פרשת וארא
This week’s Parsha opens with Hashem telling Moshe the He had appeared to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, yet He had never told them His true name. Rashi explains this verse based on the Gemorah in Sanhedrin (111), that Hashem was actually rebuking Moshe for his comment in last week’s Parsha in which Moshe challenged Hashem and said, “Why are you being so cruel to this nation” after Pharaoh had decreed upon the Jews to come up with their own mortar for the bricks and were forced to use their own babies. The Gemorah elaborates by telling us that Hashem had given explicit assurances to each of the forefathers that they would inherit the land of Israel and would become a multitudinous nation, yet in reality, each one of them suffered tremendously and didn’t seem to realize the benefit of these assurances. For example, Avraham Avinu was promised the entire land of Israel, yet when it came time for him to search for a burial plot for his beloved wife, he was forced to pay a huge sum of money for a small piece of real estate in a land that was supposed to be all his! Nonetheless, none of the forefathers complained or questioned Hashem’s judgment in this area. Hashem therefore was rebuking Moshe because he responded to Hashem’s seemingly harsh decree by saying, “Why are you being so cruel to this nation”, and was punished for this response.
I feel that this Gemorah requires some explanation. Moshe’s claims to Hashem were not based on his lack of faith, rather this was his way of asking Hashem to have mercy on the Jews. All he was asking for was for Hashem to alleviate some of their suffering. Was it incorrect for Moshe, when he saw Jewish babies being pulverized and placed between the Egyptian bricks to call out to Hashem and beg His mercy? Why then is Moshe treated so harshly for his expressions of empathy for the Jewish people? From this Gemorah we see how serious it can be when a person displays a lack of faith in the justness of God’s ways, even when that display seems to be for a worthy cause, and even when that display in only an outward display and was not intended to be taken literally. The Gemorah is teaching us that we must go to every length to never second guess Hashem’s decisions in our lives, and moreover, to never even seem like we are upset by the events which take place around us.
The same Gemorah in Sanhedrin goes on to say that Moshe was also punished on another account. The forefathers never asked to “understand” Hashem’s ways, yet Moshe seems to. Moshe in last week’s Parsha asks Hashem what His name is – meaning Moshe wanted to understand more about Hashem before he carried out His will. For this very slight infraction, Moshe was punished somewhat because he should have opted to do the will of God without any rational understanding whatsoever. We too have a responsibility to work on ourselves to reach the point where our service of Hashem is not born out of any logical argument, but rather solely because it is the desire of our creator.
The Ramban brings in the name of the Ibn Ezra that in the time of the forefathers, Hashem is referred to by the name “E-l Sha-dai,” which implies that Hashem chooses to run the world within nature, without any miraculous activities which were beyond nature, yet with Moshe, Hashem uses the name “Hovaya” which has more of a connotation of rising above nature and performing wondrous miracles. He explains that during the reign of the Avos, there was a complete acceptance of Hashem’s existence in every aspect of their lives. Even the seemingly mundane “natural” occurrences were filled with the revelation of God because this is what they saw in their lives. Whereas in Egypt, this understanding was not present and the Jews therefore needed miracles in order to recognize the full glory of Hashem and this is why He is referred to by a different name. We can conclude from these inspiring words of the Ramban that although it is easier to recognize Hashem’s grandeur when He is generating great natural phenomenon for us, nonetheless the preferred service of God comes from our recognition of His greatness in the day to day events that occur even though God may seem more hidden this way.
The Chovos Halevavos quotes the verse in Yaakov’s dream which says, “There was a ladder on the earth whose top reached the heavens”. He explains that in this verse, the part of the ladder “on the earth” refers to that fact that most of what goes on in this earth seems to run within a basic system of nature, and the part that “reached the heavens” refers to our ability and need to view the events that happen on this earth as coming from Hashem. He concludes by saying that if one scrutinizes the events that go on in this earth, and sincerely contemplates their meaning, he will inevitably come to the realization that they are all emanating directly from God.
I would just like to conclude with the inspiring words of the Ohr Hachaim. This week’s Parsha opens with the verse, “וידבר אלוקים אל משה ויאמר אליו, אני יהו-ה”. The Ohr Hachaim points out the obvious discrepancy in the use of Hashem’s name at the beginning of the verse and at the end of the verse. He explains beautifully that Hashem was trying to convey the message to Moshe that although the term of servitude that the Jews were serving in Egypt seems like a harsh decree and is working under the rubric of “Midas Hadin” (Elokim), in fact, it is nothing more then Hashem’s rahcamim (Havaya) and if we could see the whole picture, this understanding would become clear to us without any doubt. The message for us is obvious. Although on the surface, it looks very often like our luck is down and the other guy has it better, and Hashem is being cruel to us, if we could see the big picture and fathom all the factors that are involved, there would be absolutely no question that everything Hashem does is ultimately for our benefit and for the benefit of all mankind.
May Hashem bless us to reach this enlightened understanding speedily!