandes beim Menschen und sonst nur als ein durch eine Wundermacht — הכה צור ויזובו מים (Ps. 78, 20) — oder durch Gewalt bewirktes Ausfließen — שהם יזובו מדוקרים (Klagel. 4, 9). — vor, "erdolcht strömen sie ihr Blut aus". Alles zusammengenommen dürfte ארץ זכת ח׳ וד׳ wohl nicht ein Land bezeichnen, das seiner natürlichen Fruchtbarkeit nach diese Fülle entfaltet, sondern ein Land, das dies nur unter besonderen Bedingungen tut. Palästina ist ein hartes Land, הארצות האל. (Bereschit 26, 3). Wiederholt sahen wir es von Hungersnot heimgesucht, und auch, nachdem Israel es verlassen, liegt es öde. למטר השמים תשתה מים heißt es von ihm. Ein Land, das nicht wie Ägypten nur ohne weiteres von seinen Bewohnern auszubeutende, natürliche Bedingungen der Fruchtbarkeit bietet, sondern, "das nur unter einer steten, von Anfang des Jahres bis zum Ende des Jahres darauf gerichteten besonderen Gottesfürsorge" aufzublühen vermag. Wenn es Wasser hat, so blüht es üppig auf. Allein dieses Wasser erhält es nur von oben. Es ist ein Boden, der seine Bewohner nötigt, brav zu sein. Für ein hartes Volk, wie wir waren, gehört ein hartes Land. — אל מקום הכנעני. Die jetzigen Bewohner sind durch die darin genossene Üppigkeit entartet, und das Land speit sie aus. Nur freibleibend von allem kanaanitischen Unwesen wird Israel sich seine Fülle erhalten.

זבת חלב, “flowing with milk and honey.”

UNTO A GOOD AND LARGE LAND, UNTO A LAND FLOWING WITH MILK AND HONEY; UNTO THE PLACE OF THE CANAANITE, AND THE HITTITE, AND THE AMORITE, AND THE PERIZZITE, AND THE HIVITE, AND THE JEBUSITE. He mentions here six nations and omits the seventh.¹⁶⁶The Girgashite, mentioned among the seven nations that Israel was to inherit (Deuteronomy 7:1). Perhaps this was because his land was not flowing with milk and honey as were these [lands of the six nations mentioned]. Similarly, He mentions these six only in the verse, For Mine angel shall go before thee.¹⁶⁷Further, 23:23. And bring thee in unto the Amorite, and the Hittite, and the Perizzite, and the Canaanite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite. It may be because He alluded here [to a future event], i.e., that they will conquer these six nations first, for it is these six nations who assembled to fight Joshua,¹⁶⁸So clearly stated in Joshua 9:1-2. and G-d gave them into his hand. Our Rabbis have said¹⁶⁹Yerushalmi Shebiith VI, 1. that the Girgashite arose and emigrated of his own accord. This is why he is not mentioned together with those destined for destruction, as it is said concerning them, and I will cut them off.¹⁶⁷Further, 23:23. And bring thee in unto the Amorite, and the Hittite, and the Perizzite, and the Canaanite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite. I will discuss this matter further,¹⁷⁰Further, 23:25. with the help of G-d.
The sense of the expression, a land flowing with milk and honey, is that He first praised the land as a good land, meaning that its climate is good and beautiful for people and that all that is good is found in it, and as a large land, meaning that it will afford all Israel to be established in a broad place.¹⁷¹See Psalms 31:9. It may be that r’chavah (large) means spaciousness, referring to [the extensive lands of] the lowland, the valley and the plain, large and small, and is not confined mostly to mountains and valleys. He then began to praise the land as being a land for cattle, having good pasture and good water which cause the cattle to have abundant milk, for healthy and good cattle with abundant milk are to be found only where the climate is good, with plenty of vegetation and good water. But since these are found only in the marsh-lands,¹⁷²The Hebrew: ba’achu. See Ramban, Genesis 41:2 (Vol. I, p. 495) for his explanation of that term. while on the height of the mountains fruits are not very fat and good, He further states that this land is so fat that its fruits [all over] are fat and sweet, even to the extent that it all flows with the honey that comes from them. Thus He has praised the land for all its goodness of the Eternal, for the corn, and for the wine, and for the oil, and for the young of the flock and of the herd.¹⁷³Jeremiah 31:11. This is the meaning of the verse, It is the beauty of all lands.¹⁷⁴Ezekiel 20:6.
The reason that He said, unto the ‘place’ of the Canaanite, and not “unto the ‘land’ of the Canaanite” as He said in all other places,¹⁷⁵E.g., see further, 13:5. is to allude to the fact that they will inherit [the Canaanite, etc.], and will destroy them and settle in their places, and not dwell among them as their fathers had done.

זבת חלב ודבש, a land with much livestock and abundant food of good quality and of nourishing properties (honey). These terms are used in this sense in Proverbs 24,13 אכול בני דבש כי טוב ונפת מתוק. “My son, eat honey for it is good, and the honeycomb for it is sweet on your palate.”

אל מקום הכנעני, “to the area now inhabited by the Canaanites.” The reason that G’d did not describe that region as ארץ הכנעני, “the land of the Canaanite,” as is customary when referring to lands inhabited by different peoples, is a hint that the Canaanites will be uprooted and dispossessed. The Israelites would not share the land with the Canaanites but would live there instead of the Canaanites.

Seeing the time for the redemption was not yet at hand, there had to be an interval of at least 12 months between the time G'd spoke to Moses and the actual Exodus. Shemot Rabbah 9,12 debates whether the plagues usually lasted one week with three weeks warning or vice versa. At any rate, our sages seem agreed that the plagues extended over a considerable period. Why would G'd have deliberately delayed the redemption once He had embarked on the process? He could have given Pharaoh a single day's warning before each plague something that is certainly legal when a Jew is warned not to commit a transgression. In fact, Gentiles do not need to be warned specifically at all not to commit acts which they know to be criminal. We must assume, therefore, that G'd waited for a certain date to be able to justify the Exodus although He wanted to relieve the burden of the Jewish people in the interval.

To a good and spacious land. Hashem told Moshe that he should not think it would be preferable if He would give them the land of Egypt, for the land of Israel is good and spacious, whereas Egypt had a poor climate and sparse land for settlement. Furthermore, the land of Israel was a land flowing with milk and honey, a feature that Egypt did not have, for it was not suitable for grazing and the good fruits would not grow there. Also, the land of Israel was occupied at the time by the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivvites, and the Jebusites, all of whom were liable for the punishment of being destroyed. Additionally, by bringing the Jews to the land of Israel Hashem would be keeping His oath to the Patriarchs.

הכנעני והחתי והאמורי והפריזי והחוי והיבוסי. Note that the “Girgashi,” another one of the Canaanite tribes inhabiting that region, is not mentioned here. The reason is either that their land may not have been as excellent, or that these people would emigrate rather than defend their land against the Israelites, being aware that the Jewish G’d Who had made good on His threats against Pharaoh would most likely also make good on the promises He had made to the Jewish people beginning with Avraham. Ibn Ezra writes that the reason why the Girgashi has not been mentioned here is that that tribe was relatively insignificant in terms of manpower and military might. He questions that seeing that six Canaanite tribes have been listed here by name, why did the Torah have to use the word הכנעני, “the Canaanite” altogether? We all know that these tribes form part of the Canaanite family of nations. He answers that the entire region was known as the “land of Canaan,” and it extends beyond the regions inhabited by the six tribes listed here, especially in the north.

In view of our premise that the principal purpose of the exile in Egypt was to salvage the souls which had been contaminated with the 50 levels of impurity at the time the forces of the קליפה "captured" some of the holy souls from Adam when the latter ate from the tree of knowledge (compare our comments on Genesis 49,9), we can understand that if G'd had redeemed the Israelites prematurely this would have aborted the plan to rescue all those lost souls. We have already explained that Moses himself was equated with the Jewish people inasmuch as Moses achieved the 49th level of בינה, intellectual insights, out of a possible total of 50 such levels. The reason that Moses never reached the ultimate level of בינה was that the achievement must parallel the effort expended on achieving the goal in question. Had the Israelites descended to the 50th level of impurity the effort at gaining the 50th level of insights would have been possible. Since Israel was never quite at the bottom of the spiritual levels, the effort to reach the top was of necessity a little less than total. Moses' achievements were directly related to the condition of the Jewish people whom he represented. We have been assured that in the future G'd Himself will influence us by means of the Torah so that we will be able to achieve the fiftieth level of בינה. We will be indebted to the cumulative exile experiences for that eventual achievement. The most important individual factor will be our present and final exile.

One of the reasons the generation of the first exile was not able to attain that level of insight was that they had not yet had the benefit of Torah. Once we shall reach that level of insight we will be able to recapture any holy souls still under the control of the forces of the קליפה, i.e. Satan. At any rate, had G'd led the Jewish people out of Egypt even a single day sooner than He did, the number of souls which had not yet been rescued would have been commensurably greater.

AND NOW, BEHOLD, THE CRY OF THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL IS COME UNTO ME. Even though He has already said, and I have heard their cry,¹⁷⁶Verse 7. He says again that it has come unto Me, thus stating that “their cry has come to the Throne of My Glory, and I will no longer pardon¹⁷⁷According to another reading: “permit Pharaoh to enslave.” Pharaoh, for the Egyptians are oppressing them exceedingly.” It is similar in sense to the expression, a rage which hath reached up unto heaven.¹⁷⁸II Chronicles 28:9.
By way of the Truth, [the mystic lore of the Cabala], the cry of the children of Israel is a reference to Knesseth Yisrael,¹⁷⁹“The Congregation of Israel.” Here understood in a Cabalistic sense, an allusion to the attribute of justice. similar to the verse, according to the cry of it which is come unto Me.¹⁸⁰Genesis 18:21. I have alluded to it there.

ועתה, seeing that all this is true. This is the meaning of the word ועתה wherever it appears. G’d said: in view of the fact that the Israelites’ complaints are justified, that they are entitled to complain, and I am aware of their pain, etc.,

ועתה הנה צעקת בני ישראל באה אלי, "And now, the outcry of the children of Israel has reached Me, etc." Why did G'd repeat here something that He had already told Moses in verse seven? Besides, what did G'd mean by the word: "and now?" Why was there a need for the word הנה? The words באה אלי also seem superfluous. G'd again mentioned that He had seen the stress the Jewish people were under. Why the repetition?

וגם ראיתי את הלחץ אשר מצרים לוחצים אותם. The pressure mentioned resulted from the fact that the family of Yaakov who numbered only seventy souls when they came to Egypt and were settled by Joseph in the region of Goshen, increased and multiplied so that this region became far too small to contain them and to offer them a livelihood. It was G’d’s blessing which led to this eventual problem as the Egyptians were not willing to cede additional parts of their land to the Israelites. This phenomenon of artificially forcing a large population into an inadequate amount of land is also described in Judges 1,34, where the Emorite is described as trying to compress the increasing numbers of the tribe of Dan into a mountainous region, not allowing them to take up residence in the plains below.

V. 9. Und nun — vergegenwärtige du dir nur die eine Tatsache, dass das Volk nach Erlösung schreit und Ich es erlösen will, darin liegt dir Aufforderung genug, dich mir als Werkzeug darzubieten.

צעקת בני ישראל באה אלי, “the outcry of the Children of Israel has come to My attention;” if you were to say that their outcry was in vain, I go on record as: וגם ראיתי את הלחץ, “and I have also taken note of their oppression;” i.e. they are fully justified in their complaints.

The meaning of the verse, moreover I have seen the oppression, is that He will punish Pharaoh and his people because by oppressing Israel so exceedingly, they perpetrated more than had been decreed against them, as I have explained in Seder Lech Lecha.¹⁸¹Ibid., 15:13 (Vol. I, pp. 203-8).

הנה צעקת בני ישראל באה אלי, I have accepted their prayer after they truly called on Me, [aware that I could help them. Ed.] They did not merely mouth these prayers to give themselves the illusion of having vented their frustrations (compare Psalms 27,36).

It appears that G'd told Moses that while he was speaking with him the repeated outcry of the Jewish people had again come to His attention.

וגם ראיתי את הלחץ, in view of the excessive pressure brought to bear on them, the ones applying the pressure deserve to be punished. We find a similar construction in Zecharyah 1,15:וקצף גדול אני קוצף על הגוים השאננים אשר אני קצפתי מעט והם עזרו לרעה, “and I am very angry with those nations that are at ease; for I was only angry a little; but they overdid the punishment.”

וגם ראיתי את הלחץ, “and I have also seen the pressure, etc.” Rabbeinu Chananel comments on the word לחץ that this pressure was due to the fact that Joseph at the time had assigned the province of Goshen to a family comprising only 70 souls. He had not realised that the population explosion that was to follow would result in the province of Goshen being far too small to contain all the Israelites and to provide them with a livelihood. At the same time, the Egyptians had not been prepared to make allowance for this and to allocate additional land to the Israelites. The Rabbi supports his view of the meaning of the word לחץ by citing Judges 1,34: וילחצו האמורי את בני דן ההרה כי לא נתנו לרדת לעמק, “the Emorites squeezed the Danites into the hill country; they would not let them come down to the plain.”

G'd said: באה אלי, because the prayers which come to the attention of G'd are not all of the same category. Some prayers are presented to G'd by one of His angels; others are of a calibre that do not need the intervention of any angel as the people who offer them are deserving. G'd now told Moses that some of the prayers of the Jewish people had reached Him without the assistance of any of the angels.

G'd added: "I have also seen the stress that the Egyptians subject the Jewish people to." In the Haggadah shel Pessach the author describes the word לחץ as meaning דחק. This is a detail which had not been mentioned before. This is why G'd had to tell Moses all this. When G'd added the word וראיתי He meant to tell Moses why the matter of commencing the process of redemption had suddenly assumed a degree of urgency. G'd continues in verse 10: ועתה לכה to indicate that the matter had now become urgent.

ועתה לך ואשלחך אל פרעה COME NOW, THEREFORE, AND I WILL SEND THEE UNTO PHARAOH — And if you ask “What will this avail?” והוצא את עמי AND BRING FORTH MY PEOPLE — your words will prove effective and you will bring them forth from there.

והוצא את עמי בני ישראל ממצרים, as a result of what you will tell Pharaoh in My name.

ועתה לכה ואשלחך, to them, to warn them before I have to resort to punishing them.

לכה ואשלחך, "Go please, and I will send you, etc." Why did G'd say: "I will send you," after He had already told Moses to go? Besides, if anything had to be repeated the sequence should have been the reverse, i.e. "I will send you, go please!" Clearly then G'd wanted that Moses should understand that the actual going to Egypt was not the essence of the mission, only its preamble. Indeed we find later on, after Moses had already gone to Egypt, that G'd instructs him repeatedly to take the Jewish people out of Egypt, i.e. that was the essence of his misssion.

You will bring My nation out. Rashi is answering the question: The verse should have said “Go, I am sending you to Pharaoh להוציא (to bring out),” whereas והוצא (and you will bring out) implies that it is a separate statement. Therefore Rashi inserts ואם תאמר (should you say . . .) to which the answer is: “and you will bring out . . .” (i.e., that it is one statement).

את עמי בני ישראל “My people, the Children of Israel.” Another example of this formulation is found in Genesis 21,10, Sarah saying: עם בני, עם יצחק, “with my son, with Yizchok.”

G'd also used this form of instruction to hint to Moses that one mission would not suffice to take the people out of Egypt but that he would have to perform many errands on behalf of G'd and the people before the Exodus would finally take place. Pharaoh would not agree at once.

There is another element hinted at in the way G'd instructed Moses. We are taught in Makkot 10 that "G'd leads people on the path they have chosen for themselves." Therefore He first said to Moses: "Go, please!" He meant that if you Moses are willing to perform this commandment, I will send you, i.e. I will fulfil your wish and make you My messenger. From this you learn that if Moses would have refused the mission G'd would not have forced it upon him.

Perhaps this is the reason that Moses argued with G'd. He did not feel that G'd had commanded him to accept the mission but had left it up to his own volition. Moses felt that G'd had given him leeway and would reply to any reservations he had about accepting such a mission. G'd wanted that when Moses would finally accept the mission he should do so because he wanted to and not because he had been forced to do so.

You may also take a look at what I have written in connection with Jacob sending Joseph on his fateful mission. G'd may also have assured Moses that if he were concerned about any mishap, he would be a messenger of G'd who had no reason to fear for his safety. In fact this fact saved him in the incident at the inn (Exodus 4,26).

מי אנכי WHO AM I? — Of what importance am I that I should speak with monarchs?

ויאמר משה מי אנכי?, anyone who wants to truly understand the plain meaning of this sequence will heed my exegesis carefully. My predecessors were quite wrong. Moses replied to two things G’d had requested from him. He had been asked to go to Pharaoh, and he had been asked to take the Jewish people out of Egypt at Pharaoh’s command. In respect of G’d’s first instruction he answered:

מי אנכי כי אלך?, how will my warning be effective?

מי אנכי כי אלך, "who am I that I should be qualified to go?" Moses meant that even if he were anxious to accept such a mission he did not consider himself qualified to speak up in front of a king. Seeing that he lacked that self-confidence his mission was unlikely to succeed. We have other examples of prophets who lacked confidence that their mission would succeed because they were personally not confident; compare Samuel I 16,2 or Amos who is reported in Kohelet Rabbah 1 as having suffered from a lack of self-confidence because his peers belittled him. Moses added וכי אוציא את בני ישראל, "and that I should lead the Israelites out of Egypt," in order to emphasize the enormity of the task G'd was about to place on his shoulders, i.e. to orchestrate the Exodus. He implied that in order for such an undertaking to succeed the messenger G'd chose would have to be an outstanding personality. He was afraid that if Israel would suffer some setback on the road to freedom he might be held responsible since he was not qualified to be that leader.

Who am I. The word “who” [am I] is used in place of “what” [am I] because it is not possible to explain this statement as referring to “bringing them out,” for the verse continues “Am I able to bring the Bnei Yisroel out.” Perhaps Moshe felt inadequate to speak with Pharaoh for he was a king. Thus Rashi comments “that I might speak with kings.”

V.11. Du setzest mir eine doppelt riesige Aufgabe, ich soll Pharao und Israel bewältigen, Pharao stürzen und Israel anführen, zu beidem finde ich nicht die leiseste Spur von Kraft und Fähigkeit in mir. Und wohl durfte ein Mensch, dem eine solche Aufgabe ward, sich wieder und wieder auf die Waagschale legen. Hätte es nur dem eigenen Geschick gegolten, so durfte er vielleicht sich in die Schanze schlagen; aber von dem Gelingen dieses Auftrages hing das Wohl und Wehe eines ganzen Volkes ab; und da durfte wohl ein Mensch, zumal der wie Mosche, als der ענו מאד מכל האדם אשר על פני האדמה, als der Mann von dem äußerst bescheidenen Charakter, als der ,,Bescheidenste unter allen Menschen auf Erden", in der Tat keine Faser zu dem Zeug in sich verspürte, aus welchem siegreiche Volksaufwiegler, Volks- und Heerführer, Helden und Herrscher gemacht werden, der sich also als den zu einer solchen Aufgabe geradezu untauglichsten unter allen Menschen wusste, wohl durfte ein solcher Mensch vor dem Gedanken einer solchen Aufgabe, selbst wenn die Aufforderung dazu von Gott kam, staunend zurückschrecken. Konnte das Unternehmen nicht an seiner Unzulänglichkeit, seiner Ungeschicklichkeit, seiner Zaghaftigkeit und Schwäche Pharao gegenüber scheitern und er dann nur Unheil auf Unheil über seine Brüder häufen? Durfte er sich nicht die imponierende, überwältigende Kraft absprechen, die dazu gehört, aus der unter der Peitsche aufgewachsenen ziegelbrennenden Masse ein Gottesvolk zu bilden?

?מי אנכי, “what distinguishes me?” Moses answered G-d point by point in the order of what G-d had said to him. The question of what qualified hm to be chosen for this task was the answer to G-d having said to him: !לכה, “go!” the words: כי אלך אל פרעה, “that I should go,” was the answer to G-d having said to him: ואשלחך אל פרעה, “I am sending you to Pharaoh.” The words: וכי אוציא, “and that I should lead out,” were Moses’ reply to G-d having said to him: והוצא את עמי, “and lead out My people.” G-d in turn, proceeded to answer Moses point by point in order: כי אהיה עמך, “For I will be at your side,” was the answer to Moses’ question: “Why am I qualified etc.” The words: כי אנכי שלחתיך, “for it is I Who have sent you,” is the answer to Moses having said: כי אלך אל פרעה, “that I should go to Pharaoh;” the words: בהוציאך את העם הזה, were the answer to Moses having asked וכי אוציא.

וכי אוציא את בני ישראל AND THAT I SHOULD BRING FORTH THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL — and even if I am of sufficient importance for this, how has Israel merited that a miracle should be wrought for them and that I should bring them forth from Egypt?

וכי אוציא את בני ישראל, that I will have the merit to take out the Jewish people who are at this time not deserving of this?

What did the Israelites do to merit . . . [Rashi knew this] because Hashem responded, “When you bring the people out [to receive the Torah].” This implies that Moshe asked this (i.e., what did.the Israelites do to merit . . .)

ויאמר כי אהיה עמך AND HE SAID, BECAUSE I WILL BE WITH THEE — He answered his first question first and his last question last: as regards what thou hast said, “Who am I that I should go unto Pharaoh?” i. e. of what importance am I to speak with kings, I reply, it is not an undertaking of yours, but it is partly mine for “I” will be with thee”, וזה AND THIS — i. e. the sight which thou hast witnessed in the bush, לך האות כי אנכי שלחתיך SHALL BE A SIGN UNTO THEE, BECAUSE (כי) “I” HAVE SENT THEE and “I” am competent to save: just as thou hast seen the bush carrying out the mission I laid upon it and it was not consumed, so go thou too on the mission I entrust to thee and thou shalt suffer no harm. And as regards thy question: What merit have the Israelites that they should go forth from Egypt? — I reply that I have a great purpose in this, My bringing them forth, for they are destined to accept the Torah upon this mountain at the expiration of three months after they leave Egypt (cf. Exodus Rabbah 3:4). Another explanation is: כי אהיה עמך FOR I WILL BE WITH THEE and thou wilt therefore succeed, וזה AND THIS — viz., the fact that thou wilt succeed in thy mission לך האות WILL BE A SIGN UNTO THEE with respect to another promise: for I promise thee that when thou hast brought them forth from Egypt ye will serve Me upon this mountain — i. e. that ye will receive the Torah upon it. This is the merit which is an advocate for Israel. An exactly similar use of the word אות, where something that will happen in the future is to serve as an אות in regard to an event that will transpire in the more distant future we find elsewhere: (Isaiah 27:30.) “And this shall be a sign unto thee — for ye shall eat this year that which groweth of itself etc.” (the passage proceeds to state that after a few years the devastated land will have regained its former fertility) — this, i. e, the fall of Sennacherib promised in the preceding section of that chapter shall be a sign to thee in respect to another promise: for your land is now barren of fruits, but I will bless that which grows of itself and the land shall bring forth fruits in abundance.

AND HE SAID: BECAUSE I WILL BE WITH THEE; AND THIS SHALL BE THE TOKEN UNTO THEE, THAT I HAVE SENT THEE: WHEN THOU HAST BROUGHT FORTH THE PEOPLE OUT OF EGYPT, YE SHALL SERVE G-D UPON THIS MOUNTAIN. Explanations of this verse are numerous. The correct interpretation in line with the simple meaning of Scripture is that the Holy One, blessed be He, had said two things to Moses. [First], He would come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians.¹⁸²Verse 8. This might mean that He will deliver them out of their hands while they will remain in the land of Goshen itself or in some place nearby. Therefore, He further promised to bring them up out of that entire land to the place of the Canaanite.¹⁸²Verse 8.
But Moses was fearful of both [promises], saying, “Who am I, that I should go unto Pharaoh?¹⁸³Verse 11. I am but a humble person, a keeper of the flock, and he is a great king. If I will tell him to let the people go altogether, he will kill me.” This is similar in meaning to that which Samuel said. And if Saul hear it, he will kill me.¹⁸⁴I Samuel 16:2. And Moses said further, “Who am I … that I should bring forth the children of Israel out of Egypt,¹⁸³Verse 11. as Thou didst tell me to bring them up to the land of Canaan. Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people,¹⁸⁵Deuteronomy 4:6. and they will not hold me in sufficient esteem to go after me to the land of nations greater and mightier than they,¹⁸⁶See ibid., Verse 38. as Thou hadst said, to bring them up … unto a good and large land … unto the place of the Canaanite.¹⁸²Verse 8. The delivery from the hand of Pharaoh — whether he will listen and lighten his yoke from upon them and thus deliver them [from bondage], or drive them out of his land against their will¹⁸⁷Further, 6:1. See also Rashi there. — is not dependent on them. Besides, they themselves will listen to any one on this matter — for what man is there who would not want to go out from unparalleled cruel bondage — but they will not give heed to go up to the land of Canaan.” Such indeed was the case. The war against those nations [in the land of Canaan] was hard on them from beginning to end, and they feared it while still in Egypt and later when they were in the desert. This then was the fear of Moses our teacher, of Pharaoh, and his apprehension of the children of Israel.
And the Eternal answered him on both matters. He said to him: “Do not fear Pharaoh for I will be with thee to save thee. And this shall be the token unto thee for the people that I have sent thee to them, for when thou hast brought forth the people out of Egypt, ye shall serve G-d upon this mountain. From then on, they will take upon themselves the worship of G-d and walk in His commandments,¹⁸⁸See II Chronicles 17:4. and they will also believe in thee forever,¹⁸⁹Further, 19:9. and they will run after thee¹⁹⁰See Song of Songs 1:4. wherever thou shalt command them [to go]. Now I have revealed Myself to thee on this mountain in a flame of fire, for so it will be in front of all the people when they will serve Me on this mountain.”
Thus in that which he saw, there was a sign for Moses that he should not fear Pharaoh since G-d assured him his deliverance. For Israel it was to be a sign that they should not fear the nations upon their coming to Mount Sinai, for to go out from Egypt — with Pharaoh’s consent — to a nearby place a three days’ journey,¹⁹¹Further, Verse 18. See also Ramban further, 19:1. they would surely give heed and do so whether willingly or unwillingly.¹⁹²In the Tur’s rendition of Ramban: “they will surely listen and not ask for a sign.”
By way of the Truth, [the mystic lore of the Cabala], ‘V’zeh’ (And this) shall be the token unto thee, is like the verse, ‘Zeh li’ (I have now been) twenty years in thy house,¹⁹³Genesis 31:41. Literally: “this to me is twenty years.” Rabbeinu Bachya ben Asher here intimates that Ramban’s intent is to be understood in the light of the verse, ‘Zeh’ (This) is my G-d, and I will glorify Him (further, 15:2). See my Hebrew commentary here on Ramban, p. 290. thus alluding to the verses, Because I will be with thee, and behold there is a sign unto thee, the sign of the covenant that “I will be with thee always,” just as it is intimated in the verse, As for Me, behold, My covenant is with thee.¹⁹⁴Genesis 17:4. “It is I who send you that you should serve G-d upon this mountain, and then I too will go up in the midst of this people into the place which I have prepared.”¹⁹⁵Further, 23:20.

כי אהיה עמך וזה לך האות, that you will not only issue decrees but will carry them out successfully wherever you turn. Your very success will convince everyone that I must be the One who has sent you. They will therefore take you and your words very seriously. We find that this did indeed come true in Exodus 11,3 והאיש משה גדול מאד בכל ארץ מצרים, “the man Moses was very great in the whole land of Egypt.”

ויאמר כי אהיה עמך. He said: "For I shall be with you, etc." How was this answer going to put Moses' mind at rest? Surely he had been aware that as G'd's messenger he would enjoy G'd's assistance! He had not argued that G'd would not help him but that his own inadequacy might become the cause of his failure. Another difficulty in this verse are the words וזה לך האות, "and this will be a sign for you, etc." How could G'd describe a sign as "this" when we have never heard about this sign? If the reference had been to the bush not having been consumed by the fire, as Rashi explains, did Moses perhaps entertain any doubts about G'd's ability to save the Jewish people? Another difficulty in this verse is G'd saying: כי אנכי שלחתיך, which suggests that Moses still entertained some doubt that it had been G'd Who had addressed him in the first place and Who wanted to appoint him as His messenger. Moses had not indicated the slightest doubt in this respect!

וזה לך האות כי אנכי שלחתיך, “and this will be the sign for you that it I Who have sent you as My messenger.” Nachmanides refers to numerous interpretations of the above line; the correct interpretation according to the plain meaning of the text being that seeing that G’d told Moses two distinctly different things, i.e. that He would liberate the Israelites from the yoke of the Egyptians and that He would lead them up to the land inhabited by the Canaanites which would become their future homeland, and Moses’ reply had been to ask how he could be expected to accomplish even the first one of these tasks. In response to G’d telling Moses that he would be leading them to the land of the Canaanites, Moses added that the people would not follow him, being afraid to face a land populated by powerful nations, and considering the prospect of warring against these nations as unrealistic. G’d reassured Moses on both scores separately, knowing that Pharaoh’s releasing them and their engaging in a march to dispossess the Canaanites were matters that were conceptually not connected. Concerning Moses’ misgivings in connection with the chances of Pharaoh releasing the Israelites, G’d told him not to worry, that He would be with him, and that he would have proof of this once the Israelites would accept the Torah on this very mountain that he was facing at that time. This revelation would also serve the Israelites as a sign that they had nothing to fear from the Canaanites. Pharaoh would agree to let them travel a relatively short distance of three days’ march to the Sinai region. Rabbi Joseph Kimchi understands the words וזה לך האות as G’d’s promise that He will be at Moses’ side all the time, enabling him to face that despot without fear or trembling. The fact that Moses would face down Pharaoh would be the great miracle. As to the line about what would happen at Mount Sinai, this was a reference to the second aspect of the liberation, the need to secure a country for themselves. At that mountain the people would become inspired to accept the Torah, and with it gain the confidence of securing the land of Canaan as their future ancestral home.

And the vision that you saw in the thornbush . . . Rashi explains: Do not think that the burning bush was just an illusion. Rather, it was a true sign from Hashem.

V. 12. Gerade das, worin du deine vollendete Untauglichkeit zu dem Werke erblickst, macht dich zu dem dazu Geeignetsten. Eben weil du es durch und durch fühlst, wie dir auch die leiseste Anlage fehlt, ein solches Werk mit eigener, somit menschlicher Kraft zu unternehmen, geschweige denn zu vollbringen, und weil diese Unzulänglichkeit dazu deinem ganzen Wesen in so entschiedener Weise aufgeprägt ist, eben darum bist du der geeignetste Bote meiner Sendung. Ich brauche einen Menschen, der der größte הכם und zugleich der größte ענו ist. Deine entschiedene Unzulänglichkeit wird dem von mir durch dich zu vollbringenden Werke für alle Zeit das "Zeichen" aufprägen, dass, was du vollbracht, nur in meiner Sendung und durch meine Macht vollbracht werden konnte. Deine Unzulänglichkeit ist dein Gotteskreditiv. Ohne sie fiele die Rettung in die Masse zunächst nur die Menschengröße verherrlichender weltgeschichtlicher Begebenheiten. Und nicht eine Menschenherrschaft will ich ja durch dich und mit dir begründen. Wenn die Erlösung vollbracht ist, sollst du nicht Herrscher des Volkes werden, תעבדון, sollt ihr, sollst du und das Volk als Diener Gottes an diesen Berg treten, sollst du und das Volk an diesem Berge in den Dienst Gottes treten, und nur בהוציאך, und nur wenn ein Mensch wie du das Volk hinausgeführt haben wird, wird dieses Ziel der ganzen Erlösung möglich sein, werde ich dann sprechen können: אנכי ד׳ א׳ אשר הוצאתיך מארץ מצרים; denn du und das Volk werdet da nur in ganz gleicher Linie als meine Diener dastehen. Und תעבדון את האלקי׳; dieselbe Gotteserscheinung, die hier dir sichtbar geworden und dich zur Rettung sendet, wird dann zum zweitenmale an diesem selbigen, oder vielleicht richtiger auf diesem selbigen Berge, und dann zwar euch allen erscheinen und die Gewinnung des Volkes für meinen Dienst vollenden.

וזה לך האות, “and this will be the sign for you (that though unworthy, now they will become worthy of redemption shortly thereafter;” at that time I will make it plain to all the people that I have sent you to be their redeemer. [G–d is referring to what we read in the report of the revelation at Mount Sinai in Exodus 19,9: וידעו כי אתה שלוחי, [not exactly but words to this effect. Ed.] An alternate interpretation of this line: it is a response to Moses’ question why he had been found worthy to become this people’s leader. He had considered himself as unfit to speak with Royalty, and even if he had been worthy of that, he certainly did not deem himself worthy to take the people out of Egypt. G–d reassured him, implying that he was right, but seeing He would support him all the way, he would be able to fulfill his task. In fact the redemption would not be due to Moses’ actions, but to His actions, all the way. All you need to know is that I will not abandon you in your efforts. (Attributed to Rabbi Joseph Kara who heard it from a Rabbi David.)

על ההר הזה, “on this Mountain.” The word על here must be understood as “close to.” The Presence of G-d Himself, would tower above the Mountain.

בהוציאך את העם ממצרים תעבדון את האלוקים על ההר הזה.. even though they are not worthy of redemption at this time, but they are worthy of serving the Lord at this mountain when you take them out from among these professional sinners.

You, too, shall go on My mission and you will not be harmed. Otherwise, לך (to you) is superfluous in the verse. Therefore, [Hashem tells Moshe that] it is a sign to you, Moshe, that you will not be harmed, just as you saw the bush was not being consumed.

We need to view G'd as replying to Moses' arguments one by one, in the order in which he presented them. G'd first answers Moses' question: "who am I that I should go to Pharaoh?" G'd replies that He Himself will be with him during that interview. This would automatically raise Moses' stature to one exceeding that of Pharaoh. Moses was to regard Pharaoh as no more than an ordinary person.

Three months after they go out of Egypt. If you ask: When does the count start? [For it cannot start] from this Divine statement, as the ten plagues came in between, and each plague lasted for a quarter month, and the other three quarters [of the month] Moshe would caution and warn them, as Rashi explains in Parshas Va’eira (Shemos 7:25), on “Seven full days [passed].” Thus, the plagues lasted for a ten month period. Furthermore, the plagues did not begin immediately after this Divine statement. And if [you suggest that] the count begins with the exodus from Egypt, this is less than a two month period: half of Nisan, Iyar, and on the sixth of Sivan they received the Torah. The answer is: The promise of receiving the Torah is not speaking exclusively of the Written Torah, but also of the Oral Torah. After they received the [Written] Torah, Moshe ascended Mount Sinai. He was there forty days and nights, and received the Oral Torah. When he descended on the 17th of Tammuz, it was three full months [from the exodus]. And the B’nei Yisrael were redeemed in order [to receive] the Oral Torah. As it is written (ibid., 34:27): “ על פי הדברים האלה כרתי אתך ברית (for with these words, I have made a covenant with you),” and על פי [lit. “by the mouth of”] alluding to the Oral Torah. An alternative answer: “Three months after [they go out of Egypt]” means “in the third month [following their exodus from Egypt].” As Rashi similarly explains (Shemos 19:15): “ לשלשת ימים (for three days)” as meaning on the third day.

G'd also contradicted Moses who had said that he was not fit to lead the Jewish people out of Egypt. He demonstrated to him that זה לך האות the sign that he was quite capable of achieving the task G'd alotted to him was that if He, G'd, did not consider Moses as suitable, would He have appointed him to perform such a gigantic task? G'd added another dimension by telling Moses that when he would lead the Jewish people out of Egypt, they (including Moses) would serve Him at the very spot Moses was standing on at that moment. This promise should convince Moses that he would indeed complete his mission successfully.

And this will be a sign to you. Rashi is proving that Hashem makes a promise which is contingent to a previous promise, although that first promise has not as yet been fulfilled. The same is true here. The promise of Moshe’s mission [to bring the people out] has not as yet been realized. [You might ask:] how can that [promise] serve as a proof [of the fulfillment] of a further promise — the receiving of the Torah? [Thus Rashi answers:] We find a similar sentence structure in Yeshayahu regarding the promise of Sancheriv’s downfall, which had not yet happened. Yet it signaled [the fulfillment of] another promise — namely, that which grows of itself will be blessed.

By saying: זה לך האות, G'd may also have indicated to Moses that the very fact that he did not consider himself as adequate for the task was the factor which had made G'd choose him. G'd needed a humble person, not an arrogant one. The reference to that mountain which was not a high mountain was to confirm that G'd preferred the humble and the modest to the high and mighty, and therefore arrogant. G'd could have chosen Mount Hermon as the site for the revelation; instead He chose Mount Sinai.

AND THEY SHALL SAY UNTO ME: WHAT IS HIS NAME? WHAT SHALL I SAY UNTO THEM? This verse calls aloud for an explanation. It is incomprehensible that Moses should say, And they shall say unto me: What is His name? meaning that this will be a sign to them to believe in him. The asking for His Name and Moses’ telling it to them are no sign to anyone who did not believe in Moses to begin with. If Israel knew that Name, Moses likewise knew it, and thus his knowledge thereof was equivalent to theirs and it would be no sign or wonder at all. If they had not heard of it previously, what proof would that be that they should believe in his words altogether? And now even after He informed him of the Great Name, Moses still said, But, behold, they will not believe me,¹⁹⁶Ibid., 4:1. and then He gave him the various signs!¹⁹⁷Ibid., Verses 2-9.
Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra said that Moses asked which of G-d’s Names he should mention to Israel, for the Name of E-il Sha-dai (G-d Almighty) does not signify the performance of miraculous signs; only the Great Name, [i.e., the Tetragrammaton], indicates that. But this interpretation does not appear correct to me. Moses had not yet been told that He would make great and wondrous signs and portents at the going forth from Egypt. Rather, he was told that He would save them from the hand of the Egyptians and bring them up to the land of Canaan, and for that — to strike at the heart of Pharaoh, as well as to be victorious over the seven nations — the name E-il Sha-dai suffices. Sarah was taken out from Pharaoh’s house with great plagues,¹⁹⁸Genesis 12:17. and Abraham alone subdued the great kings¹⁹⁹Ibid., 14:14-15. — all with the help of E-il Sha-dai, the Divine Name known to the patriarchs,²⁰⁰Further, 6:3. and so likewise He would do to their descendants. Moreover, Jacob had said, And ‘Elokim’ (G-d) will be with you, and bring you back unto the land of your fathers²⁰¹Genesis 48:21., and Joseph also said, ‘Elokim’ (G-d) will surely remember you.²⁰²Ibid., 50:25. Thus the remembrance is by Elokim!
In my opinion, Moses even at that time was already the father of wisdom, great in achievement of the heights of prophecy, and inherent in his question was the request that He inform him Who is sending him, that is to say, by what Divine attribute is he sent to the Israelites, just as Isaiah said, And now the Eternal G-d hath sent me, and His spirit.²⁰³Isaiah 48:16. Thus Moses said: “They will ask me concerning my mission whether it is with the attribute of E-il Sha-dai which stood by the patriarchs, or with the high attribute of mercy with which You will do signs and wonders which will be new phenomena in creation.” [Moses was obliged to ask] this question because He had said to him, I am the G-d of thy father, the G-d of Abraham,²⁰⁴Verse 6. and He did not elucidate to him at all any of His sacred Names. Moses then heard that He assured him of the Revelation on Mount Sinai and the Giving of the Torah, and he knew that the Torah would not be given with the Name of E-il Sha-dai mentioned in connection with the patriarchs, but would be given with the Great Name with which the world came into existence. Therefore he asked, What shall I say unto them?
Our Rabbis have alluded to this interpretation. Thus they said:²⁰⁵Shemoth Rabbah 3:6. “And Moses said unto G-d, Behold, when I come unto the children of Israel.” Rabbi Shimon related in the name of Rabbi Simon that Moses said: ‘I am destined to become the agent between Thee and them when Thou wilt give them the Torah and say unto them, I am the Eternal thy G-d.’²⁰⁶Further, 20:2. “And if I am worthy to become Thy agent at the Giving of the Torah, I request to be informed now of Thy Great Name” (Eitz Yoseph to Shemoth Rabbah). This conclusion is here implied and is so clearly stated at the end of the Midrash here quoted.
“And I shall say unto them: The G-d of your fathers hath sent me unto you. At that moment, Moses desired to be elucidated concerning his activities, for he feared lest the children of Israel ask him, What is His name? What shall I say unto them? At that moment Moses desired that the Holy One, blessed be He, inform him of the Great Name, [i.e., the Tetragrammaton].” This was the purport of Moses’ question.

מה אמר אליהם?, seeing that I do not know Your specific name.

"ואמרו לי "מה שמו?, a name describes the individual features of a person, Being, or what makes him distinctive. The people could therefore be expected to ask Moses in what manner this G’d whose messenger he claimed to be had distinguished Himself as being special, different from other gods.

הנה אנכי בא אל בני ישראל, "When I come to the children of Israel, etc." At this point Moses had agreed in principle to accept the mission, conceding that the arguments he had voiced previously had now become irrelevant. However, he needed accreditation as a prophet in order to make the Israelites accept him as such. As soon as he would come to them they would ask him to identify himself by revealing the name of the G'd Who he claimed had spoken to him. We find that whenever G'd began to speak to the patriarchs He identified Himself by stating His name (compare Genesis 15,7; 17,1; 28,13). Moses wanted to know which of G'd's names he was to mention when he would come to the Israelites. Moses had been wondering that seeing G'd had identified Himself to him as "the G'd of your father Abraham, the G'd of Isaac, and the G'd of Jacob" without adding any other attribute as part of His identification, whether he should similarly identify G'd to the children of Israel when they would ask him who had communicated with him and had appointed him as their redeemer. Did G'd really think that this would suffice as an identification for the people to accept Moses as their leader?

ואמרו לי מה שמו, “(how am I to answer them) when they will say to me: ‘what is (this G’d’s) name?” Nachmanides writes that this verse cries out to be interpreted (not just read). It is quite inconceivable that the verse means that Moses said to G’d: “what is Your name, what shall I say to them?” and that the instruction by G’d to tell them His name would be the kind of אות, convincing sign or symbol that he was trustworthy in his claim to be this G’d’s appointee, sent to orchestrate their deliverance. How could such a simplistic statement as telling them of G’d’s name make believers out of confirmed non-believers? What proof did Moses bring with him that would encourage the people to believe that he indeed had been chosen by G’d to be their redeemer? We see indeed that immediately after G’d told him to relate His name to the people, Moses countered that he was convinced that the people would not believe him. Ibn Ezra understands Moses’ question to refer to the numerous attributes, (names) of G’d, and his wanting to know which of these attributes he was to stress when telling them that he had been sent to deliver them from the yoke of Pharaoh. It was a well known fact that miracles are not performed by the attribute Shaddai, but only by the four-lettered ineffable name of G’d. Ibn Ezra’s words do not appear acceptable at all, seeing that the question of performing any miracles had not yet been raised by either G’d or Moses. Moses had not been instructed as yet to perform any miracles in Egypt; he had only been told to lead the Jews out of Egypt by convincing Pharaoh in G’d’s name to release the Israelites from bondage. Moreover, the people had the tradition that Joseph had spoken of the attribute elokim remembering the Israelites when the time came to take them out of Egypt, (Genesis 50,24) There would therefore appear to be no reason for Moses to refer at this stage to any other possible attribute of G’d. Also the patriarch Yaakov had already told his sons that the attribute elokim would come to the assistance of the people when the time would be ripe. (Genesis 48,21) Seeing that the attribute of elokim had been sufficient to assure Avraham’s single-handed victory over the four Kings who had defeated the five kings of Sodom, there was no reason at all for Moses to suggest that another attribute of G’d need to be invoked in order to make the Exodus from Egypt possible. I believe (still Nachmanides writing) that we must understand matters in the following manner. At that time Moses was already privy to profound prophetic insights, having previously mastered all the philosophic wisdom available at his time, [perhaps also having composed the Book of Job at that time, a book that testifies to the profound wisdom of its author. Ed.] In light of his knowledge of the complex nature of G’d and His attributes, he enquired under which heading G’d had intended to appoint him as the leader of the Israelite nation. He was convinced that this would be the first question by the elders of the people that he would have to answer in order to establish some degree of credibility. The elders knew of two of G’d’s attributes, the attribute elokim, i.e. el shaddai, the attribute which had successfully assisted the patriarchs throughout their lives, and the attribute Hashem, i.e. the attribute under whose aegis miracles of supernatural character are performed. The obvious reason which prompted Moses to raise this question was that G’d had introduced Himself to him as the G’d of the patriarchs, i.e. אלוקי אביך. Seeing that the patriarchs’ lives had been guided by the attribute of shaddai, it was quite possible that the Exodus would also be orchestrated under that heading. If G’d, at that time, had mentioned a specific attribute of His as enabling Him to forthwith orchestrate the redemption of the Jewish people, Moses would not have raised the question at all. G’d’s answer now was to ask Moses to wait until the people would come to Mount Sinai and experience the revelation, when it would become clear that such an event could not occur under the aegis of the attribute shaddai. The people would experience an attribute of G’d with which even the patriarchs had not been familiar. This was the attribute used to create the world, not the attribute employed to merely keep the world functioning as a going concern. Moses wanted to know if he were to reveal this attribute of G’d to the people already at this time. In other words, was he to reveal to them at this time universal aspects of G’d, or was he to restrict himself to representing G’d in His capacity as manager of the earth in its present format? When G’d answered אהיה אשר אהיה, this meant that there was no need for Moses to broaden the people’s theological base by dragging in the universal dimensions of G’d as the Creator, etc. It would suffice to assure the people that the same G’d (attribute) Who had been with the patriarchs would continue to be with both Moses and the people. This attribute would suffice, if called upon during periods of distress, to propel G’d to help His people. G’d’s response to His people’s prayers would be enough proof to them and to the people around them that there was a living G’d Who took an interest in the fate of His creatures. This corresponds to how our sages explained the name אהיה אשר אהיה, i.e. “just as I have seen them through this major problem, so I will see them through any major problems in the future.” It is assumed that the Jewish people, whenever they are in distress, will call upon this attribute of G’d asking for relief. The manifestation of the attribute of shaddai on such occasions is abundant proof of the existence of a living and caring G’d. Moses felt that it was premature to hint at future times when the Israelites might encounter similar distress; this is why he suggested that he introduce G’d simply as אהיה, the four letters of the ineffable name, the attribute of Mercy, an attribute which presupposes that this G’d is the Creator, hence He can operate freely in all of His creation, that He is the universal G’d. The word אהיה is repeated here three times, indicating that in G’d’s approach to the universe, seeing that He is eternal, there are no such concepts as past, present, and future, they are all one, i.e. , היה, הווה, יהיה“He was, He is, He will be,” are parts of the same concept. Only to mortals such as we, are these concepts separate and non-interchangeable time zones. Some commentators see in the expression אהיה אשר אהיה, a command for Moses to tell the people that G’d Himself suffers with the people whenever they endure suffering. G’d explained that the reason why Moses was granted this vision of G’d was precisely because the people had turned to Him, pleading for relief, and that G’d was about to answer their plea. He was sure, He said, that as soon as Moses would tell the people this they would indeed believe him when he said that he had been sent by this G’d. In other words, the answer to Moses’ question “what shall I tell them in order that they will believe me?” is that ”I will be with them.” Still another approach to our problem. Moses made the same mistake as Yaakov had made when he asked the angel in his nocturnal encounter his name, and who had been told that this was irrelevant. Celestial forces, unlike terrestrial phenomena, do not have fixed names, as they adopt names that match whatever task they perform at a given point in history. Seeing that G’d is active simultaneously on many different “fronts,” He ”travels” under many different “names.” [In colloquial terms: “G’d uses many different passports on different occasions.” Ed.] The meaning of the words אהיה אשר אהיה is simply “I will adopt whatever name the occasion and the circumstances call for at the time I manifest Myself.”

V. 13. Die Frage, welchen Gottesnamen er Israel verkündigen solle, dürfte nur durch Vergegenwärtigung der Momente seiner Sendung verständlich werden. Namen Gottes, ה׳ und שד׳, waren ihnen ja von den Vätern her bekannt genug. Allein nach allem Bisherigen musste ja Mosche klar sein, wie seine Sendung eine doppelte sei, einmal an Pharao: die Rettung zu vollbringen, und dann die eigentliche und ungleich schwierigere an Israel, um es für das große Ziel, "Volk Gottes" zu werden, wie dies in dem בהוציאך וגו׳ entschieden als Zweck der ganzen Erlösung ausgesprochen, vorbereitend heranzubilden. Wäre seine Aufgabe für jetzt nur Rettung aus der Knechtschaft gewesen, er hätte seine Sendung für jetzt nur an Pharao zu richten gehabt. Allein Mosche begreift sofort seine Sendung an Israel als den eigentlichen Kern seiner Aufgabe, sie der Erlösung würdig zu machen und damit ihrer eigentlichen großen Bestimmung näher zu führen. Er war nicht darüber im Zweifel, was er Pharao zu sagen habe, allein über seine Sendung an Israel wünschte er näheren Aufschluss. Daher die Frage: "wenn ich nun zu den Söhnen Jisraels komme und ihnen sage, der Gott eurer Väter hat mich an euch gesandt —" diese Sendung an Israel setzt die Ankündigung einer neuen Aufgabe, eines neuen Verhältnisses voraus —"welchen Namen soll ich ihnen dann nennen?" Die Nennung dieses Namens muss somit Aufschluss über das neue Verhältnis gewähren, in welches sie zu Gott treten sollen.

And here Hashem answered “I will be, what I will be,” I will be with you [bnei yisroel] during this troubling time and I will with you [bnei yisroel] during other troubling times. Moshe says before Hashem enough troubles at this time, Hashem said to Moshe you said right. You should say this to Bnei Yisroel “I will be as Hashem sent me."

Moses implied that inasmuch as both he and the Israelites were already familiar with that aspect of G'd, in what way was Moses better or more intimate with G'd that they should believe he was a prophet sent on such a great mission? On the other hand, if Moses were to claim that the name of the G'd in whose name he had come was one that was unfamiliar to them, why would such a name carry any weight with them at all? I have seen many different commentaries on this verse, but I do believe that any person with an ounce of common sense will appreciate the way I have presented the problem Moses poses here. At this stage Moses most certainly did not ask G'd to provide him with a miracle he would be entitled to perform in order to prove that his claim was not spurious. You will note that G'd told Moses to tell the Israelites that He had identified Himself as אהיה. It is true that this was an attribute that G'd had never employed in His communications with the patriarchs. Moses realised now that as a true messenger he would never presume to interpret something G'd had said without first making certain that he had understood G'd correctly. No doubt Moses had been familar already with more than one attribute of G'd. However, he did not dare to convey to the people something he himself thought G'd had meant without checking. It is also possible that this verse merely reflects Moses' curiosity to learn more about the attribute G'd presently employed when speaking with him.

שֵם , verwandt mit שם von , שום, der geistige Ort, die Kategorie, wohin ein Gegenstand zu registrieren ist. Jede Nennung eines Namens ist die Ortsanweisung eines Gegenstandes in dem Reiche unserer Erkenntnisse, sagt uns, wohin der Gegenstand begrifflich gehört. Oder auch von שמה, wie בֵן von בנה, verwandt mit שמע geistigen צמא , dem geistigen Durst; wie ראה , verwandt mit רעה, die Stillung des geistigen Hungers. Das Auge bringt das Konsistente, das Körperliche der Dinge dem Bewusstsein. Mit dem Ohr vernehmen wir die inneren Verhältnisse, das Innere der Erscheinungen. Wir hören nichts als שמות, die inneren Wahrheiten der Dinge. Unser ganzes Gottbewusstsein besteht aus שמותיו של הב׳׳ה. Alles, was wir von Gott wissen sollen, alles, was uns Gott von sich offenbart hat, ist nicht für unser Auge, sondern für unser Ohr. Und je nachdem wir ihn nennen, je nachdem haben wir eine Vorstellung von seinem Verhalten zu uns und von unserem Verhältnis zu ihm. Daher das bedeutsame: ויבטחו בך יודעי שמך ,אשגבהו כי ידע שמי ,דעת שם ד׳. Demgemäß heißt כי הגדלת על כל שמך אמרתך (Ps. 138, 2): was du für die Zukunft verheißen, über ragt noch weit das, was wir bereits von dir wissen. "Gottes Namen zu wissen" brauchen wir eben nur dann, wenn wir aktiv zu ihm in Beziehung treten sollen. Sollen wir nur passiv uns von ihm retten und segnen lassen, so bedarf es dazu ebensowenig Gottesbewusstsein, wie zu unserer Geburt. Erst wenn wir aktiv, als עבדי ד׳ in den Dienst Gottes treten sollen, ist uns "ein entsprechendes Wissen seines Namens" not, haben wir mit Erkenntnis seines Namens uns dessen bewusst zu werden, welchen Begriff er wolle, der uns bei unserem Verhalten zu ihm leiten solle, und von welchem Gedanken aus wir all unser Tun und Lassen ihm entsprechend gestalten sollen. Mosche Frage nach dem Namen, den er für seine Sendung an Israel diesem bringen solle, ist gleichbedeutend mit der Frage: welchen Begriff er den Söhnen Israels bringen solle, der ihr Inneres umwandeln und von dem aus sie zu dem freien Entschluss kommen sollen, aus dem Dienst Pharaos in den Dienst Gottes einzutreten.

אהיה אשר אהיה I AM THAT I AM — I will be with them in this sorrow — I Who I will be with them in the subjection they will suffer at the hands of other kingdoms (Berakhot 9b). Whereupon Moses said to him: Lord of the Universe! Why should I mention to them other sorrows: they have enough with this sorrow! God replied to him: You have spoken rightly — כה תאמר THUS SHALT THOU SAY etc.… Ehyeh, “I am” — without the addition of אשר אהיה which has reference to future sorrows — has sent me unto you”.

ויאמר אלוקים אל משה, if you do not know My name, I will tell you that I am the Eternal. This means that I can fulfill any promise I make. Now that I have told you that My name is “the Eternal,” כה תאמר, thus you shall say to the Children of Israel, “the One Who is the Eternal has sent me to you.”

אהיה אשר אהיה. I am an independent existence, not subject to influences by other phenomena or even caused by them. Seeing that this is so it follows that I love existing, and beings that exist. As a corollary to this love of Mine for existence, it follows that I deeply resent anything or anyone who tries to terminate such an existing being from continuing to do so. The prophet Ezekiel 18,32 phrased this thought as “for I do not desire the death of him that dies.” From this it follows that I must love righteousness and justice the objective of both virtues being the continued existence of all who deserve it. At the same time, it follows that I must hate injustice and cruelty as these vices are apt to terminate the existence of the victims of these vices. Clearly, then, this G’d must hate the violence and cruelty perpetrated on you by the Egyptians.

ויאמר…אהיה אשר אהיה, G'd said: Ehyeh asher Ehyeh. G'd revealed the attribute He was using while speaking with Moses. This attribute is closely related to the attribute of Mercy, an attribute employed in leading someone from slavery to freedom. It is interesting to study what is written in the Sefer Tikkunim section 50 about the mystical dimension of why the Torah mentions the Exodus from Egypt a total of 50 times. This is also the mystical dimension of why G'd smote the Egyptians with 50 plagues at the sea as mentioned in Shemot Rabbah 23,9. Actually, G'd had already alluded to this name when He had said to Moses וזה לך האות כי אנכי שלחתיך, when the meaning of אנכי is the attribute that G'd would employ during that entire mission. The same name occurs again at the revelation when G'd commences the decalogue by referring to אנכי ה׳ אלוקיך אשר הוצאתיך. At the present juncture Moses had simply not yet understood the connection between אנכי and אהיה. G'd had been aware from the beginning that Moses would question Him as to how to identify the G'd Who had spoken with him.

V. 14. Soll ich einen Begriff von mir aussprechen, der, wenn er ihn erfasst und sich völlig von ihm erfassen lässt, den Menschen völlig umwandelt, ihn hinaus und hinüberhebt aus allen übrigen Wesen, über alle anderen Wesen, und ihn in unmittelbare, innige Beziehung zu mir bringt: so "nenne" ich mich, so spreche ich von mir aus: "Ich werde sein, der Ich sein will!"

ויאמר....אהיה, “He said (G–d)......I shall be;” why did the Torah have to repeat so many times “He said” of G–d, in verses 14-16 when we have not been told that Moses replied to any of these pronouncements of G–d? We may have to understand this as G–d feeling the need to explain statements He had made such as that His name is אהיה, meaning that seeing that He is eternal this should be reflected in His very name. The words: אשר אהיה, may be meant to define this very attribute. In order to make sure that Moses would not think that His name is אהיה אשר אהיה, He tells Moses precisely how to answer the elders’ question about Who it is that sent him. Hence the instruction: כה תאמר “you shall word it precisely thus;” as far as the people of Israel is concerned the fact that He had no beginning is of secondary interest; what matters to them is that He will continue to exist forever without aging.

אהיה אשר אהיה, the first word אהיה is the name of G-d; the second is an explanation of why G-d is called אהיה. In other words: the reason why My name is אהיה is because I am eternal, immutable. I am therefore a most reliable G-d, in the sense of dependable helper and saviour, as I will always be around. My “lifespan” is not as that word suggests a limited period, but I am not subject to any limitations. I will still be on the side of the Jewish people at the time when I redeem them from the sufferings in Egypt, as already promised by Yaakov to Joseph in Genesis 48,21. In other words, the name revealed to Moses here by G-d was not a new name. Yaakov had already been familiar with it. It is one of the attributes of G-d, Who has many attributes. G-d tells Moses that anyone who legitimizes himself as speaking of the G-d called אהיה, will be believed. The fact is that the Israelites did believe Moses when he identified himself as speaking in the name of this G-d, as we read in Exodus 4,31.

Perhaps Moses was aware of these meanings and only asked if he were to reveal these meanings to the people when they would ask him. G'd responded אשר אהיה, i.e. that the reason He employed this attribute was because it was appropriate when He would share the pain of the Israelites whenever they would endure suffering. The Talmud Chagigah 12 has already explained this. G'd identified Himself sometimes as שדי to indicate that it was He who put a stop to ongoing proliferation of the universe (Chagigah 16). He employs the attribute צבאות when He acts as the Commander-in Chief of His hosts. The attribute הויה reflects that He is an eternal Presence, was, is, and will be (Zohar third volume page 297). G'd revealed the mystical dimension of His great name to Moses at this point, namely that He would always be at the side of His people whenever they would find themselves in distress. There is also an allusion in that attribute to the three "crowns" [Torah-Priesthood-Royalty, Ed.]. Students of the Kabbalah will get my meaning.

Alle anderen Wesen sind, was sie sein sollen, sind mit ihrem Dasein an den Willen des einen Einzigen gebunden, der allein spricht, nicht nur ich bin, sondern ich werde sein, der ich sein will. Es ist damit das persönliche, absolute, freie Wesen Gottes ausgesprochen, und indem Gott hier nicht: ich bin usw. sondern ich werde sein etc. somit die Zukunft, die völlig von seinem Willen abhängige freie Zukunft von sich prädiziert, so wird eben damit das charakteristisch Jüdische des Gottesbegriffs, somit die neue Erkenntnis ausgesprochen, die mit der Erlösung aus Mizrajim welterlösend in den Kreis der Menschheit treten soll.

ויאמר כה תאמר לבני ישראל, He said: "Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, etc." Although G'd revealed to his servant Moses the mystical dimension of His attribute, i.e. אשר אהיה, He repeated that all this was only contained in the "name," i.e. אהיה. As far as Moses was concerned he was to tell the Israelites only that the One who calls Himself אהיה had sent him. As to the aspect of that name which referred to the future, i.e. אשר אהיה, that G'd would also demonstrate that attribute of His when the Jewish people would face problems in the future, this was something Moses was not to mention.

Dem außerjüdischen Gedanken ist Gott nur höchstens die Ursache der Welt in ihrem physischen Bestande, seitdem sie besteht, und selbst da, wo sich dieser Gedanke von der Immanenz, eigentlich von der Leugnung eines Daseins, zu dem transzendentalen, außerweltlichen, wirklichen Dasein Gottes erhebt, gehört Gottes Wirken eigentlich der Vergangenheit an; in einem einzigen Momente stand Gott mit der Welt in Verbindung, es war dies der Augenblick, in welchem die Welt aus Gottes Macht oder Willen ins Dasein trat. Seitdem ist sein Werk, ist die Welt abgeschlossen, alles, auch die fernste Zukunft, ist nur das mit Notwendigkeit erfolgende Resultat der mit dem Bestande der Welt seit deren Bestande, in ihr gegebenen Ordnung der Dinge.

Our sages in Berachot 9 have already stated די לצרה בשעתה, it suffices to deal with one problem at the time it is topical. They claim that Moses suggested to G'd not to draw attention to the אשר אהיה aspect of this attribute. I have made a careful search of the text and found that the sages in the Talmud who attributed this reply to Moses were absolutely correct. If there had been no new dimension added at the end of the verse which had not been present at the beginning, why would the Torah have inserted the word ויאמר once more within the same verse? Our sages therefore concluded that G'd had originally meant to conclude His answer with the words אהיה אשר אהיה. He added the new version, i.e. אהיה שלחני as a result of Moses' question "why speak about future troubles already now?"

Dieser Anschauung der Welt erfolgt alles nach unabänderlich gegebenen Gesetzen, die höchstens einmal aus der Machtfülle eines Höhern hervorgegangen. Ihr ists eigentlich nur der Mensch, der mit seiner — scheinbar — freien Tätigkeit eine — scheinbar neue Zukunft schafft. Gott und die Welt sind gebunden, und der Mensch wäre frei! Sie muss daher, um ihren unfreien, gebundenen Weltgott zu retten, auch die Freiheit des Menschen — diese unumstössliche, diese heidnische Welt- und Gottanschauung umstoßende Tatsache eines jeden Menschenbewußtseins — selbst für eine Täuschung erklären, der Mensch selber ist nicht frei, wozu er frei sich zu entschließen wähnt, ist selber nur das Produkt ihn unbewusst bestimmender, in seiner Vergangenheit gegebener und aus derselben erfließender Einflüsse — und vom Himmel zur Erde, in dem ganzen Ausmaß

You will no doubt ask how it is that G'd was not sensitive to that consideration even before Moses raised it? When you examine G'd's words closely you will observe that G'd had already indicated His awareness of that aspect. When G'd instructed Moses to speak to the children of Israel, His instructions should have commenced with the words: כה תאמר לבני ישראל, as this would have been the appropriate answer to Moses' question: "when they say to me what is His name what shall I say to them?" However, since G'd already knew that Moses would query that answer G'd immediately pre-empted his question by explaining that he should identify G'd first as the One who is known as אהיה. If G'd first spoke about אהיה אשר אהיה, this was privileged information for Moses only at this time that just as G'd could be relied upon in this crisis so He could also be relied on in any future crises; however, Moses was to keep the latter part of the promise to himself at this stage. In the future, after the Torah would be revealed and the generation reading this had already experienced G'd's salvation, they would realise that the same G'd who appeared to Moses out of the burning bush would also be at their side in any future troubles. If G'd would have answered Moses by saying immediately: "The G'd of your fathers has sent me to you, etc.," then the words אהיה שלחני would have lost their impact since the principal message had already been delivered. It is also possible that seeing that Moses was exraordinarily perceptive he only wanted to hear G'd spell out in detail what he had already surmised to be the meaning of אהיה.

Diesem ganzen, mit dem freien Gott auch den freien Menschen leugnenden Wahn tritt zermalmend das אהי׳ אשר אהי׳ entgegen, und setzt mit dem freien Gott der Zukunft auch den freien Menschen der Zukunft in seine Wahrheit ein. Wie das letzte Wort der Schöpfungsurkunde: אשר ברא אלקי׳ לעשות, das Wirken Gottes mit der Schöpfung nicht als vollendet, sondern als erst beginnend bezeichnet, indem es von Himmel und Erde ausspricht: Gott habe sie ins Dasein gerufen, um nun weiter zu wirken, — ein Wirken, das sich eben mit der Schöpfung des letzten Geschöpfes, des zum Verwalter der Gottesschöpfung eingesetzten freien Menschen, das Gebiet seines Waltens gepflanzt — wie dieses Wort von dem vollendeten Schöpferwerke der Natur zu dem nun erst beginnenden, in die ganze Zukunft reichenden und eben sie leitend gestaltenden Schöpferwirken Gottes in der Menschengeschichte überleitet, ממלאכת עולמו שבת ממלאכת הצדיקים והרשעים לא שבת אלא פועל עם אלו ופועל עם אלו מראה לאלו מעין דגמטרין שלהן ומראה לאלו מעין דגמטרין שלהן — ("Von dem Werke seiner Weltschöpfung hat Gott aufgehört, nicht aber von dem Werke mit den Gerechten und den Bösen, sondern er wirkt mit diesen und wirkt mit jenen, lässt diese eine Ahnung von der ihrer wartenden Zukunft erfahren und lässt jene eine Ahnung von der ihrer wartenden Zukunft erfahren. ר׳ פנחס בשם ר׳ אושעי׳ in ב׳׳ר) — und daher erst von da an der Zukunftsname Gottes: ה׳ neben dem Schöpfernamen: אלקי׳ eintritt: so spricht hier, bei dem ersten großen, diese ganze Menschenzukunft im Keime setzenden Schritt in die Menschheit hinein, das: אהי׳ אשר אהי׳ diesen Grund- und Eckstein aller Wahrheit und alles Heils in persönlichster, absolutester Entschiedenheit aus und beruft für dieses, durch den absoluten Willen Gottes gesicherte Zukunftsziel der Menschheit, die Zukunft schaffende Tat des Menschen in seinen Dienst: das Wollen des Menschen für das Wollen Gottes.

Es bricht dieses Wort die Fessel jeder anderen Gewalt von dem Menschen und stellt ihn aufrecht frei in den Dienst Gottes: ein Mitarbeiter an Seiner Zukunft. Unter dem freien Gott beherrscht der freie Mensch die Welt für die von Gott frei gewollte Zukunft, und mit jedem Gottesgepräge, das er seiner inneren Welt, mit jedem Gottesgepräge, das er seiner äußeren Welt aufdrückt, schafft er ein Stück von dieser Zukunft. Die Garantie für die absolute Verwirklichung dieser Zukunft liegt in der Tatsache, dass ja Gott seine Welt für diese Zukunft frei geschaffen, und somit auch die scheinbar widerstrebendsten Zustände und Erscheinungen nur zu diesem einen, großen, sichern Ziele hinführen müssen. Wie wir diese Zuversicht in dem in unseren Gesamtgottesdienst hineingewebten, immer wiederkehrenden Kaddischbekenntnis aussprechen, dass: "Gottes großer Name zu immer größerer und immer heiligerer Verwirklichung komme in der Welt, die Er nach seinem freien Willen geschaffen hat". —

זה שמי לעלם THIS IS MY NAME FOR EVER — The last word is written without ו (so that it may be read לְעַלֵּם and it would mean “this is My Name which is to be concealed”) to suggest: Conceal it (this Divine Name), so that it shall not be read exactly as it is written (but should be read as אדני; cf. Pesachim 50a; Exodus Rabbah 3:7).

AND THIS IS MY MEMORIAL UNTO ALL GENERATIONS. This refers back to the G-d of Abraham, the G-d of Isaac, and the G-d of Jacob, for the covenant [of G-d] with the patriarchs will never be forgotten, and throughout all generations whenever the children of Israel will mention [in prayer], “the G-d of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob,” G-d shall hear and answer them.²³¹Psalms 55:20. The verse here thus states: “Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel. Whenever you mention Me in prayer say thus: ‘G-d of Abraham, G-d of Isaac…’ This is My memorial unto all generations.”
By way of the Truth, [the mystic lore of the Cabala], this is My name forever refers to the G-d of Abraham, the G-d of Isaac. And this is My memorial refers to the expression, and the G-d of Jacob. This is the reason He added here the letter vav — [v’zeh zichri (‘And’ this is My memorial)].²³²It is to indicate that this is the preponderant Name in the memorial (Bachya). This is the sense of the expression, zichri l’dor dor, [with the words l’dor dor written] defectively, [i.e., without a vav between the dalet and the resh]. The person learned in the mysteries of the Torah will understand.

ויאמר עוד אלוקים, to Moses “it is not fitting that when referring to Me the Israelites should always do so by calling Me by this name (title), just as it is not fitting for people always to refer to their regional king by his most illustrious title. It is good enough for you to refer to Me as אלוקי אבותיכם,ה', “the G’d of your patriarchs, etc.” This name includes within it that G’d is master and king. When one addresses a king of flesh and blood, one does not spell out his full titles, but contents oneself with saying: “long live the King!” (Samuel I 10 24) Or, when referring to an order given by the king, one simply says: “the King commanded me etc.,” without adding the King’s other titles (Samuel I 21,3).

ויאמר עוד אלוקים אל משה כה תאמר אל בני ישראל, the Beney Yisrael that G’d refers to here are the elders of the people. (according to Rashi the people at large would not understand such thoughts.)

ויאמר עוד אלוקים, G'd continued to say, etc. The reason the 4-lettered name of G'd is repeated here once more when G'd could have been content with having the 4-lettered name אהיה is that the latter 4-lettered name of G'd comprises all the holy aspects that are unique to G'd. To begin with, G'd had revealed only a single one of these attributes which G'd ascribes to Himself when intervening at a time when the Jewish people are in difficulties. The attribute אהיה was used to address itself to Israel's current problem.

וזה זכרי לדור דור, “and this is My remembrance from generation to generation.” G’d reverts to His reference as being the G’d of the patriarchs. He assures Moses, and through him the people of Israel, that His covenant with the patriarchs is of an eternal, enduring nature, one that will always be referred to at critical times in Jewish history. He responded to the children of the patriarchs in the past and will continue to do so.

So that it (My Name) not be read as written. The Re”m’s lengthy commentary is expressed in the Gemara (Pesachim 50a), and he [apparently] overlooked it. (Nachalas Yaakov).

V. 15. Es dürfte ein Unterschied sein zwischen כה תאמר אל־ und כה תאמר ל־ Jenes, ל־, brauchte nur für Israel, zu seiner Belehrung, etwa an die זקנים, nicht direkt an Israel gesprochen zu sein, dieses, אל־, bezeichnete die Ansprache an Israel. Das אהי׳ אשר אהי׳ war nur an Mosche ausgesprochen. Zur Belehrung für das Volksbewusstsein genügt: אהי׳, die Belehrung zum Begreifen der Zukunft aus Gott ohne deren Motivierung aus der einzigartigen absoluten Freiheit Gottes. Und dieser von dem Gedanken an die Persönlichkeit Gottes — "ich werde sein" — ausgehende Begriff soll zunächst nur für Israel an dessen Lehrer und Leiter ausgesprochen werden. Die Sendung an Israel knüpft statt an die Persönlichkeit der Zukunft, an die Wirksamkeit der Zukunft an; statt: "ich werde sein": "der alles werden lässt", und auch dieser, dem allgemeinen jüdischen Bewusstsein hinausgegebene Name, verbleibt nur dem stillen Bewusstsein; gedacht und gesprochen wird er nur in seinem unmittelbaren Korrelat für die Menschen- und Volksbestimmung, der wesentlichsten Frucht dieses ganzen Gottesbewusstseins: als "mein Herr", שם אדנות, mit jenem Namen, der ja eben den Menschen mit jedem kommenden Moment seines Seins und Schaffens in den Dienst dieses einzigen Schöpfers und Gestalters der Zukunft stellt. זה dieses, der שם הויה, ist mein Name für die Zukunft, וזה, und dies ist ja in seinem Ergebnis für den Menschen nichts anders als זכרי, als der den Menschen in meinen Dienst stellende שם אדנות, unter welchem Ich gedacht werde von jeglichem Geschlecht.

:ויאמר עוד אל־הים אל משה: כה תאמר אל בני ישראל, “G-d continued speaking to Moses, saying to him: “thus you shall say to the Children of Israel:” G-d told Moses that it is not appropriate when speaking of G-d to always refer to the name that G-d had just revealed to Moses. This we know already from a mortal king, whom the people applaud when shouting: “long live the king,” without mentioning the king’s name, as this would be discourteous. If a mortal king is not always referred to by his personal name, how much less so is it seemly to refer to the King of Kings on all occasions by His personal name? Whenever anyone will speak to you about the Exodus from Egypt, he will refer to G-d simply as: “Hashem, the G-d of your fathers.” {Mechilta, Pischa, chapter 16)

וזה זכרי AND THIS IS MY MEMORIAL (the word may signify “the mention of Me”) — He taught him how the Divine Name should be read. So, too, did David say, (Psalms 135:13) “O Lord, Thy name is for ever (שמך לעולם), O Lord, Thy memorial is throughout all generations (זכרך לדר ודר).

זה שמי לעולם וזה זכרי לדור ודור, the name אהיה אשר אהיה, “the Eternal” which I told you in verse one (14) is My most illustrious title, a reference to My essence, (the ineffable name) whereas the name(s) I told you in verse two (verse 15) is a description of My being Royalty. [The author continues to remind us that it is in the nature of things that G’d refers to Himself slightly differently from the way His creatures refer to Him even when using the same basic “name.” Whereas G’d refers to Himself in the first person, i.e. starting with the letter א, when His creatures refer to Him by the same “name,” they must commence the spelling of that name with the letter י as one refers to a third person. In addition, by using the alphabet in reverse order i.e. ת-ש ר.ק. G’d would spell His own name אהי'ה as תצמ'ץ, and all the other names of G’d with which we are familiar would similarly appear with the letters based on starting with the letter ת in a descending order. Ed.]

ה' אלוקיכם, this is also the G’d of your patriarchs in addition to being the G’d possessing these virtues just mentioned. He had concluded a covenant with your patriarchs including all their offspring, so that this is part of My definition (name) זה שמי לעולם, forever as well as the name He already was known by previously before this additional attribute through the covenant with the patriarchs.

Another reason why G'd repeated the words כה תאמר "Thus you shall say, etc.," is that G'd realised that Moses had misinterpreted His reluctance to have invoked the 4 lettered name י־ה־ו־ה to mean that He would also not invoke the fact that He was the G'd of the patriarchs at this stage and would content Himself with the Identification: אהיה שלחני אליכם. G'd therefore added mention of His 4-lettered name י־ה־ו־ה- in association with identifying Himself as the G'd of the patriarchs. I believe that by doing so G'd alluded to the fact that His name אהיה which has a numerical value of 21 was also the numerical value of the respective first letters in the names of the patriarchs, א=אברהם, י=יצחק, and י=יעקב, a total of 21.

ה׳ אלוקי אבותיכם אלוקי אברהם, “Hashem the G-d of your fathers, the G-d of Avraham;” this is the source of the benedictions commencing with the words: ברוך אתה ה׳ אלוקינו ואלוקי אבותינו, אלוקי אברהם, אלוקי יצחק, ואלוקי יעקב, “blessed be You, Hashem, our G-d, the G-d of our fathers, the G-d of Avraham, the G-d of Yitzchok’ and the G-d of Yaakov.”

(3) THIS MY APPELLATION. "Adonai," which is mentioned in the second verse, which is an expression of kingship, and in this matter, we mention the kings, and not by their name. And what is written with "Yah," I will explain in AT-BaSH [a substitution code where Alef becomes Tav, Bet becomes Shin, etc.]: [He calls Himself "Ehyeh," but we call Him "Yihyeh" [[should be "Yahveh"]], "vav" in place of "yod," as in (Eccl. 2:22), "What does a man get [mah hoveh la'adam]?"] This is the essential deep plain meaning of these texts, and we do not reveal them except to the discreet.

זכרי לדור ודור, this is what wise men have figured out for themselves already since time immemorial that there must be a prime Cause, an eternal Being, not subject to change, i.e, to aging, weakening.

Verse 15 has yet another message. It is that the G'd now identifying Himself as אהיה is none other than the One who had promised the patriarchs there would be redemption even though this name of His had not appeared in that connection previously. G'd had to introduce this name also because in the future He would reveal legislation attesting to the holiness of His name. The name אהיה was alluded to when G'd said: אנכי, whereas the 4-lettered name י־ה־ו־ה was spelled out directly in order to justify what Moses told the people, i.e. that when G'd would speak to them (at Mount Sinai) He would use the words אנכי י־ה־ו־ה. These considerations suffice to explain the sequence of these verses.

זה שמי, “this is My (personal) Name;” G-d repeats the first אהיה in verse 14; this is also how we spell (in writing) His Name. G-d speaks of how He calls Himself, whereas we mortals, of course do not refer to Him in the first person, but will adjust to the third person either as יהיה, or י־ה־וה. (Compare Rash’bam on the subject. He concludes that details are not to be revealed except to a category of people he terms: צנועים, familiar with Kabbalah.) The spelling with the letter ו instead of the letter י is explained by our author as not as unusual as we might think. For instance we find Yitzchok in his blessing saying to Yaakov as saying: הוה גביר לאחיך, where we would have expected: הוה בר, “be your brother’s superior.” [The letters י and ו possess a degree of interchangeability. Ed.]

וזה זכרי לדור דור, “and this is My Memorial for all generations.” The reference is to the second verse 15, i.e. 'ה אלוקי אבותיכם.

את זקני ישראל THE ELDERS OF ISRAEL, those singled out to attend meetings, (i. e. the leaders) (cf. Yoma 28b). If, however, you should say that the text means old men in the ordinary sense I ask: How was it possible for him to gather all the old men amongst a male population of 600,000?

פקד פקדתי אתכם, seeing that you are their descendants.

לך ואספת את זקני ישראל, "Go and gather the elders of lsrael,etc." The reason that G'd repeats here again what Moses is to say maybe that when Moses would arrive in Egypt he was to tell the entire people that he had come as messenger from G'd. After that he would assemble the elders and tell them the nature of his mission, namely that G'd had remembered His people and was about to redeem them.

V. 16. Es ist gewiss nicht ohne tiefe Beziehung, dass hier und so auch sonst immer, nachdem bereits א׳ אבותיכם gesagt ist, noch speziell א׳ אברהב וגו׳ hervorgehoben wird. Es liegt nicht fern, dass damit uns immer gegenwärtig gehalten wird, wie unsere Beziehung zu Gott völlig unabhängig von unserer äußeren Schicksalsstellung sei. So ungleich die Väter in ihrem Schicksalsgange erscheinen, im Aufblühen wie Abraham, im Zenit und Niedergang wie Isaak, und scheinbar erliegend wie Jaakow, die Gottesnähe und der Gottesbund bleibt immer aufrecht, in jedem offenbart sich Gott und jedem ist die Gottesgnade zugesichert. —

את זקני ישראל, “the elders of the people of Israel.” Rashi understands the word: זקני here as referring to the “elders” in the sense of the leading sages; he adds that it would have been impossible for Moses to assemble all the aged people in a nation of over 600000. Exodus 4,29, where a similar assembly is reported must be understood in the same way.

ואת העשוי לכם במצרים, seeing that I hate violence and cruelty.

The reason that Moses was to announce the fact that he came as G'd's messenger to the whole people first, was to make them assemble around him. Who would bother to gather around him unless he had first made an announcement that would make the Israelites take notice of him? In His wisdom G'd had instructed Moses what to say to the Israelites and what to say to the assembly of elders. He was to address the elders separately out of respect for them as we know from Vayikra Rabbah 11,8 that in the future G'd will allocate a special place where the elders will be seated.

אתכם ואת העשוי לכם, in doppelter Beziehung habe ich bereits die Verhältnisse mit den entsprechenden Verhängnissen "umkleidet": Euch, insofern eure Bestimmung eine Änderung eurer Lage heischt; das an euch Verübte, insofern es an sich als größtes völkertümliches Verbrechen die Gerechtigkeit Gottes aufruft.

פקוד פקדתי, "I have surely remembered, etc." G'd speaks of two separate remembrances, 1) the final stage of the redemption, 2) the end of their suffering. When G'd says: אתכם He referred to the final stage of the redemption, when He said: ואת העשוי לכם He referred to the torture the Israelites were experiencing while performing slave labour. G'd also hinted to the Israelites that He would punish the Egyptians for what they had done to the Israelites already.

V. 17. Demgemäß habe ich hinsichtlich eurer beschlossen: euch aus dem jetzigen Elend in den entschiedensten Gegensatz, in ein Land zu bringen, in welchem jetzt sieben üppige Völker schwelgen, ein Land, in welchem es ganz von dem sittlichen Verhalten seiner Bewohner abhängt, ob es in segensreicher Fülle ihnen blühen, ob es seine Fülle ihnen versagen, oder die entarteten Bewohner ausspeien soll. (Siehe oben V. 8 über זבת.)

ואמר אעלה אתכם, “I said: ’I will lead you up, etc.’ Moses is to quote to them what G-d had said to him.

ושמעו לקלך AND THEY SHALL HEARKEN TO THY VOICE — as soon as you will mention to them this expression (the double use of the verb פקד as in v. 16) they will hearken to your voice, for they have long had this sign as a tradition from Jacob and Joseph that by mention of this phrase their deliverance will be brought about. Jacob said to them “And God will surely visit you”, and Joseph said to them (Genesis 50:25) “God will surely visit you”.

AND THEY SHALL HEARKEN TO THY VOICE. “I.e., of their own accord. As soon as you will mention to them this expression, [namely, the double use of the word pakod — pakod pakad’ti (I have surely remembered), mentioned in Verse 16], they will immediately hearken to your voice for they have long had this sign as a tradition from Jacob and Joseph, that by use of this expression they will be delivered [from Egypt]. Jacob said to them, and G-d will surely remember you,²³³See Genesis 50:24, that it is Joseph who is speaking. But it is clearly implied there that Joseph is quoting a tradition given to him by his father. Hence Rashi here mentions it in the name of Jacob. Ramban will further stress the fact that it was Joseph who stated it twice. and Joseph said to them, G-d will surely remember you.”²³⁴Ibid., Verse 25. Thus the language of Rashi. Perhaps Rashi will explain that Joseph used this expression twice²³⁵See Note 233 above. in order to affirm that it was a tradition he received from his father.
And in Eileh Shemoth Rabbah, the Rabbis said:²³⁶Shemoth Rabbah 3:11. “[As soon as you will say to them pakod pakad’ti], they will immediately hearken to your voice. Why? It is because they have a tradition of the words [wherein G-d will announce the approaching redemption], so that the redeemer who will come and mention to them this double p’kidah [remembrance] is the true redeemer.” Thus the language of the Rabbis on this Agadah.
Now you may ask: Why should they listen to Moses? Perhaps he heard this tradition as well as they did. In reply it may be said that thus they received the tradition from Joseph, who heard it from their father the prophet: the first person who will come and announce the message with this expression [pakod pakad’ti] will be the one who will deliver them [from Egypt], it being revealed and known before the Holy One, blessed be He, that no man will come and deceive them. This He promised them.
But in another place in the Midrash I found:²³⁷Ibid., 5:1. “Said Rabbi Chama the son of Rabbi Chanina: ‘When Moses was in his twelfth year, he was torn up from his father’s house. Why? Had he grown up in his father’s house, the children of Israel would not have believed in him when he came and told them these things.²³⁸The Hebrew is: hama’asim (the deeds). If this is the correct reading, it is obviously a reference not only to the words of the message, but also to all of the signs he did before the people. (See further, 4:1-9 and 30). However, from the concluding language of this Midrash quoted here further — kol had’varim (‘all’ the words) — it is clear that the sense here is also “words,” and reference is to the wording of the message of redemption: pakod pakad’ti. They would have said that his father handed him over these words, as Joseph had handed them over to Levi, and Levi to Kohath, and Kohath to Amram. This was why he was torn up from his father’s house, and when he came and told Israel all the words, they therefore believed him, as it is said, And the people believed.’”²³⁹Further, 4:31. The intent of the Rabbis’ words that Joseph handed it over to Levi [and as to why Jacob did not reveal it directly to Levi] is that Jacob revealed the secret to Joseph because of his love for him.²⁴⁰Genesis 37:3. And see Ramban there, Vol. I, pp. 451-2. With this very same language Joseph made all his brothers swear, and he revealed it to Levi.²⁴¹On the basis of Genesis 50:25, Ramban’s intent may be explained as follows: Joseph made all his brothers swear to bring his bones up from Egypt at the time of the redemption, and to Levi he revealed the secret of pakod pakad’ti, that with these words the true messenger will announce the approaching redemption. He told them that he gave this [as a secret to Levi] on account of the tradition he received from his father [not to reveal it], and he commanded that the matter remain a secret.²⁴²Hence when Moses came and said the words pakod pakad’ti, the elders of Israel who now knew of the tradition confirmed him as the true redeemer, for they knew that he could not have heard these words from his father as he was torn up from his father’s home when only twelve years old.

אלוקי העברים, seeing that we originated on the far side of the river Euphrates, we have to worship the gods who have their kingdom in that region.

ושמעו לקולך, in all that you will command them.

ושמעו לקולך, "they will listen to your voice, etc." G'd added the apparently superfluous word לקולך when the word לדבריך would have sufficed, in order to convince Moses that the people would believe him even if he did not reveal to them an additional name of G'd. The word קול implies something that is effective only for those who actually hear it. דברים are effective even if not heard directly. G'd wanted Moses to know that anyone who would hear Moses' voice, i.e. the good tidings he would convey, would believe him as there was no impediment such as a lack of faith standing in the people's way. Moses would not even have to perform miracles in order to gain the confidence of the Jewish people.

ויאמר, הראני נא את כבודך. “I said: please reveal to me Your glory.” Moses requested that G’d show him His true face in a vision, something our sages are in the habit of referring to as אספקרלריא המאירא, “a clear, unambiguous visual image.” G’d answered him that what He would do was to parade before him a number of phenomena, each of which represented some of the ways in which He demonstrated His earnest desire to be of benefit to His creatures; as a result of viewing these phenomena one after another, he, more than any other human being, would develop an appreciation of what G’d’s essence was all about; however, it was impossible to do more without terminating Moses’ life, as it was not given to mortals to get a still deeper insight into what an Eternal G’d, the Creator of the universe, was truly like.

Through Yaakov and Yoseif. You might ask: If so, Moshe also knew the expression, as they did. So how is [his using] it a proof? Perhaps Moshe was lying [that Hashem sent him]! The answer is: Moshe was only twelve [when he fled from Egypt], and this sign was transmitted only to adults.

נלכה נא דרך שלשת ימים במדבר; there was no intention of misleading Pharaoh and using this subterfuge whereas in effect Moses meant to flee Egypt with the people. The request aired by Moses here was aimed only at allowing the people to receive the commandments of the Torah during their brief vacation. G’d had wanted to introduce them to Torah legislation gradually, such as afterwards when He commanded them about most of the Sabbath legislation at Marah. (Mechilta, beginning of Parshat Beshalach).

V. 18. Du sollst nicht allein gehen, vor dem König nicht etwa als einzelner Enthusiast und Schwärmer erscheinen, er soll es sehen, dass du das ganze Volk hinter dir hast. — העבריִיִם. Es ist dies das erste Mal, dass im Namen des jüdischen Volkes als solches zu einem Dynasten gesprochen wird, und hier begegnen wir einer Form: עבריים, die nie wieder vorkommt. Es heißt sonst immer עברים. Möglich, dass hier der im עברי liegende Charakter ganz besonders und zwar als ein solcher betont wird, der nicht nur der Gesamtheit eigen wäre, sondern den jedes Glied der Gesamtheit vertritt. Wie Gott ein Mann genügte, der wie Awraham — nach ר׳ יהודה — den Mut hatte, die ganze Welt diesseits zu lassen und mit seinem Gott allein jenseits zu treten und darum עברי genannt wurde, so hat diesen Mut und diese Charakterstärke jeder einzelne seiner Söhne geerbt. Indem Mosche im Namen der "Iwrim" vor den König mit der Forderung hintreten soll, spricht er in diesem Namen aus: in jedem einzelnen von uns steht die Gesamtheit da, jeder einzelne von uns hat den Mut, die Aufgabe der Gesamtheit für sich allein einer ganzen Welt gegenüber zu vertreten und fortzutragen. (Während andere Nationen im Munde der Propheten häufig unter dem Bilde eines Tieres besprochen werden, tritt für Israel vorzugsweise das Bild eines Baumes ein. Ein Tierorganismus kann mit einem einzigen Fingerdruck oder Dolchstich getötet werden. Ein Baum wiederholt aber in jedem einzelnen Teile die Lebensfähigkeit des Ganzen. Schneidet man selbst die Wurzel ab, ein Ast, ein Zweig, ein Blatt, ein Auge oft genügt, um das vernichtete Pflanzenindividuum wieder herzustellen und seine Fortexistenz zu retten). Nicht עבריים ,עברים sind wir. Der Geist, der aus mir spricht, lebt auch in den Ältesten, lebt in jedem einzelnen des Volkes bis zum letzten Mann hinab. Unser Volk lässt sich nicht vernichten. In jedem einzelnen wiederholt sich der Geist, der Mut, die Entschiedenheit des Ganzen. Es ist nicht unmöglich, dass dieser Name deshalb hier in seiner ganzen Prägnanz hervorgehoben wird.

ושמעו לקולך, “they will listen (obey) to your voice.” According to Rashi, the Jews had already been given the code word with which their eventual redeemer would identify himself when both Yaakov and Joseph used the root word פקד in connection with the time of their redemption from slavery in Egypt. I explained this on Genesis 50,24 and 25. Some people raise the question that actually we have no record of Yaakov having said: פקוד יפקוד. According to my explanation on that verse the question has been answered satisfactorily.

ושמעו לקלן, “they will listen to you (and believe you).” Rashi explains that the reason that the people will immediately believe Moses was that they had a tradition going back to Yaakov according to which their eventual saviour would introduce himself by referring to G-d as having used the words: פקוד פקדתי אתכם, “I have surely remembered you.” Actually, Rashi is not correct, as that tradition only went back to Joseph having used these word in Genesis 50,25.

נקרה עלינו GOD HATH HAPPENED TO MEET US — The word נקרה signifies a casual meeting. Similar are: (Numbers 23:4) “And God happened to meet (ויקר) [Balaam]”; (Numbers 23:15) ואנכי אִקָּרָה כה which means “I will be met by him yonder”.

אלוקי העבריים, the G’d of those who follow the teachings of Ever. (grandson of Shem)

Elokim will surely consider you. This is puzzling: we do not find such a verse said by Yaakov. Perhaps the answer is: this verse is said twice by Yoseif (Bereishis 50:24, 25), thus Yoseif said one on his own accord, and one he said in the name of his father Yaakov, i.e., Yoseif received [this expression] from his father. (Re”m) So it is written in Pirkei D’Rabbi Eliezer (ch. 48), in Tosafos (Sotah 13a), and in Shemos Rabbah (here and in ch. 5). (Nachalas Yaakov).

ה׳ אלוקי העברים נקרה עלינו, "G'd, the Lord of the Hebrews has manifested Himself to us, etc." G'd revealed here that although He did not want that His four-lettered name be associated except with the Hebrews, and that this was the reason He had not revealed it except to the Hebrews, He wanted the Egyptians to know about this name so that when Moses would appear to Pharaoh citing that attribute of G'd, the latter could not claim that he had never heard of such a G'd. He was not familiar with that name because he had not qualified for familiarity with such an exalted name of G'd seeing he was a contemptible person.

קרה ,נקרה, ja auch קרא: treffen, seiner Grundbedeutung nach: rufen, weist immer, wie wir schon wiederholt bemerkt, auf etwas von außen auf uns Influierendes; es ist immer eine äußere Macht, die Gewalt auf uns übt, uns aus der von uns beabsichtigten oder erwarteten, "in die ihr beliebige Richtung ruft" weshalb ja auch das damit bezeichnete Zufällige nur subjektiv, nur von unserem Standpunkte aus, als zufällig, d.i. von uns nicht berechnet zu sein braucht, an sich aber gerade umsomehr ganz eigentliches Produkt göttlicher Providenz sein kann, die uns damit "in die von ihr beabsichtigte Richtung ruft." Hier in der Ansprache an einen heidnischen Fürsten finden wir den Ausdruck von Gott gebraucht, ganz so wie ihn später Bileam von seinen und Gottes gegenseitigen Beziehungen gebraucht: ואנכי אקרה כה ,אולי יקרה ד' לקראתי, und auch die Erzählung geht in diese Anschauung ein und adoptiert den Ausdruck: ויקר א׳ אל בלעם. Dewarim 23, 3. 4. 15) Bileam spricht: "ich will mich rufen lassen", d.h. ich) will mich einer außer mir liegenden Macht, "dem göttlichen Zuge" hingeben, dass er mich hinleite, ich weiß selbst noch nicht wohin; und einen ebenso seinen Gott zwingenden höheren Einfluss denkt er sich möglich, dass ein Höheres beide, ihn und seinen Gott, einander entgegenführe. Es ist dem Heidentum weder in seiner Beziehung zu seinem Gotte, noch seines Gottes zu ihm irgend ein wirklich freies, sich selbst aus sich selbst frei Bestimmendes. Im tiefen Grunde ist alles physische Notwendigkeit, wo jedes nur Macht hat über das andere, nicht aber über sich selbst. Ruht doch auf dieser Anschauung der ganze vorgebliche oder eingebildete Wahn des קוסם. Balak traut dem Bileam die Kunst zu, auf das Volk seines Hasses den Zorn der Götter herabbeschwören zu können. Bileam gibt die Möglichkeit zu und spricht: "Ich will mich meiner Selbständigkeit begeben und mich der Menschen und Götter zwingenden Macht hingeben, vielleicht werden dadurch auch die Götter gezwungen werden." Und Gott ging auf die Täuschung ein: ויקר א׳ וגו׳. Bileam glaubte schon, er habe die Götter gebannt, da ward er gezwungen, das gerade Gegenteil zu sprechen. Auch hier lässt Gott Mosche zuerst ganz in die Anschauung des Heidentums eingehen. אלקי העבריים נקרה עלינו. Unsere Gottheit, die nun seit drittehalb hundert Jahren nichts von sich hat hören lassen, ist jetzt ("durch eine über Götter wie Menschen waltende Nötigung, נקרה"), über uns sichtbar geworden. Das bedeutet etwas. Wir müssen ihr opfern, vielleicht ihren Zorn beschwichtigen. (Vergl. Kap. 5, 3 פן יפגענו בדבר וגו׳). Es kann niemand etwas dafür. Es ist eine höhere Fügung. — Die erste Forderung lautete gar nicht: שלח את עמי, sondern enthält nur einfach die Bitte, ein Opfer zu gestatten, und da dies in Mizrajim nicht möglich, so schließt die Bitte die Gewährung einer sechstägigen Entfernung in sich. Und alles ganz in Pharaos Sprache und Anschauung.

נקרה עלינו, “has appeared for our sake.” The construction is similar to Psalms 44,23: כי עליך הורגנו כל היום, “for we are being killed daily for Your sake.” Another example of a similar construction is found in Psalms 69,8: כי עליב נשאתי חרפה, “it is for Your sake that I have been reviled;”

God of the Hebrews. [הָעִבְרִיִּים is written with] an additional yud as an allusion to the ten plagues. (From an old Rashi manuscript.)

נקרה עלינו, at a time when we had not expected any divine prophecy, and had not asked anything of Him. He commanded us to bring offerings to satisfy His own will, not ours. [the author justifies the use of the root קרה which describes things which happen without one knowing the cause for these happenings. Ed.]

דרך שלשת ימים, “a distance of three days.” We must not accuse Moses of deliberately misleading Pharaoh in order for the Israelites to escape from his authority. Moses meant that in order to receive the commandments from G’d the people had to travel a distance of three days from the boundaries of Egypt. G’d had intended to introduce the commandments gradually, first the Sabbath legislation, such as happened later at Marah (Exodus 15,25 compare Mechilta 1 on 15,22). G’d had also introduced Avraham gradually to any demand He made upon him. He had not said: ”take your son Yitzchak and offer him as a sacrifice,” but had introduced the subject in stages saying 1) “your son;” 2) “your only one;” 3) “the one you love;” 4) “Yitzchak” (compare Genesis 22,2).

The word נקרה is derived from the term מקרה (happening). But in the beginning of Parshas Vayikra (1:1) Rashi wrote [that it means otherwise]: Hashem reveals Himself to prophets of the nations with a term [ ויקר , similar to נקרה ,] meaning impurity. Perhaps the answer is: ויקר [and נקרה ] is always derived from מקרה , but sometimes it means a chance happening, such as (Devarim 22:6): “ כי יקרא קן ציפור (if you happen upon a bird’s nest).” And sometimes it means emission of a man’s seed, which denotes impurity, such as in (ibid., 23:11) “ מקרה לילה (a happening of night).” (Re”m)

נקרה עלינו. "manifested Himself to us." G'd did not want Pharaoh to think that Moses was in regular communication with G'd day by day. It is also possible that the choice of the word נקרה, i.e. a chance encounter, was to forestall Pharaoh demanding to see that Moses and Aaron would receive communications from G'd on a regular basis.

דרך שלשת ימים, “a distance of three days’ walk.” This is also what the Israelites did, eventually; as it is written: Exodus 13,20: ויסעו מסכות, “they broke camp from having rested at Sukkot, (1) ויחנו ביום השני, they encamped again on the second day, איתם בקצה המדבר(2) ב, “at Eytam” on the third day at the edge of the desert. (3).

I [Bilaam] will be met by Him here ( ואנכי אקרה כה ). This אקרה does not imply that Bilaam happened to meet Hashem, since [on the contrary], Hashem met him, [as it states,] ויקר אלהים אל בלעם (“Hashem happened to meet Bilaam”). Bilaam was not the one initiating; rather he was the one being met. Rashi explains כה to mean הלום (“here”), as in (Shemos 7:16): “Until here ( כה ) you have not listened.” This כה does not mean “thusly”, as in (Shemos 4:22), “Thusly ( כה ) said Adonoy.” For if this כה means “thusly,” then אקרה could imply: “I thusly will be met by another, just as Hashem met me.” But this is not the intent of this verse. (Re”m)

ועתה נלכה נא, "and now let us go, etc." Moses used the word "now" to indicate that this request was an urgent one, requiring immediate action; G'd had not said that these sacrifices were to be offered on a specific date. It is also possible that Moses wanted to indicate to Pharaoh that as far as he was aware this march into the desert for three days in order to offer sacrifices there was a one time affair.

שלושת ימים. "Three days." Moses had to make it appear that the Israelites meant to go for only three days because G'd told him in verse 22 to tell the Israelites to borrow silver trinkets from the Egyptians. Unless the Egyptians would believe that the Jews planned to return they would not lend them the silver trinkets.

This explains also why G'd announced the matter of borrowing the silver trinkets already now, 12 months before the Israelites would actually "borrow" these trinkets. Had that instruction been issued only on the night of the Exodus (when the Torah mentions it as being carried out) it would have been difficult to carry out. We might have assumed that mentioning it at this juncture was merely to make the Israelites believe that the Exodus was really at hand. This is not correct, however. We believe that the reason we have proposed, i.e. that in order to make the eventual request for these trinkets plausible, the Egyptians first had to be under the impression that all the Jewish people really wanted was a three day religious holiday in the desert, away from Egyptian urban areas.

We still have to account for the fact that G'd instructed Moses to deceive Pharaoh by asking for a three day religious pilgrimage when in fact he did not mean for the people to return to Egypt at all? G'd appears to have tricked the Egyptians both regarding the nature of the Israelites' departure and regarding the nature of the "borrowings." Actually, everything G'd told Moses to say was perfectly just and fair. Firstly, inasmuch as the Israelites had performed many decades of slave labour for which the Egyptians had not paid any wages, they were entitled to recompense themselves, if only partially. Sanhedrin 91 records a disputation in front of Alexander the Great on that subject when the Egyptians demanded the return of these borrowed trinkets. The representative of the Jews at that time, a certain Gevihah ben Pesisah, succeeded in making the Egyptians withdraw their claim seeing that what the Jews had taken was so much less than what had been owed them at the time of the Exodus. Still, why did G'd have to resort to trickery? Surely G'd was capable of executing all His designs without having to resort to some form of deception!

We must assume therefore that the reason G'd deceived the Egyptians (on both counts) was in order to orchestrate the pursuit of the Jews by the Egyptian army and the crossing of the sea as well as the drowning of the Egyptian cavalry. Had the Egyptians not felt themselves deceived by the Israelites they would never have undertaken a chase. Compare what we have written on Exodus 14,5 that Pharaoh had a change of heart.

You will find a sign that we are on the right track when you read Shemot Rabbah 14,3 that during the plague of darkness the Jews who were not affected by this discovered the secret hiding places of the Egyptians so that at the time of the Exodus they could prove that the Egyptians lied when they claimed not to possess the items the Jews wanted to borrow. The question is, of course, why, if G'd already enabled the Jews to discover these trinkets, why did He not allow them to help themselves at once? It was only a few days prior to the Exodus! No doubt G'd wanted that the Egyptians should remain under the impression that the Jews were only borrowing these trinkets so that once they realised they had been deceived they would feel morally entitled to pursue the Jews and to retrieve these items.

Now let us look at the legality of the matter. If the Jews had helped themselves to what they discovered in the homes of the Egyptians during the days of darkness they would have been perfectly in order. When a person is forcibly deprived of his possessions there is no law which prevents him to take back what was his. Jacob used subterfuge to compensate himself for what Laban had tricked him out of. The Talmud tells of an occurrence involving three great sages in Yuma 83. When two of them were swindled out of money they had deposited with the innkeeper, they resorted to deception in order to retrieve what was rightfully theirs. Not only did their action not involve a forbidden practice but they did what David refers to in Psalms 18,27 as a practice employed by G'd Who engages in being wily with those who have been devious themselves.

In our situation the matter is even more clear-cut. If you examine the text, you will find that Moses (at G'd's behest) did not utter a single lie. He never mentioned a word about the Israelites ever returning to Egypt. Furthermore, Moses was careful that the deceptive words could not be attributed to G'd himself but only to the Israelites, if at all. The words starting with: "and now we want to go," were to be spoken by Moses, Aaron and the elders. They were not part of what G'd had said. If the Torah had not inserted the word ועתה, we would indeed have assumed that they said, quoting G'd: "Now let us go three days travel into the desert, etc." In chapter 5, verse 1 we do indeed find that Moses quoted G'd saying: "send My people off so that they can celebrate for Me in the desert." He did not mention any time frame at that time. It was only the Israelites who added (in 5,3) "let us go for three days into the desert, etc." While it is true that at that point the Israelites did not say ועתה, they simply assumed that the word ועתה Moses had mentioned in 3,18, was sufficiently clear. The fact that even the Jews had not lied to the Egyptians is proven by history. The Jews who left Egypt celebrated only in the desert seeing that the whole generation died before they came to the land of Canaan. While it is true that many of the children of that generation entered the Holy Land and celebrated there also, it was not the minors who had negotiated with Pharaoh about their release from bondage. People under twenty years of age were under no obligation to offer sacrifices to G'd. The Israelites also did not lie when they asked for the silver trinkets as the Torah says: "they asked for, etc." Initially, they borrowed these trinkets. When the Egyptians did not pay them the wages owed, they kept the trinkets as partial payment. They planned to present the Egyptians wih a bill for the balance at a future date.

One problem has bothered me for a long time; why did G'd not simply drown the Egyptians who deserved drowning by letting the river Nile spill over? This would have been the appropriate punishment for the people who had drowned the Jewish babies in the Nile. Why did G'd wait till the Egyptians had pursued the Jewish people and He had to perform a major miracle by splitting the sea and allowing the Jews to cross on dry land? Also, why the devious method of the Jews borrowing the silver instead of their helping themselves to it during the days of darkness? After all, according to the interpretation of the Midrash the meaning of Exodus 11,23 that the Jews "had light in their dwellings" is that they had light "even in the Egyptians' dwellings?" Perhaps G'd was motivated by two considerations. 1) The splitting of the sea and everything connected with it aggrandised His name amongst mankind in a way that could not have been achieved by any other means. 2) G'd applies the yardstick of "measure for measure." Sotah 11 states that the Egyptians had cleverly inveigled the Israelites into slave labour by sweet-talking them into such patriotic service, whereas gradually they became more and more cruel and demanding. G'd orchestrated the steps leading to redemption in a similar fashion. First He had Moses speak about a three day religious holiday for Pharaoh's labourers as well as borrowings of the Egyptians' silver and of their fancy garments. G'd gradually upped the ante, just as the Egyptians had done in their treatment of the Jews. At the same time G'd was still careful so that even the Jews themselves did not utter a lie. The prophet Micha was quite correct (Micha 7,20) when he characterised one of the greatest Jewish virtues with the words: "You give truth to Jacob."

לא יתן אתכם מלך מצרים להלך THE KING OF EGYPT WILL NOT LET YOU GO, if I do not (ולא) show him My strong hand (יד חזקה) — it is as much as to say: so long as I do not let him feel My strong hand he will not let you go.

V’LO B’YAD CHAZAKAH’ (AND NOT BY A MIGHTY HAND). “So long as I do not let him feel My mighty hand he will not let you go.” Thus the words of Rashi.²⁴³The sense of the verse according to Rashi is thus: “except by a mighty hand.” It is so translated in the J.P.S. translation. Ramban will suggest its meaning to be: “and not even by a mighty hand.”
The correct interpretation in my opinion is: “The king of Egypt will not give you leave to go by plea, and not [even] by a mighty hand, until I will put forth My hand with all My wonders which I will do in his midst,²⁴⁴Verse 20. by a mighty hand, and by an outstretched arm, and by great terrors, and by signs and by wonders.²⁴⁵Deuteronomy 4:35. In the verse there, the phrase “by trials and by wonders” is listed first. And after that he will let you go.”²⁴⁴Verse 20. Indeed, all these manifestations came upon him before he gave them leave to go.

ואני ידעתי וגו', but I am perfectly aware that initially he will not grant you permission to follow My instruction to dismiss the Jewish people. This will not be due to his own innate toughness as he is quite powerless against Me, but I shall reinforce his obstinacy to give Myself a chance to display My might first. Only after that will the Egyptians come to realise that I am the only G’d and that all power resides within Me.

כי לא יתן אתכם מלך מצרים להלוך. He will not agree to do this from his own free volition at My request.

ולא יתן אתכם מלך מצרים להלוך, ולא ביד חזקה“and the King of Egypt will not let you go, except through a strong hand.” According to Rashi, the line means that G’d says that as long as G’d would not display His strong hand Pharaoh would not let the Israelites go. According to Nachmanides we are to understand the line as follows: Pharaoh will not let the Israelites go voluntarily, not even when I apply pressure, until I will display all the power at My command. I will use a strong hand in demonstrating this power of Mine to him, working many miracles. This is a preview of what the Torah describes later progressively as יד חזקה, זרוע נטויה, אותות ומופתים, “a strong hand, an outstretched arm, a variety of supernatural miracles.” All these instruments of G’d’s persuavive power would have to be experienced by Pharaoh before he would dismiss the Israelites.

And not because his hand is strong. In other words, the verse means: “The king of Egypt will not allow you to go, but not because his hand is strong.” For [the next verse says:] “I will then send forth My hand and strike Egypt . . . [and then he (Pharaoh) will send you out.]” Whereas if Pharaoh’s hand was strong, he would not send them out [even after being struck].

V.19. Aber selbst diese einfache, natürliche, ja im Grunde sein eigenes Interesse wahrende Bitte — damit nicht ein zürnender Gott seine Sklaven heimsuche — die ihm höchstens sechs oder sieben Arbeitstage kosten würde, wird er nicht bewilligen, nicht wenn ihr ביד חזקה mit Nachdruck fordernd vor ihn trätet. Fast möchte man glauben, dass schon in einem so frühen ägyptischen dynastischen Kreise die äußerlich mit solcher Wichtigkeit proklamierte Religion im Herzen doch nicht das kleinste Plätzchen gehabt und nur zum politischen Popanz für das Volk gedient haben müsse. Er hätte sonst aus Götterfurcht einwilligen müssen. Wo neunzig Götter verehrt werden, hat auch der einundneunzigste Platz, zumal wo, wie hier, an dies über alle Götter waltende Höhere appelliert wird, wo etwas geschehen, was seit Jahrhunderten nicht geschehen.

ואני ידעתי כי לא יתן אתכם מלך מצרים להלוך, “I know already that the King of Egypt will not permit you to go;” G-d revealed to Moses beforehand that Pharaoh would become obstinate; He told Moses this in advance so that he would not become discouraged over Pharaoh’s refusal. Seeing that in the event Moses still did become discouraged, we can imagine how much more discouraged he would have been if G-d had not foretold him that.

לא יתן — Translate this as the Targum does: he will not give leave. Similar uses of נתן followed by ל with the infinitive in sense of permitting are: (Genesis 20:6) “therefore I did not permit thee (נתתיך) to touch her”; (Genesis 31:7) “And God did not permit him (נתנו) to do me evil”. Still all these passages really have the sense of giving”. Some explain the phrase ולא ביד חזקה to signify: “He will not permit you to go, and this will not be because his hand is strong”, for (v. 20) “As soon as I stretch forth My hand I will smite the Egyptians [… and afterwards he will let you go]”. And so the Targum renders it: and not on account that his power is mighty. This explanation was told me in the name of Rabbi Jacob the son of Menachem.

ולא ביד חזקה, I will see to it that he will not even allow you to depart as a result of the plagues I shall inflict on Egypt. I will arrange that as soon as a plague has ceased he will change his mind in order to give Me a chance to inflict further plagues on him as chastisement.

And not because his power is strong. ולא מן קדם דחיליה תקיף means “but not because he has great strength.” Rashi attributes the explanation to Rabbi Yaakov rather than to Onkelos only as regards the meaning of ושלחתי את ידי , who explained it as, “for once I send forth My Hand and strike [Egypt]” he will immediately send you out. The Re”m writes: “But [according to this,] I do not know how to explain the ו of אחרי כן ישלח אתכם (And then he will send you out).” It would seem the answer is: The ו is [superfluous] like the ו in (Bereishis 36:24): ואלה בני צבעון ואיה וענה (And these are the children of Tziv’on: and Ayah and Anah).

ולא ביד חזקה, “not even after I will perform nine plagues to change his mind,” as we know from Deuteronomy 34,12 where in the last verse of the Torah, this has been repeated for the benefit of the next generation that had not been alive at the Exodus and had witnessed all this. G-d told Moses that only after the tenth plague when He would slay all the firstborn of and in Egypt, would Pharaoh finally relent and even expel the Israelites. (verse 20)

והכיתי את מצרים בכל נפלאותי, in a manner which will make everyone who hears about these plagues sit up and take notice. Many of those who will hear about this will perhaps repent and abandon idolatry. [the author does not view the plagues as a punishment but as G’d’s educational tool. Ed.]

V. 20. פלה ,נפלאת׳: verwandt mit : trennen, פלח: verschlucken, בלה: altern, בַלָהָה : jäher Schreck; Grundbedeutung: durch Absonderung völlig außer Zusammenhang mit allen anderen Existenzen kommen.(In בלהה liegt auch der Begriff des Überwältigens, Ganzeinnehmens, wie in פֶלֶא .(בלה ist dasjenige, was außer Zusammenhang mit der sonstigen Kausalität der Dinge geschieht und somit den offenbart, dessen Wille und Macht nicht durch die sonstige Ordnung der Welt und der Verhältnisse bedingt ist, dessen Wille und Macht umgekehrt vielmehr die Ordnung der Welt und der Verhältnisse bedingt. Durch ein von Gott angekündigtes und vollbrachtes Wunder springt die Göttlichkeit der natürlichen Ordnung der Dinge in die Augen; es zeigt sich, dass die natürliche Ordnung der Dinge nicht nur einen Urheber hat, nicht nur mit ihrem Entstehen, sondern auch mit ihrem Bestehen in Gott wurzelt, nicht besteht, weil sie einmal durch Gott geworden, sondern, weil und so lange Gott ihr Fortbestehen will. Die Göttlichkeit der natürlichen Ordnung der Dinge zu lehren, ist der Wunder Zweck.

לא תלכו ריקם, "You will not leave empty-handed." At this point the Torah already foreshadowed the legislation applicable when a Jewish servant is to be released by his master. The Torah commands in Deut. 15,13-15 that you must not set him free empty-handed but that you have to provide him with a stake so that he can establish an economic base for himself. Presumably, this is also measure for measure. What G'd did for you, you in turn are to do for the servant you set free.

V. 21. Es war ja überhaupt der Volkshass gegen die Juden in Ägypten nicht ursprünglich, er war ja nur künstlich von oben hervorgerufen und genährt.

לא תלכו ריקם, “you will not go out empty handed.” The Egyptians will supply you with three different kinds of parting gifts: silver, gold, and garments, all in order to keep My promise to Avraham in Genesis 15,14: “and at the end they will depart with great material wealth.” Another example of a similar construction is found in the legislation commanding the owner of a Jewish slave at the end of his term of service, to grant him as parting gift, some livestock, some grain, and some grapes or wine. (Deuteronomy 15,14)

ומגרת ביתה means from that woman with whom she sojourneth in one house.

ושאלה אשה משכנתה, as an outright gift. After all, G’d had encouraged the people to ask for these gifts, the Torah telling us in verse 21 that G’d would make the people favourably disposed towards the Israelites so that they would not refuse such requests. The expression שאל in the same sense as here occurs also in Psalms 2,8 שאל ממני ואתנה גוים נחלתך, “Ask it of me, and I will make the nations your domain.” This is the principal meaning of the verse and it effectively silences the heretics who speak of the Jews borrowing and not giving back these trinkets.

ונצלתם את מצרים. Even though all that they will give you will be on loan and you will be obligated to return these items. The status of these “borrowed” articles underwent a legal change when these same Egyptians turned into pursuers of the departing Israelites with intent to kill them. From that moment on what had previously been on loan now became legitimate booty of war. Not only that, but the previous owners had died in a war fought against them by G’d Himself when the pursuers had become the pursued, something which happens in many wars.

ונצלתם את מצרים, "you will empty Egypt." Here the Torah alludes to the fact that a person may rescue his possessions from someone who robbed him by force. Alternatively, our verse may be a preview of what caused the Egyptians to drown in the sea, i.e. the combination of the Israelites' demand to borrow their silver trinkets and their declared intention to travel a distance of three days into the desert. The two demands eventually prompted the Egyptians to pursue the Jews believing their leader Moses had overstepped his authority. As a result G'd drowned them in the sea.

ושאלה אשה משכנתה, “Each woman will request from her neighbour, etc.” even though the Torah had used the masculine mode when speaking of the actual event, i.e. (Exodus 112, and 12,35) implying that both the males and the females would request valuables from their Egyptian neighbours, the reason that a feminine mode was chosen by the Torah here is that it is usually women who borrow from their neighbours, not men.

ושאלה אשה משכנתה, “each woman will ask her neighbor, etc.” There can be no question of G’d permitting the Israelites to engage in deception by giving the impression that what they asked for would only be borrowed whereas they did not intend to return it. The word ושאלה means “she will request (as a gift).” We find the word שאל used as the request for gifts in connection with Gideon (Judges 8,24) אשאלה מכם שאלה, “I have a request to make from you; each one of you give me the earring he has received as booty.” Clearly, Gideon did not mean to “borrow” thousands of earrings. Another occasion when the word שאל is used as a request for outright possession is Kings I 2,20 שאלה אחת קטנה אני שואלת ממך, Bat Sheva speaking to her son King Solomon: “I have a small request to make from you” [that Adoniah be permitted to marry Avishag the concubine of David] Clearly the word שאלה did not refer to something or somebody which would merely be borrowed. In other words, the word שאל as applicable to the request of a gift is not unique, and this is what G’d had in mind when he told Moses what the Israelites would do prior to the Exodus.
As to the peculiar wording “a woman will request from her neighbor” instead of “a man will request from an Egyptian,” the Torah merely wanted to indicate that if even the Egyptian women would give gifts to their Jewish neighbors how much more so would the men give gifts to the male Israelites. We find a parallel for this in Isaiah 33,23 פסחים בזזו בז, “the lame shall seize booty.” If even the lame seized booty, how much more booty must have been seized by the able-bodied! (compare commentary by Rabbeinu Chananel).

Menachem places it ( ונצלתם ) in the Machberes . . . Rashi is explaining that Menachem categorizes ונצלתם (you will divest) with the words that have צ as the first letter of their root. Thus the root is צל , and the נ is not a root letter.

ושאלה אשה משכנתה, there can be no question that G’d would condone deceiving people into thinking that one borrows from them while not intending to return the “borrowed” objects. The meaning of the word ושאלה is not “she shall borrow,” but “she shall request as a gift.” We find the root שאל used in that sense in Judges 8,24 when Gideon asks the people who wanted to appoint him as king for something else instead. I quote: אשאלה מכם שאלה ותנו לי איש נזם שללו, “I request from you only one thing, that each one of you give me one nose-ring of the loot you captured, etc.” We also find the word שאל used as a request for a gift when Bat Shva relates this request to her son King Solomon in the name of Adoniah, Solomon’s half brother in Kings I 2,20-21. She said:שאלה אחת קטנה אנכי שואלת מאתך, יותן את אבישג השונמית וגו', “I have a small request from you; Avishag the Shunamite be given as a wife etc.” [clearly this woman was not going to be “on loan” to Adoniah. Ed.] The reason the Torah phrased it as ושאלה אשה משכנתה, when it could have written in general terms ושאל איש מאת מצרי, “let everyone request from an Egyptian, etc.,” was simply that if even the women would give gifts to the departing Israelites there was no need to mention that the men would do likewise. This sort of reasoning is found in Isaiah 33,23 where the lame are mentioned as helping themselves to loot. Need the prophet add that the healthy people did the same?

V. 22. שאל .ושאלה, dieses Wort hat eine unglückliche Geschichte. Es kommt mindestens ein paar hundert Mal in תנ׳׳ך vor und heißt da immer: fordern, er¬ bitten, nie: borgen. Nur ein einziges Mal kommt es als borgen, anleihen vor: וכי ישאל איש מעם רעהו Schmot 22, 13 und dieses eine Mal, weil es eben ein gesetzliches Verhältnis bestimmt und dafür den Begriff שואל geläufig machte, hat veranlasst, in dem Ausdruck שאל wesentlich und zunächst anleihen, borgen erblicken zu lassen. Allein man hat dabei einen konstanten Sprachgebrauch völlig übersehen. überall, wo שאל: fordern, sich erbitten heißt, wo somit der geforderte oder erbetene Gegenstand völlig außer fernerer Beziehung zu dem bisherigen Eigentümer treten soll, wird שאל immer mit מאת oder מ־ konstruiert; er wird von der Person getrennt. In dem einen Falle jedoch, wo es borgen, anleihen heißt, steht es mit מעִם. Es ist nicht mehr bei ihm, aber gehört ihm noch, obgleich es sich jetzt bei dem andern befindet. Als Channa sich ein Kind von Gott erbat, heißt es daher wiederholt: שאלה מעמו, was sie sich von Gott erbeten, blieb noch in ihrer Hand Gottes. Sie hatte sich von ihm eine Knospe seiner unsterblichen Geister erbeten, um sie ihm als sein Kind zu erziehen. Ebenso was Gott von uns fordert, das bleibt erst recht unser, indem wir es Gott weihen, daher: מה ד׳ א׳ שואל מעמך. (Dewarim 10, 12). Hier aber steht ausdrücklich: ושאלה אשה משכנתה, ebenso Kap. 11, 2 'וישאלו איש מאת רעהו וגו. Es heißt somit entschieden: fordern, sich erbitten und in keiner Weise bloß: borgen, anleihen. —

ושאלה , the meaning of the word שאל here, is not “to borrow” but a request to be given as a gift.” The word occurs in this sense also in Psalms 2,8 "שאל ממני ואתנה", “just ask it of Me and I shall give it.” When the Egyptians would be in a hurry to send the Hebrews out of the country as they were afraid of dying, they did not think of receiving these trinkets back again. They gave all of them willingly.

ושאלה אשה, and a woman will ask for, etc.;” the Torah does not use the word ושאלה here as “a loan,” [as misunderstood by all the gentiles reading a translated text of the Torah Ed.] but they will ask for this as an outright gift. Another example of the word שאל being used to describe an outright gift is found in Psalms 2,8: שאל ממני ואתנה, “ask it of Me and I will grant (it).”

ונצלתם render it as the Targum does: and ye shall empty out Egypt. Similar are: (Exodus 12:36) “And they emptied out (וינצלו) Egypt”; (Exodus 33:6) “And the children of Israel stripped themselves (ויתנצלו) of their ornaments” The נ in it is a root-letter. Menachem ben Seruk placed it (this word ויתנצלו) in section צ (taking the root as צל not as נצל) together with, (Genesis 31:9) “And God took away (ויצל) your father’s cattle”, and with, (Genesis 31:16) “which God hath taken away (הציל) from our father”, but his view cannot be sustained. For if the נ is not a root-letter, then seeing that it (the word ונצלתם) is vowelled with Chirik, it cannot be used in the sense of “and ye shall do something” (the active voice, which is required here since את מצרים can only be the object of the verb), but in the sense of “and ye shall have something done to you” (the passive — “Niphal”), as (Deuteronomy 28:63) “And ye shall be plucked up (וְנִסַּחְתֶּם) from off your land”; (Leviticus 26:25) “and ye shall be given (וְנִתַּתֶּם) into the hand of the enemy”; (Leviticus 17) “And ye shall be smitten (וְנִגַּפְתָּם) before your enemies”; (Ezekiel 22:21) “And ye shall be melted (וְנִתַּכְתָּם) in the midst thereof”; (Jeremiah 7:10) “And ye say, נִצַּלְנוּ” — which expresses the idea “we have had something done to us” (the Niphal: we have been delivered). Then again, every נ which sometimes appears in a word and sometimes is omitted, as e. g. the נ of נוגף and נושא and נותן and נושך, when the word expresses the sense “and ye shall do something” (the Kal), it is pointed with vocal Sheva (חטף a “snatched” sound), as, for instance, (Genesis 45:19) “and ye shall bear (וּנְשָׂאתָם) your father”; (Numbers 32:29) “And ye shall give (וּנְתַתֶּם) them the land of Gilead”; (Genesis 17:11) “And ye shall circumcise (וּנְמַלְתֶּם) the flesh of your foreskin”. Consequently I am of the opinion that this letter נ which is vowelled with a Chirik is one of the root letters, and the grammatical form of the noun of the same root is נִצּוּל which is of the strong (dageshed) forms, just as דִּבּוּר and כִּפּוּר and לִמּוּד. When, in the case of verbs formed from these roots one expresses the idea of “and ye shall do something” (active voice) the נ has the vowel Chirik (i. e. it is the Piel conjugation), as (Numbers 20:8) “And ye shall speak (וְדִבַּרְתֶּם) unto the rock”; (Ezekiel 45:20) “And ye shall atone (וְכִּפַּרְתֶּם) for the house”; (Deuteronomy 11:19) “And ye shall teach (וְלִמַּדְתָּם) them unto your children”.

כלי כסף וכלי זהב, ornaments in honour of the festival that they would celebrate in the desert. ושמתם על בניכם, same as ושמתם אותם על בניכם “you will garb your children with them.”

Whereas, every letter נ which sometimes appears in a word . . . Rashi is offering an additional proof that the נ of וינצלו [and of ונצלתם ] is a root letter.

נצל .ונצלתם wie נשל: sich von etwas entkleiden, התנצל: sich etwas ausziehen. נַ ֵצל: machen, dass jemand sich von etwas entkleide. Ihr werdet eine solche Stellung den Mizrim gegenüber erhalten, daß man in Übermaß eurer bittenden Forderung gewähren wird. Sie werden mehr als ihr erwartet hergeben, teils, um eurer los zu werden, teils aus menschlichem Mitgefühl.

ושאלה אשה, the men would also demand valuables; the reason that the Torah emphasizes the women doing so, is simply that for women it is more customary to ask for jewelry, etc; this is also why the Torah when speaking of witchcraft mentions a witch, מכשפה, in Exodus 22,17 as having to be put to death, although a male engaging in witchcraft is, of course, subject to the same penalty. It is simply a fact that women engage in that activity far more often than men.

E.g. “ ונשאתם (you shall carry) your father.” Surely the נ of נִצלתם , which sometimes is omitted entirely according to Menachem who says it is not a root letter, should be vocalized here with a [mere] shva. Yet, it is vocalized with a chirik. Thus Rashi concludes: “I, therefore, say . . . is part of the root.”

כלי כסף וכלי זהב ושמלות, “silver and golden trinkets, as well as garments They claimed that they needed these in order to celebrate their religious holiday in style.”

ונצלתם את מצרים, “as a result of which you will strip Egypt bare.” These “gifts” would compensate the people for the many years they had performed slave labour without compensation.