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PARADIGM SHIFTING PAST ENOUGH

וארא אל אברהם אל יצחק ואל יעקב בא-ל ש-די ושמי ה’ לא נודעתי להם

And I [G-d] appeared to Avraham, to Yitzĉok, and to Yaakov as [with the name] א-ל ש-די and my name, Hashem, I did not make known to them.[i]

Question

Textual Contradiction

This statement by G-d seems to contradict previous verses, where the Torah states G-d appeared to the forefathers, in which verses, the Torah uses the tetragrammaton[1]:

When G-d appeared to Avraham to visit him as he was recuperating from the circumcision, the verse[ii] states וירא אליו ה’
When G-d appeared to Yitzĉok to tell him not to descend to Egypt when there was a famine in the land of Israel, the verse[iii] also states וירא אליו ה’.
We don’t find a direct statement about G-d appearing to Yaakov with the verse using the tetragrammaton. However, when Yaakov returns to the land of Israel, and G-d comes to comfort him over the news of the death of his mother Rivka, the verse[iv] states וירא אלקים אל יעקב עוד בפדן ארם – and the Almighty appeared to Yaakov again in Padan Aram. Rashi notes the word ‘again’ and states that this was the second time G-d had appeared to him at that place, once when he left and once when he returned. When Yaakov was leaving the land of Israel, the only mention of G-d appearing to Yaakov is in the dream with the ladder, where the verse[v] states והנה ה’ נצב עליו ויאמר אני ה’ – and behold G-d was standing over him, and he said, I am G-d.

We thus find that with each of the forefathers, the Torah notes that it was G-d, named by the tetragrammaton, who appeared to them. Why then would G-d tell Moshe that he had not made that name known to the forefathers.

The simple answer to this question is that while we, the reader, might be aware that G-d’s tetragrammaton name was used in appearing to the forefathers, that doesn’t mean the name was made known to them.

This idea of the reader the Torah being aware of something the actors themselves were not aware of can be found when Yaakov tells Yosef that G-d appeared to him in Luz, Yaakov states[vi] ויאמר יעקב אל יוסף א-ל ש-די נראה אלי בלוז – and Yaakov said to Yosef, א-ל ש-די appeared to me in Luz. Yaakov then goes on to explain what G-d promised him and refers back to a different verse[vii] when G-d assigns the additional name of Yisrael to him and blesses him. That verse uses multiple names of G-d, and states ויאמר לו אלקים אני א-ל ש-די – and the Almighty said to him, I am א-ל ש-די. But when Yaakov repeats this to Yosef, he only mentions the name א-ל ש-די implying that Yaakov might not have been aware that it was אלקים speaking.

Which brings us to a more fundamental question, what does it mean that G-d appears or speaks using a specific name. When a person speaks to another, the name of the person is irrelevant – it is the person speaking, not his name. When a person appears to another, the name of the person is irrelevant – it is the person appearing, not his name.

Philosophical Difficulty

When a person appears to another, it is the being that appears, not the name. What does it mean for G-d to say he appeared “as a name”.

Foundational Principles

In the Torah, the concept of the name of G-d defining G-d to be acting in a specific fashion is discussed several times previously.

When G-d created the world, the name אלקים is used exclusively. As it says in the verse[viii] בראשית ברא אלקים. However, later the Torah notes[ix] ביום עשות ה’ אלקים ארץ ושמים. The Midrash notes the change in naming G-d, and teaches us that in the beginning, G-d created the world with the aspect of severity and strength. But, a world that is based on pure justice would not stand so, G-d therefore partnered the aspect of mercy to the creation of the world.

The Torah thus establishes that G-d names himself based on the function or relationship between G-d and the world.

Perhaps we can say that a name for G-d is more like a title than it is a distinctive name defining a person.

This idea, that the names of G-d describe an aspect of how G-d sets his actions up in a way that the world can relate to is described extensively by the Pardes Rimonim who analyzes the etymology in the Torah and the function of each of the names of G-d:

Tracing the Divine Names[2]

א-ל – represents the concept of the Power[3], Kindness and Beneficence of G-d to the world. Based on the verse[x]ואת אילי הארץ לקח, and the verse[xi] יש לאל ידי.
אלקים – represents Judgement and Strictness, as per the verse[xii] עד הא-להים יבא דבר שניהם in which judges are identified with the same name. Similarly, the verse[xiii] ויראו בני הא-להים is talking about the powerful people in those days.
ש-די – This name is defined in the Gemara[xiv], where Reish Lakish explained the meaning of the name as אני הוא שאמרתי לעולם די – I am he who said to the world ‘enough’.
י-ה-ו-‘ – Unlike the other names, the Pardes explains that this is the name referred to in the verse[xv] זה שמי לעלם, as explained by the Gemara[xvi] the word לעולם – forever, is written as לעלם – to be hidden. Which means that this name is not meant to be pronounced as it is written but instead needs to be hidden behind another name. Which is in fact what we do. The meaning of this name is explained as being a composite of the phrase היה הוה ויהיה כאחד – was, is, and will be, as one. This is the name by which G-d doesn’t directly relate to the world, as it refers to G-d as he is completely beyond time, where the rules of nature not only don’t exist but actually function in an unnatural fashion – past present and future are all one timeless unified thing.

Each of these names used in our verse above (as are all of the names of G-d) are unique in their own way:

א-ל is the name of G-d which get’s modified by suffixes to make it relatable. It is thus representative of one’s personal relationship with G-d. For example, in the verse[xvii] זה א-לי ואנוהו – this is my G-d, and I will glorify him.
ש-די is not actually a name, but a description of an action that G-d takes. It expresses G-d’s choice to connect his infinite and outside-of-the-world power to the world in a way that enforces the limitations of the world.[4]
הויה is the only proper name of G-d, and yet, by its very nature and un-pronounceability, it shows that ultimately, G-d is not something that we can relate to.

Expanding the Question

Considering the nature of G-d’s relationship to the world, as defined by each of these names, we can restate and expand the questions as follows:

Why did G-d define his relationship from our forefather’s perspective with the name א-ל ש-די, and then, when it came to the exodus from Egypt, G-d informed Moshe that he was now going to be perceived by the name הויה.

This question becomes even stronger when we consider the prior conversation between Moshe and G-d. When Moshe asks G-d, ‘When I inform the people that G-d is taking them out, and they will ask, what is his name, what shall I tell them?’

At that point, G-d responds to Moshe telling him that his name is א-היה אשר א-היה – I am the one that will be as I am the one that will be.

And yet, when it comes time to start the actual exodus, G-d reverts to the tetragrammaton.

Why does G-d change the name by which we are to relate to him through the exodus?

Furthermore, why was it necessary for G-d to go through the process of enacting the ten (10) plagues against Egypt. Especially since, as G-d told Moshe several times, the plagues would not cause Pharaoh to let the Jews go – either because Pharaoh would harden his heart, or G-d would harden it for him.

Instead, just like when G-d told Noaĉ when building the ark to enter, and Noaĉ did so בעצם היום – in the middle of the day. G-d was saying, ‘let any who have the power to countermand G-d’s decision come and protest.’ In fact, the same phrase was indeed used when it came to the Exodus. So, why go through the ten (10) plagues altogether. He could have simply told Moshe to tell the Jews to leave, and since that was G-d’s will, no one could have stopped them from walking out.

Why was a slow nature-breaking supernatural process required?

Answer: The Paradigm Shift

There was a purpose to the Exodus of Egypt:

The purpose of the exodus was not merely to relocate the Jewish people geographically, as that could have been done with an instant moment of teleportation.
The purpose of the plagues of the exodus was not merely to punish the Egyptians for their harsh treatment of the Jewish people, as that could have been done with single action, like the flood that G-d brought in the times of Noaĉ.

The purpose of the Exodus and the accompanying plagues was to accomplish a paradigm shift and a psychological transformation of the Jewish people.

At that point in time, the Jewish people had been slaves for centuries. They were enslaved not just physically, but also mentally and spiritually. As the name מצרים connotes, they were in the land of limitations.

To take a slave and turn him, and all his descendants thereafter into a people that is fundamentally free (even when exiled from their land and subjugated under harsh gentile rule), that required more than the removal of the Egyptian chains; it required shattering forever the reality that had enslaved them.

They needed a Paradigm Shift.

To turn an Egyptian slave into a Servant of G-d, a person who bows to no human, G-d had to demonstrate to the people that the so called Natural Order – even that which is the natural result of the actions of G-d in creating the natural order, namely ש-די – is nothing more than a fake façade. By breaking nature through the ten (10) plagues, G-d revealed himself as being completely beyond nature. He showed that for Him, and for his people, the Rules of Nature are more like suggestions.

Application: The Laws of Employment

This shift from “slave” to “servant of G-d” was so profound that it created a permanent legal reality in Jewish law. The Shulĉan Aruĉ[xviii] rules that a worker can retract his agreement and quit his job even in the middle of the day, because, as the verse[xix] notes כי לי בני ישראל עבדים, עבדי הם – because the Jewish people are Servants of me, they are my servants.

Furthermore, as expanded there by the Rama, Jewish workers aren’t even allowed to enter into an employment contract for more than three (3) years, as doing so it too much akin to slavery.

A Jew is essentially free. This essential freedom could only be forged by witnessing the total collapse of the natural order—the revelation of הויה.

Historical Correlation

This pattern, of creating a Paradigm Shift prior to an upheaval event in Jewish history, is not limited to the initial Exodus. It is in fact a pattern in Jewish history. Prior to every spiritual leap, there has been an upheaval amongst the Jewish people that forces the paradigm shift[5].

Entering the Land of Israel – To create a spiritual awareness that is integral to the very physical being of a Jewish person, that daily sustenance comes from G-d, and is not dependent on human endeavor, the Jewish people had to spend forty (40) years in the wilderness, in the land where no one dwells, consuming Manna that fell daily from heaven – in sufficient quantities to only last for that day.
Electing a Jewish Monarchy – To accept that the people of G-d could be ruled by a Jewish King, without losing their subservience to their true king – G-d, and that the Jewish King is merely the extension of G-d’s sovereignty, the people needed a shock to their system. They needed to see that power in a leader comes from his devotion to G-d and that the enforcement of that power is the extension of G-d’s power. Shmuel, in front of the eyes of all the people, called out to G-d and a storm in the middle of the summer was instantly summoned.
Building a physical Base Hamikdash – To build a physical base in which the divine presence could openly dwell, the Jewish nation needed to achieve a state of rest from all their enemies – not one achieved through military victories, but one which came about by divine providence. This caused the shift in mindset of the people from one of war and survival to one of peace and devotion to G-d.
Ordering Davening – to transition the people from a nation who talk to G-d with prophetic spontaneity to one which opened up structured prayer to all people, regardless of their current spiritual level, the decree of Haman was enacted. This forced Mordeĉai to gather the children, all the children regardless of their education, to pray for their salvation. Thereafter, the Anshei Knesses Hagedola coined the proper phrasing for everyone to be able to properly daven with G-d.
Founding a Jewish Commonwealth – to establish the second commonwealth, and form a monotheistic theocratic nation, guided fundamentally by Torah principles, Ezra demanded a radical social shift from the people. They would send away all the foreign women they had taken[6] and vow, as part of the national constitution, not to intermarry among the gentiles[7].
Ĉanuka – to be worthy of the miracle of Ĉanuka, the Ĉashmonaeans had to change from the rational mindset that had led so many Jews down the path of Hellenism and instead embrace radical מסירת נפש – as illustrated by their refusal to use oil who seal had been broken, even though the Halaĉa allows for such oil to be used.
Writing the Mishna – To deserve to preserve the Oral Torah by writing the Mishna, which had previously been memorized by the Sages alone, in a teacher-to-individual-student method, the people had to fundamentally change their educational system. This started with the decision[8] to open the Yeshiva doors to all students, where previously only those deemed worthy were admitted.

AND THEREFORE…

We stand experiencing the upheaval typical of the biggest shift in Jewish history. Presumably, like the generations before us, we are required to undergo a paradigm shift. But how can we prepare for a mindset that we do not yet possess – as the verse[xx] states עין לא ראתה אלקים זולתך – no eye has seen it, except you Almighty.

In other words, what is the name of G-d which has yet to be revealed[9].

The prophecies of the time of Moshiaĉ speak of an era where ומלאה הארץ דעה את ה’ כמים לים מכסים – and the world will be filled with knowing G-d, like the water covers the ocean. The required paradigm shift is the change from all prior generational aspirations and focuses, to shift our entire being to making the reality of a world filled with knowing G-d.

Not a divine name of G-d, but rather את ה’ – that which is referenced by the name of G-d, namely G-d himself. As he is without being named, nor hinted at in any letter, or even a serif on a letter.

That is the inheritance of the Jewish people, a world filled with knowing G-d himself, as the water covers the ocean.

[1] The tetragrammaton, which simply is simply Greek for the four-letter-spelled name [τέσσερα – four and γράμματα – letters] is the name that is spelled י followed by הוה. This name is not pronounced even when spelled out in the Torah, as it is treated as a personal name of G-d, and therefore, out of the requirement to respect, fear and revere G-d, we do not pronounce his personal name. Typically, Ĉassidus will spell this out using the same letters rearranged and pronounce it as הוויה – being, which means both the ultimate Being, and the act of being, as in the Creator who causes things to be.

[2] There are other names of G-d which is beyond the scope of this discussion. In Halaĉa, there are seven (7) such names. In addition, letters appended to the end of each name can be considered subsidiary to the name, and take on some of the holiness of the name – which implies an additional nuance in that names rendition of how to relate to G-d.

[3] The old Kabbalists would refer to the Sefira of Kindness as גדולה, rather than as חסד. In fact, that is how it is named in the verse [Divrei Hayamim I 29:11] לך ה’ הגדולה והגבורה וכו’ – to you belongs the Greatness, and the Strength. It is only the latter Kabbalists who began referring to the Sefira as חסד. This is a discussion for a separate topic.

[4] You would think that the infusion of infinite power would result in the opposite effect, that the world would take on aspects of infinity. But that is not the case. This name is G-d’s way of relating to the world by having the very limitations that make it a limited world be a mean by which G-d connects to us.

[5] This concept requiring a paradigm shift resolves a historical anomaly regarding Aharon HaKohen. When G-d tells Moshe “I know that he [Aharon] will surely speak” [Shemos 4:14], the Midrash explains that Aharon was already a prophet at that time. This is alluded to [Shmuel I 2:27] when a “Man of G-d” tells Ay’li: “Did I not appear to the house of your father when they were in Egypt?” And Ay’li was a Kohen. Therefore, the sages conclude that this was a reference to a prophecy given to Aharon, prior to the Exodus events.

The content of that early prophecy, which is only recorded nearly a thousand years later [Yeĉezkel 20:5-7], was “Cast away every man the detestable things of his eyes… and do not defile yourselves with the idols of Egypt.”

Why was this prophecy “suppressed” from the narrative of Shemos?

Because in Egypt, the removal of idolatry wasn’t the paradigm shift required for that redemption, since G-d himself destroyed all the idols of Egypt. However, in the time of Yeĉezkel, the Jewish people needed to fundamentally purge their attraction to idolatry forever – as part of their preparations for the building of the second Base Hamikdash. Therefore, that prophecy was thus “preserved” for later, to be used by the generation that would need to enact that specific paradigm shift.

[6] Based on strict Torah law, there is no prohibition against a non-Jewish ‘wife’. You might get killed by a zealot for having one, but that wasn’t against Torah law.

[7] It is an extremely horrible thing that the very preliminary requirement for establishing a Jewish commonwealth – the refusal to intermarry – is the one which the secular state of Israel abandoned. May G-d protect us from the disastrous consequences of that decision, and their continued refusal to revise the law.

[8] This paradigm shift was initiated by Rabbi Elazar ben Azarya, who removed the guard from the Yeshiva doors. Interestingly, the Arizal (Shaar HaGilgulim) identifies Rabbi Elazar ben Azarya as a gilgul (reincarnation) of Shmuel HaNavi. Just as Shmuel oversaw the paradigm shift toward the Jewish Monarchy (centralizing spiritual authority), his soul returned as Rabbi Elazar ben Azarya to oversee the paradigm shift of the Study Hall (democratizing spiritual authority). This explains his statement in the Haggadah: “I am like a man of seventy years old”—referring to the fifty-two (52) years Shmuel lived plus the eighteen (18) years of Rabbi Elazar’s then-current life.

[9] Perhaps we can say this “name” was in fact already revealed, and G-d is waiting for us to realize it.

G-d’s initial response to Moshe when asked his name was to say, ‘I will be what I will be’. The state of being now who is completely unchanged by what will happen. This is a reference to a way of relating to G-d as he is completely unchanged by his creation. Even the name הויה implies a connection to the world, albeit measured by beyond nature. On the other hand, the response of G-d, referred to a time period where creation itself did not exist, and it will be G-d alone who will be as he will be.

Unfortunately though, not even Moshe was ready for that paradigm shift, as instead of focusing on a revelation of G-d himself, he focused on the knowledge that the process of getting there involved [for whatever reason or lack of reason that only G-d himself knows] going through the other exiles of our history.

G-d therefore revised his revelation to reflect that which Moshe had understood, and said to respond to the Jewish people, ‘I will be’ [with them] is the one who sent Moshe.

This possibly represented a lost opportunity. Had Moshe, the representative of the Jewish people, successfully been able to integrate a paradigm shift that it was possible to relate to G-d himself, without going through even the filter of the name הויה, perhaps things would have been different.

[i] Shemos 6:3

[ii] Beraishis 18:1

[iii] Beraishis 26:2

[iv] Beraishis 35:9

[v] Beraishis 28:13

[vi] Beraishis 48:3

[vii] Beraishis 39:10-11

[viii] Beraishis 1:1

[ix] Beraishis 2:4

[x] Yeĉezkel 17:13

[xi] Beraishis 31:29

[xii] Shemos 22:8

[xiii] Beraishis 6:2

[xiv] Gem. Ĉagiga 12a

[xv] Shemos 3:15

[xvi] Gem. Pesaĉim 50a

[xvii] Shemos 15:2

[xviii] Ĉoshen Mishpat 333:3

[xix] Vayikra 25:55

[xx] Yeshayahu 64:3

ונתתי אותה לכם מורשה אני השם