מדרש אויף שמות 6:5

“I appeared to Abraham” – The Holy One blessed be He said to Moses: ‘Alas for those who are lost and are not present.¹³An expression of loss over the deceased. Many times I have revealed Myself to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob as God Almighty, but I did not make known to them that My name is the Lord as I made known to you, yet they did not question My ways. I said to Abraham: “Arise, walk through the length and the breath of the land…” (Genesis 13:17). He sought to bury Sarah and did not find a place until he purchased it, and he did not question My ways. I said to Isaac: “Reside in this land… [for I will give all these lands] to you and your descendants…” (Genesis 26:3). He sought to drink water but did not find, but rather, “the shepherds of Gerar quarreled with Isaac's shepherds, [saying: The water is ours…]” (Genesis 26:20) and he did not question My ways. I said to Jacob: “The land on which you lie [I will give to you and to your descendants]” (Genesis 28:13). He sought a place to pitch his tent but did not find until he purchased one for one hundred kesita, and he did not question my ways, and did not ask Me what My name is, as you asked.’
‘But you, at the beginning of [receiving] My mission you said to Me: What is Your name? In the end, you said: “Since I came to Pharaoh [to speak in Your name, he has harmed this people, and You did not deliver Your people]” (Exodus 5:23). Regarding that, it is stated: “I have also established My covenant…[to give them the land of Canaan…]” (Exodus 6:4), that it was given to them, as I said to them that I would give the land to them, and they did not question Me. “Moreover, I have heard the cry of the children of Israel” (Exodus 6:5) – because they did not question Me, even though Israel in that generation were not conducting themselves properly, I heard their cry because of the covenant that I had established with their ancestors.’ That is what is written: “And I have remembered My covenant” (Exodus 6:5).
“Therefore say to the children of Israel: I am the Lord, and I will take you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will deliver you from their labor, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm, and with great judgments. And I will take you to Me as a people, and I will be to you a God; and you shall know that I am the Lord your God, who brings you out from under the burdens of Egypt ” (Exodus 6:6-7).
“Therefore [lakhen] say to the children of Israel” – lakhen is nothing other than the language of oath-taking, as it is stated: “Therefore [velakhen] I took an oath to the house of Eli” (I Samuel 3:14). The Holy One blessed be He took an oath that He would redeem them, so that Moses would not fear that perhaps the attribute of justice would delay their redemption.
“I will take you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians…” There are four redemptions here: “I will take out…I will deliver…I will redeem…I will take,” corresponding to the four decrees that Pharaoh decreed against them.¹⁴See Shemot Rabba 1:12. The four decrees are: 1) Hard labor to build the storehouse cities, 2) Killing the newborn males, 3) Casting the newborn sons into the Nile, 4) Withholding straw from brick production. Corresponding to them, the Sages instituted four cups on Passover eve, to fulfill what is stated: “I will raise the cup of salvation and call upon the name of God” (Psalms 116:13).
“And I will bring you into the land about which I raised my hand, to give it to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob; and I will give it to you as a heritage; I am the Lord” (Exodus 6:8).
“And I will bring you into the land about which I raised my hand.” I will do for them what I said to your ancestors – that I would give them the Land, and they would inherit it by their [the forefathers] merit.

Another interpretation: “The Lord spoke to Moses and to Aaron” – that is what is written: “The voice of my beloved, behold, he is coming” (Song of Songs 2:8). When Moses went and said to Israel: ‘So said the Holy One blessed be He to me: “Today you are leaving, in the month of spring”’ (Exodus 13:4), they said to him: ‘Where is He?’ He said to them: ‘He is about to arrive: “The voice of my beloved, behold, he is coming, [leaping upon the heights, bounding upon the hills]”’ (Song of Songs 2:8). Rabbi Yehuda said: What is “leaping upon the heights?” The Holy One blessed be He said: If I scrutinize the actions of Israel they will never be redeemed. Rather, at whom will I look? At their saintly forefathers, as it is stated: “Moreover, I have heard the cry of the children of Israel…[and I have remembered my covenant]” (Exodus 6:5)⁹The covenant was made with the patriarchs. – on the merit of their forefathers I am redeeming them. Therefore, it is written: “Leaping upon the heights,” and heights mean nothing other than the forefathers, as it is stated: “Hear, O heights, the Lord’s grievance [and the mighty ones, foundations of the earth]” (Micah 6:2).¹⁰ Eitanim, meaning mighty ones, is a term that the Sages used for the patriarchs.
Another interpretation: Rabbi Neḥemya said: What is “leaping upon the heights?” [It is not to be understood literally.] Rather, the Holy One blessed be He said: Israel does not have deeds that would warrant their being redeemed, except by the merit of the elders, as it is stated: “Go, and gather the elders of Israel” (Exodus 3:16), and heights are nothing other than the elders, as Yiftaḥ’s daughter says to her father: “I will go down in the heights” (Judges 11:37). Was she going to the heights? Rather, she was saying: To the elders, as she was going to show the elders that she was a pure virgin.¹¹She therefore did not deserve the fate decreed for her by her father’s vow. That is why it is written: “Leaping upon the heights.”
Another interpretation: Rabbi Elazar said: What is “leaping upon the heights”? The Holy One blessed be He said: I arranged for Esau that he would establish kings, as it is stated: “These are the kings who reigned in the land of Edom” (Genesis 36:31). If I allow Esau to establish more kings, how will Israel survive? Rather, I will supplant them and render them chieftains, as it is stated: “These are the chieftains of the sons of Esau” (Genesis 36:15).¹²The midrash is reading the verses out of chronological order, as if the chieftains came after the kings. Heights mean nothing other than idolaters, as it is stated: “Behold, four chariots¹³The chariots represent four idolatrous nations. are emerging from between the two heights” (Zechariah 6:1).

Chapter 17: Prophets [1] "Thus says the Lord: 'If not for my covenant day and night, I would not have established the fixed order of heaven and earth.'" (Jeremiah 33:25). This is what the scripture said, "Look upon the covenant; for the dark places of the earth are full of the habitations of cruelty." (Psalm 74:20) Look to the covenant, even though Israel has no good deeds, the Holy One, blessed be He, redeems them by virtue of the covenant. Look to the covenant, when Israel was in Egypt they prostrated themselves to idolatry, as it says, "To your fathers, each man threw away the idols of his eyes, and do not defile yourselves with the idols of Egypt" (Ezekiel 20:7). He redeemed them only by virtue of the covenant, as it says, "And I have also heard the groaning of the children of Israel whom the Egyptians keep in bondage, and I have remembered my covenant" (Exodus 6:5), and it is written, "And God heard their groaning, and remembered His covenant" (Exodus 2:24). When they came out of Egypt and arrived at the sea, they rebelled, as it says, "And they rebelled by the sea, at the Red Sea" (Psalm 106:7). And the sea sought to drown them, as it says, "The waters were a wall to them on their right and on their left" (Exodus 14:22). They were filled with anger towards them and sought to drown them. When the water reached their clothes, their clothes hung from the water. When the water saw the covenant of circumcision on them, it retreated, as it says, "The sea saw and fled" (Psalms 114:3). What did the sea see? It saw the covenant of circumcision and fled. And it did not split except through the merit of circumcision, as it says, "To cut the Red Sea into pieces" (Psalms 136:13). They came to the desert and neglected the circumcision for forty years, as it says, "For all the people that came out were circumcised" (Joshua 5:5), "For the children of Israel walked forty years in the wilderness" (Exodus 16:35), "And he raised up their children in their place" (Joshua 5:7). All of Israel neglected the circumcision for forty years, except for the tribe of Levi, who circumcised their children, as it says, "And your covenant will be preserved" (Deuteronomy 33:9). "It is a covenant of circumcision: When the Israelites crossed the Jordan River, the tribe of Levi, who were circumcised, were carrying the Ark [of the Covenant], while the rest of the Israelites were uncircumcised. The inhabitants of the Jordan Valley sought to drown the Israelites because of their lack of circumcision, but God performed miracles for them. At that moment, God gathered 60,000 Israelites between the two poles of the Ark, so that they could see who was circumcised and who was not, and flee. As it is written, 'The Jordan turned back before them' (Joshua 3:13). Joshua said to the people, 'Behold, the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord of all the earth is crossing over before you.' The 60,000 people stood between the two poles of the Ark, as if they were piercing it with their foreskins. And what is the meaning of this? It is like the verse in Jeremiah that says, 'Go and buy yourself linen undergarments...so that your linen undergarments may serve as a witness for you' (Jeremiah 13:1-11). Just as the linen is not moved from its place despite the thorns, so too the 60,000 people stood firm between the poles of the Ark, as if they were being pricked by thorns." (Jeremiah 4:3). And it was a sting to Jeremiah. He said before God, "Master of the universe, there are thorns in it and they sting me, and I am in pain." God said to him, "This is not how the children of Israel acted when I brought them between the two poles of the Ark, and they were stinging the Ark with their foreskins like thorns, as it is said 'As the girdle cleaves to the loins of a man, so have I caused to cleave unto Me the whole house of Israel and the whole house of Judah' (Jeremiah 13:11). And from where do we know that foreskin is called thorns? As it is said 'Thus says the Lord to the men of Judah and Jerusalem: Break up for yourselves fallow ground, and sow not among thorns' (Jeremiah 4:3), and it is written 'Circumcise yourselves to the Lord and take away the foreskins of your heart' (Jeremiah 4:4). Therefore, since it is like thorns, see how abominable foreskin is before God. Even Moses, great among the prophets, wise men, and righteous, when he delayed circumcision for one hour, God sought to kill him, as it is said 'And it came to pass on the way at the lodging place [etc. and sought to kill him]' (Exodus 4:24). "If not for my covenant day and night." (Jeremiah 33:25)."