English translation — וארא א

Sicha 1<pg>23</pg>

A.

At the beginning of our portion it is told about the words of G-d to Moses

(In response to his claim

(at the end of the portion of Shemot<sup>1</sup>)

"Why have You done evil to this people etc.")

— "And He spoke<sup>2</sup>

G-d to Moses and said to him, I am the Lord,

And I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob as G-d Almighty, and My name the Lord I did not make known to them.

And also I established My covenant with them etc. and I will remember My covenant.

Therefore say to the children of Israel, I am the Lord, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of Egypt, and I will deliver you etc., and I will redeem you etc., and I will take you etc., and you will know that I am the Lord etc."

And the meaning of the words according to their simple sense<sup>3</sup>,

that Moshe should not worry that "You have not saved Your people"<sup>4</sup>,

for now the time has come for the fulfillment of God's promise to the Patriarchs, and He will redeem the children of Israel from the land of Egypt.

But an explanation is needed: what is the matter of the introduction that diminishes

(seemingly)

the value of the promise to the Patriarchs — that "I appeared to Avraham etc. with the name El Shaddai, and My name Hashem I did not make known to them"?

In Rashi⁵

it is explained that the intent of the verse is that in the days of the Patriarchs, God had not yet fulfilled His promise,

and this is "and My name Havayah I was not known to them" — "I was not recognized by them in My attribute of truth"

(since He had not yet fulfilled His promises),

and now the time for the fulfillment of the promise has arrived.

But the main difficulty remains in its place: what is the practical difference here that in the days of the Patriarchs the promise of the Holy One, blessed be He, had not yet been fulfilled?

And furthermore: all words of the Torah are

(Torah means⁶)

an eternal instruction for each and every Jew until the end of all generations; and what is the instruction for us from this announcement that "My name Havayah I was not known to them"⁷?

Also one must understand the precision of the verse "And I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob",

for ostensibly it should have abbreviated⁸

"And I appeared to your fathers"⁹

(and the like)?

And also if there is a reason that he wants to specify the names of the three patriarchs,

it should have said¹⁰

"And I appeared to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob",

and why does it interrupt between them with the word "to"¹¹

("to Isaac and to Jacob")?

B.

On the verse "And God spoke to<pg>24</pg>

"Moshe said to him, 'I am Havayah'" explains our master the Baal HaTanya&lt;sup&gt;12&lt;/sup&gt;,

that in this there is

(not only consolation and promise,

but also)

an answer and response to Moshe's claim "Why have You done evil to this people",

because in this it emphasizes that the essence of the redemption from Egypt is — the revelation of the Name Havayah,

"I am Havayah",

and as is explicit in the continuation of the verses "Therefore say to the children of Israel, 'I am Havayah etc. and you shall know that I am Havayah etc.'",

and in order to merit the revelation of the Name Havayah,

which is a most supreme revelation,

there must first be a most severe exile

("the evil").

And the verse adds that for this reason this revelation was not in the days of the Patriarchs,

"And I appeared to Avraham etc. as El Shaddai, and My Name Havayah I did not make known to them" — because of the wondrous greatness in this revelation,

that even the Patriarchs did not merit it,

"and My Name Havayah I did not make known to them"

[that the revelation of Havayah to the Patriarchs was only with "El Shaddai",

which is as the Holy One, blessed be He, contracts Himself according to the measure of the worlds

(according to the explanation of the Name Shaddai — "Who said to My world, 'Enough'"&lt;sup&gt;13&lt;/sup&gt;),

and not the Name Havayah,

which is the essential Name&lt;sup&gt;14&lt;/sup&gt;

as He is above the limitations of the world,

"was, is, and will be in one moment"&lt;sup&gt;15&lt;/sup&gt;]

— and therefore for this there must be a special preparation of descent into exile etc.

3.

And based on this, it is found,

that in the words of the Holy One, blessed be He, to Moses,

"And I appeared to Abraham etc.",

is explained the foundation and essence of the matter of the Exodus from Egypt.

Not only that the essence of this redemption

(is not a physical redemption alone,

but in its essence)

it is a spiritual redemption from a state of enslavement to Egypt to a state of freedom and service of God

(and in the language of the verse¹⁶

"When you bring the people out of Egypt, you shall serve God on this mountain",

that the purpose of the Exodus from Egypt is the service of God in receiving the Torah and His commandments),

but furthermore,

that the purpose and goal of this spiritual redemption is the revelation and knowledge of the name Havayah.

And based on this, it is understood in greater depth the reason that the verse elaborates here about the Patriarchs — "And I appeared to Abraham etc. with El Shaddai, and My name Havayah I did not make known to them",

for by this it is emphasized,

that without regard to the greatness of the level of the service of the Patriarchs,

and as the saying of our Sages of blessed memory¹⁷

"The Patriarchs are themselves the Chariot",

still this is not a state of "redemption"; and the Exodus from Egypt is connected with the fact that there is the knowledge of "My name Havayah"

(which was not made known to the Patriarchs¹⁸).

And for this reason the verse specifies each one of the Patriarchs individually

(and it is not said briefly "to your fathers" and the like),

and also separates between them with the word "to" — to further emphasize the superiority in the service of the Patriarchs.

That is: that they are the "Patriarchs" of the children of Israel does not indicate the unique quality of each one of the Patriarchs individually but rather the common aspect among them.

And furthermore: that they were the "Patriarchs" of the children of Israel is a matter that comes from above

(that the Holy One, blessed be He, granted them,

as reward for their service,

that they would be the Patriarchs of all the children of Israel¹⁹).

<pg>25</pg>

But the detailing of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob individually emphasizes the unique virtue of each one of the Patriarchs

[And as known²⁰

that the main service of Abraham was in the line of bestowing kindness,

and the service of Isaac — “service,”

and of Jacob — the study of Torah]

— and nevertheless,

since they did not have the revelation and knowledge of the “Name Havayah,”

“My Name Havayah I was not known to them,”

this is not a state of redemption

(in its completeness).

D.

Explanation of the matter:

"Mitzrayim" is from the term straits and boundaries&lt;sup&gt;21&lt;/sup&gt;,

and this content that is in "Mitzrayim" exists also in holiness&lt;sup&gt;22&lt;/sup&gt;,

since man is a created being with boundary,

so even when he serves G-d with all his powers,

he still does not emerge from his straits and his limitations

(even though he is entirely in a world of holiness)

;

And the concept of "Yetzias Mitzrayim" is the going out from straits and boundaries,

even of holiness,

that man is in a "state of utter nullification" until "he does not feel himself at all..

and he does not occupy space for himself at all"&lt;sup&gt;23&lt;/sup&gt;,

that such nullification is not within man's ability to effect by his own power

(as in "a prisoner&lt;sup&gt;24&lt;/sup&gt;

cannot free himself etc.'),

but comes about through a revelation of G-d from above,

and in this itself — the revelation of the name Havayah,

namely the Essence of the Holy One blessed be He as He is above the limits of the world,

that because of the intensity of this revelation man is nullified from his existence,

and this elevates him above straits and boundaries,

even "Mitzrayim" of holiness.

[But not so by the Patriarchs,

that "My name Hashem I did not make known to them",

there was no "Exodus from Egypt",

the departure

(in completeness)

from constraints and boundaries].

5.

And this is also the eternal lesson for each and every Jew — even in the time of exile:

It is known²⁵

that each and every individual can reach a state of redemption and deliverance in his spiritual service,

even before the redemption of the entire Jewish people

(when there will be a complete redemption and deliverance also in the physical sense, literally).

And in this it is possible,

that it will be difficult for a person to discern whether he is in a state of "exile" or has already merited a state of "redemption".

For he might think,

that if he has overcome his evil inclination and is devoted and given over to the study of Torah and the fulfillment of the commandments,

and also his permitted matters he does "for the sake of Heaven",

then certainly he has already merited "deliverance" and spiritual redemption.

And with this the verse informs us — "And I appeared to Abraham etc. and My name Havayah I did not make known to them",

that it is possible to be a servant of G-d,

up to the level of "Merkavah",

and yet more,

that he serves G-d in each and every one of the three pillars of Torah, service, and acts of kindness,

and each one of them is in perfection for him — and nevertheless,

as long as the name Havayah which is above nature does not shine for him,

he has still not left Egypt,

and this is not a state of redemption.

6.

And by what then will it be known if indeed he has already merited the revelation of the name Havayah in his soul?

Behold, regarding this comes the explanation in Rashi "And My name Havayah I did not make known to them" — "I was not known to them in My true attribute, upon which My name Havayah is called",

that the revelation of the name Havayah by the Patriarchs is "that I was not known to them in My true attribute"²⁶

:

The essence of the attribute of truth is — the absence

of change.

And as it is brought in the Yerushalmi

that "the seal of the Holy One, blessed be He, is truth"

that in the three letters alef, mem, tav,

behold, the alef is the first of the letters,

mem — their middle,

and tav — the last of the letters,

as it is written

"I am first and I am last, and besides Me there is no God",

and this means,

that the concept of "truth" is,

that it is found in every place — beginning, middle and end — equally and without change,

and as it is written

"I, the Lord, have not changed"

(and this is the explanation "there is no God",

that there is no concealment or hiding

from the aspect of the name Elokim,

the attribute of judgment and contraction).

And this is the aspect: if a person has reached a state of true exodus from all constraints and boundaries — when his service is above changes.

That is,

it does not matter at all in which matter he is occupied: in study of Torah,

in the service of prayer,

in the performance of commandments,

or in doing his permitted matters for the sake of Heaven — that in each and every thing his service is from that absolute self-nullification to His will, may He be blessed,

without change.

That the power for this is by means of the Name Havayah shining upon him,

"My true attribute"

("I am first and I am last and besides Me there is no God"),

that this effects in a person such self-nullification,

that he is not grasped and limited by the particular depictions of the service,

but in all of them the point of self-nullification to the Holy One, blessed be He, shines within him,

above limitation and change.

[And according to the Torah of the Baal Shem Tov³²

on the verse³³

"I have set the Lord before me always" — "Shivisi means equanimity",

that "everything is equal to him" and he serves God "with all his strength" and "in all ways"³⁴

— that this "equanimity" in a person comes from the fact that "the Lord

(He)

is before me always",

for when the name of the Lord shines upon a person in a revealed manner,

this brings about "equanimity" in all his affairs].

7.

Just as it is regarding the redemption from Egypt — so it is regarding the future redemption to come,

that the essence of the matter of redemption is not only physical redemption,

and also not merely spiritual redemption

(redemption from the evil inclination),

but rather — the revelation of the name of the Lord.

And this is also the deep intention of the Rambam at the conclusion of his book,

in the description of the state of the world "at that time" — that "the entire world will not engage in anything except knowing God alone, and therefore the Jews will be great sages and know hidden matters and will grasp knowledge of their Creator according to the capacity of man, as it is said&lt;sup&gt;35&lt;/sup&gt;

for the earth will be filled with knowledge of God as the waters cover the sea":

At the beginning&lt;sup&gt;36&lt;/sup&gt;

of the Book of the Hand,

when the Rambam explains the commandment of knowing God,

he did not mention the name Havayah explicitly&lt;sup&gt;37&lt;/sup&gt;

and wrote only "to know that there is a first Existent"&lt;sup&gt;38&lt;/sup&gt;,

but here the Rambam emphasizes "to know God",

and also he brought the verse "the earth will be filled with knowledge of God",

and this is because then the knowledge will be in the name Havayah,

and in this itself —&lt;pg&gt;27&lt;/pg&gt;

The highest level within it

(In the language of Kabbalah and Chassidut "Havayah d'leila"¹⁸),

which causes the ultimate self-nullification completely.

And this is what the Rambam concludes "

(For the earth will be filled with knowledge of Havayah)

as waters cover the sea",

that the revelation of the name Havayah will cause that the existence of the earth will not be seen at all,

for it will be nullified completely in the intensity of the revelation,

until it will be covered by "knowledge of Havayah — as waters cover the sea".

(From the farbrengen of Shabbos Parshas Va'eira 5721)