Parshas Va’era 5775
In this week’s parsha Hashem tells Moshe that He appeared to the Avos with the holy name Kel Shakkai, but His name of Havaya (which we pronounce as “A-do-noi”) was not made known to them. He has seen the suffering of the Bnei Yisrael and will recall His covenant with them, taking them out of Egypt.
Clearly, there is a significant difference between the holy names Kel Shakkai and the Shem Havaya. What is this difference, and why weren’t the Avos shown both names? Furthermore, the verses connect the revelation of the Shem Havaya to Hashem’s taking the Jews out of Egypt. What connection is there between this name and the Exodus?
The Ramban explains that Kel Shakkai expresses Hashem’s direction of the world through nature. Even though the world seems to work according to natural laws and in an orderly fashion, Hashem is in fact behind the scenes at all times, involved in all aspects of life on an individual basis. A prime example of this manifestation of Hashem is the Megillas Ester, which is replete with hashgacha pratis yet no open miracles.
The word “Havaya,” by contrast, means bringing to life, and the Shem Havaya expresses that Hashem can create or change anything. When Hashem directs the world through the name of Shakkai, everything functions within the parameters of nature, meaning there are limitations. Havaya, on the other hand, expresses no limitations. This is the difference in meaning between the two names of Hashem.
The Chasam Sofer says that everything Hashem did for the Avos took place within the realm of nature, without open miracles. For the Avos this was enough; they could see Hashem’s hidden miracles with the utmost clarity. They therefore did not need to see Hashem’s directing of the world in the form of the Shem Havaya. After the Bnei Yisrael sank into the tum’ah of Egypt, they were unable to see Hashem clearly through miracles done under the cover of nature. Had Hashem taken them from Egypt in a natural way, they would have attributed this to nature, not to Hashem. To bring the Bnei Yisrael to the awareness that He created the world and continues to oversee the entire creation, Hashem had to manipulate the natural world before their eyes. Therefore, the Exodus was done with the Shem Havaya, the name that expresses Hashem’s open manipulation of nature.
The Ramban states (at the end of Parshas Bo 13:16) that the Exodus was designed to disprove all claims of apikorsim and build Klal Yisrael’s emuna. This lesson was so important that it was worth enslaving Hashem’s beloved nation to an immoral people to teach it. Since miracles do not often happen on such a grand scale, every generation must study and review the episodes of the Exodus to grow in emuna. This explains why so many mitzvos make mention of the Exodus (as we say, “zecher leyetzias Mitzrayim“); the idea is to keep Hashem’s open miracles of old before us always and bring us to perpetual growth in emuna.
Harav Yitzchak Isaac Chaver (in his commentary to the Hagada shel Pesach, on “avadim hayinu“) brings out another lesson of the miracles of the Exodus: To prepare His people to receive Torah and mitzvos, Hashem actually changed the entire world! Hashem put the Jews into the worst circumstances imaginable just to show that in order to make them His people and accept His Torah, He was willing to make the Ten Plagues, each of which changed nature. This is a lesson every generation needs to learn: to help a Jew spiritually, Hashem is ready to change the entire order of nature and make open miracles for him.
The Rambam expresses this idea in Hilchos Teshuva (9:1), saying that even though the main reward for mitzvos is in olam haba, nevertheless Hashem is willing to give a Jew special gifts just to help him continue in his avodas Hashem. These gifts can take the form of uninterrupted years of health, ample livelihood and a tranquil environment. Many can attest that when they resolved to accept the yoke of Torah and mitzvos, circumstances in their lives changed miraculously to enable this to happen.
We see also from Hashem’s willingness to change nature for us that even if we are in the most difficult, trying circumstances, there is no reason to despair, because we have the key in our hand, so to speak. Hashem has revealed to us that He is ready to change nature in order to help us serve Him. If we are mis’chazeik in Torah and mitzvos, He has revealed that He is willing at times to change the whole order of creation for us.
Look at how much Hashem is willing to do for us to keep His mitzvos! How much should we treasure them and devote all our energies to their fulfillment!
My father is an excellent example of this. He worked in America as a cheder rebbe but decided to come to Eretz Yisrael to come closer to Hashem. He had seven children, the oldest of which was a teenager. After one year trying to work as a rebbe in Eretz Yisrael he stopped, realizing that the language barrier was too much, and devoted all of his time to Torah and avodas Hashem. He would always say that here in Eretz Yisrael, thehashgacha pratis is much stronger and opportunities are always opening up for him. To an observer, it would have been hard to see what “opportunities” he was referring to, but somehow, in a way that even we, his children, could not understand, he managed to get by and eventually marry off all of his children while growing constantly in Torah and avodah, as had been his goal from the start. This was an open miracle.
May we be zoche to internalize all the lessons of Yetzias Mitzrayim!