Musar su Esodo 8:34

למען תדע כי אין כה' אלוקינו. למען תדע כי אני השם בקרב הארץ. בעבור תדע כי אין כמוני בכל הארץ. The three times Teyda that we have quoted from this portion spell out the Existence of G–d, His active role in running the universe and His Power.

There is no one like Me in the whole world," means that G–d's Power is supreme compared to other apparent sources of Power. These three statements must be appreciated by us not merely as articles of faith, but as something we know. It is not enough to accept such tenets as something handed down by our ancestors, but they must be ידיעות, something that we know as facts. The Torah reminds the Jewish people who had stood at Mount Sinai, that their experience was defined in the words (Deut. 4,39): "Know therefore this day and keep in mind that the Lord alone is G–d in Heaven above and on earth below." It is spelled out that G–d exercises control both in the Celestial Regions and on Earth. Any other powers that we perceive in this universe have been endowed by G–d and could not generate power independently. These are facts which we must appreciate over and above what we normally refer to as "faith."

When we follow the approach taken by the Zohar we realise that G–d never interfered with Pharaoh's decision-making process at all. Pharaoh duped himself. The cause of his obstinacy was אני, G–d saying: אני י-ה-ו-ה. When G–d said to Moses early on in Exodus 7,3: ואני אקשה את לב פרעה, I shall make the heart of Pharaoh obstinate, the implied meaning is: "My revelation to him that I am י-ה-ו-ה, will harden his heart." When the magicians acknowledged that the plague of כנים, lice, was not the result of superior magic by Moses or Aaron (8,15), they limited their acknowledgement of its origin to אלקים, thereby excluding י-ה-ו-ה. Pharaoh had learned the meaning of אלוקים from Joseph; he acknowledged this deity as superior to other deities. His acknowledgement did not extend to such a deity's control of what he considered the laws of nature. We have a rule in Berachot 48 אין מלכות נוגעת בחברתה, "since G–d has assigned sovereignty to a certain king, or kingdom, another king or kingdom must not infringe on the sovereignty of such." [The Talmud illustrates this principle by pointing out Saul's artificially delayed arrival in order that the commencement of his kingdom should not shorten by as much as a minute the period G–d had designated for the leadership of the prophet Samuel. Ed.] Pharaoh understood that the existence of the kingdom of אלקים, though presumably greater than that of his own or other kings, would not interfere with the sovereignty of other kingdoms. There are many kingdoms in this world which co-exist although some are more powerful than others. It is also possible that Pharaoh acknowledged G–d as the Master of the Universe, but did not consider the Universe as G–d's creation, but rather considered Him part of the Universe. Other philosophers conceive of G–d as inseparable from the world, much as they view light as inseparable from the sun. For all these reasons, i.e. limiting G–d's possible domain, Pharaoh was angered when Moses pointed out that there was an added dimension to G–d. Pharaoh reacted by increasing the workload of his Jewish slaves, as we read in Exodus 5,9.

Let us get back to our main subject. When G–d made Moses His messenger, He revealed to him that there are several layers of holiness in the Celestial Spheres, one above the other, and that He in His capacity as the Ineffable Name effects changes in nature and re-arranges the whole planetary system if need be. He revealed to Moses the extent to which He exercises supervision over all that transpires in our world. He acquainted Moses with all aspects of His power which extends over all other so-called powers. All of this is included in the verses quoted at the very outset of our פרשה, namely: למען תדע כי אני י-ה-ו-ה בקרב הארץ, בעבור תדע כי אין כמוני בכל הארץ. The Torah warned us that we must know all these things, that it is not sufficient to relate to them only as tradition. This is underscored in Deut. 4,39: וידעת היום והשבות אל לבבך כי י-ה-ו-ה הוא האלוקים בשמים ממעל ועל הארץ מתחת אין עוד, "You must know this day and record it in your heart that the Lord your G–d is the only true G–d in the Heavens above and on the Earth below, there is none other." The expression והשבות אל לבבך is an allusion to repentance. Having firm knowledge of the power demonstrated by G–d on behalf of Israel establishes a close link between the individual Jew and his G–d, and acts as a powerful inducement to do תשובה. Moses is on record in Psalm 91,14, that when G–d sent him as a messenger to deliver the Israelites this was a sign of His fondness of him. The reason cited for G–d being fond of Moses is כי ידע שמי, "Because he knew My name." The sinner does the reverse; he distances himself from G–d. We are told in Isaiah 59,2: כי עונותיכם הבדילו ביני וביניכם, "For your iniquities have created a barrier between Me and you." If one had put distance between oneself and G–d and wants to re-approach Him one needs do repentance. Repentance is the act of returning and re-establishing one's bond with G–d. This return has to originate in the heart, and that is why the Torah in Deut. 4,39 used the expression: והשבות אל לבבך.

I have heard some interesting comments by people who specialise in the exegesis of רשומות, "records." The Torah states in Exodus 8,19: ושמתי פדת בין עמי ובין עמך, למחר יהיה האות הזה. Moses tells Pharaoh in advance of the arrival of the plague of the wild beasts: "And I will make a distinction between My people and between your people; tomorrow this sign will come to pass." The commentators point out that the word פדות which is normally spelled with the letter ו, is here spelled defectively. Rashi points out in his commentary on Lamentations 1,6: וילכו בלא כח לפני רודף, "They could only walk feebly before the pursuer," that the word רודף is always spelled without the letter ו, whereas in this instance it is spelled plene. This is an indication that here the pursuit was totally unrelenting. This spelling gave rise to one of our liturgical poets becoming upset about the fact that whereas the pursuit of the Jewish people by their adversaries is spelled plene, the word for redemption, i.e. גאולה, is spelled defective in Isaiah 63,4: ושנת גאולי באה. He was also upset that the word פדת in our verse was spelled defective. [I have not seen an edition in which the words שנת גאולי are spelled defective. Ed.] Moses is therefore supposed to have referred to a different morrow, i.e. למחר, at which time the redemption, פדות, would be total and include the letter ו.

I would like to offer an additional thought on this anomaly. Rashi in his commentary on Leviticus 26,42- where the Torah writes that even while in exile, and while being persecuted, G–d will always remember the covenant with Jacob, Isaac and Abraham (in our favour)- states that the name יעקוב is spelled with the letter ו on only five occasions in the Bible. The name אליהו, on the other hand, is spelled without the final letter ו on five occasions. Rashi views Jacob as having "borrowed" a letter from the name of Elijah on those five occasions. He considers that letter as a pledge by the prophet Elijah that he will come to announce the deliverance of Israel. The mystical dimension of these five occasions is that they refer to the last two letters ו and ה in the Ineffable Name. Jacob, because he is the מרכבה, "carrier" of G–d's Presence, "borrowed" the letter ו from the name of אליהו five times. This letter was to serve as guarantee that the eventual redemption would be a full and comprehensive one. It should be able to combine with the letter נקבה תסובב גבר, the female element. This is an allusion to the promise in Jeremiah 31,22, that at that time שירה חדשה, "woman will court man," as we have mentioned elsewhere, and that the שירה חדשה, will be transformed into a שיר חדש. When Moses speaks about האות הזה, instead of האות הזאת in Exodus 8,19, this is an allusion to the time when the word אות will be treated as masculine in all its aspects. The word אות refers to the extra letter which will be added to the spelling of the word פדת, so that it will be seen to be פדות. Moses speaks of האות הזה as in (זה לך האות), to show that at the time of the final redemption the numerical value of the word זאת (when you ignore the "zeros,") will be 12, the same as the numerical value of the word זה. It is an allusion to the 12 צירופים, different permutations, in which the Ineffable Name can be spelled when using a word for each letter. It is significant that in Michah 7,15 we read concerning such a time in the future: כימי צאתך מארץ מצרים אראנו נפלאות. The prophet describes that the miracles performed by G–d at the time of the Exodus will pale into insignificance, and he describes how the nations of the world will react to G–d's manifesting His power anew. It is at that time that the real thrust of Moses' promise in Exodus 8,19: "I will set these My signs," will truly be fulfilled.