Musar su Esodo 18:11

The name אלוקים, on the other hand, symbolises nature, i.e. the laws of nature. We have repeatedly mentioned that the Hebrew word for nature, הטבע, has the same numerical value as the word א-להים. According to the Zohar, that name represents a קו, line, the rule of law and order, i.e. justice. The characteristics of all living creatures were determined by G–d invoking His attribute אלוקים.[In the words of the Ari Zal: "After G–d had created the הרשימו, the "place" for a universe, He created all that was to fill that "place." This was accomplished by means of a קו, sort of a pipeline. The light G–d created entered and dissipated within the "place" designated for the universe by means of the קו. Ed.] The fact that the Ineffable Four-lettered Name is a "higher" attribute than that of אלוקים is documented in Exodus 18,11: כי גדול י-ה-ו-ה מכל הא-לקים, when Yitro acknowledges the superiority of that attribute of G–d over all others. All other attributes (names) of G–d are derived from the Ineffable Name.

We find that all Moses' warnings to Pharaoh were uttered in the name of that name of G–d, i.e. כי גדול השם מכל האלוקים. I have explained all this in my commentary there (compare Exodus 7,17--8,6,---8,18-9,13/14, etc). The essential element in this description of G–d was that it reflected the היה-הוה-יהיה, the eternal nature of G–d, the Source of all existence and the One without whom no existence endures. He alone is the One who supervises everything that goes on in His universe. He is totally free to do as He pleases.

Yitro's words "עתה ידעתי" "now I know," (Exodus 18,11) reflect this new-found knowledge of Yitro (Cain). Cain had murdered because he did not believe that G–d is a judge, that there is justice in the world, and that there is life after death. The Targum Yonathan says that the word "עתה" represents Yitro's new found insight, and that this is the reason that this portion about the installing of a broadly based system of judges was added at Exodus 18,21. (I have not been able to find this in the Targum Yonathan. Ed) The reason Yitro had entrusted (given) his flock to Moses (Exodus 3,1) was that it was symbolic of the sheep he had stolen from his brother Abel in his previous incarnation, the latter having been a shepherd (Genesis 4,2). Moses had not wanted to accept this flock, believing it to be rightfully Yitro's. The Rabbis do not like someone tending the property of an idol worshipper, since the chances are that such property may have been acquired as payment for services rendered to idols. The Torah therefore stresses צאן יתרו, that the flock was not derived from such sources.

The Torah writes in Deut. 4,5: “ראה למדתי אתכם חקים ומשפטים,” "See I have taught you statutes and social laws, etc." G–d has taught us both the kind of laws the meaning of which it is given to us to perceive, and others whose meaning is not given to us to perceive. The reason why we have been taught laws the meaning of which we are able to understand, is so that we should be ready to accept on trust those laws which are beyond our understanding. Put differently: the very nature of גזרות, those laws detached from direct contact with the highest domain of רשימה, lead us to faith in the validity of חק. Now we will explain the 4 domains briefly referred to when we first introduced the Midrash on the meaning of the red heifer legislation. "Torah" is referred to in four different expressions, i.e. 1) תורת ה'; 2) תורת אלוקים, as we know from Nechemiah 8,8: ויקראו בספר בתורת האלוקים מפורש, ושום שכל, ויבינו במקרא, "They read from the book of the Lord's Torah, and explained it, putting their mind to it, and they understood the reading." 3) We find Torah referred to as תורת אמת; 4) We find Torah referred to as תורת האדם. These four expressions are in reality four nuances of what are basically two "Torahs." The first two are נסתרות, concealed matters, whereas the last two are נגלות, aspects of Torah whose meaning has been revealed. Each category has its subcategories. The first concealed "names" of Torah refer to the respective meanings of the Ineffable four-lettered Name of G–d, as well as to the meaning of the name אלוקים. The former contains the secret of ה' אחד ושמו אחד; as such it is applicable to the abstract spiritual world. The latter, on the other hand, which is equal in numerical value to the word הטבע, "nature," clearly describes G–d or Torah respectively being manifest in our physical world. In Exodus 18,11, we find that Yitro said עתה ידעתי כי גדול י-ה-ו-ה מכל האלוקים. He had realized that the dimension of G–d when He is called Yedud, (we will use this description when we mean the four-lettered Ineffable Name) is beyond the one when He manifests Himself as אלוקים. 2) We find in Exodus 9,16, that G–d told Moses that the purpose of the final three plagues was "למען ספר שמי," and the "name" referred to was Yedud. 3) G–d describes His name as Yedud in Exodus 6,3. In that instance, He makes it plain that this had been an aspect of Him that had not previously been revealed. 4) When the activities of Moses are described in the concluding verses of the Torah (Deut. 34,11), Moses is described as the messenger of the Yedud dimension of G–d. His function in performing the miracles referred to there had been to expand Israel's consciousness of G–d as the Master of טבע, i.e. the dimension of אלוקים, and to teach them that there are dimensions to G–d which are far beyond that realm. This aspect of G–d we have earlier referred to as רשימו.

We observe that the whole subject matter revolves around the Ineffable Name, the name representing G–d's Essence. It seems evident that Yitro knew something about the name of G–d, and this is why he said: "Now I know that י-ה-ו-ה is greater than any אלוהים (Exodus 18,11)." His statement included both idols and other aspects of G–d's names. Our sages have reported that Yitro in his search for truth had not omitted a single one of the religions practised during his time (Mechilta). He first came to the conclusion that there are several names i.e. manifestations of the true G–d, and that there was also a name that signified G–d's ability to effect changes in the laws of nature. He arrived at the conclusion that the four-lettered Ineffable Name was that Name.