Shabbos V'eira

Tzachi Popowitz

Dvar torah for rotty’s sefer, - Parshas V’eira

V’yadaatem Ki Ani Hashem

The sefer of shemos, begins with shemos-names. Interestingly enough the torah continues with this pattern of names. Names of the shv’atim, names of bnei yisorel, the name of tzipora etc. So too in parshas v’eira, the torah continues with this pattern when hashem mentions his “real” name to moshe, the name of kal-shakai and Hakadosh Baruch Hu says V’yidatem Ki Ani Hahem (perek vav pasukim beis through Zayin).

What is a name? What does it mean that Hashem has a name?

The Midrash tells us that the actions and reflections of hashem, and how He relates to us, is the difference between the various names that Hakadosh Baruch Hu uses in the torah (kal shakai, the shem havaya, tzivakos etc.). The Gemara in Chagiga tells us on daf yud bais, that when hashem created the world, He created it with an expanding pattern, and when hashem finally said his name of kal shakai in this weeks parsha, hashem said Dai-enough, and He finished creating the world, and the world stopped expanding. The Mishnah in avos tell us ( perek hey mishnah aleph) that the world was created with 10 ma’amaros, the obvious question is why not one? The Mishnah answers that it was for the resha’im that don’t appreciate anything and they get punished, and for the tzadikim that get s’echar and their se’char will be better. When the gemara in chagiga tells us that the world was expanding, it mean that the relevance of hashem was expanding so much that hashem needed to say adai-enough! And that at that point, Klal Yisroel realized so much of the wonders of hashem that He needed to reveal his name of kal shakai to us. Says R’ Pinkas, how awesome is the world that hashem is so hidden to us?!? yet the world and nature is so beautiful that it is too easy to see G-d in everything, and the entire avodah of every Yid is to find the kedusha among the Tumah in everything around us daily. A mashal of a father who is playing hide and seek with his son, the father hides from him his son, but not too much because he obviously wants his kid to find him, so too with hashem and us! How many times a day do we see Hakadosh Baruch Hu in our lives, but decide to just ignore it and say it was a mere coincidence. But at the time of yetzias mitzraim hashem reveals his name and says V’yidaatem ki Ani Hashem because the moment was just so high that everyone realized with such open eyes who hashem is and how much he loves the Jewish nation and every single Yid.