הֵ֤ן יַעְצֹ֣ר בַּמַּ֣יִם וְיִבָ֑שׁוּ וִֽ֝ישַׁלְּחֵ֗ם וְיַ֖הַפְכוּ אָֽרֶץ׃
זע, ער פֿאַרהאַלט װאַסערן, און זײ װערן אױסגעטריקנט, און ער שיקט זײ אַרױס, און זײ קערן איבער די ערד.
Ramban
And G-d answered him, “‘I WILL BE THAT WHICH I WILL BE.207Verse 14. I will be with you208“You.” In our version of Rashi: “them.” in this sorrow, and I will be with you208“You.” In our version of Rashi: “them.” in other sorrows.’209“In other sorrows.” In our version of Rashi: “In the subjection [they will suffer at the hands] of the other kingdoms.” Thereupon Moses said to Him, ‘Master of the universe! Sufficient is the evil in its time, [and why should I mention to them other sorrows in store for them in the future].’ G-d replied to him: ‘You have spoken correctly. Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel: I WILL BE hath sent me unto you.’” Thus the language of Rashi quoting the words of our Rabbis.210Berachoth 9b. Their intent in this Agadah is as follows: Moses had said before Him, blessed be He. And they shall say unto me: What is His name?, meaning that G-d should tell him the Name which wholly teaches His existence and His providence. The Holy One, blessed be He, answered him: “Why should they ask for My Name? They need no other proof, for I will be with them in all their affliction.211Isaiah 63:9. They shall call, and I will answer them.”212See Psalms 91:14. This is the great proof that there is a G-d in Israel near to us whenever we call upon Him,213Deuteronomy 4:7. and verily there is a G-d that judgeth in the earth.214Psalms 58:12. This is a correct interpretation of this Agadah (homily).
In a similar way it is said in a Midrash Agadah:215Sefer V’hizhir. See Torah Shleimah by Rabbi M. Kasher, paragraph 188. “And what is the meaning of I WILL BE THAT WHICH I WILL BE? ‘As you are with Me, so I am with you. If they open their hands and give charity, I also will open My hand, as it is said, The Eternal will open unto thee His good treasure the heaven to give the rain of thy land in its season.216Deuteronomy 28:12. And if they do not open their hands, what is written there? Behold, He withholdeth the waters, and they dry up.’”217Job 12:15.
In a similar vein the Rabbis expounded:218Shemoth Rabbah 3:6. “Rabbi Yitzchak said that the Holy One, blessed be He, said to Moses: ‘I am He Who has been, Who is now, and Who will be in the future.’ This is why Eh’yeh is written here three times.” The explanation of Rabbi Yitzchak’s opinion is that since with respect to the Creator, past and future times are conceived completely in terms of the present — for there is no host succeeding host with regards to Him, and nothing of His time has passed — hence all times with reference to Him are called by one name, signifying a Being Whose existence is absolute.219Or “a Being Who is necessarily existent.” “G-d alone is that Being, for His existence is absolute — existence and essence are perfectly identical. He is not a substance to which existence is joined as an accident, as an additional element. His existence is always absolute, and has never been a new element or an accident in Him” (Moreh Nebuchim, I, 57, Friedlander’s translation).
Now Onkelos translated the first two names, [i.e. ‘Eh’yeh Asher Eh’yeh’], as “I will be with him that I will be,”220The meaning thereof is further elucidated by Ramban. In our version of Onkelos, these two Divine Names are also not translated and instead are retained in their original Hebrew form. but he did not translate the third name Eh’yeh expressed in the verse, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel: ‘Eh’yeh’ hath sent me unto you. It appears that Onkelos’ opinion is that the glorious Name221Deuteronomy 28:58. of which He informed Moses was this four-letter Name of which He commanded him, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel: ‘Eh’yeh’ hath sent me unto you. But He first informed him of the purport thereof, for Moses’ request had been to know the ways of G-d through His Name, just as he was once again to request [later on]: Let me know Thy ways, that I may know Thee.222Further, 33:13. And just as He answered him then, And I will proclaim the name of the Eternal before thee, and I will be gracious unto whom I will be gracious223Ibid., Verse 19. — meaning that with this glorious Name221Deuteronomy 28:58. which He will proclaim before him, He will be gracious and will show mercy, and no man can fathom the profundity of His ways — in the same vein He said to him now: “I will be with him that I will be,” meaning, “with My Name that you will tell them, namely, Eh’yeh, with that Name I am gracious and show mercy to man.”
And the Gaon Rav Saadia wrote224In his Arabic translation of, and commentary on, the Torah. So clearly mentioned by Rabbi Abraham the son of Rambam in his commentary (Wiesenberg ed., London, 1958, p. 226). See Index in my Kithvei Haramban, Vol. II, p. 564, under lashon, for Ramban’s extensive use of Arabic. In view then of the fact that Ibn Ezra does not mention this interpretation of Rav Saadia Gaon in his commentary, nor is it found in Saadia’s philosophic work Emunoth Vehadei’oth, it may be assumed that Ramban saw it in the original Arabic. that its explanation is as follows: “[He is the Being] Whose existence has never ceased and will never cease, for He is the first and the last.” The opinion of the Gaon is not far from the opinion of Rabbi Yitzchak, [i.e., that the name Eh’yeh indicates eternity, as explained above].
And the Rabbi [Moshe ben Maimon] has said in the Moreh Nebuchim (Guide of the Perplexed)225Part I, Chapter 63. In Friedlander’s translation: p. 239. that the meaning of Eh’yeh Asher Eh’yeh is: “He is the existing Being which is the existing Being, that is to say, Whose existence is absolute. The proof which Moses was to give to the elders of Israel consisted in demonstrating that there is a Being of absolute existence, that has never been and never will be without existence.”
Now according to these Sages,226Namely, Rabbi Yitzchak, Rav Saadia Gaon, and Rambam in his Moreh Nebuchim, all mentioned above. it is necessary to explain that the Holy One, blessed be He, said to Moses that he should tell them this Name and teach them its import. That is to say, Moses was to inform them of this Name and show the rational proofs by which His eternal being or existence would be firmly established among their wise men. The mere mention of the Divine Name — be it whatever it may —is no proof in itself to eradicate the doctrine of the eternity [of matter] from among them, or the calculated heresy of denying the existence [of the Supreme Being] altogether. But this is not the sense of the verse! Rather, [it clearly implies] that the very mention of the Name to them will be the proof, sign and token on the matter they will have asked of Moses.
In my opinion, the elders of Israel never doubted the existence of the Creator, as the Rabbi [Moshe ben Maimon] said — Heaven forbid! But this Name does contain the answer to [Moses’ question of G-d], as we have explained it to you.227Namely, that Moses asked by what Divine attribute is his mission to them, whether with the attribute of E-il Sha-dai which stood by the patriarchs, or with the high attribute of mercy with which signs and wonders, new phenomena in creation, will be done to speed their redemption — all as explained above. He informed Moses that he is being sent to them with the attribute of justice, which is within the attribute of mercy, [suggesting that the miracles which will be done on behalf of their deliverance from the bondage will at the same time be acts of judgment against the Egyptians. This is the sense of Eh’yeh Asher Eh’yeh: “I will be in judgment that which I will be in mercy].” And then G-d said to Moses, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel: ‘Eh’yeh’ sent me unto you, thus teaching the unity [of the two attributes, which explains why the Divine Name is not mentioned here twice]. It is for this reason that G-d commanded Moses yet further, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel: The Eternal… hath sent me unto you,228Verse 15. The Divine Name mentioned here is the Tetragrammaton. for this Name, [i.e., the Tetragrammaton], indicates the attribute of mercy, and thus they will know that He hath caused His glorious arm to go at the right hand of Moses229Isaiah 63:12. and He will make new signs and wonders in the world. Thus G-d explained to Moses that the Name Eh’yeh which He commanded him to tell the children of Israel corresponds to this Great Name [the Tetragrammaton] and that they are alike in language, [as both signify eternal existence], and in letters, for the two final letters of the first Name [Eh’yeh] constitute the first ones in the Tetragrammaton. And may the Holy One, blessed be He, show us wonders in His Torah.230See a similar ending in Vol. I, p. 553. Ramban evidently uses the expression in order to indicate that he has merely touched on only the surface of the mysteries here indicated in the text, and one must constantly pray to be shown new wonders that lie hidden in the Torah.
In a similar way it is said in a Midrash Agadah:215Sefer V’hizhir. See Torah Shleimah by Rabbi M. Kasher, paragraph 188. “And what is the meaning of I WILL BE THAT WHICH I WILL BE? ‘As you are with Me, so I am with you. If they open their hands and give charity, I also will open My hand, as it is said, The Eternal will open unto thee His good treasure the heaven to give the rain of thy land in its season.216Deuteronomy 28:12. And if they do not open their hands, what is written there? Behold, He withholdeth the waters, and they dry up.’”217Job 12:15.
In a similar vein the Rabbis expounded:218Shemoth Rabbah 3:6. “Rabbi Yitzchak said that the Holy One, blessed be He, said to Moses: ‘I am He Who has been, Who is now, and Who will be in the future.’ This is why Eh’yeh is written here three times.” The explanation of Rabbi Yitzchak’s opinion is that since with respect to the Creator, past and future times are conceived completely in terms of the present — for there is no host succeeding host with regards to Him, and nothing of His time has passed — hence all times with reference to Him are called by one name, signifying a Being Whose existence is absolute.219Or “a Being Who is necessarily existent.” “G-d alone is that Being, for His existence is absolute — existence and essence are perfectly identical. He is not a substance to which existence is joined as an accident, as an additional element. His existence is always absolute, and has never been a new element or an accident in Him” (Moreh Nebuchim, I, 57, Friedlander’s translation).
Now Onkelos translated the first two names, [i.e. ‘Eh’yeh Asher Eh’yeh’], as “I will be with him that I will be,”220The meaning thereof is further elucidated by Ramban. In our version of Onkelos, these two Divine Names are also not translated and instead are retained in their original Hebrew form. but he did not translate the third name Eh’yeh expressed in the verse, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel: ‘Eh’yeh’ hath sent me unto you. It appears that Onkelos’ opinion is that the glorious Name221Deuteronomy 28:58. of which He informed Moses was this four-letter Name of which He commanded him, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel: ‘Eh’yeh’ hath sent me unto you. But He first informed him of the purport thereof, for Moses’ request had been to know the ways of G-d through His Name, just as he was once again to request [later on]: Let me know Thy ways, that I may know Thee.222Further, 33:13. And just as He answered him then, And I will proclaim the name of the Eternal before thee, and I will be gracious unto whom I will be gracious223Ibid., Verse 19. — meaning that with this glorious Name221Deuteronomy 28:58. which He will proclaim before him, He will be gracious and will show mercy, and no man can fathom the profundity of His ways — in the same vein He said to him now: “I will be with him that I will be,” meaning, “with My Name that you will tell them, namely, Eh’yeh, with that Name I am gracious and show mercy to man.”
And the Gaon Rav Saadia wrote224In his Arabic translation of, and commentary on, the Torah. So clearly mentioned by Rabbi Abraham the son of Rambam in his commentary (Wiesenberg ed., London, 1958, p. 226). See Index in my Kithvei Haramban, Vol. II, p. 564, under lashon, for Ramban’s extensive use of Arabic. In view then of the fact that Ibn Ezra does not mention this interpretation of Rav Saadia Gaon in his commentary, nor is it found in Saadia’s philosophic work Emunoth Vehadei’oth, it may be assumed that Ramban saw it in the original Arabic. that its explanation is as follows: “[He is the Being] Whose existence has never ceased and will never cease, for He is the first and the last.” The opinion of the Gaon is not far from the opinion of Rabbi Yitzchak, [i.e., that the name Eh’yeh indicates eternity, as explained above].
And the Rabbi [Moshe ben Maimon] has said in the Moreh Nebuchim (Guide of the Perplexed)225Part I, Chapter 63. In Friedlander’s translation: p. 239. that the meaning of Eh’yeh Asher Eh’yeh is: “He is the existing Being which is the existing Being, that is to say, Whose existence is absolute. The proof which Moses was to give to the elders of Israel consisted in demonstrating that there is a Being of absolute existence, that has never been and never will be without existence.”
Now according to these Sages,226Namely, Rabbi Yitzchak, Rav Saadia Gaon, and Rambam in his Moreh Nebuchim, all mentioned above. it is necessary to explain that the Holy One, blessed be He, said to Moses that he should tell them this Name and teach them its import. That is to say, Moses was to inform them of this Name and show the rational proofs by which His eternal being or existence would be firmly established among their wise men. The mere mention of the Divine Name — be it whatever it may —is no proof in itself to eradicate the doctrine of the eternity [of matter] from among them, or the calculated heresy of denying the existence [of the Supreme Being] altogether. But this is not the sense of the verse! Rather, [it clearly implies] that the very mention of the Name to them will be the proof, sign and token on the matter they will have asked of Moses.
In my opinion, the elders of Israel never doubted the existence of the Creator, as the Rabbi [Moshe ben Maimon] said — Heaven forbid! But this Name does contain the answer to [Moses’ question of G-d], as we have explained it to you.227Namely, that Moses asked by what Divine attribute is his mission to them, whether with the attribute of E-il Sha-dai which stood by the patriarchs, or with the high attribute of mercy with which signs and wonders, new phenomena in creation, will be done to speed their redemption — all as explained above. He informed Moses that he is being sent to them with the attribute of justice, which is within the attribute of mercy, [suggesting that the miracles which will be done on behalf of their deliverance from the bondage will at the same time be acts of judgment against the Egyptians. This is the sense of Eh’yeh Asher Eh’yeh: “I will be in judgment that which I will be in mercy].” And then G-d said to Moses, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel: ‘Eh’yeh’ sent me unto you, thus teaching the unity [of the two attributes, which explains why the Divine Name is not mentioned here twice]. It is for this reason that G-d commanded Moses yet further, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel: The Eternal… hath sent me unto you,228Verse 15. The Divine Name mentioned here is the Tetragrammaton. for this Name, [i.e., the Tetragrammaton], indicates the attribute of mercy, and thus they will know that He hath caused His glorious arm to go at the right hand of Moses229Isaiah 63:12. and He will make new signs and wonders in the world. Thus G-d explained to Moses that the Name Eh’yeh which He commanded him to tell the children of Israel corresponds to this Great Name [the Tetragrammaton] and that they are alike in language, [as both signify eternal existence], and in letters, for the two final letters of the first Name [Eh’yeh] constitute the first ones in the Tetragrammaton. And may the Holy One, blessed be He, show us wonders in His Torah.230See a similar ending in Vol. I, p. 553. Ramban evidently uses the expression in order to indicate that he has merely touched on only the surface of the mysteries here indicated in the text, and one must constantly pray to be shown new wonders that lie hidden in the Torah.