Genesis 6,3. Hashem.” We need to understand ‎where and when G’d “appeared” to the patriarchs in His ‎capacity as the G’d of Shaddai. We do not find ‎the word ‎וירא‎,‎‏ ‏‎“Shaddai appeared,” in ‎connection with G’d’s addressing any of the patriarchs. ‎Moreover, why did G’d speak of ‎ידיעה‎, a form of ‎intimate knowledge, in connection with His ‎communicating with Moses and the Israelites at this ‎time? We have learned in Sifri, Mattot, 2 that all the ‎prophetic revelations that subsequent prophets ‎experienced were due to the residue of Moses’ ‎prophetic experiences who had preceded them in this. ‎In other words, no prophet was granted a type of vision ‎that had not already been granted to Moses before ‎him. Elaborating on that subject, we read in ‎‎Yevamot 49, that all the subsequent prophets ‎were only granted blurred visions whereas Moses had ‎been granted clear visions. It is not possible to absorb “clear” visions of the ‎Creator unless the Creator had first garbed Himself in ‎garments that diffuse the powerful light that emanates ‎from Him. [Prophets of lesser stature than ‎Moses would become too blinded by being exposed to ‎G’d before he had thus screened Himself. Ed.] ‎G’d “garbs” Himself in accordance to whom He ‎dispenses His blessings, the most minimal of these ‎‎“screens” within which He garbs Himself is known in ‎the language of our sages as ‎מאירה‎, literally, ‎‎“illuminating” but in the sense of hiding the minimum ‎possible. It is this “minimal” screen that hid G’d’s ‎essence from Moses when He communicated with him. ‎All the other prophets received their visions as ‎derivatives of the visions which Moses had received. ‎Although Moses himself “dispersed” some of his ‎prophetic powers, [notably when the 70 ‎elders were chosen to assist him, and he “dispersed” ‎some of his holy spirit to them. (Numbers 11,17) ‎Ed.] ‎‎

Seeing that all the other prophets received their ‎prophetic insights through an intermediary, i.e. Moses, ‎it could not be as powerful as that of Moses who had ‎received it directly from G’d, [but it had not ‎been detached from its source, G’d, but was dependent ‎on Moses’ continued close attachment to its source. ‎Ed.] Prior to Moses no one had as close a ‎relationship, described also as G’d speaking to Moses ‎‎“mouth to mouth,” i.e. directly, not by means of ‎‎“visions,” i.e. images seen or nocturnally or at best ‎when the recipient was awake. There had remained a ‎gap between how Avraham had related to G’d and how ‎Moses had related to Him, a gap which G’d here ‎describes as a lower level of communication from Him.‎

Another aspect of the words: ‎וארא אל אברהם אל יצחק ‏ואל יעקב‎, “I used to appear to Avraham, Yitzchok, ‎and Yaakov, etc.” We find among the writings of the ‎‎Ari z’al that he does not understand Exodus ‎‎34,7 ‎נוצר חסד לאלפים‎ “He extends loving kindness to ‎thousands,” in the generally accepted meaning, but ‎that he understands the word ‎אלפים‎ as attributes of G’d ‎beginning with the letter aleph. These ‎attributes, though all being variations of the attribute ‎Justice, are “sweetened” by G’d through an addition of ‎a dose of ‎חסד‎, loving kindness.‎ In order to understand the Ari z’al we refer ‎first to a statement in Sh’mot Rabbah 47,11 ‎according to which Moses acquired the ability to make ‎the skin of his forehead shine, give forth light, (Exodus ‎‎34,29) because a drop of ink was left over from his ‎quill when he had completed recording the portion of ‎the Torah in writing. [Difficult to understand ‎as Moses did not write the Torah on Mount Sinai. ‎Ed.]‎ The author of the Or hachayim;Midrash had in mind ‎when writing that Moses merited this reward from left ‎over ink.‎ In order to illustrate the difference between a ‎‎“humble” person spelled with the letter ‎י‎, and a ‎‎“humble” person spelled without the letter ‎י‎, we need ‎to make a few introductory remarks. On the Torah’s ‎imperative for the Jewish people to strive to be “holy,”: ‎‎(Leviticus 19,2) to be “holy,” i.e. ‎קדושים תהיו כי קדוש אני ה'‏‎, ‎‎“be holy for I the Lord am holy,” we could have ‎misunderstood this line to mean that we must strive to ‎be as holy as G’d. Midrash Rabbah Vayikra ‎Rabbah 24,9 therefore writes that the words: ‎כי ‏קדוש אני‎, “for I am holy,” in that verse are a reminder ‎that only G’d is truly holy. G’d’s holiness transcends ‎anyone else’s holiness. Anyone who endeavours to ‎sincerely sanctify himself discovers that in spite of all ‎the progress he makes in this direction that he is still ‎far removed from his objective, i.e. total holiness. If a ‎person is under the illusion that he is already a worthy ‎servant of the Lord, this is proof that he is still far ‎from having reached his goal, that in fact he has not ‎even begun the journey leading to holiness. Anyone ‎who has begun this journey is painfully aware of how ‎far he still has to travel on that road. This is what the ‎Midrash had in mind when the author wrote, ‎explaining the words: ‎כי קדוש אני ה' אלוקיכם‎, “for I the Lord ‎your G’d am holy, ‎קדושתי למעלה מקדושתכם‎, “My holiness is ‎superior to your holiness.” [The author’s ‎version of this Midrash apparently had the ‎word ‎מסתלקת‎, “is receding,” instead of the word: ‎למעלה‎ ‎‎“is superior”. Ed.] ‎ Alternatively, this concept, instead of being ‎expressed negatively, may be expressed positively, as ‎we find in Eychah rabbah 11,3 where the ‎author writes that whenever the Jewish people sanctify ‎themselves they thereby strengthen the celestial ‎entourage of the Lord, i.e. they add holiness to His ‎holiness. The Midrash quotes psalms 60,14 in ‎support of this where the psalmist writes ‎באלוקים נעשה ‏חיל‎, “we will strengthen G’d by acting valiantly.” ‎‎(Compare likutim on that statement in the ‎‎Midrash) ‎

This leaves us with the task of explaining the word: ‎כמוני‎, “just like Me,” attributed to the author of the ‎‎Midrash Vayikra Rabbah 24,9. In order to ‎understand the subject under discussion, we must ‎remember the terms ‎קץ הימים‎ and ‎‏ קץ הימין‎ The latter ‎refers to a positive phenomenon, i.e. a domain of ‎holiness, whereas the former refers to the negative ‎domain, also known as the sitra achara of the ‎diagram of the 10 emanations, ‎עשר ספירות‎, the ten ‎stages by which pure spirit was transformed into a ‎physical universe. [If I understand the author ‎correctly, the popular expression ‎קץ הימים‎, “end of time” ‎or end of our physical universe as we know it, will ‎mean different things for different people. The wicked ‎will die and face a void, no afterlife, whereas the just ‎will experience that their souls will continue a ‎‎“timeless” existence in the celestial, purely spiritual ‎spheres.Ed.] Our task while on earth remains serving the Lord ‎with deeds, charity, etc., as well as through prayer and ‎the study of the Torah. While we do this, G’d rises ‎higher and higher above the reach of any of the ‎אותיות‎, ‎the letters of the Torah which form a link between the ‎physical and the spiritual domains of the universe. In ‎the region known in Kabbalah as the ‎עולם האותיות‎, the ‎world of the letters, the letter ‎י‎ is perceived as the one ‎closest to the world of pure spirituality, but even the ‎topmost tip of that letter does not penetrate that ‎domain as we know from the Zohar. (Compare ‎Sullam on Yaakov’s dream there) The “distance” ‎between the highest point of the ten emanations and ‎the domain that is purely spiritual may be described as ‎the distance between white and black. Entrance to that ‎domain cannot be achieved except through our good ‎deeds, our prayers and our study of Torah. Only by ‎means of employing all these variants of service of the ‎Lord can our souls hope to enter that lofty domain.‎‎ If someone leaves this physical part of the universe ‎and does not have any of the merits acquired through ‎Torah study, prayer, or good deeds, he will not be ‎admitted to the domains higher than the world of the ‎‎“letters.” Such a person concludes his earthly existence ‎under the aegis of ‎קץ הימים‎, the end of time, as decreed ‎for this physical world since G’d had created that part ‎of the universe. ‎ Optimal service of the Lord involves that the ‎‎“servant” divests himself of all external influences that ‎may distract him, i.e. from all earthly concerns. It is ‎this that the Torah has in mind when calling upon us ‎with the invitation/directive ‎קדושים תהיו‎ “try and become ‎holy.” It is an invitation to shed our personal concerns ‎and to concentrate exclusively on what may best be ‎described as “G’d’s concerns.” When the ‎‎Midrash adds the word: ‎כמוני‎ “such as I,” it ‎does not suggest that we become like G’d, but that we ‎emulate His non concern with considerations that are ‎essential for successful life on earth. An additional meaning of the call to be or become ‎קדושים‎ is the need to free one’s consciousness from ‎earthly concerns to the extent that even the tip of the ‎letter ‎י‎ should no longer shackle our consciousness to ‎our earthly concerns. Our preoccupation should consist ‎exclusively of prayer, good deeds, and study of Torah.‎ This brings us to the difference between the two ‎spellings of the word: ‎ענו‎ and ‎עניו‎ though they both ‎mean “humble.” According to the ‎ארי ז'ל‎, the letter ‎י‎, i.e. ‎the first letter in the tetragram, G’d’s four-lettered ‎name, symbolizes the ability to “see” something in it ‎true dimensions. Accordingly, when the word ‎ענו‎, the ‎‎“humble One,” i.e. G’d, is spelled without the letter ‎י‎ ‎which alludes to the most humble being, G’d, a mortal ‎human being on that level cannot attain his craving to ‎become G’d-like in terms of holiness. ‎[I recommend to the reader to acquire a ‎book called “wisdom in the letters of the Hebrew ‎Alphabet” by Rabbi Michael L. Munk, published by Art ‎Scroll, which should be part of the library of any Torah ‎observant Jew. Ed.] Seeing that when ‎ענו‎ is spelled without the letter ‎י‎ it ‎represents a low level of spiritual accomplishment, ‎Moses wrote it in this way so as not to be accused of ‎having concurred with the compliment to his person ‎that spelling it with the letter ‎י‎ would have entailed.‎ This also brings us to the Divine attribute (Exodus ‎‎34,7) of ‎נוצר חסד לאלפים‎, commonly understood to mean ‎‎“extending kindness to thousands of generations.” This ‎attribute is perceived as part of the celestial regions ‎above the world of the ‎אותיות‎, the domain of the ‎physical universe. In that domain there reign ‎exclusively the “virtues” ‎טוב‎ and ‎חסד‎, “goodness and ‎kindness,” and there is no room in that domain for the ‎attribute of ‎דין‎, “Justice.” The attribute of Justice is ‎present only in the parts of the physical universe ‎beginning with the topmost tip of the letter ‎י‎, and from ‎there “downwards.” As soon as we speak about a ‎domain in which Justice plays a role, there is a need to ‎‎“sweeten” the application of that attribute by ‎‎“delegating” to that domain some aspects of the ‎attributes that rule exclusively in the spiritual regions ‎above the topmost of the world of the ‎אותיות‎, the ‎domain of the “letters.” By allowing attributes such as ‎טוב‎ and ‎חסד‎ to infiltrate these lower regions of the ‎universe, the Creator demonstrates His preference for ‎these attributes, or, in the words of Michah 7,18, ‎כי חפץ ‏חסד הוא‎, “for He is fond of loving kindness.” The word ‎הוא‎, “He,” at the end of that verse, is not ‎really necessary for understanding the words of ‎prophet; it is inserted as an allusion to the regions ‎beyond the realm of the ‎אותיות‎, a region normally ‎concealed from us mortals. The “silent” letter ‎א‎ in the ‎word ‎הוא‎ is our hint from the Creator Who dwells in ‎those regions not accessible to mortal human beings. ‎The word ‎הוא‎ forms the boundary between the lower ‎and the upper regions of these two parts of the ‎universe.‎‎

‎[Before continuing, it is important for the ‎reader to remember that of all the sensory perceptions ‎at our disposal, the eyes, i.e. “seeing,” are considered ‎by the Torah as the most reliable, and therefore ‎testimony given at court must always be based on what ‎has been witnessed by one’s eyes. Ed.]‎ We need to appreciate also that there are two ways ‎of examining what one has seen, i.e. ‎ראיה‎. One is ‎merely a category of visually perceiving the outline and ‎colour of the object “seen,” whereas the other includes ‎the person seeing being able to understand the deeper ‎meaning of what his eyes have “seen.,” examining its ‎essence, something known as ‎ידיעה‎, “knowing”, ‎understanding. This latter category of visual ‎perception is known as ‎בחינת אותיות‎, examining the ‎‎“letters,” i.e. the structure of what the image consists ‎of. When Adam had marital relations with his wife ‎Chavah for the first time, (Genesis 4,25), the Torah ‎describes the experience with the words: ‎וידע אדם את ‏אשתו‎, “Adam gained intimate knowledge of the essence ‎of his wife.” Whereas “seeing” implies that one ‎perceives from the “outside,” ‎ידיעה‎, understanding the ‎essence of something, implies a much more intimate ‎connection to the matter which is the subject of one’s ‎knowledge. This kind of intimate knowledge is possible ‎only in domains that are completely spiritual, ‎disembodied, i.e. beyond the world of the ‎אותיות‎, ‎‎“letters.” True “knowledge” (in the sense of identifying ‎with the essence of the subject or object), presupposes ‎negating any personal, ego-oriented relation to it. This ‎also accounts for prophets appearing to act as if they ‎had taken leave of their senses while they were ‎receiving messages from the transcendental domains. ‎As a result of these transcendental messages these ‎prophets could feel greatly distressed when receiving ‎messages concerning the gentile nations, as these ‎messages originated in a domain that knows only ‎‎“goodness,” (as we explained) so that the prophet ‎would assume that what would be “good” for the ‎gentiles in the long run would also be good for them in ‎the immediate future, and therefore harmful for the ‎people of Israel. This is one of the limitations every ‎prophet labours under, as G’d explained to Moses in ‎Exodus 33,20, ‎כי לא יראני האדם וחי‎, i.e. that as long as the ‎prophet’s soul is still within his mortal body, he cannot ‎‎“see” i.e. completely understand what G’d is doing.‎ The difference between these two levels of “seeing,” ‎is also the difference between ‎כלל ופרט‎, “a general ‎principle and its application to a specific situation.” ‎‎[The 13 methods of exegesis of the Torah ‎composed by Rabbi Yishmael, by means of which texts ‎in the written Torah can be understood as ‎‎halachically accepted. Ed.] Our ‎author explains this as the difference between ‎‎“category 10 and not 11,” (Mishnah 4) a term ‎used in the Sefer Yetzirah, the oldest ‎kabbalistic text. ‎

When G’d tells Moses in Exodus 6,3 “I appeared ‎to Avraham,” He means that the patriarchs were ‎not privy to the “second” level of ‎ראיה‎ ‎‎“seeing=understanding,” only to the level of ‎revelations originating in a domain in which Justice, ‎דין‎ ‎is at home. This level is defined by G’d as ‎ב-אל שדי‎, the ‎power known as the “G’d Shaddai.” This name of G’d is ‎widely known in many parts of the physical universe, ‎and is an allusion to the G’d, Who, at the end of the ‎sixth day of creation said: ‎די‎, “enough,” before He ‎sanctified the seventh day, the Sabbath. G’d added ‎explicitly, that He had not revealed His name ‎‎“Hashem” to the patriarchs, i.e. ‎ושמי ה' לא נודעתי ‏להם‎. The precise meaning of the word ‎נודעתי‎ is “I ‎became revealed on the level of man gaining intimate ‎knowledge of Me,” the dimension of Me that is ‎manifest only in the regions “above” the world of ‎אותיות‎, ‎‎“letters.” In that region, as we have explained already ‎there is no ‎דין‎, attribute of Justice,” but only ‎חסד‎ the ‎attribute of love, kindness. G’d implies that it was ‎impossible for Him to reveal this aspect of Himself to ‎the patriarchs as long as He had not proven its ‎existence through His having redeemed the Israelites ‎from their miserable fate.‎ This is also the reason why G’d did not say to ‎Moses: ‎לא הודעתי להם‎, “I have not made known to them,” ‎‎(active mode), but He said ‎לא נודעתי להם‎ I have not ‎become known to them, (passive mode). ‎חסד‎, loving ‎kindness, must be experienced by the recipient ‎passively; doling it out when the recipient is not aware ‎of it, i.e. something whose seed will take time to ‎blossom and eventually ripen, cannot be defined at the ‎outset in terms of its ultimate manifestation. This ‎dimension if and when it manifests itself, does not ‎require intervention by G’d in the affairs of men ‎through miracles, but is a natural development, easily ‎recognized by those who are privileged to experience ‎it. [Some of the words in this paragraph are ‎mine. Ed.]‎

Exodus 6,7. “I will acquire you to be My ‎people,….and you will know that I am ‎‎Hashem.” (The Merciful One) The ‎new revelation to Moses here is that whereas other ‎nations cannot grasp the concept of Hashem ‎with their brains at all, the Jewish people have been ‎granted this dimension of perception of ‎‎Hashem. The tool which enables us to have ‎such insight is the Torah and the commandments ‎contained in it which G’d has given to us as a gift. This ‎‎“gift” is spelled out in verse 8. As a result of making ‎proper use of these gifts we, the Jewish people, have a ‎better understanding of the Shechinah, and ‎what this term implies.‎

Exodus 6,8.“I will bring you to the land ‎that I have sworn, etc.;” this line can best be ‎explained by means of a parable. If it is someone’s ‎nature to be a “do-gooder,” and to do so ‎indiscriminately even for people who detest him and ‎obstruct him, such a person will certainly be expected ‎to dispense his generosity to those who are his friends ‎and supporters. On the other hand, if that “do-gooder” ‎is known to restrict his generosity to people who are ‎his friends and have not harmed him in any way, he ‎will not be expected to support those who actively ‎obstruct him at every opportunity. ‎

Our sages (on Numbers 6,23 where the priests are ‎commanded to bless the people), used this parable ‎when commenting on the word ‎להם‎, “to them,” i.e. that ‎the priests are not to include the gentiles in their ‎blessings. [Having already said that they ‎should bless the Children of Israel, the extra words ‎אמור להם‎ would otherwise appear to have been ‎superfluous. Ed.] When G’d tells Moses in our ‎verse here: ‎אל הארץ אשר נשאתי את ידי לתת להם לאברהם וגו'‏‎, “to ‎the land that I have sworn to give to Avraham, etc.;” He ‎had to explain that although up to now this land had ‎enjoyed G’d’s generosity as the people on it had found ‎it a good land to dwell in, from now on, this land ‎would be “good” only for the Jewish people. The term: ‎‎“Jewish people,” presupposes that these Jews keep the ‎commandments they will undertake to observe at ‎Mount Sinai, less than a year later.‎ A different way of understanding G’d’s oath to give ‎the land of the Canaanites to His people, the Jewish ‎people: The author again turns to a parable to ‎illustrate his point. We must analyze the expression ‎נשאתי את ידי‎, “I raised My hand (in an oath).” A prince was ‎engaged in a war against the enemies of his father, the ‎King’s kingdom. When the prince was victorious there ‎was great joy in the King’s palace. As a result of the ‎great joy, the King, who was normally not overly ‎generous, now displayed great generosity to everyone ‎who turned to him with a request. Suddenly, while all ‎these festivities were in progress, an enemy of the ‎king’s son shows up with a request to his father, the ‎king. The king is now faced with a dilemma. If the king ‎ignores the root cause of the joy and the festivities he ‎may G’d forbid also fulfill a request of his son’s arch ‎enemy; on the other hand, if the king keeps the source ‎of all the festivities in mind, i.e. his son’s victory in a ‎life and death struggle, i.e. that his son had just ‎vanquished this arch enemy of his, he will most ‎certainly not pay any heed to the request made by his ‎son’s enemy.‎It is written in Song of Songs 6,3 ‎אני לדודי ודודי לי‎, “I ‎am my beloved’s and my beloved is mine;” in other ‎words: “my beloved yearns for me.” According to ‎‎Bereshit Rabbah ‎1,4 one of the 6 things that ‎G’d contemplated before beginning to create the ‎universe was the concept of a Jewish people and all ‎that this entails. When the Jewish people perform His ‎wishes He takes great delight in this. The joy G’d ‎experiences when the Jewish people live up to His ‎expectations results in His feeling justified in having ‎created the universe, i.e. all the various universes. He ‎therefore dispenses some of His largesse to all other ‎parts of the universe also. In order to dispense some of ‎His largesse to the gentile nations He limits the ‎outpourings of His largesse to the Jewish people. When ‎the sinful creatures in the universe take note of G’d’s ‎being so generous, they line up, so that they too will ‎become beneficiaries of G’d’s “good mood.” At such a ‎time G’d reminds Himself that originally He had only ‎created the universe on account of wishing to see His ‎‎“dream” of a Jewish nation performing all its tasks ‎being realized. As soon as He reminds Himself of this, ‎He will turn off the “taps” i.e. the attribute of largesse ‎that had been allowed to flow to the gentile nations ‎also, and will concentrate all of His largesse on the ‎Jewish people.‎ The “attribute” dispensing this “largesse” is known ‎as ‎יד‎, “hand;” the reason for this is that in our ‎terrestrial world largesse is “handed” out. This explains ‎why G’d used the expression ‎ידי‎, “My hand,” when ‎referring to His oath to “hand over” the land of Canaan ‎to Avraham’s descendants.‎ ‎

This is also the meaning of G’d’s saying in ‎Deuteronomy 32,40 ‎כי אשא אל שמים ידי ואמרתי חי אנכי לעולם‎, ‎‎”for lo I raise My hand to the heavens and say: ‘as I live ‎forever,’ etc.;” G’d’s original concept of a Jewish people ‎populating earth, before the universe was even ‎created, is referred to in this verse as ‎חי אנכי לעולם‎, an ‎attribute of ‎חירות‎ “unlimited freedom.,” and the purpose ‎of raising His hand to the heavens is in order to ‎activate the attribute of largesse, ‎שפע‎ which is ‎dispensed by means of the attribute ‎יד‎ in this case ‎ידי‎, ‎‎“My hand.” We must remember that the attribute from ‎which G’d’s largesse emanates is neither the one called ‎חי‎ nor the one called ‎חירות‎, as “life” [in the ‎sense of what is needed to support life, Ed.] ‎תלויה לה מנגד‎ is hanging constantly in balance, so that ‎when deserving G’d’s largesse for such people will ‎insure that they remain alive, whereas if lacking basic ‎merits, none of G’d’s largesse will reach them so that ‎they will die.‎ This idea is expressed when G’d says ‎והבאתי אתכם אל ‏הארץ‎, “I will bring you to the land, etc.” When G’d adds ‎לתת לכם מורשה‎, He hints that when the Jewish people are ‎deserving His largesse will be limited to this people. ‎This is also the mystical element in the blessings given ‎by the priests who raise their hands while pronouncing ‎these blessings. They draw attention to the attribute ‎from which the largesse emanates, i.e. the attribute of ‎יד‎. The priests do not pronounce blessings applicable ‎universally, but they commence with asking G’d to ‎grant the blessings about to be pronounced exclusively ‎to the Jewish people, i.e. ‎יברכך‎, “may He bless you.” ‎

Exodus 6,13., “He commanded them to ‎the Children of Israel and to Pharaoh the King of ‎Egypt, etc.” The reason why Moses’ and Aaron’s ‎mission here is portrayed as a “dual” mission, i.e. to ‎the Children of Israel and to Pharaoh the King of Egypt, ‎is that there are two types of ‎צדיקים‎ righteous people ‎each of whom try to guide the people by remonstrating ‎with them to follow in the ways of the Lord. The first ‎type of ‎צדיק‎ relies primarily on his eloquence in ‎delivering inspiring words to the people. He does not ‎need to give reasons for the need to keep the laws of ‎the Torah. In this tzaddik’s opinion, telling ‎the people which is the right path to pursue in serving ‎G’d is sufficient to achieve the desired result. The ‎second category of tzaddik is not so confident ‎of his eloquence, and endeavors to demonstrate why ‎the way of the Torah is the only way to serve the Lord. ‎In our verse above we find both of these types of ‎‎tzaddikim addressed by G’d, when the Torah ‎commands the eloquent messenger of G’d Aaron, to ‎deliver his rousing speeches, and Moses, the ‎messenger suffering from a speech defect, to do what ‎he knew how to do best, to prove to the people why it ‎was in their interest to listen to G’d’s commandments ‎as conveyed by him. Both Aaron and Moses were intent ‎on convincing the people that the all-powerful and ‎totally self sufficient G’d nonetheless enjoys the ‎prayers of the Jewish people and responds to their ‎service positively. They were to explain that it was ‎these prayers that opened the gates of G’d’s treasure ‎chambers that contained the material blessing needed ‎for successful life in the lower regions of the universe.‎

Exodus 6,25. “the same Aaron and Moses ‎to whom G’d had said: ‘take out the Children of ‎Israel from Egypt.’” In verse 27 the Torah ‎repeats the same once more, listing Moses’ name ‎ahead of that of Aaron. Rashi, basing himself ‎on the Mechilta, comments that the Torah ‎makes a point of alternating the order in which it ‎refers to Moses and Aaron, in order to demonstrate ‎that in G’d’s eyes they were both of equal stature.‎ Since G’d addresses Moses alone, as we know from ‎verse 29, ‎וידבר ה' אל משה לאמור‎, “Hashem ‎spoke to Moses, to say, etc;” we would have ‎deduced that Moses was of greater stature than his ‎older brother Aaron. In order for us not to arrive at the ‎conclusion that Moses was considered superior, the ‎Torah mentioned the name of Aaron first in verse 27. ‎In other words, the message of the Torah to us is this: ‎although G’d reserved His words for Moses’ ears alone, ‎this does not mean that in G’d’s eyes Moses was ‎superior to Aaron. ‎ When we will be reading about the many audiences ‎Moses had with Pharaoh, we will note that invariably it ‎was Aaron who conveyed G’d’s words to Pharaoh. This ‎was because Moses had complained to G’d of his ‎speech defect that in his opinion rendered him unfit to ‎speak to Pharaoh in public. [In 7,15 when G’d ‎sends Moses to speak Pharaoh privately, warning him ‎of the plague of blood, it was not an insult for Pharaoh ‎to be addressed by a messenger who had a speech ‎defect. Ed.] In order to make the point clear ‎that Aaron was to be Moses’ mouthpiece, the Torah ‎writes in 4,16 that Aaron would be the person ‎delivering G’d’s messages to Pharaoh, but that he ‎would do so in his capacity as Moses’ “prophet.” Seeing ‎that the Torah used the expression ‎אהרן אחיך יהיה נביאך‎, ‎‎“your brother Aaron will serve as your prophet,” there ‎was still room for thinking that Aaron was superior to ‎Moses; in order to make quite clear that this was not‏ ‏the case, the Torah had to write ‎הם המדברים אל פרעה‎ “they ‎were the ones who spoke to Pharaoh, etc.” (verse 27)‎

Another approach to the last paragraph. it is the ‎duty of every Jew to serve his Creator at all times from ‎feelings of awe and fear and to look at fellow Jews with ‎a benevolent attitude, interpreting actions that appear ‎inappropriate in a favourable light, and not to harm ‎any fellow Jew; the first step in serving G’d is always ‎based on fear, awe. Man’s awe when serving G’d ‎results in a mixture of awe and satisfaction, pleasure. ‎Moses had attained this level of possessing wisdom ‎while at the same time remaining in awe of the ‎Creator, as we know from psalms 111,10 ‎ראשית חכמה יראת ‏ה'‏‎, “all wisdom has its beginning in a feeling of awe and ‎respect of G’d,” and is therefore symbolic of ‎יראה‎, while ‎Aaron’s name contains the letters ‎נהר א‎, i.e. the letter ‎אלף‎ of the word ‎יראה‎, and the letters spelling “water” in ‎the sense of a blissful stream, providing irrigation, the ‎first such water that we find in Genesis 2,10 i.e. ‎ונהר יוצא ‏מעדן‎, “and a river originated from Eden, and irrigated, ‎etc.” Awe and fear lead to satisfaction ‎תענוג‎. Seeing that ‎the term ‎יראה‎, awe, cannot be an attribute of the ‎Creator, and ‎תענוג‎, the feeling of pleasurable ‎satisfaction preceded the dispensation by G’d of His ‎largesse to Israel, (the process being comparable to ‎what our sages meant when they said that “the cow is ‎more intent of nursing the calf than the calf is ‎consciously looking for its mother’s milk,”) when it ‎comes to the results of Moses and Aaron intervening in ‎the process of preparing Pharaoh to release the ‎Israelites, Moses is mentioned first when the Torah ‎writes: ‎הם המדברים אל פרעה מלך מצרים להוציא את בני ישראל ‏ממצרים‎, “they were the ones speaking to Pharaoh to ‎permit the Children of Israel to leave ‎Egypt.”[By mentioning Aaron last, the Torah ‎associated him with the execution directly; he was ‎mentioned immediately before the word ‎להוציא‎, “to ‎release,” i.e. the type of largesse about to be dispensed ‎by G’d to the Jewish people. Ed.].‎ I have heard in the name of my revered teacher ‎Rabbi Dov Baer from Mezerich that he explained ‎Proverbs 10,1 ‎בן חכם משמח אב‎, “a wise son brings joy to ‎his father,” as Solomon paraphrasing the relationship ‎between Jews loyal to Torah and their Father in heaven. ‎When a Jew serves his Father in heaven he causes Him ‎satisfaction and joy. Similarly, when someone makes ‎complimentary remarks about fellow Jews, G’d also ‎derives pleasure from such compliments. We are not to ‎serve G’d for selfish reasons at all, such as the reward ‎we have been promised for doing this. We must strive ‎to provide G’d with satisfaction from our service to ‎Him. This is so although there are a few benedictions ‎in the 19 benedictions of the amidah, the ‎central prayer, in which we ask for something for ‎ourselves, such as intelligence to serve G’d properly, ‎the ability to repent our sins, and a cure for our ‎diseases. Seeing that G’d derives pleasure from our ‎prayers, even these benedictions in which we turn to ‎Him for help, also give Him pleasure. G’d derives ‎pleasure from the very fact that we, His people, enjoy ‎our existence on earth. This is what the sages had in ‎mind when they responded to the question ‎‎(Bereshit Rabbah 3,4) ,‎מהיכן נבראת האורה‎ “from ‎where did the light in which G’d garbed Himself ‎originate?” The word for “light” in that ‎‎Midrash is ‎אורה‎ as opposed to ‎אור‎, the light G’d ‎had created on the first day (Genesis 1,3) ‎‎[There the word for “light” was in the ‎masculine mode, whereas in the Midrash it is in the ‎feminine mode, reminding us that it was something ‎passive, received. Ed.] The answer given by ‎Rabbi Shmuel ben Nachman in that Midrash is that it ‎originates from the site on which the Holy Temple was ‎built. The Talmud, pursuing this subject also asked ‎whence the light originated from.‎ ‎[I have not been able to authenticate what ‎follows, supposedly in the Talmud. Ed.]‎ The Talmud wonders whence the light in which G’d ‎drapes Himself originates. Seeing that the word ‎אורה‎ ‎used for “light,” is in the feminine mode it must have ‎been created at some time, having been the recipient ‎of input from another source. Seeing that man needs ‎to serve the Lord for the sake of providing Him with ‎pleasurable satisfaction, ‎תענוג‎, as opposed to our ‎receiving blessings and material benefits in the earthly ‎part of the universe, the question is logical. The ‎answer given in the Talmud to the question posed is ‎that G’d derives pleasure from man’s service which ‎enables Him to dispense His largesse to man. He even ‎enjoys prayer when it is offered as a means to secure ‎this largesse. The reason He does so is because the ‎very fact that He has reason to dispense this largesse is ‎a source of satisfaction for Him.‎

Exodus 7,3-4. “but I will harden the heart ‎of Pharaoh, etc.” “Pharaoh will not listen to ‎you.” The Or Hachayim, in his ‎commentary on this line questions why G’d had to ‎repeat this statement in verse 4 when He had already ‎said in verse 3 that He would harden Pharaoh’s heart? ‎In order to answer this problem satisfactorily it is ‎important to examine the plague of frogs. Before ‎decreeing this plague Moses had said to Pharaoh that ‎if he were to refuse to let the Israelites go, G’d would ‎smite his entire country with a plague of frogs which ‎would invade even the most private parts of his ‎bedroom, including the houses of all his servants. ‎‎(Exodus 26-28) After the plague did strike and Pharaoh ‎asked Moses to bring it to an end, Moses tells him that ‎he will do so at a time of Pharaoh’s choosing, so that ‎he would learn that there is no G’d like the G’d of the ‎Israelites. (8,5) Later on when the wild beasts have ‎been let loose in urban areas, Moses adds that Pharaoh ‎should now learn that G’d’s domain is also the dry land ‎of the earth. (8,18) The reason why two different ‎domains of G’d’s power are mentioned on those two ‎occasions is that two different types of miracles were ‎involved. One basic miracle applying to all the plagues ‎was to demonstrate G’d’s power in His universe; the ‎other miracle was that G’d could, if He wished, ‎dominate man’s willpower so that he would foolishly ‎self destruct in spite of the evidence before his eyes ‎how his obstinacy would lead to his and his people’s ‎ruin.‎

Exodus 7,9. “if Pharaoh will say to you: ‎‎‘identify yourselves by means of a miracle, say to ‎Aaron to take his staff etc.;’” at first glance ‎the word ‎לכם‎ used by Pharaoh here was superfluous as ‎Moses and Aaron did not need to identify themselves ‎to each other. He should simply have said: ‘prove your ‎mission by performing a miracle!’” The Ari z’al writes that it is a rule that ‎every human being is convinced that his words will ‎make a favourable impression on his Creator, and as a ‎result further G’d’s dispensing of benefits to His ‎people. Because of this belief in the power of speech, ‎every person has to be extremely careful not to abuse ‎this power of speech by talking nonsense, or worse. ‎Pharaoh invited, or challenged Moses and Aaron to say ‎things which would serve as proof that due to their ‎words their G’d of whose existence Pharaoh was well ‎aware, would perform acts that would impress him. ‎When Moses therefore instructed Aaron to take his ‎staff, throw it to the ground and it would turn into a ‎snake, he complied with exactly what Pharaoh had ‎demanded of them. The miracle was the result of ‎Moses’ speaking to Aaron.‎‎

Exodus 7,16. “and behold so far you have ‎not listened.” The words: “so far,” appear ‎strange, and sound as if G’d had already performed a ‎number of miracles, whereas in fact He had only ‎brought on one plague, i.e. the waters of the Nile ‎turning into blood. We may be able to understand this ‎turn of phrase when considering a statement by our ‎sages when they compared Moses’ prophecies as ‎characterized by the word ‎זה‎ and that of the other ‎prophets by the word: ‎כה‎. (Sifri Mattot, 2) On ‎the face of it this statement appears strange as Moses ‎frequently introduced his prophecies with the words: ‎כה ‏אמר ה'‏‎.‎ This apparent contradiction has been dealt with by ‎the Rivash, (Rabbi Yitzchok bar Rabbi Sheshet) ‎in his commentary on Exodus 19, 9 ‎‏ בעבור ישמע העם בדברי ‏עמך וגם בך יאמינו לעולם‎ “in order that the people can hear ‎when I speak with you (Moses‏(‏‎ and they will also have ‎complete faith in you forever.” The Rivash writes that ‎there is a difference between what a person sees with ‎his own eyes and between what he knows through use ‎of his intelligence to be the truth. In spite of what his ‎brain tells him is the truth, he still tends to trust his ‎eyes more than he trusts his intellect. This principle ‎also became manifest during the Exodus of the Jewish ‎people from Egypt, and again during the revelation at ‎Mount Sinai when they received the Torah. In spite of ‎the people having witnessed any number of miracles ‎during the period immediately preceding the Exodus ‎so that their faith in G’d should have become absolute, ‎there was a further need to strengthen their belief at ‎Mount Sinai. In spite of all the miracles that Moses had ‎been instrumental in performing ever since he ‎returned from Midian to Egypt, G’d still found it ‎necessary to make the people hear Him speak to Moses ‎directly, before they would believe in him absolutely. ‎The famous proverb: “seeing is believing,” applied to ‎the Jewish people also.‎

When someone is convinced of the truth of ‎something on account of miracles he has seen ‎performed by G’d he is referred to as having witnessed ‎on the basis of ‎כה‎, “thus.” He had not actually seen the ‎truth with his eyes, but had experienced an indirect ‎proof. The word ‎כה‎ implies that the essence is similar ‎to what one had been shown. The word ‎זה‎, on the other ‎hand, suggests that one had seen the actual essence of ‎something, therefore knowing it to be a truth. In ‎retrospect he will always refer to “this matter which I ‎have seen.” At Mount Sinai Moses had attained the ‎level of spirituality that enabled G’d to speak to him ‎פנים אל פנים‎, usually translated as “face to face,” i.e. ‎visually, so that the term ‎זה‎, “this,” for the type of ‎prophecy Moses engaged in became appropriate. When ‎Moses prophesied under the “heading” of ‎כה‎ this had ‎always been before the revelation at Mount Sinai. ‎‎[The only exception is in Exodus 32,27 when ‎he charged the Levites with the task of executing ‎Israelites who had worshipped the golden calf. This ‎was not a prophetic pronouncement. Ed.]‎ If Pharaoh had not artificially strengthened his ‎willpower to resist his impulses thus delaying the ‎Exodus by bringing upon himself the Ten Plagues, we ‎would have stood at Mount Sinai and received the ‎Torah much sooner so that all the instances in which ‎the Torah had reported Moses as introducing his ‎prophecies with the words: ‎כה אמר ה'‏‎ would not have ‎been necessary.‎ In His great mercy, extended to all His creatures, ‎G’d warned Pharaoh to release the Children of Israel ‎immediately in order that He would not have to subject ‎him to the plagues; had He not done this the Jewish ‎people would have stood at Mount Sinai and received ‎the Torah much sooner. This is what Moses referred to ‎when he said to Pharaoh: “so far you have not listened ‎to G’d’s warnings.” As a result of his obstinacy he ‎became the victim of prophecies introduced with the ‎word ‎כה‎.‎

Exodus 7,23. “Pharaoh turned and went to ‎his palace and did not pay attention even to this.” ‎Our sages, analyzing the word: ‎לזאת‎, “to this,” cite ‎Leviticus 16,3 where the Torah introduces the Temple ‎service of the High Priest on the Day of Atonement, ‎with the words: ‎בזאת יבא אהרן אל הקודש‎, “equipped with ‎this Aaron is to enter the Sanctuary, etc;” as an allusion ‎to the collective soul of the Jewish people. We must ‎always remember that the universe was created only ‎for the sake, or on account of, the Jewish people (and ‎their destiny on earth). In other words, the word ‎זאת‎ ‎refers to the principal component of something. We ‎find this repeated when Moses blesses the Jewish ‎people for the last time before dying, in Deuteronomy ‎‎33,1 when the Torah writes: ‎וזאת הברכה אשר ברך משה וגו'‏‎, ‎‎”and this is the blessing which Moses invoked, etc.” ‎When Moses, on the occasion of the first plague visited ‎upon the Egyptians uses the word ‎זאת‎, he does so to ‎bring home to Pharaoh the idea that the Jewish people ‎are the principal reason that the universe exists as it ‎does. It was this that Pharaoh refused to believe and ‎that is why he chose to ignore the plague.‎

Exodus 8,5.Moses said to Pharaoh: ‎‎‘you may brag concerning me, ‘for when shall I ‎pray on your behalf, etc;?” ‎ויאמר למחר, ויאמר כדבריך ‏למען תדע כי אין כה' אלוקינו‎ “He said: ‘for tomorrow!” ‎He replied: ‘just as you have said, so that you ‎will know that there is no-one comparable to the ‎Lord our G’d.’” It is worth noting that after the fourth ‎plague, (the third not having been announced ‎beforehand) in announcing the forthcoming plague, ‎‎(Exodus 8,18) G’d uses the expression: ‎והפלאתי‎ when ‎announcing beforehand that the wild beasts will not ‎invade the land of Goshen, the home of most of the ‎Children of Israel. At that point, Moses adds to his ‎warning: “in order that you will know that there is no-‎one comparable to Me on the whole Earth.” A similar ‎statement appears before the onset of the plague of ‎hail, (9,14) and prior to Moses leaving the boundaries ‎of the land of Egypt in order to pray to G’d to bring the ‎plague of hail to a conclusion. (Exodus 9,29) Moses ‎adds that his objective is to demonstrate to Pharaoh ‎that the globe is G’d’s property, ‎‏ למען תדע כי לה' הארץ‎. We ‎need to examine why G’d chose to use different ‎reasons for the onset or removal of the various ‎plagues we quoted.‎ With G’d’s help we hope to clarify the reasons ‎behind these various nuances that appear so ‎significant that the Torah bothers to list them ‎individually.‎ The Zohar, in commenting on the verse: ‎אני ‏ראשון ואני אחרון ומבלעדי אין אלוקים‎, “I am the first and I am ‎the last and apart from Me there is no Divine ‎power,”(Isaiah 44,6) sees in that verse a synopsis of the ‎functions of certain vowels (all three are dots but ‎placed on top, in the middle, or beneath the ‎consonants) If the dot is on top of the letter, as in the ‎חולם‎, it refers to the ability of the Tzaddikim to ‎cause decrees by the attribute of Justice to be ‎converted to decrees dominated by the attribute of ‎Mercy, the reason being that the concept of the Jewish ‎nation had preceded the concept of creating a physical ‎universe in G’d’s mind. The same dot appearing in the ‎middle of the letter, known as ‎שורוק‎, alludes to G’d’s ‎intervention in the affairs of man in a covert manner, ‎as He did during the period of Mordechai and Esther. ‎Finally, the dot appearing beneath the letter, known as ‎חיריק‎, alludes to the period of the wars preceding the ‎arrival of the messiah when G’d will become manifest ‎by His literally “turning the world upside down”, ‎pouring out the wicked, who at that time will finally ‎recognize His might in all its glory. The author derives ‎all of this from the concise comments of the ‎‎Zohar on the verse we quoted from Isaiah ‎‎44,6. ‎

In other words, the three positions of the dot as a ‎vowel are alluded to in G’d’s saying that He is first, last ‎and that there is no deity bar Him. At the time of the ‎coming of the messiah, the “fallen sparks from the ‎‎Shechinah” which our author has spoken of ‎repeatedly, will be restored o their original lofty status. ‎When Moses, quoting G’d, refers to different levels of ‎recognizing G’d’s power represented by different ‎plagues, a similar point is being made. Pharaoh is to ‎become aware of G’d’s presence filling the entire ‎universe on the ground, in the water and in the air. It ‎was important to teach him that the plagues were not ‎manifestations of different deities but they all were ‎different facets of the same G’d, i.e. the Creator of the ‎universe. He wanted Pharaoh to know that our G’d ‎performs miracles for us in the different spheres of the ‎universe. By not smiting Goshen with an invasion of ‎wild beasts, G’d proved that where and when He ‎wanted he could maintain normal patterns of nature. In ‎other words, although in the rest of the country the ‎beasts’ natural instincts of avoiding human presence ‎and exposing themselves to being hunted down ‎continued unchanged, He could perform a miracle on ‎behalf of His people. This was an example of the ‎‎“miracle” being garbed in the guise of being a natural ‎occurrence, just as G’d had not performed a single ‎supernatural act when delivering his people from the ‎decree of Haman in the Purim story. The same is true ‎of the pestilence, a plague that struck all the beasts ‎while miraculously leaving the Jewish people ‎untouched. Here too, the miracle performed for the ‎Jewish people was that G’d allowed nature to run its ‎course without interfering with the lifestyle of the ‎beasts owned by the Jews. After the plague of hail ‎when Pharaoh had only acknowledged that he had ‎sinned and that Moses and his G’d were righteous, G’d ‎demonstrated that He is not prejudiced racially against ‎any nation, but that as soon as that nation and its ‎leader acknowledges Him, He will answer their prayer ‎for relief from their plagues. The point that He had ‎made at that time was that since the earth is His, He ‎can treat it as such and dispense His blessings for the ‎gentiles also. He hoped to persuade Pharaoh that the ‎upsets that He had caused to the Egyptian population ‎had only been for the sake of allowing Pharaoh to ‎release His people. Had G’d wanted to, He could have ‎bodily removed the Jewish people from Pharaoh’s ‎grasp by transporting them to Mount Sinai on a flying ‎carpe, but He was concerned with having Pharaoh and ‎his servants acknowledge their impotence in the ‎matter and have them discharge the people by their ‎own volition.‎