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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.
Chemdat Yamim Moreshet Shaul: Twin Foundations
Based on Siach Shaul, Pirkei Machshava V’Hadracha p. 690
Rabbis in Midrash
Lessons
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P'ninat Mishpat P'ninat Mishpat: Complaints about Contractor’s Work – part II
(based on ruling 83037.1 of the Eretz Hemdah-Gazit Rabbinical Courts)
(based on ruling 83037.1 of the Eretz Hemdah-Gazit Rabbinical Courts)
Chemdat Yamim Moreshet Shaul: Twin Foundations
Based on Siach Shaul, Pirkei Machshava V’Hadracha p. 690
Based on Siach Shaul, Pirkei Machshava V’Hadracha p. 690
D'varim Judaism’s Social Vision
Re’eh
Giving is more than an act of generosity—it is an essential part of human dignity that belongs to everyone, rich and poor alike. The ultimate goal of help is to empower others to stand on their own.
Kuzari -Rabbi Ari Shvat Kuzari class 9 - "Seeing is Believing" (parag. 21-30)
These paragraphs elaborate on the theme that seeing and knowing is better than any attempt to prove logically, and begins explaining the difference between Israel and gentiles.
Ein Aya Various Universal Stages of the Geula Process
Rav Kook examines the various stages of redemption, explaining how (in addition to the obvious oft-mentioned stages of ingathering the exiles, reviving the Hebrew language, army, state etc.) the messianic dream of world prosperity, the State of Israel and world unity can and are realistically and logically gradually coming true.
Kuzari -Rabbi Ari Shvat Kuzari class 8- "Answering Questions on the Kuzari's Proof from Mass Revelation
How do we know that the "claim" of mass revelation to 2,000,000 witnesses at Mt. Sinai is really true? This important class answers all of the questions skeptics ask about this claim of the Kuzari.
