Yeshiva
Beit Midrash
- Torah Portion and Tanach
- Shmot
- Va'era
And G-d answers Moshe in Vaera, most mysteriously: "I am Hashem (Y-H-V-H). I appeared to Avraham, Yitzchak & Yakov, but not as Hashem; only as Kel Shadai."
Question time:
-How does this reply satisfy Moshe’s concerns?
- What is the difference what G-d calls Himself?
- And why does G-d proceed to identify Himself 4 times in the space of just 8 p’sukim as, "Ani Hashem?!"
So let us try to make some sense of this.
The name "Shadai" hearkens back to the beginning of time, when G-d meticulously created the world in exactly the right measure. Like a master chef who puts in just the right amount of seasoning; who cooks it for just the right amount of time at just the right temperature, so G-d prepared the world, perfectly setting in motion the waters, the heavens, the earth; & then said: Dai-Enough!
One of G-d’s favorite "dishes" was that of Redemption for Am Yisrael, & our entrance into our one & only Land. But this dish needed an awful lot of intensive preparation, & though the Avot were continually promised that one day it would indeed be ready for serving, that day was long in coming, & the Avot did not live to see it. That cataclysmic moment was reserved for Moshe.
And here is where the name "Hashem – Y-H-V-H" - comes into play. For that specific name of G-d represents Past, Present & Future. That is, the moment when it all comes together, when all the parts mesh perfectly with one another, when all the ingredients are finally assembled & ready to bring to the table. That is what G-d tells Moshe, who - as a supreme defender of Bnei Yisrael and fighter for justice - is anxious for the suffering & slavery to end, & for the Geula to begin.
"Now," says G-d, "Shadai will recede into the background & Hashem will take center-stage." In rapid succession, we will be freed from slavery, leave Egypt, receive the Torah, build the Mishkan, and go on to eventually enter Eretz Yisrael. The B'rachot, the blessings, flow like a waterfall from the B'recha, the pool, of Divine kindness.
Times are tough for Jews right now; In Israel, & in the Galut. But we don’t despair. We know that Shadai is meticulously preparing a feast, with all the ingredients – the terror attacks, the global anti-Semitism, the chaos in the Middle East, the refugee crisis – as part of the mix. But when Hashem finally serves it up, it will be one truly amazing banquet.
Rabbi Stewart Weiss
Was ordained at the Hebrew Theological College in Skokie, Illinois, and led congregations in Chicago and Dallas prior to making Aliyah in 1992. He directs the Jewish Outreach Center in Ra'anana, helping to facilitate the spiritual absorption of new olim.
Jewish Laws and Thoughts Shul “etiquette:” can we honor Hashem while respecting our fellow congregants?
Rabbis in Midrash
Lessons
fast navigation
Hosha'ana Rabba FLYDUBAI & HOSHANA RABBA- ANI VAHU HOSHIA NA- I & HIM SAVE US
"Ani vaHu Hoshia Na", "I and Him, Save Us". We don't just pray to Him, but we also pray to and for ourselves that we should emulate and educate our children to have that instinctive altruism with which He created the world. President Trump seemed amused about Yaniv Hayon, our PLUMBER who confidently worked with G-d like Superman (he learned from a pilot on a TV show!) to save 174 lives on the Dubai hijacking, but we in Israel are totally accustomed already 78 years to our plumbers, teachers, garbage-men, rabbis, farmers & doctors being Hashem's shlichim! This is what Zionism is about.
Moreshet Shaul Hashem Is your Shadow – part I
Based on Siach Shaul, Pirkei Machshava V’Hadracha p. 420 – an address from 1941
P'ninat Mishpat A Non-Contractor in Changing Times – part I
(based on ruling 85128 of the Eretz Hemdah-Gazit Rabbinical Courts)
Moreshet Shaul Our King on Rosh Hashana, Our Father on Yom Kippur.
Based on Aroch Siach, p. 221 (Rav Shaul Yisraeli)
