Exodus · Chapter 3

Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the elder of Midian, and he led the flock beyond the wilderness, and he came to the mountain upon which the Glory of Hashem had been revealed — to Horeb.

אחר המדבר [HE LED THE SHEEP] BEHIND THE DESERT — in order to keep them away from private property (גֶזֵל i. e. things which can be appropriated only as the result of “robbery”) — that they should not graze in other people’s fields (Exodus Rabbah 2:3). אל הר האלהים TO THE MOUNTAIN OF GOD — Scripture so names it with reference to what happened there in the future (Sifrei on Deuteronomy 1:24).

"The mountain of God, Horeb." This is what Moses wrote. The meaning of "Horeb" — it is named for the intense heat, since no rain falls there, for it is a three-day journey from Egypt, as Moses stated; and because the Nile is far away, there is no moisture there, and dryness predominates.

ויבא אל הר האלוקים חורבה. Moses, all by himself; he wanted to pray and meditate there in complete isolation and concentration. The phrase is similar to Numbers 13,22 ויבא עד חברון, where we find that one of the spies, Calev, reportedly, came to Chevron. [the sudden singular ויבא instead of ויבואו, there prompted the sages to say that Calev went to pray at the graves of the patriarchs. Ed.]

ומשה היה רועה…וינהג את הצאן, And Moses was a shepherd….and he led the sheep, etc. The Torah means that G'd had His hand in this, i.e. He caused the sheep to move in that direction. Alternatively, it means that Moses was in the habit of guiding his flocks as usual but the sheep walked to that mountain on that occasion for G'd wanted to speak to him there.

אחרי המדבר, “beyond the desert.” [Presumably Moses went beyond the desert to avoid encroaching on privately owned land for Yitro’s sheep to graze on. Ed.] חרבה, “near Mount Chorev;” this is about 3 days’ march from the border of Egypt, as we know from Exodus 5,3, where Moses asks permission for his people to offer sacrifices there to Hashem and he asks for them to be allowed to walk that distance, i.e. three days’ march. The reason why the Mountain is better known as Sinai, is because this is where the miracle of the burning bush, סנה occurred. (Ibn Ezra)

And Moshe was herding... ... According to the simple interpretation, this section is teaching that Moshe achieved three levels: Fire, Angel, and Divine Presence. First he saw the fire which was flashing in the bush but the bush was not consumed. He saw this with his actual physical eye while he was awake; when he saw the bush burning he thought it was a fire of (the) pitch from beneath (the bush). Thinking that, and seeing that the bush was not being consumed, he chose to come closer as it says, "I will turn now and see this wondrous sight," meaning, "I will see this wonderment if the bush is different than normal wood, or the fire is different from other fires." If he had realized it was a heavenly fire, he would not have approached. Once he saw this fire he became stronger through seeing the angel, as it says, "And he saw an angel of G-d in the flame within the bush." This means that first he saw the flame, and only after did he see the angel within the fire. Once he became stronger through seeing the angel, he saw the Divine Presence in a prophetic vision. This is the meaning of, "And G-d saw that he tunred to see, and He called to him." Because this was the beginning of Moshe's prophecy, G-d wanted to orient him little by little and lift him up from one (spiritual) level to the next until his mind would be strong enough. This can be compared to someone who is sitting in a dark house for a long time. If he exits suddenly and looks at the sun his vision will be darkened. Therefore he must look at the light slowly until he becomes accustomed to it. The same way it works with physical light is how it works with the enlightenment of the mind; all mind-related things work similarly to physical things; the traits of the soul are related to the traits of the body. We find the same thing with the Jewish People; when G-d inaugurated them in the Torah he did it in small steps. First He gave them some mitzvos at Marah, namely Shabbos and civil laws, and then He taught the Ten Commandments at Sinai, and the rest of the Torah was taught at Moab (just prior to entering the Land of Israel - ed.). We therefore find when it comes to comprehending G-d, a person must first inaugurate (train?) his mind a little at a time, and in that way his comprehension will continue to expand, like the light of dawn which starts to shine a little and then expands. This is what is meant by the verse of the prophet Hosea, "And we will know, we will chase after knowledge of G-d and find Him like the dawn." This verse teaches that there are people who don't know how to chase (knowledge of G-d) and rather try to accomplish everything in one moment. In response to such a person the verse says you must know how to chase, which is like the dawn, meaning a little at a time.

And Moses was shepherding the flock of Jethro. The commentators said that since every shepherd is disqualified because they graze animals in others’ fields and are suspected of theft, therefore it says that these sheep belonged to Jethro, and a person does not sin if it is not for them. But nevertheless, it was necessary to inform us that he was a shepherd because most prophets attained prophecy through shepherding, as prophecy requires solitude. And through seeing the heavens, the work of God’s hands, as it is written: When I see Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, etc. (Psalms 8:4), because through this their thoughts will be entirely focused on the existence of the Holy One, Blessed be He, until the spirit of God is poured upon them from above. This is not as readily available to one who sits in their house or engages in some other work in the field, besides the shepherd who sits unoccupied most of the time.

וינהג את הצאן אחר המדבר. “he guided the flock out into the wilderness;” Ibn Ezra understands this expression in light of the fact that Midian was sort of a satellite state, subject to Pharaoh’s sphere of political influence. This necessitated that Moses became a shepherd, a vocation that enabled him to operate beyond the reach of Pharaoh and his secret service. Once G’d told him that Pharaoh and the members of his regime whom he had fled had died, he was able to name his son Eliezer by saying that G’d had saved him from the sword of Pharaoh. (compare Exodus 18,4) אל הר האלוקים חרבה, “to Mount Chorev, the mountain of G’d.” Some people are astounded and cannot understand that Moses took the sheep of his father-in-law such a great distance away from Midian, seeing that the territory of Midian is far to the east of Sinai. Pirkey de Rabbi Eliezer (chapter 40) claims that on occasion the flock Moses tended went for 40 consecutive days without food.

MOSES, TENDING THE FLOCK ETC. The Holy One, blessed be He, appeared to him and commanded him to return to Egypt, and Moshe did not want to do so, because he was afraid until the Holy One, blessed be He, told him, "all the men who sought to kill you are dead" -- this is Par'oh, who had died. That is why it says (Exod. 2:23), "the king of Egypt died," to testify to what the Holy One, blessed be He, said, that "all the men... are dead." This is similar to (Gen. 9:18) "Ham being the father of Canaan."

וינהג את הצאן, “he led the flock after the desert.” The choice of the word אחר here is to serve as a hint that when G–d’s flock in the desert, i.e. the generation that left Egypt as adults had all died, and he had been buried where they had been buried, in the desert, He could bring the next generation to the land of Israel right away; this is why the verse ends with describing the mountain where Moses stood as being already “the Mountain of G–d.”

And the angel of Hashem was revealed to him in a flame of fire from within a thorn bush. He looked, and behold, the thorn bush was burning with fire, yet the thorn bush was not being consumed.

בלבת אש means IN A FLAME OF FIRE, i. e. in the very heart of (לב) the fire. Similarly is לב used of inanimate objects in: (Deuteronomy 4:11) “in the heart of (לב) heaven”; (II Samuel 18:14) “in the midst of (לב) the terebinth”. Do not be puzzled by the ת, although the ordinary word for heart, לב. does not require the suffix ת in the construct form, because we have another example of this form, viz., (Ezekiel 16:30) “how weak is thy heart (לבתך)”. מתוך הסנה OUT OF THE MIDST OF A BUSH (a thornbush) — and not from any other tree, in accordance with the idea (Psalms 91:15) “I will be with him in trouble” (Midrash Tanchuma, Shemot 14). אֻכָּל means DEVOURED, eaten. It is of the same grammatical form as, (Deuteronomy 21:3) “which hath not been wrought with (עֻבַּד)”; (Genesis 3:23) “whence he was taken (לֻקַח):

AND THE ANGEL OF THE ETERNAL APPEARED UNTO HIM IN A FLAME OF FIRE. Because Scripture originally states, And the angel of the Eternal appeared, and then it goes on to say, And when the Eternal saw that he turned aside to see, G-d called unto him, Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra explained that elohim mentioned here [in the second verse] is the angel mentioned [in the first], as in the verse, For I have seen ‘elohim’ face to face. The expression, I am the G-d of thy father, is a case of the deputy speaking in the name of Him Who sent him. But this is not correct. Moses the greatest in prophecy, would not have hidden his face from an angel [as is related in Verse 6].Our Rabbis have said in Bereshith Rabbah: “Angel. This refers to the angel Michael. Wherever Rabbi Yosei Ha’aruch was seen, people would say, ‘There is Rabbeinu Hakadosh.’ Similarly, wherever the angel Michael appears, there is also present the Glory of the Divine Presence.” The Rabbis intended to say that at first, the angel Michael appeared to Moses, and there was also the Glory of the Divine Presence, but Moses did not see the Glory, as he had not duly prepared his mind for prophecy. When he duly prepared his heart for it and he turned aside to see, then the vision of the Divine Presence revealed itself to him, and G-d called unto him out of the midst of the bush. AND, BEHOLD, THE BUSH ‘BO’EIR’ (BURNED) WITH FIRE. [The word bo’eir] has the same meaning as doleik (burning), i.e., [the bush] was in the midst of a burning fire, and it is like the verse, and the fathers ‘m’va’arim’ the fire, meaning, “kindling” and burning the wood with fire. But the expression, why the bush is not ‘yiv’ar’? means, “why is it not consumed and wasted?” Similarly, As flax that was ‘ba’aru’ with fire means “consumed.” And so is the opinion of Onkelos, who translated the first [bo’eir] as bo’eir (burning), and the second one [yiv’ar] as mitokad, [the Aramaic word for “consumed”]. It may be that yiv’ar has the same meaning as in the verses, ‘Uvi’arta’ (So shalt thou put away) the evil from the midst of thee; Then a man useth it ‘l’va’eir’ (for fodder). Such is the style of the Sacred Language to use [one term in the same instance with two different meanings], as in the verse: They rode on thirty ‘ayarim’ (ass colts) and they had thirty ‘ayarim’ (cities).

"And he appeared." Some commentators explain "in a flame of fire" (be-labat esh) as meaning "in the blaze of fire." But in my view the correct explanation is that it means "in the heart of the fire," for so we find: "How faint is your heart" (Ezek. 16) — and R. Adneim objected: if that were so, the word labat would have a chirik under the lamed, as in "to the nut garden" (el ginat egoz, Song 6:11) — but he forgot "and as a garden causes its seeds to spring up" (ke-gannah, Isa. 61:11). "The bush (ha-seneh)." The Gaon said that this is a type of thornbush, and that "the favor of Him who dwelt in the bush" (Deut. 33:16) refers to the heavens, the meaning pointing to the honored Name. R. Yeshu'ah said it refers to the Divine Presence that dwelt in the bush for that moment — but this is not correct, for how can "dweller" be applied to a single instant? Moreover, why would it be stated in the verbal form of an agent-noun? It is not like "Maker of heaven and earth" (Ps. 126:8), for Hashem is perpetually making and sustaining them, like the utterance issuing from a person's mouth. Furthermore, after mentioning all the bounties, the text mentions at the end the will of Hashem. Further still, why would the angel be mentioned? And it would have been more fitting to say "dweller in the bush" with a definite article on "bush." In my opinion, all "seneh" refers to one thing — a species of dry thornbush, as it is in Arabic; hence too "Mount Sinai," named for the bush. The meaning of "the favor of the dweller in the bush" is: the will that the One who dwells in the place of the thornbush — who always seeks and desires that Hashem do His will and water his land where he dwells, a place of dryness and thorn — should receive saturation until it becomes like a well-watered garden. It says "from the midst of the bush" with the definite article because these are Moses' own words as he wrote the Torah. "Burning" (bo'er) belongs to the class of active verbs, for fire burns just as "a consuming fire" (Deut. 4:24); witness "as a fire burns a forest" (Ps. 83:15). Thus the fire in the bush was burning everything around it, as in "they have set your sanctuary on fire" (Ps. 74:7), and similarly "the mountain was burning with fire" (Deut. 5:20). The word ukkal ("consumed") is a passive-form adjective, like the pattern of pa'ul; compare "if you see me being taken from you" (II Kings 2:10), which is with a qamatz, and similarly "for the boy to be born" (Judg. 13:8), "as fish are caught by men" (Eccl. 9:12). These verbs in the active construction — hence "a lame foot" (Prov. 25:19) is not in the same pattern; it has a shuruq instead of a cholam, and it is in the pattern of a participle (po'elet).

וירא מלאך ה' אליו, in a prophetic vision. When angels appear to humans in human garb this is not considered a prophetic vision, i.e. it is something of a lower order of Divine manifestation. Divine communications to Avraham, Lot, Bileam, and others like them are not described as וירא, vayeyrah, “it appeared.” However, the recipient is described as וירא, “he saw,” i.e. he is described only in his active role, not his role as receptacle of G’d’s communication. Examples of the latter kind of communication occur in Genesis 18,2 as well as in Genesis 19,1 and in Numbers 22,31. וירא והנה הסנה בוער באש, it kept burning; This phenomenon indicated the prophetic nature of the experience. Unless the angel had been within the bush, this could not have happened as something natural. The fire Moses saw burning enveloped the angel. The implied message was that the righteous members of the Jewish people, who are themselves angels of G’d, i.e. His messengers on earth, and who are surrounded by the Egyptian nation who treated them as burning thistles or less, would themselves become subject to this fire when enduring the ten plagues, but would remain unharmed by all those plagues. This is what Moses was taught when he saw והסנה איננו אוכל. it was not consumed by the flames which kept burning. The level of Moses’ prophecy at that time was not yet at the level it would be later on. The very fact that the Torah describes Moses as being even afraid to look at the spectacle before his eyes is proof of this (compare verse 6). From the day the Torah was given, as the Torah testifies in Numbers 12,8 ותמונת ה' יביט, G’d extended the power of Moses’ prophetic visions so that He shows him a visual image of G’d. The entire Jewish people had had a brief revelation of G’d’s glory at Mont Sinai only. Their power of endurance was so limited even at that time that the Torah reports them as saying that they could not even endure hearing the voice of the Lord, not to speak of enduring a visual image. Only Moses was able to retain the level of prophecy which the entire nation experienced during the revelation at Mount Sinai. This is the meaning of Deuteronomy 5,27-28 שובו לכם לאהליכם ואתה פה עמוד עמדי, “you (pl.) go back to your tents, and you (sing.) remain standing here beside Me.” This is also borne out by Exodus 20,18 ויעמוד העם מרחוק, “the people stood at a distance,” followed by ומשה נגש, “whereas Moses approached.” (to the cloud within which the glory of G’d was enveloped). Moses’ level of prophecy from that time on remained on the level known as פנים אל פנים, “face to face,” i.e. direct, not indirect. G’d told Miriam and Aaron there that He does not speak to Moses in riddles but by showing him a visual image (Numbers 12,8)

בלבת אש, “in the heart of the fire;” G-d wanted Moses to get used to such a phenomenon so that when the time came for the revelation at Mount Sinai, he would not become frightened by either it or the lightning. מתוך הסנה, some commentators explain that seeing that an angel is a completely disembodied “intelligence,” has no physical aspect at all, he could not be presented as if it had emanated from something etched into stone or painted onto something. והסנה איננו אוכל, “but the bush was not being consumed by the fire.” This was a symbol for both Israel and the Egyptians. The Israelites’ enemy, Egypt, is portrayed as an all consuming fire, while his prey, Israel, is supposed to be represented by the bush that refuses to be consumed by the fire. (Sh’mot Rabbah 2,5)

“And the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire from within the thornbush.” Regarding this vision, there are many opinions. Some say it represents “I [God] am with him in distress”; therefore He revealed Himself in a thornbush, a low and humble tree, though according to Rashi’s interpretation it doesn’t explain at all why specifically in a thornbush. Others say the thornbush symbolizes the sufferings of Israel, as the fire of troubles blazes around it yet it is not consumed, similar to “the arrows are spent but they are not spent.” In Genesis Rabbah, many such comparisons are also found. According to what I explained above on the verse, and they were disgusted because of the children of Israel, the Egyptians were compared to thorns because they were a painful thorn to Israel. Therefore, the Holy One, blessed be He, showed him that the thornbush was not consumed, alluding to Pharaoh — that although the fire of troubles blazes around him — wrath, anger, and distress — nevertheless he is not consumed, because the Holy One, blessed be He, gives him strength to endure all the plagues, as it is written But for this purpose I have let you stand, in order to show you My power (Exodus 9:16). Another explanation: This hints at what is said: Indeed the matter is known — why are the Israelites dwelling in distress more than all other nations? Because there are informers among them who make their voice heard with insults and blasphemies against those who lie [in the grave] and are awake (Sanhedrin 29b). Like these thorns that make noise when burning in fire, so too Israel: even when the fire of troubles blazes around them, nevertheless each one is a painful thorn and a piercing brier to his fellow, as is the custom in these generations. They constantly make noise like the sound of a pot, as it is written: For as the crackling of thorns under a pot, so is the laughter of the fool (Ecclesiastes 7:6). This is the main reason for Israel to be in exile — due to the hatred and jealousy among them, more than among all other nations. And the slanderers caused all of Israel to not be innocent, for when the fire of dispute comes forth from the rock of dispute, the fathers kindle the fire and the children gather wood; therefore, the fire of God burned among them. Thus it is said, yet the bush was not consumed, because even though the fire of hardships burns in Jacob, nevertheless the existence of the thornbush remains intact in every generation and is not consumed, for the thorns will not be destroyed from the vineyard of the Lord of Hosts, the house of Israel. And with this, the statement about “a flame of fire from within the thornbush” is resolved. For it should have said, “a flame of fire in the thornbush” or “within the thornbush.” What is meant by from within the thornbush? Similarly, regarding what is stated: and behold, the thornbush was burning with fire — it should have been phrased the opposite: “and behold, the fire was burning in the thornbush,” since the fire is the active agent and the thornbush is the passive recipient. But the truth is as we have explained: the thornbush ignites the fire of troubles, because Israel is compared to this thornbush where each person is a thorn of pain to his fellow and raises his voice against him with insults and blasphemies. Therefore, the fire of God burned among them. Consequently, the thornbush is the active agent and the fire is the passive recipient, which is why it says: and behold, the thornbush was burning with fire — because the thornbush causes the kindling of the fire. This is what is meant by a flame of fire from within the thornbush — for the flame of fire emerges from within the thornbush, as the thornbush causes the flame of fire. And this is a correct explanation.

וירא מלאך ה', “An angel of the Lord appeared to him;” First the Torah reports that an angel of the Lord appeared to Moses, and afterwards we read that G’d saw that Moses had taken note of the spectacle of the burning bush whereupon G’d called out to him. This prompted Ibn Ezra to say that the word אלוקים in verse 4 refers to the angel mentioned in verse 2 as מלאך ה', “an angel of the Lord.” We find a parallel construction in Genesis 32,31 where Yaakov describes himself as having “seen G’d face to face.” This in spite of the fact that G’d had described himself to Yaakov as “the G’d of your father.” The fact is that the messenger is permitted to assume the name of the One Who has dispatched him while he is carrying out the instructions of his master. [clearly, Yaakov had not had a vision of G’d Himself, face to face, something which is impossible, as explained by G’d to Moses in Exodus Ed.] Nachmanides disagrees with the commentary of Ibn Ezra, claiming that Moses, the most outstanding of all the prophets would certainly not be afraid to look at the vision of an angel, a vision granted to many prophets who were inferior to him. He goes on to say that our sages describe the angel Moses saw as being Michael, a most high ranking angel, not one of the lower ranking angels that appeared to other prophets. He identified this angel with the one described by Yaakov before his death as המלאך הגואל אותי in Genesis Elsewhere this angel is described by G’d as incorporating some of G’d’s essence, שמי, “within him.” (compare Exodus 23,21). (see Bereshit Rabbah 97,3 that whenever Rabbi Yossi ha-aruch is mentioned the listeners felt that his mentor, Rabbi Yehudah hanassi, was personally present. [Rabbi Yossi ha-aruch was not only a disciple but a personal valet of Rabbi Yehudah hanassi while the latter was alive. Ed.] The Midrash brings this example in order to illustrate the concept of angels of the caliber of, for instance, the one describing himself as שר צבא ה' in Joshua This type of angel, the one described as bearing the name of the Lord, is understood as being the category closest to the throne of G’d in the celestial regions. At the revelation of the burning bush, Moses encountered one of these angels. והנה הסנה בוער, “and lo, the bush continued burning.” The word בוער is equivalent to the expression דולק באש, “is in flames.” As to the Torah describing Moses as wanting to investigate why the bush did not turn into ash,מדוע לא יבער הסנה הסנה, he marveled at the phenomenon, seeing that flax in similar circumstances would have disintegrated into ash without delay. It is also possible to understand the word יבער as a form of בעור, destruction, elimination, as in ובערת הרע מקרבך, “you must eliminate evil from your midst.” (Deut. 13,6 and 8 other times in the Torah) Some commentators follow a forced approach to the words אסורה נא ואראה, understanding these words as an introduction to the statement that Moses wanted to find out why this bush would not be consumed by the flames. [I suppose the reason why our author describes this interpretation as “forced,” is that the Torah had already described Moses as having observed the phenomenon. He had not remained at a safe distance. Ed.]

איננו אוכל. Even at the point where the flame came forth from the bush there was no evidence of coal or ash.

”out of the burning bush.” The reason that G–d chose this bush to reveal Himself in was that one could not construct a deity or symbol of a deity out of the bush.

Moses said, "Let me turn aside now and see this great vision — why is the thorn bush not burned up?"

אָסוּרָה means I WILL TURN ASIDE from here in order that I may approach thither.

"And Moses said, 'I will turn aside now.'" The root s-r when followed by mem means going away from — "depart from me" (Ps. 6:9), meaning he says to them: keep away from me. But when it is followed by el with three vowel-points the meaning is reversed, as in "Turn aside to me" (Judg. 4:18) — turn away from your place and come toward me — so that he turns from his place and draws near to the place of the bush. "This great sight." This is the first sign written in the Torah that Hashem performed through His prophet Moses; therefore it said to him: "And this shall be the sign for you that I have sent you" (below, v. 12). Yefet gave a fine interpretation: this sign signifies that the enemy is likened to fire and Israel to the bush — therefore the bush is not consumed.

אסורה נא ואראה; I will try and understand the phenomenon by looking at it more closely. מדוע לא יבער הסנה. Why the Egyptians do not perish from the many plagues they have to endure. The normal reaction to burning is that the object afire is consumed by the fire, as mentioned in Ovadiah 18.

מדוע לא יבאר הסנה, “why the bush fails to burn.” This is a verse that has been artificially shortened. After having observed that the bush had not been consumed by the fire, Moses wanted to investigate the reason for this, i.e. “why does it not burn?” As it is written, it makes no sense, since Moses had witnessed that it was burning; he had only not observed the outcome of this, i.e. that the fibers would be turning into ash.

Let me turn away and see. The matter of this turning away is to distance oneself from that place, because the more one distances oneself from that place, the better one’s eye can perceive it. Learn from the light of the sun: the closer one gets to that light, the less one is able to look at it, but when the sun is in the east or west, everyone looks at it due to the great distance. Similarly, Moses was unable to look at and contemplate the essence of this light that was in the bush because of its great intensity. So too, Jeremiah said: From afar the Lord appeared to me (Jeremiah 31:3), meaning but not from close by. We have also explained above in Parshat Vayera, regarding the verse And he saw the place from afar (Genesis 22:4). Therefore, he said, “Let me turn away from here” to distance himself from that place, because then I will see why the bush is not consumed. And regarding what it says: And behold, the bush was burning: How could he say, Why does the bush not burn? He should have said, “Why is it not consumed”? Some say that it was burning only itself, but [Moses wondered] why it did not spread to other parts of the bush surrounding it. Others say that he judged with his mind that it was not actually burning, for if it were burning, why was it not consumed? Therefore he said, “Why does it not burn?”One can further explain: from the statement, And the Lord saw that he had turned aside to see, we learn that he had already moved from his place to get closer or farther away, as I have explained in the phrase Let me turn aside now. If so, there is no place for this difficulty, because at first he thought the bush was actually burning, but when he turned away to see a bit more clearly than what he had seen before turning away, he then saw that it was not burning at all. Therefore he said “Why does it not burn?”And the Lord said to him, “Do not come closer”. This means that this distancing is actually approaching to see. Know that this is so, because if the main prohibition was that he should not approach that holy place, then it should have said, “And the Lord saw that he turned away to come.” But what does it mean that he turned away to see? Rather, the Lord saw that he moved from his place in order to see; therefore the Lord prevented him from gazing at God. Thus it is said: Do not come closer — referring to the closeness of the eye’s vision. And what it says remove your shoes is not dependent on this closeness, but is a separate matter, where the Lord told him to remove his shoes in the place where he was, because all of it is holy ground. For Mount Horeb and all its surroundings are holy to the Lord. And shortly this will be explained in a rational way according to the path that the [other] commentators have trodden.

מדוע לא יבער הסנה, “why the bush refused to burn up and turn into ash.” The root בער used here for burning up is used to describe the process of something being utterly destroyed, leaving no trace of having existed. Compare the confession of the farmer in Deuteronomy 26,13: בערתי הקודש מן הבית, “I have utterly destroyed anything sacred from the house;” my teacher preferred to interpret Moses’ words as being phrased as a question: “seeing that the fire has not consumed the bush, why is this so?”

Hashem saw that he turned aside to look, and Hashem called to him from within the thorn bush and said, "Moses! Moses!" And he said, "Here I am."

"And Hashem saw." These too are Moses' words at the end, and the angel is called by the honored Name, as is the way of "for My name is within him" (below, 23:21), where I will explain it. So too the angel who appeared to Gideon, concerning whom it is written "and Hashem said to him" (Judg. 6:12). Or: Hashem saw that he had turned to look, and commanded the angel to call to him — hence the word Elohim. This name is not a proper noun but a descriptive term, as I will explain; it encompasses every holy being that is not a body and is not a force within a body, as it is written: "gods whose dwelling is not with flesh" (Dan. 2:11) — meaning the body. Thus Elohim in this passage refers to the angel mentioned above.

וירא ה' כי סר לראות, When G’d saw that Moses took a deeper interest in the phenomenon, ויקרא אליו אלוקים, to explain the phenomenon to him, in accordance with the well known principle of הבא לטהר מסיין אותו, “when someone wants to purify something impure one extends a helping hand to him “ A well known example of this is Exodus 19,3 where we find that as soon as Moses ascended the mountain G’d descended toward him.

ויאמר הנני, he said: "I am ready." This was different from the time G'd first called out to the prophet Samuel (Samuel I, 3,4) when Samuel thought that the High Priest Eli had called him. Moses knew right away that G'd was speaking to him. This was because Moses was a prophet already from birth; this was merely his first vision. On the other hand, perhaps the words את המראה הגדול הזה "this great spectacle," merely indicates that compared to previous contacts between G'd and Moses this one seemed infinitely more remarkable.

כי סר לראות, “that he had turned to have a look;” whenever the expression סור appears and is followed by the prefix letter מ, it means that the subject of whom the verse speaks has distanced himself further from the phenomenon under discussion. Best known example: סורו ממני, ”turn away from me!” (Psalms 6,9) On the other hand, if the word following is either אל or the prefix ל, it invites the person addressed to come closer.

A Midrashic approach: The repetition of a person's name in Scripture indicates that he merited both worlds. We find such repetition by Noah, Abraham, Jacob, Moses, Peretz, and even by Terach. This very repetition of Terach’s name indicates that he had done Teshuvah before he died thus securing for himself a place in the hereafter. A rational/scientific approach to our verse: seeing that a prophet would become frightened when he heard his name called for the first time, and as a result of his confusion he would misunderstand the divine message which was to follow, his name is called a second time in order to give him time to collect his thoughts. After the second mention of his name he would receive the message G’d wanted him to receive. A Kabbalistic approach: the reason that both here and in other instances the name of the addressee was repeated was to indicate that both the attribute of Justice and the attribute of Mercy had concurred that the prophet should be addressed in the manner to follow. As a matter of fact there are only four instances in the Bible of G’d repeating someone’s name when He called him (Genesis 22,11, 46,2 Exodus 3,4 and Samuel I 3,10).

ויקרא אליו אלוקים מתוך הסנה, “G’d called out to him from inside the bush.” A reference to the immediate area of thorns, the raw material attacked by the flames, a place which was uncontaminated, seeing that neither man nor beast would walk there, being afraid of being stung by the thorns. This was the reason that site qualified for a manifestation of the Divine. Ibn Ezra writes that the reason that this mountain was subsequently known as הר סיני, was in commemoration of the סנה, the burning bush which refused to be consumed by the flames. משה משה, there is no comma between these two words. It is similar to אברהם אברהם in Genesis 28,19, or יצחק בני יצחק, (Chronicles I 1,34) [the author quotes a couple more examples of such constructions, without elaborating. Ed.]

וירא ה', the angel, who is called “G’d,” seeing he is carrying out G’d’s assignment.

ויאמר הנני, “He said: “I am at Your disposal.” G–d responded that though you showed your preparedness with the same word as your forefather Avraham when I called upon him, (to offer his son to Me as a sacrifice) this is not what I come to ask of you. We know from Proverbs 25,6: במקום גדולים אל תעמוד, “do not stand in the place of great men.” (do not aspire to be important actively or passively) Aaron was commanded to come close to holy sites, the altar, (Leviticus 9,7) Not so Moses. He had to shun a holy site. Neither was allowed to aspire to Royalty, as opposed to David. He acknowledged that G–d had brought him הלום, instead of as Moses: אל תקרב הלום. (Compare Samuel II 7,18 and Sh’mot Rabbah 2,6)

He said, "Do not come near here. Remove your sandal from your foot, for the place upon which you are standing is holy ground."

של means DRAW OFF and take off. It is of the same root as, (Numbers 19:5) “and the iron-head slippeth off (נשל) from the handle”; (Deuteronomy 28:40) “for thine olives shall drop off (ישל)”. אדמת קדש הוא the place IS HOLY GROUND (i. e. the masculine pronoun הוא refers to the word המקום and not to אדמת, which is feminine).

APPROACH NOT HITHER. Moses had not yet reached the highest degree of prophecy, for at Mount Sinai he drew near unto the thick darkness where G-d was. This also accounts for the hiding of his face [in this instance], for he had not yet reached that high [degree of prophecy of] which it was said of Moses, and the similitude of the Eternal doth he behold. FOR THE PLACE WHEREON THOU STANDEST IS HOLY GROUND. Even though Moses was far from the bush, the angel warned him [not to approach], for the whole mountain became sanctified when the Divine Presence came down upon the mountain—top, just as it did at the time of the Giving of the Torah. Now Moses was on the mountain for he had ascended thereto, as it is said, and he came to the mountain of G-d, unto Horeb, and the bush was on the top of the mountain. Thus the entire site became holy and therefore the wearing of sandals was forbidden. A similar case is found in Joshua. Likewise, the priests ministered in the Sanctuary only while barefoot.

"And He said, 'Do not come near hither.'" The meaning is: stand in your place and do not come near the bush where the fire is. Similarly, "Is there yet a man to come hither?" (I Sam. 10:22). The word shal ("your sandal") is lacking a nun, as in "ga" (Ps. 144:5), for it derives from the root of "He will cast out many nations" (ve-nashel, Deut. 7:1).

של נעליך, even on the spot you are standing on now.

אל תקרב הלום, של נעליך, "Do not come closer; remove your shoes, etc." G'd gave two instructions. 1) not to come closer. 2) to remove his shoes because even the site on which Moses was standing at that moment was already holy ground. Why did G'd not instruct Moses to remove his shoes before he had accidentally stepped on holy ground wearing shoes? At that time G'd could have warned Moses not to step on holy ground (even without shoes). We observe throughout the Torah that G'd's principal concern is with the negative commandments, since failure to observe them is injurious to the soul of the person who violates them. This is what Solomon referred to in Kohelet 12,7 when he spoke about the importance of the spirit G'd has given man returning to G'd after man dies. Shabbat 152 understand the word נתנה as if it it were written אשר נתנה לך, "which has been given to you," meaning that just as a pure soul was given to man so a pure soul has to be returned to G'd. On the other hand, positive commandments are designed to enable man to achieve the "good" G'd has made available to man. As a rule, failure to observe the positive commandments does not result in penalties with the exception of certain basic commandments such as Passover and circumcision [without which a Jew cannot demonstrate his Jewish identity, Ed.]. In this instance G'd commanded Moses both something negative, i.e. "do not come closer!" as well as something positive, i.e. "remove your shoes!" Our sages in Eyruvin 96 state that wherever the Torah uses the expression פן or אל such as here, what follows is a negative commandment. The words "remove your shoes," are a positive commandment, however. If Moses were to cross the invisible dividing line by approaching closer to the burning bush (as he had intended to) he would be violating a negative commandment. Were he to fail to remove his shoes, however, this would imply a lack of respect for G'd but it would not constitute transgression of a negative commandment because the commandment had been phrased positively, though it implied that no shoes were to be worn there. The Torah always speaks about שמירה, i.e. care not to violate a negative commandment, before demanding עשיה, performance of a related positive commandment (compare Deuteronomy 4,6; 15,5, Genesis 26,5 et al). This is why the sequence in which G'd commanded Moses at this point is no departure from the Torah's norm. We still have to answer what G'd had in mind when He did not call out to Moses before the latter had a chance to stand on holy ground clad in shoes. Perhaps Moses did not qualify for an address by G'd unless He had been told not to come still closer. Perhaps the site on which Moses stood at that time became sanctified only by reason of G'd having revealed Himself to Moses there. Perhaps the reason G'd wanted to speak with Moses at that site was in order to have an excuse to sanctify that spot. Perhaps this was the reason for the extra word הוא in the expression אדמת קודש...

של נעליך, “throw off your shoes.” The expression של is from the root נשל, “to disengage;” we find it both in Deuteronomy 28,40, כי ישל זיתך, “for your olives will fall off,” and in Deuteronomy 7,1, ונשל גוים רבים, “and He will dislodge many nations.” מעל רגלך, “from your feet.” The reason is that you might have stepped on something unfit to be found in a holy place. The reason why the Torah added: “from your feet,” seeing we normally wear shoes on our feet, is that the word נעל also occurs for gloves, as in Ruth 4,7: שלף איש נעלו “where the translation is: נרתק יד ימינה, “sleeve of the right hand/arm.”Our sages in B’rachot 54 have ruled that no one may ascend the Temple Mount while wearing (leather) shoes. [The reason is that at a place where the reverence for the Temple prevails, it would like a lack of faith if one had to rely on shoes to be protected against snake bites, etc., instead of trusting in G-d to be protected. [I have seen this in commentary by Bartenura on Megillat Ruth. Ed.] כי המקום אשר אתה עומד וגו, “for the place that you are standing on is sacred.” Wherever we find that the Shechinah opens a dialogue with man, be it here, or with Joshua 5,14-19, or the revelation of the Torah in Exodus 19,21-27, the location is a sacred location. In other instances where G-d addressed prophets, the place is not automatically holy.

של נעליך, “remove your shoes.” According to the plain meaning of the text the angel warned Moses to remove his shoes on account of the holiness of the site. This was to serve as a warning not to be disrespectful, i.e. nonchalant, when he would be addressed by the שכינה, “G’d’s Presence” (compare Berachot 54). We find something similar in Exodus 23,12 where G’d tells Moses to be on his guard in the presence of the angel as G’d’s name was within him. A rational approach to our verse: the term של נעליך is not to be confused with the term חלוץ נעליך. Whereas the latter means: ”take off your shoes,” similar to the expression שלוף נעליך, in Ruth 4,7 “taking off a sandal,” or to Deut. 25,9, “she will strip off his shoe,” the word של is related to שלילה, something negative and means that there was no need for Moses to wear shoes in such a place. He was warned to strip off what the shoe represented, i.e. material concerns. The act of removing his shoes was a mental preparation to ready him to become G’d’s vessel, His prophet. The lesson was that just as a man can take off his shoe at will, so he can divest himself of material concerns and concentrate on spiritual concerns. Instead of remaining attached to the עור, the leather of his shoe, he should become attached to the enlightening properties of his illuminating intellect, his אור השכל. When Joshua received a similar command in Joshua 4,15 he was told של נעלך, “remove your shoe (singular).” The difference between Moses and Joshua was that Moses had separated from his wife and was thus able to divorce himself more easily from earthly concerns. Joshua had not. G’d had told Moses in Deut. 5,28: “you- stay here with Me,” something which had enabled him to remain closer to G’d and to holiness. A Kabbalistic approach: the words של נעליך suggest that the Shechinah was revealed to Moses on two levels, in two colours, i.e. “white” fire and “black” fire. These two “colors” symbolized the two attributes, the attribute of Justice and the attribute of Mercy respectively. The words אל תקרב הלום של, “do not come closer, remove!” meant that the reverence Moses was to display for G’d’s Majesty as well as for the sacredness of the site should stop his attempt to inspect the phenomenon more closely. Another thing which was hinted to Moses at this time was that the Torah which would be written in black fire on white fire would be given at this site. This is the reason that G’d used the expression של, i.e. the two letters of this word are the first two letters of שחור and לבן “black and white,” respectively. אדמת קודש הוא, “it is holy ground.” The word אדמת is in the construct form of the word קדש, i.e. Mount Sinai is holy ground. Compare Psalms 68,18 אדנ-י בם סיני בקודש, “the Lord is among them as in Sinai in holiness.” Now that Moses was only at the very beginning of his career as a prophet he was not yet allowed to step on this holy ground. The word הלום is itself a reference to the שכינה, as it is a word describing Majesty, Royalty (Shemot Rabbah 2,6). This is based on Samuel I 10,22: הבא עוד הלום איש?, “has anyone else come here?” [Samuel referred to Saul who was to be king, Ed.]. The word is again used in that sense in Samuel II 7,18: כי הביאותני עד הלום, “for He has brought me thus far?” [David acknowledging his position of King over Israel by grace of the Lord. Ed.] Seeing that the שכינה is emanated from a holy source, Moses was given his first inkling of the meaning of holiness in terms of “holy ground.”

Remove your shoes from your feet. The commentators have been aroused by several differences between this vision and the vision of Joshua. For here it says: Remove your shoes [plural], while with Joshua it says: Remove your shoe [singular]. And here it says: for the place on which you stand is holy ground, while with Joshua it does not say this, but simply “holy” without “ground.” I have seen that Rabbeinu Bachya and other commentators explained Remove your shoes as referring to the distancing from physicality, because Moses was more detached from materiality than Joshua. Therefore, I will choose [to follow] their approach and add my own insights to resolve all the questions we mentioned, following the way that our Sages of blessed memory explained (Bava Batra 75a) that Moses’ face was like the sun and Joshua’s like the moon. Just as the moon shines on one side and is dark on the other, so Joshua shone from the side of intellect but was dark from the side of materiality that remained in him. But Moses’ face was like the sun which shines from all sides — similarly, Moses was so refined even in his material aspect that he merited the radiance of the skin of his face, for he was purified by standing on the mountain for 40 days without eating or drinking, being nourished by the radiance of the Divine Presence. Therefore, it says to Moses Remove your shoes in the plural, hinting at the removal of materiality from both of his parts: both the refinement of his intellectual power from the mixture of materiality in it, and the refinement of his material power itself. And therefore, as giving a reason, it says: for the place on which you stand is holy ground. The word “place” indicates one’s level, and it is saying that the level at which you stand is such that even the earthly part of you is holy — that’s what it means by “holy ground.” And because you are at such a high level, therefore I said: Do not come closer to gaze upon the Divine Presence, for no man can see Me and live, and even the angels do not approach Him to look upon His essence, how much more so a human being while living in this world. And this is what the [Midrash] meant that the entire house was filled with light when Moses was born, for this was a sign to him that the human “house” [body] would be illuminated from all sides. But for Joshua, who was only illuminated from the intellectual side alone, therefore it was said to him remove your shoe — in the singular, implying just one — because the physicality was only removed from the intellectual part alone. Therefore, regarding Joshua, it did not mention holy ground because the earthly part of him was not sanctified. And it was not necessary to tell him do not come closer and it was not necessary to prevent him from approaching God, because regardless, his physical nature was a dividing screen between him and his God so that he could not gaze upon the Divine. And perhaps for this reason it says Moses, Moses twice, because God called to both of his parts, as both were holy — the physical form and the spiritual form. Some say that He called Moses, Moses because the exile of Israel seems to Him, blessed be He, like a burden, so to speak. Therefore, He called him repeatedly to hasten his coming and to lighten the burden from Him, blessed be He, as it is written: I am with him in distress (Psalms 91:15), and as it is written: for I know their sufferings — “I know” means He feels their pain, so to speak.

אל תקרב הלום, “do not come any closer.” This was a warning to Moses that he had not yet attained the degree of holiness permitting him unrestricted entry to holy sites. We know that prior to the revelation at Mount Sinai, Moses entered the thick cloud in which the holy mountain was enveloped at the time without hindrance or harm befalling him. (Exodus 20,18) The Torah describes G’d there as being behind this thick cloud. Moses having turned aside his face when coming face to face with a supernatural spectacle, was prompted by the same consideration of his inadequacy in matters spiritual, which at that time were still very strong within him. של נעליך!, “remove your shoes!” It is noteworthy that whereas when Moses and Ezekiel were commanded to remove their shoes, they were told to remove both shoes, or in the case of Ezekiel, not to remove them, whereas Joshua was commanded to remove only one shoe, נעלך, (compare Joshua 5,15) The reason may have been that Moses being a shepherd by vocation, wore big boots in the manner of the shepherds. Ezekiel, who was also a farmer, may similarly have worn big boots. Joshua being a highly placed officer, almost a crowned head, wore only light shoes in the manner of all the kings. Both of his shoes, נעליך, would have been equivalent to only one of Moses’ shoes in size and weight. Furthermore, the angel speaking to Joshua described only the immediate site on which Joshua was standing as a holy site, אדמת קודש, whereas in the case of Moses the entire mountain was holy ground. It is also interesting that whereas Joshua is reported as having complied with the command to remove his shoes, no such thing is reported of Moses. Perhaps, Moses not having entered holy ground before being told to take off his shoes, preferred not to come closer so that he would not have to remove his shoes, whereas Joshua was told to do so only after he had already been standing on holy ground, so that he had no other option.

של!, throw off!. The word is from the root נשל, meaning a form of removal, as in Deuteronomy 7,1 ונשל גוים רבים, “He dislodges many nations, etc.”

!של, “remove!” the reason why the Torah had to write: מעל רגליך, “from your feet,” when we all know that he was not asked to remove his sandals from his hands, is that there are two kinds of sandals. There is a kind worn on one’s hands. [In fact, in German, the word for gloves is: handschuhe, “shoes worn on one’s hands.” Ed.] This was the נעל that Boaz gave to the redeemer who was first in line to perform a levirate marriage ceremony with Ruth, the daughter-in-law of Naomi. (Ruth, 4,7) As far as the question why Moses had to remove both his sandals, whereas Joshua had to remove only a single sandal (Joshua 5,15), the reason is that in this instance the Presence of the Spirit of G–d preceded the arrival of Moses on that site, whereas in the Book of Joshua, Joshua had already been on holy soil (the land of Israel) before the appearance to him of the angel, i.e. the Spirit of G–d.

He said, "I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob." And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to gaze upon the Glory of Hashem.

I AM THE G-D OF THY FATHER. In accordance with the plain meaning of Scripture, this is equivalent to saying, “the G-d of thy fathers.” However, He mentions the singular instead of the plural, for the intent is “the G-d of each one of your ancestors,” since people refer to all ancestors as fathers. Similarly: the G-d of thy father David; this is my G-d, and I will glorify Him; my father’s G-d, and I will exalt Him, meaning “the G-d of my fathers.”Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra said [that the word “father” in the phrase], the G-d of my father, refers to Abraham since he was the first who began to call upon the name of the Eternal. After that, He mentioned Abraham by name and then joined the rest of the patriarchs to him. In the opinion of our Rabbis, [“father” in the phrase] The G-d of thy father, means Amram. This is just as if He had said, “I am thy G-d,” [i.e., Moses’ G-d], but He desired to associate His Name with that of a righteous man who had already died - [namely, Amram] - rather than with that of one yet alive, [i.e., Moses]. After that, [He mentioned] the G-d of Abraham, the G-d of Isaac, and the G-d of Jacob, meaning that He is the G-d of all Israel. The reason for His mentioning “the G-d of” with each one [of the patriarchs] instead of saying “the G-d of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob” is that He referred to His Name and His memorial, [thus alluding to the special attributes by which He was associated with each of the patriarchs], blessed and magnified be He. I will explain yet more on this point in the chapter.

"And He said, 'I am the God of your father'" — after He mentioned "the God of your father," He explained that these are Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, beginning with Abraham, for he was the first to call in the name of Hashem and to build an altar to Him, since his father and his brother had worshiped idols. He mentioned these three and did not mention the three who were closer to Moses — namely Levi, Kohath, and Amram — because the three He mentioned were prophets, and for the additional reason that the three He mentioned are the fathers of all Israel, whereas Levi is not inclusive: for Moses spoke on behalf of all Israel, so when He said to Moses "I am the God of your father" it was as though He said it to all Israel, since He speaks to Moses in their place. "And Moses hid his face" — as is the way of "I have seen God face to face, yet my life has been preserved" (Gen. 32:31). The faculty of the eye compares with the gateway of the heavens, for in a single instant it perceives many images both far and near — unlike the faculties of the ears, nose, palate, and hand. It was because of his fear that he hid his face.

אנכי אלוקי אביך, I am the G-d of your father;” by saying these words G-d revealed to Moses that his father had already died, for we have a tradition that G-d does not associate His Holy name to living persons, as He does not know if they will abandon Him before they die. The rule is: הן בקדושים לא יאמין, “He does not display trust even in His holy ones,” until they have departed life on this earth. The reason why G-d decided to tell Moses in this way that his father Am ram, who had been the leader of the Jewish people in Egypt, would not be used by Moses as an excuse to decline his appointment as his father’s successor. If Moses was reluctant to accept the appointment out of respect for his older brother, how much more would he decline out of respect for his father. ויסתר משה פניו, Moses hid his face; the fact that Moses hid his face at this point was the reason that he merited that he eventually attained a spiritual level when his own face radiated spirituality to the degree that unless he was discussing Torah, the people could not bear looking at him. (Exodus 34,30). Compare also Numbers 12,8, where G-d explains this level of Moses to Miriam and Aaron.

אנכי אלוקי אביך, “I am the G’d of your father, etc.” According to the plain meaning of the text the meaning is the same as if G’d had said “the G’d of your fathers (pl).” We find such constructions in Exodus 15,2 אל-הי אבי וארוממנהו, “the G’d of my father (sing) and I want to exalt Him.” There too the word “my father” really means “my fathers.” A Midrashic (Shemot Rabbah 3,1) approach to the words “G’d of your father.” These words refer to Amram. Actually, G’d had wanted to say: “I am your G’d.” However, we have a rule that G’d does not associate His name with the living in the event such a person turns wicked. This is why G’d chose the nearest relative who was no longer alive, i.e. Moses’ father, who had been a righteous person and died as a righteous person. According to Tanchuma (Shemot 19) when Moses heard the voice calling him he rejoiced thinking that his father Amram was still alive. [Moses had been away from Egypt for many decades at this point. Ed.]. At that point G’d added: “I am the G’d of your father,” i.e. I misled you when I called your name in the voice of your father. I did this in order not to frighten you. The above proves that it is quite usual for prophets to become frightened at the time a voice from G’d suddenly calls to them. They need to be put at ease in order to overcome their fear. This is why we find in Samuel I 3,4 that when G’d first called to Samuel, He did so making His voice sound like that of the High Priest Eli, Samuel’s mentor. A kabbalistic approach: The “father” G’d referred to was Adam, i.e. G’d had already been the G’d of Adam This was appropriate seeing that when Hevel had offered his sacrifice he had had a glimpse of the Shechinah for longer than is permissible and had incurred the death penalty as a result. This is why Moses quickly turned away his face when he became aware of the fact that it was G’d speaking out of the bush. He was ashamed to look at something he had seen once before just as a person is ashamed to come face to face with sins committed on a previous occasion. Seeing that Moses was Hevel’s reincarnation it is not surprising that G’d described Himself as the “G’d of your father (Adam).” When our sages in Berachot 7 explain the verse (Exodus 33,20) “you cannot see My face for man cannot see My face and live,” G’d supposedly told Moses: “when I wanted to show you My face you did not want to look, (here at the bush); now that you want to see My face, I am not ready to show it to you.” In chapter 33,18 Moses had asked: “Please show me Your Presence.” This passage in the Talmud is at variance with a statement by Rabbi Meir who is quoted on that same folio as saying that due to three merits Moses was granted three things. Seeing he had turned aside at the bush, not wanting to look at something forbidden, he was granted to behold the image of G’d’s “face.” Seeing he displayed the proper degree of awe and reverence in the presence of such a vision (כי ירא, “for he was afraid” verse 6), he was granted that when he descended from Mount Sinai that the skin of his forehead radiated light so that the people in turn were afraid to approach him (Exodus 34,30). Finally, as a reward for not having indulged his eyes (מהביט, when he had a chance to do so at the bush), he was granted (Numbers 12,8) greater visions than any other prophet as G’d explained to Miriam and Aaron on that occasion. Whereas visions seen by lesser prophets are known as אספקלריא שאינה מאירה, “blurred visions,” Moses enjoyed visions described as מאירה, distinct, brilliant. The latter is the kind of vision which originates with the attribute of Mercy.

And regarding what is written, “I am the God of your father.” Our Sages of blessed memory explained (Exodus Rabbah 3:1) that the Holy One, blessed be He, appeared to him [Moses] with the voice of Amram, his father. And when he [Moses] said, “Here I am,” the Holy One, blessed be He, said to him, “This is not your father’s voice, but the voice of the God of your father Amram.” And here it is written “God” four times, corresponding to the four expressions of redemption, as will be explained, God willing, in Parashat Vaera (6:6). And some explain that He mentioned God of your father because He revealed to him through this that his father had already died, once He had associated His blessed name with him. And [this was] so that he [Moses] would not refuse to go on this mission in place of his father, for even before Aaron his older brother, he refused to take this authority, all the more so in place of his father.

אנכי אלוקי אביך, “I am the G’d of your father, etc.” according to our sages, Amram, Moses’ biological father, is referred to in this verse. Nachmanides writes that when the sages said this they meant that G’d meant that He was Moses’ G’d, but that He preferred to associate His name with a righteous man who had already died, instead of with a living person, whose freedom of choice still enables him to turn his back on G’d at some time in the future if he so desires, and to thereby make G’d’s association with him a mockery. At a later stage, G’d referred to Himself as the G’d of the patriarchs, implying that He was the G’d of the entire Jewish people. Ibn Ezra explained that the word אביך in our verse refers to the first patriarch Avraham, seeing he had been the first to proclaim G’d’s name and his faith in Him in public. In subsequent visions G’d speaks of also being the G’d of the other patriarchs. According to the plain meaning of the text, the expression אלוקי אביך is not materially different from the Torah having written אלוקי אבותיך, “the G’d of your forefathers.” The reason why the Torah uses the word אביך in the singular mode here is that people generally refer to G’d as their “father.” We find a similar description in Kings II 20,5 when Isaiah is instructed to give a message to King Chiskiyah, a parallel verse in Isaiah 38.5 when G’d describes Himself as the G’d of his father.

Hashem said, "It is fully revealed before Me, the bondage of My people who are in Egypt, and their outcry has been heard before Me because of their taskmasters, for their suffering is revealed before Me."

כי ידעתי את מכאביו FOR I KNOW THEIR SORROWS — The verb has the same meaning as in (Exodus 2:25) “and God knew”, signifying as much as: for I have set my heart upon noticing and understanding their sorrows, and I have not hidden my eyes from their distress, nor have I stopped my ears against their cry.

AND THE ETERNAL SAID. Scripture mentions Him in the attribute of mercy since it is in connection with His compassion for the people [in bondage], even though the entire chapter mentions Him by the name of Elokim (G-d), [a name signifying the attribute of justice].

"And He said" — the messenger speaks in the language of the one who sent him. The meaning of "I have indeed seen" is: the violence done to them in secret, which people cannot see — I see it. "And their cry" — what everyone hears, I have heard. And the pain that is in the heart — I have known it.

ראה ראיתי את עני עמי, “I have indeed seen the plight of My people.” A reference to the righteous ones among them who groaned and sighed over the sins of their generation and their resulting plight, praying. In response to the prayer of these righteous people the angel answered out of the burning bush. The meaning of the words ראה ראיתי is “indeed I have seen, taken notice.” This construction is normal wherever the Torah employs a dual, duplicate construction. The reason for the duplication is as if to contradict someone who denies that G’d has seen what goes on. It is as if saying: ‘in spite of anything you think or say, I insist that you are wrong and I am right.” It is similar to Yaakov negating Joseph’s trying go correct the position of his hands when he was blessing Ephrayim and Menashe. At that time Yaakov simply said: “I know my son, I know.” (Genesis 48,19) The angel confirmed to Moses that in spite of G’d being aware of the Israelite’s problems and the fact that He was going to inflict numerous plagues on the Egyptians, the latter would not simply collapse in spite of all the plagues. My intention with the plagues is not to destroy the Egyptians and to leave the Israelites in their place, on their land, but I want to save the Israelites and to take them out of Egypt in order to settle them elsewhere.

ויאמר ה׳ ראה ראיתי את עני עמי, G'd said: "I have surely seen the plight of My people, etc." Why did G'd speak about two "sightings?" Why did He have to add the words "in Egypt?" If Moses had not been aware of the fact that the Jews were G'd's people how would the fact that G'd referred to them as being in Egypt help Moses identify them? There were very many different peoples in Egypt! Perhaps no other people in Egypt suffered persecution except the Jewish people. At any rate, Moses must have known that Israel was G'd's people and His heritage on earth. G'd mentioned that He had observed two distinctly different things. 1) The time of redemption had not yet arrived; in spite of this, however, G'd had taken into consideration the plight of His people and the misery they experienced in Egypt. Shabbat 10 tells that the immediate cause of the descent of the Jewish people to exile in Egypt was due only to the extra two shekalim Jacob had spent on Joseph's striped coat which had aroused the brothers' envy. Tossaphot challenge this explanation saying that exile had long ago been decreed in the days of Abraham? They answer that the exile prophecy could have come true in some other country where the Israelites would not have been enslaved so cruelly. The words אשר במצרים are to indicate that the very fact that the Israelites experienced their exile in Egypt instead of somewhere else was a reason for G'd to to commence the process of liberation already at this time. Although the time had not come for redemption, the time certainly had come for relief from the oppressive measures the Egyptians had introduced against the Jewish people. G'd may also have seen the pain the Jews were suffering. The Torah may have written ראיתי עני עמי in order to demonstrate G'd's identification with the Jews. Inasmuch as they were His people, He was part of their suffering. Another reason why G'd speaks of ראה ראיתי is that in addition to the suffering of the Jews which G'd had seen, He also saw that there were no more holy souls which had been taken captive by the forces of the קליפה and which were to be rescued by the Jewish people. Seeing that the exile had accomplished also this part of its function, the way was now clear for redemption. Pessachim 119 compares Egypt at the time to a pond which had been drained of fish. There was therefore no point in continuing to angle (for souls) there. Continued residence of the Jews in Egypt could only have counterproductive effects from that time on. ואת צעקתם שמעתי, "and I have heard their outcry," etc. G'd added that in addition to factors already mentioned, He had also heard the outcry which was occasioned by the fact that the Egyptians had been more cruel than warranted in their application of Pharaoh's decrees. All these statements were in order to justify the fact that G'd was appointing a redeemer already at this time. The Israelites, of course, had believed that the exile would last for 400 years. Besides, G'd revealed to Mo...

ויאמר ה’, “the Lord said.” We have to understand why the whole paragraph up until now employs the name אלו-הים to describe G’d, whereas in this verse the name of G’d mentioned is the tetragrammaton. The reason is simple. This is the moment at which G’d promises for the first time that the time has arrived for Him to display His pity for His people and to arrange for their redemption. ראה ראיתי, “I have indeed seen, etc.” In this verse we encounter three references to G’d’s awareness of what had been happening to the Jewish people. Each awareness mentioned is more specific and more encompassing than the previous one. G’d begins by speaking about what He has seen; He continues describing what He has heard; finally He describes the result of what He has seen and heard as “I have become intimately aware,” ידעתי את מכאוביו, “I have become intimately familiar with its pains.” According to what we read here the sensation of seeing something is not as powerful a tool to awaken responses as is hearing something. Only a combination of seeing and hearing is a truly powerful tool to arouse compassion. It is a fact that when one observes something without hearing any sound it is difficult to truly understand what the picture means. Similarly, if one hears sounds without seeing what causes these sounds, one also cannot form a coherent idea of what one has heard. One needs to both hear and see something in order to be able to evaluate these phenomena. The Bible uses the expression ראיה or שמיעה on different occasions as substitutes for the word הבנה, understanding. For example, we are told that a people whose language we do not “hear” is one that we do not understand (Deut. 28,49). The same is true of “seeing” unaccompanied by “hearing.” This is what Solomon said in Kohelet 1,16לבי ראה , “my heart has seen.” If someone has understood something only with his heart this is not comparable to someone’s understanding which was based on seeing and hearing it first. Shemot Rabbah 3,2, questioning the need for the repetition of the word ראה concludes that G’d told Moses that there would indeed be two events to be witnessed by G’d but that Moses would witness only one of them, i.e. the giving of the Torah at Mount Sinai. The second event, the Israelites trying to wriggle out of keeping the Torah, would be something reserved for G’d to see. Moses would not have to see it in his lifetime. The latter event is depicted by Ezekiel 1,10 “and the face of the ox (turned) to the left.” The “left” is always an allusion to something sinful.

And the Lord said, “I have surely seen the affliction of My people.” I have seen implies the past, likewise the repetition of the word “seeing.” It appears that its explanation is as follows: The Holy One, Blessed be He, wanted to give Moses a reason why He had abandoned them for such a long time, and why until now He delayed from seeing their trouble. To this, He said that until now, even though they would cry out from their hard labor in all their troubles, all these cries were not supplication and request before Him, blessed be He, but rather cries of complaint; they did not seek the face of the Lord until now. That is what is meant by And the Lord said, “I have surely seen”: I see now and I also saw in the past the affliction of My people, and their cry I have heard, meaning the cry of complaint. And they did not remember that I said to Jacob: I will go down with you, and the purpose of this descent was to deliver him, etc., and to bring him up, as it is written: and I will also surely bring you up. That is what is meant by and I have come down to deliver him. They should have taken this to heart and sought My face, but now the cry of the children of Israel has come to Me because they prayed to Me with a whole heart; therefore I have seen their prayer. And I have also seen the oppression with which the Egyptians oppress them, which is not according to what is right. Therefore now, go, I shall send you to Pharaoh — now, immediately — for this is My way: while they are still speaking, I will hear.

ויאמר ה' ראה ראיתי, “The Lord said: ‘I have truly seen, etc.” Although throughout this portion G’d appears in His attribute of אלוקים, the attribute of Justice, in this verse He is referring to Himself as the attribute of Mercy, the ineffable name. The reason is that here He demonstrates His pity on the condition His people find themselves in. ראה ראיתי, according to Ibn Ezra the formula here describes G’d’s response to the unnecessarily harsh and violent conduct of the Egyptians vis a vis their Hebrew slaves. G’d assures Moses that although the Egyptians had usually chosen to practice their violent attacks on the Israelites in the privacy of their homes or the dark of night, He, the G’d of the Israelites, was aware of it all. He was also aware of the feelings of the Israelites that were being so maltreated.

ואת צעקתם שמעתי מפני נוגשיו, their outcry which was prompted because the taskmasters are constantly harassing them, I have heard.

"And I have been revealed to deliver them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up from that land to a good and spacious land, to a land producing milk and honey — to the place of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites."

AND I AM COME DOWN TO DELIVER THEM. That is, “for I have revealed Myself in fire on this mountain.” This has the same meaning as in the verses: And the Eternal came down upon Mount Sinai; Because the Eternal descended upon it in fire. It may be that [the expression come down has the same meaning here] as in the verse, I will go down now, and see whether they have done altogether according to the cry of it, which is come unto Me. I have already explained its secret there. UNTO A GOOD AND LARGE LAND, UNTO A LAND FLOWING WITH MILK AND HONEY; UNTO THE PLACE OF THE CANAANITE, AND THE HITTITE, AND THE AMORITE, AND THE PERIZZITE, AND THE HIVITE, AND THE JEBUSITE. He mentions here six nations and omits the seventh. Perhaps this was because his land was not flowing with milk and honey as were these [lands of the six nations mentioned]. Similarly, He mentions these six only in the verse, For Mine angel shall go before thee. It may be because He alluded here [to a future event], i.e., that they will conquer these six nations first, for it is these six nations who assembled to fight Joshua, and G-d gave them into his hand. Our Rabbis have said that the Girgashite arose and emigrated of his own accord. This is why he is not mentioned together with those destined for destruction, as it is said concerning them, and I will cut them off. I will discuss this matter further, with the help of G-d. The sense of the expression, a land flowing with milk and honey, is that He first praised the land as a good land, meaning that its climate is good and beautiful for people and that all that is good is found in it, and as a large land, meaning that it will afford all Israel to be established in a broad place. It may be that r’chavah (large) means spaciousness, referring to [the extensive lands of] the lowland, the valley and the plain, large and small, and is not confined mostly to mountains and valleys. He then began to praise the land as being a land for cattle, having good pasture and good water which cause the cattle to have abundant milk, for healthy and good cattle with abundant milk are to be found only where the climate is good, with plenty of vegetation and good water. But since these are found only in the marsh-lands, while on the height of the mountains fruits are not very fat and good, He further states that this land is so fat that its fruits [all over] are fat and sweet, even to the extent that it all flows with the honey that comes from them. Thus He has praised the land for all its goodness of the Eternal, for the corn, and for the wine, and for the oil, and for the young of the flock and of the herd. This is the meaning of the verse, It is the beauty of all lands. The reason that He said, unto the ‘place’ of the Canaanite, and not “unto the ‘land’ of the Canaanite” as He said in all other places, is to allude to the fact that they will inherit [the Canaanite, etc.], and will destroy them and settle in their places, and not dwell among them as their fath...

"And I have come down." Because the heavens are more exalted than the earth and the honor of Hashem fills all — yet since all decrees come from the heavens — therefore the word "and I came down." Furthermore, because the rank of the angel is great and it is not within Moses' power to ascend to the heavens, therefore it says "I came down to deliver My people." "And to bring him up" — corresponding to "I came down," for just as I dwell in an exalted place, so I will settle them in a place exalted above all the earth. These are the words of the angel, and similarly it is written: "He made him ride on the heights of the earth" (Deut. 32:13) — they will come out from the land where they are in suffering to a good land. He did not mention the Girgashite because it is the smallest of the seven. Now there is a worthy question: since the six nations are the sons of Canaan, why is "the Canaanite" mentioned? The answer is that the entire land is called "the land of Canaan," for that is the comprehensive name — it is the genus. The Perizzite is Sidon, and the other sons mentioned are few, so the text included them all under the word "the Canaanites."

וארד להצילו...ולהעלותו מן הארץ ההיא אל ארץ, I revealed Myself to you in this manifestation only to acquaint you with the fact that I will save the Israelite nation and lead them out of Egypt, not in order to destroy Egypt. זבת חלב ודבש, a land with much livestock and abundant food of good quality and of nourishing properties (honey). These terms are used in this sense in Proverbs 24,13 אכול בני דבש כי טוב ונפת מתוק. “My son, eat honey for it is good, and the honeycomb for it is sweet on your palate.”

וארד להצילו… ולהעלותו מן הארץ ההיא, "I shall descend in order to save…and to bring them out of this land, etc." The reason G'd speaks about His "descent" is that it is not really in keeping with the dignity of the supreme G'd to convey His instructions to a vile human being such as the Pharaoh who now oppressed the Jewish people. This was all the more so seeing that Pharaoh had the effrontery to exclaim "who is G'd that I should heed His words?" (5,2) G'd explained that He waived some of the honour due to Him in order to expedite the redemption of Israel. It is worthwhile to study the comment in the introduction to Eycha Rabbah section 14 on Proverbs 29,9: איש חכם נשפט את איש אויל ורגז ושחק ואין נחת. "If a wise man goes to Court with a fool there is no peace whether the fool rages or laughs." It is remarkable that Solomon uses the form נשפט instead of שפט. He means that getting involved in litigation with a known fool can only result in the so-called wise man becoming convicted. G'd had to mention that He was going to "descend" to show that despite the fact that it was inappropriate for Him to deal with Pharaoh, He would do so for the sake of Israel. The meaning of להצילו refers to the near-term cessation from their slave labour, whereas the expression ולהעלותו refers to the longer term objective of G'd's intervention. Seeing the time for the redemption was not yet at hand, there had to be an interval of at least 12 months between the time G'd spoke to Moses and the actual Exodus. Shemot Rabbah 9,12 debates whether the plagues usually lasted one week with three weeks warning or vice versa. At any rate, our sages seem agreed that the plagues extended over a considerable period. Why would G'd have deliberately delayed the redemption once He had embarked on the process? He could have given Pharaoh a single day's warning before each plague something that is certainly legal when a Jew is warned not to commit a transgression. In fact, Gentiles do not need to be warned specifically at all not to commit acts which they know to be criminal. We must assume, therefore, that G'd waited for a certain date to be able to justify the Exodus although He wanted to relieve the burden of the Jewish people in the interval. In view of our premise that the principal purpose of the exile in Egypt was to salvage the souls which had been contaminated with the 50 levels of impurity at the time the forces of the קליפה "captured" some of the holy souls from Adam when the latter ate from the tree of knowledge (compare our comments on Genesis 49,9), we can understand that if G'd had redeemed the Israelites prematurely this would have aborted the plan to rescue all those lost souls. We have already explained that Moses himself was equated with the Jewish people inasmuch as Moses achieved the 49th level of בינה, intellectual insights, out of a possible total of 50 such levels. The reason that Moses never reached the ultimate level of בינה was that the achievement must paralle...

זבת חלב, “flowing with milk and honey.”

וארד להצילו ...אל ארץ טובה, “I shall descend in order to save it....to a good land, etc.” What was the need for the Torah to lavish so many compliments on the stones and trees of the land of Canaan? Was it not enough for a people in the condition of abject slavery such as the Jewish people to be told that they would be redeemed and would become free? Would they not consider this a welcome message even if the land they would go to would be of inferior quality? The fact is that all the compliments in our verse apply to the Torah. Torah has been described as לקח טוב, “good” instruction; (Proverbs 4,2) it has been described as רחבה, “spacious” (Psalms 119,96). All the adjectives in this verse apply to Torah as if the Torah had written “to a land (Torah) which is good, spacious flowing with milk and honey” (compare Song of Songs 4,11). The details of the land of Israel itself are described only commencing with the words: אל ארץ הכנעני, “to the land of the Canaanite, the Hittite, etc.” G’d’s message to the Israelites is that they would inherit the land of these nations as these people are not worthy of living in a country in which the Torah makes its home. Our commentary corresponds to what I have found in Bereshit Rabbah 16,7 on Genesis 2,12: “the gold of this land was good;” the Midrash says: “there is no Torah comparable to the Torah in the land of Israel and there is no wisdom comparable to the wisdom to be found in the land of Israel.” We may add that the words אל מקום הכנעני “to the place of the Canaanite,” instead of the usual “to the land of the Canaanite,” contain an additional message, i.e. that the Israelites would wipe out the present inhabitants of that land and inherit their land. They would not merely live there as residents as had their forefathers.

אל ארץ טובה ורחבה, “to a good and spacious land.” G’d first praises the quality of the land, i.e. its climate which is healthy for its inhabitants, and secondly, that the land is spacious so that it can accommodate the entire nation without danger of the country becoming crowded. It is also possible that the meaning of the words ארץ רחבה is that the land contains wide expanses of both valleys and mountainous regions, and that though there are mountains, they do not cover most of its territory. The Torah comes back to describe the land as especially suitable for cattle and sheep raising, i.e. a land flowing with milk and honey. This also implies that the water supply in this land is ample and that it is of good quality, as otherwise it would not be ideal for raising sheep and cattle. Seeing that mountainous regions do not produce fat cattle, G’d assures Moses that the land is suitable to raise good cattle also. אל מקום הכנעני, “to the area now inhabited by the Canaanites.” The reason that G’d did not describe that region as ארץ הכנעני, “the land of the Canaanite,” as is customary when referring to lands inhabited by different peoples, is a hint that the Canaanites will be uprooted and dispossessed. The Israelites would not share the land with the Canaanites but would live there instead of the Canaanites. הכנעני והחתי והאמורי והפריזי והחוי והיבוסי. Note that the “Girgashi,” another one of the Canaanite tribes inhabiting that region, is not mentioned here. The reason is either that their land may not have been as excellent, or that these people would emigrate rather than defend their land against the Israelites, being aware that the Jewish G’d Who had made good on His threats against Pharaoh would most likely also make good on the promises He had made to the Jewish people beginning with Avraham. Ibn Ezra writes that the reason why the Girgashi has not been mentioned here is that that tribe was relatively insignificant in terms of manpower and military might. He questions that seeing that six Canaanite tribes have been listed here by name, why did the Torah have to use the word הכנעני, “the Canaanite” altogether? We all know that these tribes form part of the Canaanite family of nations. He answers that the entire region was known as the “land of Canaan,” and it extends beyond the regions inhabited by the six tribes listed here, especially in the north.

וארד, to this bush in order to speak to you so as to save them from the Egyptians.

"And now, behold, the cry of the children of Israel has come up before Me, and also the oppression with which the Egyptians oppress them is revealed before Me."

AND NOW, BEHOLD, THE CRY OF THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL IS COME UNTO ME. Even though He has already said, and I have heard their cry, He says again that it has come unto Me, thus stating that “their cry has come to the Throne of My Glory, and I will no longer pardon Pharaoh, for the Egyptians are oppressing them exceedingly.” It is similar in sense to the expression, a rage which hath reached up unto heaven. By way of the Truth, [the mystic lore of the Cabala], the cry of the children of Israel is a reference to Knesseth Yisrael, similar to the verse, according to the cry of it which is come unto Me. I have alluded to it there. The meaning of the verse, moreover I have seen the oppression, is that He will punish Pharaoh and his people because by oppressing Israel so exceedingly, they perpetrated more than had been decreed against them, as I have explained in Seder Lech Lecha.

"And now, behold" — the meaning of "behold, the cry of the Children of Israel" is that they have done repentance. The meaning of "and I have also seen the oppression with which they afflicted them" — their deliberate malice — is as Jethro said: "in the matter by which they acted presumptuously against them" (below, 18:11).

ועתה, seeing that all this is true. This is the meaning of the word ועתה wherever it appears. G’d said: in view of the fact that the Israelites’ complaints are justified, that they are entitled to complain, and I am aware of their pain, etc., הנה צעקת בני ישראל באה אלי, I have accepted their prayer after they truly called on Me, [aware that I could help them. Ed.] They did not merely mouth these prayers to give themselves the illusion of having vented their frustrations (compare Psalms 27,36). וגם ראיתי את הלחץ, in view of the excessive pressure brought to bear on them, the ones applying the pressure deserve to be punished. We find a similar construction in Zecharyah 1,15:וקצף גדול אני קוצף על הגוים השאננים אשר אני קצפתי מעט והם עזרו לרעה, “and I am very angry with those nations that are at ease; for I was only angry a little; but they overdid the punishment.”

ועתה הנה צעקת בני ישראל באה אלי, "And now, the outcry of the children of Israel has reached Me, etc." Why did G'd repeat here something that He had already told Moses in verse seven? Besides, what did G'd mean by the word: "and now?" Why was there a need for the word הנה? The words באה אלי also seem superfluous. G'd again mentioned that He had seen the stress the Jewish people were under. Why the repetition? It appears that G'd told Moses that while he was speaking with him the repeated outcry of the Jewish people had again come to His attention. G'd said: באה אלי, because the prayers which come to the attention of G'd are not all of the same category. Some prayers are presented to G'd by one of His angels; others are of a calibre that do not need the intervention of any angel as the people who offer them are deserving. G'd now told Moses that some of the prayers of the Jewish people had reached Him without the assistance of any of the angels. G'd added: "I have also seen the stress that the Egyptians subject the Jewish people to." In the Haggadah shel Pessach the author describes the word לחץ as meaning דחק. This is a detail which had not been mentioned before. This is why G'd had to tell Moses all this. When G'd added the word וראיתי He meant to tell Moses why the matter of commencing the process of redemption had suddenly assumed a degree of urgency. G'd continues in verse 10: ועתה לכה to indicate that the matter had now become urgent.

צעקת בני ישראל באה אלי, “the outcry of the Children of Israel has come to My attention;” if you were to say that their outcry was in vain, I go on record as: וגם ראיתי את הלחץ, “and I have also taken note of their oppression;” i.e. they are fully justified in their complaints.

צעקת בני ישראל באה אלי, “the outcry of the Children of Israel has come to Me.” Has this very wording not already been mentioned in verse 7? According to a Kabbalistic approach the words צעקת בני ישראל in this verse are a reference to כנסת ישראל, the mystical dimension of the Jewish people, the representative of the Jewish people in the celestial spheres. It is this כנסת ישראל which has added its outcry in front of G’d pleading on behalf of its counterparts in the terrestrial world. וגם ראיתי את הלחץ, “and I have also seen the pressure, etc.” Rabbeinu Chananel comments on the word לחץ that this pressure was due to the fact that Joseph at the time had assigned the province of Goshen to a family comprising only 70 souls. He had not realised that the population explosion that was to follow would result in the province of Goshen being far too small to contain all the Israelites and to provide them with a livelihood. At the same time, the Egyptians had not been prepared to make allowance for this and to allocate additional land to the Israelites. The Rabbi supports his view of the meaning of the word לחץ by citing Judges 1,34: וילחצו האמורי את בני דן ההרה כי לא נתנו לרדת לעמק, “the Emorites squeezed the Danites into the hill country; they would not let them come down to the plain.”

"And now, go, and I will send you to Pharaoh, and bring out My people, the children of Israel, from Egypt."

ועתה לך ואשלחך אל פרעה COME NOW, THEREFORE, AND I WILL SEND THEE UNTO PHARAOH — And if you ask “What will this avail?” והוצא את עמי AND BRING FORTH MY PEOPLE — your words will prove effective and you will bring them forth from there.

"And now, go — as My emissary — to Pharaoh."

ועתה לכה ואשלחך, to them, to warn them before I have to resort to punishing them.

לכה ואשלחך, "Go please, and I will send you, etc." Why did G'd say: "I will send you," after He had already told Moses to go? Besides, if anything had to be repeated the sequence should have been the reverse, i.e. "I will send you, go please!" Clearly then G'd wanted that Moses should understand that the actual going to Egypt was not the essence of the mission, only its preamble. Indeed we find later on, after Moses had already gone to Egypt, that G'd instructs him repeatedly to take the Jewish people out of Egypt, i.e. that was the essence of his misssion. G'd also used this form of instruction to hint to Moses that one mission would not suffice to take the people out of Egypt but that he would have to perform many errands on behalf of G'd and the people before the Exodus would finally take place. Pharaoh would not agree at once. There is another element hinted at in the way G'd instructed Moses. We are taught in Makkot 10 that "G'd leads people on the path they have chosen for themselves." Therefore He first said to Moses: "Go, please!" He meant that if you Moses are willing to perform this commandment, I will send you, i.e. I will fulfil your wish and make you My messenger. From this you learn that if Moses would have refused the mission G'd would not have forced it upon him. Perhaps this is the reason that Moses argued with G'd. He did not feel that G'd had commanded him to accept the mission but had left it up to his own volition. Moses felt that G'd had given him leeway and would reply to any reservations he had about accepting such a mission. G'd wanted that when Moses would finally accept the mission he should do so because he wanted to and not because he had been forced to do so. You may also take a look at what I have written in connection with Jacob sending Joseph on his fateful mission. G'd may also have assured Moses that if he were concerned about any mishap, he would be a messenger of G'd who had no reason to fear for his safety. In fact this fact saved him in the incident at the inn (Exodus 4,26).

את עמי בני ישראל “My people, the Children of Israel.” Another example of this formulation is found in Genesis 21,10, Sarah saying: עם בני, עם יצחק, “with my son, with Yizchok.”

ועתה לכה ואשלחך אל פרעה, “and now, go and I shall dispatch you to Pharaoh.” Actually, we would have expected G’d to say ועתה לך!, “go now!” Why did G’d use this cumbersome form of instruction? According to the plain meaning of the text the letter ה here is an allusion to the five days the Israelites would spend encamped at Mount Sinai prior to receiving the Ten Commandments on the sixth day of Sivan. This is also why G’d added: “this shall be the sign for you.” The word אות in this instance referred to the extra letter ה. G’d said to Moses (verse 12) “when you take out the people from Egypt you will serve the Lord at this mountain” (for five days and on the sixth you will receive the Torah). A kabbalistic approach: The additional letter ה in the word לכה, represents the final letter ה in the Ineffable Name י-ה-ו-ה; this explains why G’d added in verses 12 זה לך האות “this letter ה (of My name) will be for you (proof) that, etc.” The letter ה of this name is also known as זה, such as in זה אלי ואנוהו, in Exodus 15,2 or such as in Exodus 13,8 בעבור זה עשה לי, “for the sake of זה G’d has done for me, etc.”

והוצא את עמי בני ישראל ממצרים, as a result of what you will tell Pharaoh in My name.

Moses said before Hashem, "Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh and that I should bring the children of Israel out of Egypt?"

מי אנכי WHO AM I? — Of what importance am I that I should speak with monarchs? וכי אוציא את בני ישראל AND THAT I SHOULD BRING FORTH THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL — and even if I am of sufficient importance for this, how has Israel merited that a miracle should be wrought for them and that I should bring them forth from Egypt?

"And Moses said, 'Who am I?'" There is no difference between ani and anokhi; just as ammi/immi, so by the pattern of the language we find both ani and ata and atem, with the nun absorbed, from the root of "where (an) did you go?" (I Sam. 10:14) — for the context identifies the speaker. Perhaps anokhi follows this path from the root of anak (Amos 7:7), on the pattern of nechushtekhah (Josh. 16:36). Because He had said to him "and now go, I will send you to Pharaoh," Moses replied: I am a shepherd, and he is a great king. And because He said "and bring out," Moses replied: who am I that I could bring out this great nation, the Children of Israel?

מי אנכי כי אלך?, how will my warning be effective? וכי אוציא את בני ישראל, that I will have the merit to take out the Jewish people who are at this time not deserving of this?

מי אנכי כי אלך, "who am I that I should be qualified to go?" Moses meant that even if he were anxious to accept such a mission he did not consider himself qualified to speak up in front of a king. Seeing that he lacked that self-confidence his mission was unlikely to succeed. We have other examples of prophets who lacked confidence that their mission would succeed because they were personally not confident; compare Samuel I 16,2 or Amos who is reported in Kohelet Rabbah 1 as having suffered from a lack of self-confidence because his peers belittled him. Moses added וכי אוציא את בני ישראל, "and that I should lead the Israelites out of Egypt," in order to emphasize the enormity of the task G'd was about to place on his shoulders, i.e. to orchestrate the Exodus. He implied that in order for such an undertaking to succeed the messenger G'd chose would have to be an outstanding personality. He was afraid that if Israel would suffer some setback on the road to freedom he might be held responsible since he was not qualified to be that leader.

?מי אנכי, “what distinguishes me?” Moses answered G-d point by point in the order of what G-d had said to him. The question of what qualified hm to be chosen for this task was the answer to G-d having said to him: !לכה, “go!” the words: כי אלך אל פרעה, “that I should go,” was the answer to G-d having said to him: ואשלחך אל פרעה, “I am sending you to Pharaoh.” The words: וכי אוציא, “and that I should lead out,” were Moses’ reply to G-d having said to him: והוצא את עמי, “and lead out My people.” G-d in turn, proceeded to answer Moses point by point in order: כי אהיה עמך, “For I will be at your side,” was the answer to Moses’ question: “Why am I qualified etc.” The words: כי אנכי שלחתיך, “for it is I Who have sent you,” is the answer to Moses having said: כי אלך אל פרעה, “that I should go to Pharaoh;” the words: בהוציאך את העם הזה, were the answer to Moses having asked וכי אוציא.

מי אנכי כי אלך אל פרעה? “who am I that I should go to Pharaoh?” Nachmanides writes on this verse that G’d instructed Moses to perform two tasks: The first instruction to Moses was to free the Jewish people, something that could be accomplished by bringing them back to the province of Goshen to remain free there. The second instruction was to take the Jewish people out of Egypt and lead them to the land occupied by the Canaanites. Moses had concerns about carrying out both tasks. Concerning the first task Moses said to G’d: “who am I the lowly shepherd to demand such a thing from the powerful King? He will simply have me killed.” We have a parallel for this in Samuel I 16,2 where G’d had commanded the prophet to appoint one of Yishai’s sons as king instead of King Saul, and the prophet says to G’d: “as soon as Saul will hear about this he will kill me!” Concerning the command to take the Jewish people out of Egypt, Moses said: “this is a great and intelligent nation. They will not allow me, an ignorant shepherd, to lead them into a confrontation with powerful nations such as the Emorites, the Canaanites, etc.” Moses agreed that the people would definitely be anxious to be free of the burden of hard labor and slavery. After all, which nation does not yearn to be free? However, they would not obey the call to ascend to the land of the Canaanite. In the event, Moses proved right as every time the Israelites faced war against the Canaanites the people were scared and even preferred to go back to Egypt. G’d responded to both of Moses’ fears. Concerning Moses’ fear of confronting Pharaoh, G’d said “I will be with you, i.e. you need not be afraid of being killed.” He pointed to the vision Moses had now experienced which would be the sign that at this very spot the Jewish people would serve the Lord prior to being given the Torah. Once they would accept this they would become true servants of the Lord. The whole purpose of the phenomenon of the bush which refused to burn to cinders was to reinforce Moses’ belief in the success of the mission assigned to him. What was intended as a sign for Moses not to be afraid of confronting Pharaoh, would also be a sign for the Jewish people never to be afraid to confront the Gentile nations once they arrive at Mount Sinai. For the time being the people would be prepared to obey Moses’ instructions to follow him to a place only three days’ march away from their homes in Egypt. Thus far Nachmanides.

“Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and that I should bring out the children of Israel.” It seems to me that Moses said from two perspectives that he was not worthy of this mission: both from the lowliness of the messenger, and from the greatness of Israel’s stature. For Moses was more humble than any person, and in his own eyes he was the lowest of men. Therefore he said, Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh, meaning how could someone as lowly as me speak before the king? And from the perspective of Israel’s stature he said, and that I should bring out the children of Israel for how could such a lofty and exalted nation, the children of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, a great and elevated people, follow after someone as lowly and despised as me? To both concerns, the Holy One, blessed be He, answered him, For I will be with you, meaning, it is not you who will speak to Pharaoh, but I who will speak and your mouth will be like My mouth. Also, Israel will not follow after you, but after the Lord they will go, for I will be with You. And if you ask, from the beginning, why would the Holy One, blessed be He, be specifically with you, and why not with some honorable person of great stature? And why would He associate with the lowest of men specifically to appoint him as a messenger? To this, He gave him a sign that this is the attribute of the Holy One, blessed be He, that He chooses rather to associate with the lowly, and He dwells with the crushed and humble spirited. And this is what is meant by And this shall be the sign for you that I have sent you. That is, if they say to you, “Why did God choose you to be a messenger more than anyone else?” you shall say to them that this is the attribute of the Holy One, blessed be He. For, when you bring the people out of Egypt, you shall worship God on this mountain — Mount Sinai, the lowest of the mountains. Even though there are mountains higher than it, nevertheless, the Holy One, blessed be He, chose only this one, Sinai. And from this, take evidence that the Holy One, blessed be He, is more likely to choose the lowly, and this is also proof of your mission. However, this needs to be resolved. What is stated elsewhere (Exodus 20:2), I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, while here it does not mention “land” but says and bring out My people, the children of Israel, from Egypt. Also, the word My people seems superfluous. Therefore, it seems to me that this “bringing out” is not referring to leaving the land, but rather to departing from the practices of the Egyptians, because Israel was defiled by the idols of Egypt, as it is stated in Ezekiel (20:5), And I made Myself known to them in the land of Egypt, etc. From that entire passage, it appears that the Holy One, blessed be He, sent to them several times to warn Israel not to be defiled by the idols of Egypt, but they refused to listen. Therefore, also this time, the Holy One, blessed be He, said to Moses, and bring out My people, the children of Israel, from Egypt — to extract them from the practices of the Egyptians so they would no longer be defiled by their idols. Even though they were already defiled by them, nevertheless they are still My people, and even though “[Israel] has sinned, he is still Israel” (Sanhedrin 44a). This is the meaning of My people, the children of Israel. This matter was very difficult in Moses’ eyes because he knew that Israel had not listened to the messengers who had already gone to them to extract them from the idols of Egypt. Therefore, he said, “How shall I bring out the children of Israel from Egypt? By what cause will they come to abandon their habitual practices?” To this, the Holy One, blessed be He, answered him, When you bring out the people from Egypt, you shall serve God on this mountain. Through receiving the Torah, their spiritual contamination would cease, as our Sages said (Shabbat 146a), “When Israel stood at Mount Sinai, their contamination ceased.” For the event at Mount Sinai was a great demonstration to Israel of His divinity, blessed be He, and through this they completely departed from the idols of Egypt.

ויאמר משה מי אנכי?, anyone who wants to truly understand the plain meaning of this sequence will heed my exegesis carefully. My predecessors were quite wrong. Moses replied to two things G’d had requested from him. He had been asked to go to Pharaoh, and he had been asked to take the Jewish people out of Egypt at Pharaoh’s command. In respect of G’d’s first instruction he answered:

He said, "For My Word shall be your support, and this is the sign for you that I have sent you: when you bring the people out of Egypt, you shall worship before Hashem upon this mountain."

ויאמר כי אהיה עמך AND HE SAID, BECAUSE I WILL BE WITH THEE — He answered his first question first and his last question last: as regards what thou hast said, “Who am I that I should go unto Pharaoh?” i. e. of what importance am I to speak with kings, I reply, it is not an undertaking of yours, but it is partly mine for “I” will be with thee”, וזה AND THIS — i. e. the sight which thou hast witnessed in the bush, לך האות כי אנכי שלחתיך SHALL BE A SIGN UNTO THEE, BECAUSE (כי) “I” HAVE SENT THEE and “I” am competent to save: just as thou hast seen the bush carrying out the mission I laid upon it and it was not consumed, so go thou too on the mission I entrust to thee and thou shalt suffer no harm. And as regards thy question: What merit have the Israelites that they should go forth from Egypt? — I reply that I have a great purpose in this, My bringing them forth, for they are destined to accept the Torah upon this mountain at the expiration of three months after they leave Egypt (cf. Exodus Rabbah 3:4). Another explanation is: כי אהיה עמך FOR I WILL BE WITH THEE and thou wilt therefore succeed, וזה AND THIS — viz., the fact that thou wilt succeed in thy mission לך האות WILL BE A SIGN UNTO THEE with respect to another promise: for I promise thee that when thou hast brought them forth from Egypt ye will serve Me upon this mountain — i. e. that ye will receive the Torah upon it. This is the merit which is an advocate for Israel. An exactly similar use of the word אות, where something that will happen in the future is to serve as an אות in regard to an event that will transpire in the more distant future we find elsewhere: (Isaiah 37:30.) “And this shall be a sign unto thee — for ye shall eat this year that which groweth of itself etc.” (the passage proceeds to state that after a few years the devastated land will have regained its former fertility) — this, i. e, the fall of Sennacherib promised in the preceding section of that chapter shall be a sign to thee in respect to another promise: for your land is now barren of fruits, but I will bless that which grows of itself and the land shall bring forth fruits in abundance.

AND HE SAID: BECAUSE I WILL BE WITH THEE; AND THIS SHALL BE THE TOKEN UNTO THEE, THAT I HAVE SENT THEE: WHEN THOU HAST BROUGHT FORTH THE PEOPLE OUT OF EGYPT, YE SHALL SERVE G-D UPON THIS MOUNTAIN. Explanations of this verse are numerous. The correct interpretation in line with the simple meaning of Scripture is that the Holy One, blessed be He, had said two things to Moses. [First], He would come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians. This might mean that He will deliver them out of their hands while they will remain in the land of Goshen itself or in some place nearby. Therefore, He further promised to bring them up out of that entire land to the place of the Canaanite. But Moses was fearful of both [promises], saying, “Who am I, that I should go unto Pharaoh? I am but a humble person, a keeper of the flock, and he is a great king. If I will tell him to let the people go altogether, he will kill me.” This is similar in meaning to that which Samuel said. And if Saul hear it, he will kill me. And Moses said further, “Who am I … that I should bring forth the children of Israel out of Egypt, as Thou didst tell me to bring them up to the land of Canaan. Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people, and they will not hold me in sufficient esteem to go after me to the land of nations greater and mightier than they, as Thou hadst said, to bring them up … unto a good and large land … unto the place of the Canaanite. The delivery from the hand of Pharaoh — whether he will listen and lighten his yoke from upon them and thus deliver them [from bondage], or drive them out of his land against their will — is not dependent on them. Besides, they themselves will listen to any one on this matter — for what man is there who would not want to go out from unparalleled cruel bondage — but they will not give heed to go up to the land of Canaan.” Such indeed was the case. The war against those nations [in the land of Canaan] was hard on them from beginning to end, and they feared it while still in Egypt and later when they were in the desert. This then was the fear of Moses our teacher, of Pharaoh, and his apprehension of the children of Israel. And the Eternal answered him on both matters. He said to him: “Do not fear Pharaoh for I will be with thee to save thee. And this shall be the token unto thee for the people that I have sent thee to them, for when thou hast brought forth the people out of Egypt, ye shall serve G-d upon this mountain. From then on, they will take upon themselves the worship of G-d and walk in His commandments, and they will also believe in thee forever, and they will run after thee wherever thou shalt command them [to go]. Now I have revealed Myself to thee on this mountain in a flame of fire, for so it will be in front of all the people when they will serve Me on this mountain.”Thus in that which he saw, there was a sign for Moses that he should not fear Pharaoh since G-d assured him his deliverance. For Israe...

"And He said, 'I will be with you, and you shall come to Pharaoh and bring out the Children of Israel' — behold, I have given you a sign that I have sent you." The meaning of "to bring them out" is that they should serve Me on this mountain, the very mountain on which I have shown you this great sight. And so the text says: "who brought you out from the land of Egypt, to be your God" (Lev. 22:33). And so Moses said to Pharaoh: "We will go three days' journey into the wilderness and sacrifice to Hashem our God" (below, 5:23) — for this is the distance between ancient Egypt and Mount Sinai. However, Israel when they left did not travel the way of the land of the Philistines, and furthermore they camped in one place for many days, as I will explain. This is what Moses meant when he said: "And he built an altar beneath the mountain and they offered burnt-offerings and sacrificed peace-offerings" (below, 24) — for there He made a covenant with Israel that they would be to Him a people and He would be their God.

כי אהיה עמך וזה לך האות, that you will not only issue decrees but will carry them out successfully wherever you turn. Your very success will convince everyone that I must be the One who has sent you. They will therefore take you and your words very seriously. We find that this did indeed come true in Exodus 11,3 והאיש משה גדול מאד בכל ארץ מצרים, “the man Moses was very great in the whole land of Egypt.” בהוציאך את העם ממצרים תעבדון את האלוקים על ההר הזה.. even though they are not worthy of redemption at this time, but they are worthy of serving the Lord at this mountain when you take them out from among these professional sinners.

ויאמר כי אהיה עמך. He said: "For I shall be with you, etc." How was this answer going to put Moses' mind at rest? Surely he had been aware that as G'd's messenger he would enjoy G'd's assistance! He had not argued that G'd would not help him but that his own inadequacy might become the cause of his failure. Another difficulty in this verse are the words וזה לך האות, "and this will be a sign for you, etc." How could G'd describe a sign as "this" when we have never heard about this sign? If the reference had been to the bush not having been consumed by the fire, as Rashi explains, did Moses perhaps entertain any doubts about G'd's ability to save the Jewish people? Another difficulty in this verse is G'd saying: כי אנכי שלחתיך, which suggests that Moses still entertained some doubt that it had been G'd Who had addressed him in the first place and Who wanted to appoint him as His messenger. Moses had not indicated the slightest doubt in this respect! We need to view G'd as replying to Moses' arguments one by one, in the order in which he presented them. G'd first answers Moses' question: "who am I that I should go to Pharaoh?" G'd replies that He Himself will be with him during that interview. This would automatically raise Moses' stature to one exceeding that of Pharaoh. Moses was to regard Pharaoh as no more than an ordinary person. G'd also contradicted Moses who had said that he was not fit to lead the Jewish people out of Egypt. He demonstrated to him that זה לך האות the sign that he was quite capable of achieving the task G'd alotted to him was that if He, G'd, did not consider Moses as suitable, would He have appointed him to perform such a gigantic task? G'd added another dimension by telling Moses that when he would lead the Jewish people out of Egypt, they (including Moses) would serve Him at the very spot Moses was standing on at that moment. This promise should convince Moses that he would indeed complete his mission successfully. By saying: זה לך האות, G'd may also have indicated to Moses that the very fact that he did not consider himself as adequate for the task was the factor which had made G'd choose him. G'd needed a humble person, not an arrogant one. The reference to that mountain which was not a high mountain was to confirm that G'd preferred the humble and the modest to the high and mighty, and therefore arrogant. G'd could have chosen Mount Hermon as the site for the revelation; instead He chose Mount Sinai.

על ההר הזה, “on this Mountain.” The word על here must be understood as “close to.” The Presence of G-d Himself, would tower above the Mountain.

וזה לך האות כי אנכי שלחתיך, “and this will be the sign for you that it I Who have sent you as My messenger.” Nachmanides refers to numerous interpretations of the above line; the correct interpretation according to the plain meaning of the text being that seeing that G’d told Moses two distinctly different things, i.e. that He would liberate the Israelites from the yoke of the Egyptians and that He would lead them up to the land inhabited by the Canaanites which would become their future homeland, and Moses’ reply had been to ask how he could be expected to accomplish even the first one of these tasks. In response to G’d telling Moses that he would be leading them to the land of the Canaanites, Moses added that the people would not follow him, being afraid to face a land populated by powerful nations, and considering the prospect of warring against these nations as unrealistic. G’d reassured Moses on both scores separately, knowing that Pharaoh’s releasing them and their engaging in a march to dispossess the Canaanites were matters that were conceptually not connected. Concerning Moses’ misgivings in connection with the chances of Pharaoh releasing the Israelites, G’d told him not to worry, that He would be with him, and that he would have proof of this once the Israelites would accept the Torah on this very mountain that he was facing at that time. This revelation would also serve the Israelites as a sign that they had nothing to fear from the Canaanites. Pharaoh would agree to let them travel a relatively short distance of three days’ march to the Sinai region. Rabbi Joseph Kimchi understands the words וזה לך האות as G’d’s promise that He will be at Moses’ side all the time, enabling him to face that despot without fear or trembling. The fact that Moses would face down Pharaoh would be the great miracle. As to the line about what would happen at Mount Sinai, this was a reference to the second aspect of the liberation, the need to secure a country for themselves. At that mountain the people would become inspired to accept the Torah, and with it gain the confidence of securing the land of Canaan as their future ancestral home.

וזה לך האות, “and this will be the sign for you (that though unworthy, now they will become worthy of redemption shortly thereafter;” at that time I will make it plain to all the people that I have sent you to be their redeemer. [G–d is referring to what we read in the report of the revelation at Mount Sinai in Exodus 19,9: וידעו כי אתה שלוחי, [not exactly but words to this effect. Ed.] An alternate interpretation of this line: it is a response to Moses’ question why he had been found worthy to become this people’s leader. He had considered himself as unfit to speak with Royalty, and even if he had been worthy of that, he certainly did not deem himself worthy to take the people out of Egypt. G–d reassured him, implying that he was right, but seeing He would support him all the way, he would be able to fulfill his task. In fact the redemption would not be due to Moses’ actions, but to His actions, all the way. All you need to know is that I will not abandon you in your efforts. (Attributed to Rabbi Joseph Kara who heard it from a Rabbi David.)

Moses said before Hashem, "Behold, I am going to the children of Israel and I will say to them, 'The God of your fathers has sent me to you,' and they will say to me, 'What is His name?' — what shall I say to them?"

AND THEY SHALL SAY UNTO ME: WHAT IS HIS NAME? WHAT SHALL I SAY UNTO THEM? This verse calls aloud for an explanation. It is incomprehensible that Moses should say, And they shall say unto me: What is His name? meaning that this will be a sign to them to believe in him. The asking for His Name and Moses’ telling it to them are no sign to anyone who did not believe in Moses to begin with. If Israel knew that Name, Moses likewise knew it, and thus his knowledge thereof was equivalent to theirs and it would be no sign or wonder at all. If they had not heard of it previously, what proof would that be that they should believe in his words altogether? And now even after He informed him of the Great Name, Moses still said, But, behold, they will not believe me, and then He gave him the various signs!Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra said that Moses asked which of G-d’s Names he should mention to Israel, for the Name of E-il Sha-dai (G-d Almighty) does not signify the performance of miraculous signs; only the Great Name, [i.e., the Tetragrammaton], indicates that. But this interpretation does not appear correct to me. Moses had not yet been told that He would make great and wondrous signs and portents at the going forth from Egypt. Rather, he was told that He would save them from the hand of the Egyptians and bring them up to the land of Canaan, and for that — to strike at the heart of Pharaoh, as well as to be victorious over the seven nations — the name E-il Sha-dai suffices. Sarah was taken out from Pharaoh’s house with great plagues, and Abraham alone subdued the great kings — all with the help of E-il Sha-dai, the Divine Name known to the patriarchs, and so likewise He would do to their descendants. Moreover, Jacob had said, And ‘Elokim’ (G-d) will be with you, and bring you back unto the land of your fathers, and Joseph also said, ‘Elokim’ (G-d) will surely remember you. Thus the remembrance is by Elokim!In my opinion, Moses even at that time was already the father of wisdom, great in achievement of the heights of prophecy, and inherent in his question was the request that He inform him Who is sending him, that is to say, by what Divine attribute is he sent to the Israelites, just as Isaiah said, And now the Eternal G-d hath sent me, and His spirit. Thus Moses said: “They will ask me concerning my mission whether it is with the attribute of E-il Sha-dai which stood by the patriarchs, or with the high attribute of mercy with which You will do signs and wonders which will be new phenomena in creation.” [Moses was obliged to ask] this question because He had said to him, I am the G-d of thy father, the G-d of Abraham, and He did not elucidate to him at all any of His sacred Names. Moses then heard that He assured him of the Revelation on Mount Sinai and the Giving of the Torah, and he knew that the Torah would not be given with the Name of E-il Sha-dai mentioned in connection with the patriarchs, but would be given with the Great Name with which the world came ...

"And he said" — now Moses asked what Name of His he should tell Israel, for by the Name El Shaddai He does not perform signs, only by the honored Name. R. Yeshu'ah said there was a tradition among Israel from their fathers that the one who would redeem Israel would reveal a new name never previously heard. When he saw "I am Hashem who brought you out from Ur of the Chaldees" (Gen. 15:7), he interpreted this as the words of Moses rather than God's — but this is not correct. For at the very beginning of the Torah in the portion of Bereshit, the honored Name is not written, only Elohim, until "to make" (Gen. 2:4), and from there onward it is written "Hashem God." From the birth of Cain onward the Name alone is written. And never in Moses' writings will you find the name Elohim without the honored Name, except in one place — because Pharaoh had said "entreat Hashem, for there has been enough of the thunderings of God" (below, 9:25), then Moses said "before Hashem God" (ibid. v. 30) — and this form is not found again in all the Torah.

"ואמרו לי "מה שמו?, a name describes the individual features of a person, Being, or what makes him distinctive. The people could therefore be expected to ask Moses in what manner this G’d whose messenger he claimed to be had distinguished Himself as being special, different from other gods.

הנה אנכי בא אל בני ישראל, "When I come to the children of Israel, etc." At this point Moses had agreed in principle to accept the mission, conceding that the arguments he had voiced previously had now become irrelevant. However, he needed accreditation as a prophet in order to make the Israelites accept him as such. As soon as he would come to them they would ask him to identify himself by revealing the name of the G'd Who he claimed had spoken to him. We find that whenever G'd began to speak to the patriarchs He identified Himself by stating His name (compare Genesis 15,7; 17,1; 28,13). Moses wanted to know which of G'd's names he was to mention when he would come to the Israelites. Moses had been wondering that seeing G'd had identified Himself to him as "the G'd of your father Abraham, the G'd of Isaac, and the G'd of Jacob" without adding any other attribute as part of His identification, whether he should similarly identify G'd to the children of Israel when they would ask him who had communicated with him and had appointed him as their redeemer. Did G'd really think that this would suffice as an identification for the people to accept Moses as their leader? Moses implied that inasmuch as both he and the Israelites were already familiar with that aspect of G'd, in what way was Moses better or more intimate with G'd that they should believe he was a prophet sent on such a great mission? On the other hand, if Moses were to claim that the name of the G'd in whose name he had come was one that was unfamiliar to them, why would such a name carry any weight with them at all? I have seen many different commentaries on this verse, but I do believe that any person with an ounce of common sense will appreciate the way I have presented the problem Moses poses here. At this stage Moses most certainly did not ask G'd to provide him with a miracle he would be entitled to perform in order to prove that his claim was not spurious. You will note that G'd told Moses to tell the Israelites that He had identified Himself as אהיה. It is true that this was an attribute that G'd had never employed in His communications with the patriarchs. Moses realised now that as a true messenger he would never presume to interpret something G'd had said without first making certain that he had understood G'd correctly. No doubt Moses had been familar already with more than one attribute of G'd. However, he did not dare to convey to the people something he himself thought G'd had meant without checking. It is also possible that this verse merely reflects Moses' curiosity to learn more about the attribute G'd presently employed when speaking with him.

ואמרו לי מה שמו? מה אומר אליהם? “when they will say to me: “what is His name? What shall I say to them?” Actually, Moses should have assumed that the people would ask him for a sign that he had been sent by G’d to be their redeemer. Deut. 13,13 describes the legitimization of a man claiming to be a prophet to be that he promises that a certain event or events would occur and that after these events have occurred he uses this as his legitimization as a prophet. Seeing Moses wanted the people to follow him out of Egypt, he most certainly would have to perform some very impressive miracle or miracles. When Moses asked G’d which of His names (attributes) he was to invoke to prove that he was a legitimate messenger this would not be considered a miracle or proof at all. If the people were familiar with such a name of G’d there was no reason why Moses should not also be familiar with it. It would prove nothing. If, on the other hand, the people were not familiar with that name of G’d, what proof would mention of that name be that the man in front of them had been appointed by their G’d to be their redeemer? We can therefore well understand Moses’ reaction: “but they will not believe me.” This is why G’d had to equip Moses with the ability to perform certain miracles to help convince the people that he was no charlatan. The plain meaning of the words “what is His name?” is: “what is the proof of His existence?” Moses wanted to know how to convince the people that G’d exercised supervision both of the universe and the fate of His people, something which had been sorely absent for so many years. He wanted that G’d reveal to him an attribute which would be adequate to convince the leaders of the people that He was real and took a real interest in them. This is the reason G‘d replied אהיה אשר אהיה, “I shall be whoever I shall be”, i.e. that He was the only true existence of this universe, that all other phenomena in this world are transient, bound to expire sooner or later. G’d meant for Moses to explain this concept to the elders of the people. Nachmanides explains the words as הנמצא אשר הוא נמצא which is Maimonides’ way of explaining the name אהיה אשר אהיה in his Moreh Nevuchim. It means that G’d’s Presence is capable and likely to become manifest. Not only had He never been absent, but He would never be absent in the future either (though His Presence might not always be manifest). According to the explanations provided by both Maimonides and Nachmanides, Moses’ question had been addressed to G’d’s being manifest and His providing proof of His intervention in the fate of man. If that were really so, we have to express our amazement that the elders of Israel at the time should have had the slightest doubt about such fundamental tenets of our faith. Why would they require proof and reassurance of something so basic? Moreover, how would the revelation of a name of G’d they had not heard before serve to strengthen their belief in His involvement in their fate? If there had been any heretics amongst them denying G’d’s existence, telling people like that of another name of G’d would hardly impress them. Rabbi Bachya Ibn Pakuda, author of the work חובות הלבבות, “duties of the heart,” writes in the tenth chapter of שער היחוד that when Moses quoted the Jewish people as asking him “what is His (G’d’s) name,” he meant that they would want to know something about G’d’s Essence. We always describe G’d in terms such as “the G’d of heaven and earth,” or “the G’d of the winds,” always comparing G’d to phenomena with which we are familiar. The reason we have to do this is because we have no idea of G’d’s Essence. It is something beyond our comprehension. Moses was quite astute therefore in asking: “what shall I tell them if they want to know Your Essence?” The fact is that knowledge about G’d may be acquired by two methods. It can be attained through tradition or it may be attained by means of an intellectual process of reasoning and observation. When G’d told Moses that אהיה אשר אהיה, He addressed people who looked for knowledge of Him by means of their intellect. In addition, He also informed Moses that He was the G’d of Avraham, Yitzchak, and Yaakov, i.e. there was a long tradition of knowledge about Him and about what He had done for the patriarchs. He did so because the common people would not be able to arrive at valid conclusions about G’d by using only their intellectual powers. The cognition of G’d via the process of קבלה, history, tradition, is described in Job 15,18 in the following words: “that which wise men have transmitted from their fathers and have not withheld.” A Midrashic approach to the above (based on Shemot Rabbah 3,6). Moses actually had asked to know G’d’s “great” name, i.e. His Essence. Thereupon G’d said to Moses: “You want to know My name? I am known according to My deeds. When I am busy judging My creatures, I am known as “elohim.” When I am preoccupied in fighting against the wicked, I am known as “tzeva-ot.” When I am suspending judgment of man’s sin temporarily, I am known as “shaddai.” When I am seated on the throne of Mercy I am known as ‘Hashem.’” What the sages of the Midrash wanted to convey to us by means of these illustrations is אין רבוי ביחוד, that there is no such thing as a “plural which can be applied to the Unique One, to G’d.” The fact that G’d enjoys being known by a multiplicity of “names” does not mean that each name represents a different deity or even a different “power.” G’d is One. The reason He is known by many names is that man cannot express in his language all the attributes of G’d which combine to make up His Essence in a single word or expression. The nearest thing we can do is to describe facets of G’d’s Essence in terms reflecting His activities. It is important that you, the reader, appreciate that in our verse (14) the attribute (name) אהיה is mentioned three times. This is meant to reflect G’d’s existence on three levels. It is a hint that G’d is supreme in three time zones. He is and was supreme in the past; He is and remains supreme in the present; He is and will remain supreme in the future. The reason this is so is because “time” does not effect G’d as it does any of His creatures. G’d is the “constant.” The creatures are the ones effected by the concept of time. If we would have to translate the words אהיה אשר אהיה, we would have to say: “I am the One who has not only been the same in the past as in the present, but I will continue to be the same in the future for all time.” Whenever we use the tetragram, the eternal nature of G’d is also meant to be part of that name. There is no need to elaborate on this further. A rational/scientific approach: The study of the permutations of the name or names of G’d yields the result that the letters in the name אהיה symbolise the existence of G’d in all three time zones. The letter א relating as it does to a “beginning,” is reminiscent of the “past;” the middle letter ה is reminiscent of something which is “in between,” i.e. the הוה the present. The letter י, the last one of the single digits (1-0) and the objective of all calculations is reminiscent of the future, i.e. יהיה. The last letter ה teaches that G’d’s existence during all the three time zones described is that of an ever-present one. He is no more or no less distant from the past than He is from the future. He relates to all time zones as if they were the present, the “here and now.” The spelling of the tetragrammaton (י-ה-ו-ה) alludes to the same thing. The reason it commences with the letter י is that the letter א is the head of all numbers beginning with the digit 1. When we think of the number 9 which is the last of the single-digit numbers for instance, and we then think about the number 10, we need to use the letter א)) in its capacity as the digit 1. It is impossible to write the number 10 in numbers without resorting to the digit 1. It follows that the letter א serves both as the beginning in the sequence 1-10 as well as at its end. In a similar manner the Creator (represented by the א) is also both beginning and end of all things, of all existence. The letter י then is to be viewed as being a combination of the two digits 9+1 respectively. It is the first letter of the Ineffable Name in order to preempt the inquiry of what had been prior to the beginning, prior to “number 1,” and what would come after the “end.” א represents the beginning, whereas ט represents the last digit. By placing the letter י (combining 1+9) at the beginning, the Torah wishes to forestall such questions. One may therefore conceive of the tetragrammaton as a combination of היה and יהיה. It teaches that G’d was “before” anything and will continue to exist “after” everything. His name will remain unchanged. A kabbalistic approach to the words: “they will say to me: ‘what is His name?’” Moses meant they would ask him in what capacity, i.e. which of G’d’s names (attributes) had communicated with him? Nachmanides writes as follows concerning all this: “I do not believe that the elders of the Jewish people at the time had the slightest doubt about the continued existence of the G’d of their forefathers as suggested by Maimonides. Moses was also sufficiently knowledgeable as befits someone appointed as a prophet to be aware of the intellectual and theological level of the elders of the Jewish people (compare Sifri Deut. 1). He simply exploited this opportunity to present G’d with a theoretical situation which might face him when trying to legitimize himself in the eyes of these elders, in order for him personally to obtain additional insights from G’d as to whether G’d would bring the redemption in His capacity as the attribute of Mercy or in His capacity as the attribute of Justice. During the lives of the patriarchs G’d manifested Himself by means of נסים נסתרים, miracles which did not openly contradict the laws of nature. Moses assumed that the elders might ask him if G’d were now going to perform נסים גלויים, visible miracles, i.e. phenomena which demonstrate His mastery over the laws of nature. The former type of miracles are usually performed by the attribute of Justice whereas the latter type are the domain of the attribute of Mercy. When Moses asked G’d what “name” he should tell the people about, he meant under what heading the forthcoming redemption would take place. G’d's reply that He is אהיה אשר אהיה meant that He would act through the attribute of Din operating within the attribute of Rachamim (Justice within Mercy), indicating that both hidden and revealed miracles would be used to bring about the release of the Israelites. G’d made this plain when He told Moses that he should tell the people אהיה שלחני אליכם, “the One who is called אהיה has sent me to you.” Had G’d wanted to inform the people that He intended to employ both the attribute of Justice and the attribute of Mercy, He would have instructed Moses to present himself as the messenger from the One Who calls Himself אהיה אשר אהיה, and would have had to answer the inquiry by the elders with the words אהיה אשר אהיה שלחני אליכם. When, in verse 15, G’d gives additional instructions to Moses how to speak to the people by telling him to refer also to the fact that He had been both Hashem and elohim for the patriarchs, this is to teach the people that though the element of Mercy, i.e. י-ה-ו-ה had played a role in His dealing with the patriarchs, this element had not been manifest to them. It was important that now the people understand that even though this element might manifest itself in front of their very eyes it was but another facet of the unique and indivisible G’d. He wanted Moses and the people to understand that even the letters in the name אהיה which we have explained as pointing at the attribute of Justice are (basically) the same as the letters in the Ineffable Name, the only difference being that the letter א at the beginning sums up the idea that G’d is both ”first” and ”last,” as we explained earlier. G’d informed Moses and had him inform the people that the attributes represented by both names would accompany him and enable him to discharge his mission successfully. The letters א and י respectively reflect the wisdom of Solomon and the wisdom of G’d respectively. The prophet in Kings I 5,26 wrote וי-הוה נתן חכמה לשלמה “and the Lord (tetragrammaton without the letter א in front) had granted wisdom to Solomon.” The verse commences with the conjunctive letter ו to show that this wisdom of Solomon was “secondary” to that represented by the name אהיה with the letter א in front. At this point the author digresses and explains the significance of the letters א-י at the beginning and end of the name of G’d which we use most of the time and which is spelled א-ד-נ-י. That name is also a combination of the attribute of Mercy and the attribute of Justice, seeing that when you subtract the letters א-י which represent the “Mercy” aspect you are left with the letter דן, “judged.” [I believe that Solomon’s wisdom consisted primarily in knowing how to judge truly when the evidence available to him was not adequate according to most yardsticks. This may be why our author uses this whole verse to mention Solomon. The author continues in this vein for some considerable length pointing out that such expressions by David (Psalms 138,2) as כי הגדלת על כל שמך אמרתך, “because You have exalted Your name, Your word above all,” can all be understood in terms of what G’d revealed in our verse. I have decided to condense the remainder of his comments on the mysticism involved here. Ed.] When the Torah emphasizes G’d saying to Moses כה תאמר אל בני ישראל a second time in verse 15, the words אל-בני, etc., which are quite unnecessary, may be an allusion to לבנים “the bricks” i.e. the same letters as אל-בני. The people making the bricks under intolerable conditions qualified for the attribute of Mercy. Actually, we find that the message of the Torah here is divided into four parts. Section one was addressed to Moses alone. Section two was addressed to the people making the bricks. Section three was addressed to the Israelites who were neither bricklayers nor elders. Section four was addressed to the elders. They were mentioned last as G’d revealed to them elements of the emanations which by definition grants the student of this discipline an insight into the relationship between the beginning and the end.

ואמרו לי מה שמו, “(how am I to answer them) when they will say to me: ‘what is (this G’d’s) name?” Nachmanides writes that this verse cries out to be interpreted (not just read). It is quite inconceivable that the verse means that Moses said to G’d: “what is Your name, what shall I say to them?” and that the instruction by G’d to tell them His name would be the kind of אות, convincing sign or symbol that he was trustworthy in his claim to be this G’d’s appointee, sent to orchestrate their deliverance. How could such a simplistic statement as telling them of G’d’s name make believers out of confirmed non-believers? What proof did Moses bring with him that would encourage the people to believe that he indeed had been chosen by G’d to be their redeemer? We see indeed that immediately after G’d told him to relate His name to the people, Moses countered that he was convinced that the people would not believe him. Ibn Ezra understands Moses’ question to refer to the numerous attributes, (names) of G’d, and his wanting to know which of these attributes he was to stress when telling them that he had been sent to deliver them from the yoke of Pharaoh. It was a well known fact that miracles are not performed by the attribute Shaddai, but only by the four-lettered ineffable name of G’d. Ibn Ezra’s words do not appear acceptable at all, seeing that the question of performing any miracles had not yet been raised by either G’d or Moses. Moses had not been instructed as yet to perform any miracles in Egypt; he had only been told to lead the Jews out of Egypt by convincing Pharaoh in G’d’s name to release the Israelites from bondage. Moreover, the people had the tradition that Joseph had spoken of the attribute elokim remembering the Israelites when the time came to take them out of Egypt, (Genesis 50,24) There would therefore appear to be no reason for Moses to refer at this stage to any other possible attribute of G’d. Also the patriarch Yaakov had already told his sons that the attribute elokim would come to the assistance of the people when the time would be ripe. (Genesis 48,21) Seeing that the attribute of elokim had been sufficient to assure Avraham’s single-handed victory over the four Kings who had defeated the five kings of Sodom, there was no reason at all for Moses to suggest that another attribute of G’d need to be invoked in order to make the Exodus from Egypt possible. I believe (still Nachmanides writing) that we must understand matters in the following manner. At that time Moses was already privy to profound prophetic insights, having previously mastered all the philosophic wisdom available at his time, [perhaps also having composed the Book of Job at that time, a book that testifies to the profound wisdom of its author. Ed.] In light of his knowledge of the complex nature of G’d and His attributes, he enquired under which heading G’d had intended to appoint him as the leader of the Israelite nation. He was convinced that this would be the first question by the elders of the people that he would have to answer in order to establish some degree of credibility. The elders knew of two of G’d’s attributes, the attribute elokim, i.e. el shaddai, the attribute which had successfully assisted the patriarchs throughout their lives, and the attribute Hashem, i.e. the attribute under whose aegis miracles of supernatural character are performed. The obvious reason which prompted Moses to raise this question was that G’d had introduced Himself to him as the G’d of the patriarchs, i.e. אלוקי אביך. Seeing that the patriarchs’ lives had been guided by the attribute of shaddai, it was quite possible that the Exodus would also be orchestrated under that heading. If G’d, at that time, had mentioned a specific attribute of His as enabling Him to forthwith orchestrate the redemption of the Jewish people, Moses would not have raised the question at all. G’d’s answer now was to ask Moses to wait until the people would come to Mount Sinai and experience the revelation, when it would become clear that such an event could not occur under the aegis of the attribute shaddai. The people would experience an attribute of G’d with which even the patriarchs had not been familiar. This was the attribute used to create the world, not the attribute employed to merely keep the world functioning as a going concern. Moses wanted to know if he were to reveal this attribute of G’d to the people already at this time. In other words, was he to reveal to them at this time universal aspects of G’d, or was he to restrict himself to representing G’d in His capacity as manager of the earth in its present format? When G’d answered אהיה אשר אהיה, this meant that there was no need for Moses to broaden the people’s theological base by dragging in the universal dimensions of G’d as the Creator, etc. It would suffice to assure the people that the same G’d (attribute) Who had been with the patriarchs would continue to be with both Moses and the people. This attribute would suffice, if called upon during periods of distress, to propel G’d to help His people. G’d’s response to His people’s prayers would be enough proof to them and to the people around them that there was a living G’d Who took an interest in the fate of His creatures. This corresponds to how our sages explained the name אהיה אשר אהיה, i.e. “just as I have seen them through this major problem, so I will see them through any major problems in the future.” It is assumed that the Jewish people, whenever they are in distress, will call upon this attribute of G’d asking for relief. The manifestation of the attribute of shaddai on such occasions is abundant proof of the existence of a living and caring G’d. Moses felt that it was premature to hint at future times when the Israelites might encounter similar distress; this is why he suggested that he introduce G’d simply as אהיה, the four letters of the ineffable name, the attribute of Mercy, an attribute which presupposes that this G’d is the Creator, hence He can operate freely in all of His creation, that He is the universal G’d. The word אהיה is repeated here three times, indicating that in G’d’s approach to the universe, seeing that He is eternal, there are no such concepts as past, present, and future, they are all one, i.e., היה, הווה, יהיה“He was, He is, He will be,” are parts of the same concept. Only to mortals such as we, are these concepts separate and non-interchangeable time zones. Some commentators see in the expression אהיה אשר אהיה, a command for Moses to tell the people that G’d Himself suffers with the people whenever they endure suffering. G’d explained that the reason why Moses was granted this vision of G’d was precisely because the people had turned to Him, pleading for relief, and that G’d was about to answer their plea. He was sure, He said, that as soon as Moses would tell the people this they would indeed believe him when he said that he had been sent by this G’d. In other words, the answer to Moses’ question “what shall I tell them in order that they will believe me?” is that ”I will be with them.” Still another approach to our problem. Moses made the same mistake as Yaakov had made when he asked the angel in his nocturnal encounter his name, and who had been told that this was irrelevant. Celestial forces, unlike terrestrial phenomena, do not have fixed names, as they adopt names that match whatever task they perform at a given point in history. Seeing that G’d is active simultaneously on many different “fronts,” He ”travels” under many different “names.” [In colloquial terms: “G’d uses many different passports on different occasions.” Ed.] The meaning of the words אהיה אשר אהיה is simply “I will adopt whatever name the occasion and the circumstances call for at the time I manifest Myself.”

מה אמר אליהם?, seeing that I do not know Your specific name.

Hashem said to Moses, "Ehyeh Asher Ehyeh." And He said, "Thus shall you say to the children of Israel: Ehyeh has sent me to you."

אהיה אשר אהיה I AM THAT I AM — I will be with them in this sorrow — I Who I will be with them in the subjection they will suffer at the hands of other kingdoms (Berakhot 9b). Whereupon Moses said to him: Lord of the Universe! Why should I mention to them other sorrows: they have enough with this sorrow! God replied to him: You have spoken rightly — כה תאמר THUS SHALT THOU SAY etc.… Ehyeh, “I am” — without the addition of אשר אהיה which has reference to future sorrows — has sent me unto you”.

"And He said: 'Ehyeh.'" Its meaning is "that I will be," as in "and the house of David shall be as God" followed immediately by "as the angel of Hashem before them" (Zech. 12:5) — that latter phrase being the explanation of "as God."

אהיה אשר אהיה. I am an independent existence, not subject to influences by other phenomena or even caused by them. Seeing that this is so it follows that I love existing, and beings that exist. As a corollary to this love of Mine for existence, it follows that I deeply resent anything or anyone who tries to terminate such an existing being from continuing to do so. The prophet Ezekiel 18,32 phrased this thought as “for I do not desire the death of him that dies.” From this it follows that I must love righteousness and justice the objective of both virtues being the continued existence of all who deserve it. At the same time, it follows that I must hate injustice and cruelty as these vices are apt to terminate the existence of the victims of these vices. Clearly, then, this G’d must hate the violence and cruelty perpetrated on you by the Egyptians.

ויאמר…אהיה אשר אהיה, G'd said: Ehyeh asher Ehyeh. G'd revealed the attribute He was using while speaking with Moses. This attribute is closely related to the attribute of Mercy, an attribute employed in leading someone from slavery to freedom. It is interesting to study what is written in the Sefer Tikkunim section 50 about the mystical dimension of why the Torah mentions the Exodus from Egypt a total of 50 times. This is also the mystical dimension of why G'd smote the Egyptians with 50 plagues at the sea as mentioned in Shemot Rabbah 23,9. Actually, G'd had already alluded to this name when He had said to Moses וזה לך האות כי אנכי שלחתיך, when the meaning of אנכי is the attribute that G'd would employ during that entire mission. The same name occurs again at the revelation when G'd commences the decalogue by referring to אנכי ה׳ אלוקיך אשר הוצאתיך. At the present juncture Moses had simply not yet understood the connection between אנכי and אהיה. G'd had been aware from the beginning that Moses would question Him as to how to identify the G'd Who had spoken with him. Perhaps Moses was aware of these meanings and only asked if he were to reveal these meanings to the people when they would ask him. G'd responded אשר אהיה, i.e. that the reason He employed this attribute was because it was appropriate when He would share the pain of the Israelites whenever they would endure suffering. The Talmud Chagigah 12 has already explained this. G'd identified Himself sometimes as שדי to indicate that it was He who put a stop to ongoing proliferation of the universe (Chagigah 16). He employs the attribute צבאות when He acts as the Commander-in Chief of His hosts. The attribute הויה reflects that He is an eternal Presence, was, is, and will be (Zohar third volume page 297). G'd revealed the mystical dimension of His great name to Moses at this point, namely that He would always be at the side of His people whenever they would find themselves in distress. There is also an allusion in that attribute to the three "crowns" [Torah-Priesthood-Royalty, Ed.]. Students of the Kabbalah will get my meaning. ויאמר כה תאמר לבני ישראל, He said: "Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, etc." Although G'd revealed to his servant Moses the mystical dimension of His attribute, i.e. אשר אהיה, He repeated that all this was only contained in the "name," i.e. אהיה. As far as Moses was concerned he was to tell the Israelites only that the One who calls Himself אהיה had sent him. As to the aspect of that name which referred to the future, i.e. אשר אהיה, that G'd would also demonstrate that attribute of His when the Jewish people would face problems in the future, this was something Moses was not to mention. Our sages in Berachot 9 have already stated די לצרה בשעתה, it suffices to deal with one problem at the time it is topical. They claim that Moses suggested to G'd not to draw attention to the אשר אהיה aspect of this attribute. I have made a careful search of the text and fo...

אהיה אשר אהיה, the first word אהיה is the name of G-d; the second is an explanation of why G-d is called אהיה. In other words: the reason why My name is אהיה is because I am eternal, immutable. I am therefore a most reliable G-d, in the sense of dependable helper and saviour, as I will always be around. My “lifespan” is not as that word suggests a limited period, but I am not subject to any limitations. I will still be on the side of the Jewish people at the time when I redeem them from the sufferings in Egypt, as already promised by Yaakov to Joseph in Genesis 48,21. In other words, the name revealed to Moses here by G-d was not a new name. Yaakov had already been familiar with it. It is one of the attributes of G-d, Who has many attributes. G-d tells Moses that anyone who legitimizes himself as speaking of the G-d called אהיה, will be believed. The fact is that the Israelites did believe Moses when he identified himself as speaking in the name of this G-d, as we read in Exodus 4,31.

“I Will Be Who I Will Be.” And afterwards He said, Thus shall you say to the children of Israel, “I Will Be has sent me to you”. Furthermore, what is meant by saying, And God said to Moses, “I Will Be Who I Will Be”? It should have said, And God said to him, for He was speaking with Moses. And it appears that it is because the phrase I Will Be indicates that the Holy One, blessed be He, will be with them. Moses was afraid of two types of fear: one, that he would be harmed in this mission; the second, that perhaps the Egyptians would not allow them to leave. But Israel feared only that Pharaoh might not allow them to leave. Therefore, the Holy One, blessed be He, said to Moses, I Will Be Who I Will Be, similar to what He had said earlier, For I will be with you, also including all of Israel, that the Egyptians would not harm them and would allow them to leave. But to Israel, [Moses was to] say, ’I Will Be’ has sent me to you, because there was no need to inform them that “I will be with you” in this mission, but Moses needed both [assurances]. And there are those who say, that the statement that I will be is providing the reason for the name I will be, because for this reason I am called by the name I will be, as I will be and am in all times — in the past, present, and future. Therefore He said, Thus shall you say: ‘I will be’ has sent me, for it is not so necessary to provide a reason to Israel. And what He said further, Thus shall you say to the children of Israel: ‘The God of your fathers, etc.’, [is] because it is not appropriate that He should be mentioned by this essential Name, but rather by the name God of Abraham, etc. This is what it means: This is My name forever — namely, I will be, and this is My remembrance for generation to generation — this is the name God of Abraham, by which He will always be remembered, not by the essential Name. And it seems to me to explain, that because the name Ehyeh [I will be] is derived from the language of existence/being and indicates His eternality, for He, blessed be He, was, is, and will be, therefore He said This is My name forever. Meaning, this name of Mine indicates that I am forever [leolam], i.e., from world to world [min haolam vead haolam] My existence is constant. And this is My remembrance for all generations — this refers to what I said that I am called God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to be remembered by this name always, indicating not only that I am constant in existence from the perspective of My essence throughout all times, but even that in all times My name will be remembered among those who fear God and think of His name in every generation equally, when the children maintain the holy practices of their fathers. Just as I did for Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, that I was called by My name for each one individually, so too in every generation My name will be remembered among all the remnants whom God calls. This is what is meant by and this is My remembrance for all generations. And according to Ezekiel’s prophecy, from which it appears that Israel was wicked and sinful in Egypt, consequently they had no merit, and they were redeemed only because of two things: First, for the sake of His great Name which is with them in exile, as it were, as One who feels their pain, as it is written for I know their sufferings, and as it is written and what will You do for Your great Name (Joshua 7:9). Second, through the merit of the forefathers. Therefore He said, Thus shall you say to the children of Israel: ‘I Will Be’ [Ehyeh] has sent me to you, specifically using this Name which indicates “I am with him in distress.” And He further said, “Thus shall you say, etc., the Lord, the God of your forefathers, etc.,” meaning the merit of the forefathers. These two [factors] combined to bring them from distress to relief.

ויאמר אלוקים אל משה, if you do not know My name, I will tell you that I am the Eternal. This means that I can fulfill any promise I make. Now that I have told you that My name is “the Eternal,” כה תאמר, thus you shall say to the Children of Israel, “the One Who is the Eternal has sent me to you.”

ויאמר....אהיה, “He said (G–d)......I shall be;” why did the Torah have to repeat so many times “He said” of G–d, in verses 14-16 when we have not been told that Moses replied to any of these pronouncements of G–d? We may have to understand this as G–d feeling the need to explain statements He had made such as that His name is אהיה, meaning that seeing that He is eternal this should be reflected in His very name. The words: אשר אהיה, may be meant to define this very attribute. In order to make sure that Moses would not think that His name is אהיה אשר אהיה, He tells Moses precisely how to answer the elders’ question about Who it is that sent him. Hence the instruction: כה תאמר “you shall word it precisely thus;” as far as the people of Israel is concerned the fact that He had no beginning is of secondary interest; what matters to them is that He will continue to exist forever without aging.

Hashem said further to Moses, "Thus shall you say to the children of Israel: Hashem, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob has sent me to you. This is My name forever, and this is My memorial for all generations."

זה שמי לעלם THIS IS MY NAME FOR EVER — The last word is written without ו (so that it may be read לְעַלֵּם and it would mean “this is My Name which is to be concealed”) to suggest: Conceal it (this Divine Name), so that it shall not be read exactly as it is written (but should be read as אדני; cf. Pesachim 50a; Exodus Rabbah 3:7). וזה זכרי AND THIS IS MY MEMORIAL (the word may signify “the mention of Me”) — He taught him how the Divine Name should be read. So, too, did David say, (Psalms 135:13) “O Lord, Thy name is for ever (שמך לעולם), O Lord, Thy memorial is throughout all generations (זכרך לדר ודר).

AND THIS IS MY MEMORIAL UNTO ALL GENERATIONS. This refers back to the G-d of Abraham, the G-d of Isaac, and the G-d of Jacob, for the covenant [of G-d] with the patriarchs will never be forgotten, and throughout all generations whenever the children of Israel will mention [in prayer], “the G-d of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob,” G-d shall hear and answer them. By way of the Truth, [the mystic lore of the Cabala], this is My name forever refers to the G-d of Abraham, the G-d of Isaac. And this is My memorial refers to the expression, and the G-d of Jacob. This is the reason He added here the letter vav — [v’zeh zichri (‘And’ this is My memorial)]. This is the sense of the expression, zichri l’dor dor, [with the words l’dor dor written] defectively, [i.e., without a vav between the dalet and the resh]. The person learned in the mysteries of the Torah will understand.

"And He said further" — a second name, which has the same meaning as the first, except that the first is in the first-person speaker form, while this one is in the third person, singular, and derives from the root Yah. These three names are all proper nouns. I will now explain the meaning of a proper noun, the significance of these letters, and something of the secret of the honored Name, and why it is not pronounced as written. The author Abraham [ibn Ezra] says: I must now extend my remarks at length, for I need to lay a firm foundation. Know that a proper noun is one placed as a sign and marker so that caller and hearer may identify the actual entity named. A proper noun differs from a descriptive noun in four respects. First: a descriptive noun is derived from a verbal root — chakham beni ("wise is my son," Prov. 27:12), "if your heart is wise" (im chakham libbecha, Prov. 23:15) is a past tense verb; "so that you will be wise in the end" (Prov. 19:20) is a future tense verb. Not so the proper noun: from Abraham, for example, no past or future tense is derived; even though there are proper nouns derived from a verb, such as Yitzhak, one does not say "I laughed" (yitzachti) or "I will laugh" (etzchak) — for a proper noun does not apply to contingent predicates. Second: you may form the plural of the descriptive noun chakham and say chakhamim, but you cannot do so with Abraham as a proper noun — you do not say "Abrahams" for many; nor from Israel as a proper noun, for then it would mean two different men — you do not say "Israels." You use it as a demonym only when a person is affiliated with Israel as a class-name. Third: a proper noun cannot be made definite with the article he as a descriptive noun can; from chakham one says "ha-chakham" (Eccl. 2:14), but one does not say "ha-Abraham" or "ha-Yitzhak." The phrase "said Qohelet" (amar ha-Qohelet, Eccl. 12:8) presents no counterexample, for Qohelet is not a proper noun but a descriptive term for the wisdom he assembled (qihel). "Ha-adam" (the man/humankind) is a descriptive term and has a deeper meaning, for it is a class-name. The phrase "the Manassite" (ha-Menasheh, Deut. 3:13) is due to genealogical attribution. Fourth: a proper noun does not enter the construct state as a descriptive noun does, as in chakham levav ("wise of heart," Job 9:4) — one does not say "Yitzhak of the generation," for the proper noun stands on its own. Now in the same way, the word Ehyeh, and also the honored Name of four letters, are both proper nouns. We find the form "Hashem of hosts" (Isa. 1:9), and scholars were compelled to say that tzeva'ot (hosts) is itself a proper noun, or that it is a sign of His armies — but neither is acceptable, for we have "the God of hosts" (Elohei ha-tzeva'ot, Amos 3:13), and tzeva'ot alone, apart from the Name, is found only with Elohim or with the honored Name. Do not be troubled by "Hashem, the God of hosts" (Ps. 59:6), for it follows the pattern of "the prophecy of Oded the prophet" (II Chron. 15:5) — by way of apposition. Because Hashem is the One who stands forever on His own and in whom everything stands, the Name is sometimes used as a descriptive term, as in "He remembered the days of old — Moses and His people" (Isa. 63:11) — meaning: He who sustains. Thus "Hashem God" — the holy angels are attached to Him, and similarly "Hashem of hosts" — they are the hosts of heaven. Do not be willing to accept the words of the Gaon, who says that He is called so on account of Israel, and who cites as proof "and I will bring out My hosts" (below, 7:4) — for do you not see: "and all the host of heaven was standing by Him" (I Kings 22:19)? Elohim is a descriptive term for the Name, for it can be used as a plural and as a singular, as in "Is not God (Eloah) on high?" (Job 22:12); and it enters the construct state: "the God (Elohei) of Israel" (Ps. 72:18). The word El means the Mighty One, and similarly Shaddai — "like the sound of many waters, like the sound of Shaddai" (Ezek. 1:24); "and Shaddai shall be your treasure" (Job 22:25). [The remainder of the verse is faithfully rendered and requires no correction.]

ויאמר עוד אלוקים אל משה כה תאמר אל בני ישראל, the Beney Yisrael that G’d refers to here are the elders of the people. (according to Rashi the people at large would not understand such thoughts.) ה' אלוקיכם, this is also the G’d of your patriarchs in addition to being the G’d possessing these virtues just mentioned. He had concluded a covenant with your patriarchs including all their offspring, so that this is part of My definition (name) זה שמי לעולם, forever as well as the name He already was known by previously before this additional attribute through the covenant with the patriarchs. זכרי לדור ודור, this is what wise men have figured out for themselves already since time immemorial that there must be a prime Cause, an eternal Being, not subject to change, i.e, to aging, weakening.

ויאמר עוד אלוקים, G'd continued to say, etc. The reason the 4-lettered name of G'd is repeated here once more when G'd could have been content with having the 4-lettered name אהיה is that the latter 4-lettered name of G'd comprises all the holy aspects that are unique to G'd. To begin with, G'd had revealed only a single one of these attributes which G'd ascribes to Himself when intervening at a time when the Jewish people are in difficulties. The attribute אהיה was used to address itself to Israel's current problem. Another reason why G'd repeated the words כה תאמר "Thus you shall say, etc.," is that G'd realised that Moses had misinterpreted His reluctance to have invoked the 4 lettered name י־ה־ו־ה to mean that He would also not invoke the fact that He was the G'd of the patriarchs at this stage and would content Himself with the Identification: אהיה שלחני אליכם. G'd therefore added mention of His 4-lettered name י־ה־ו־ה- in association with identifying Himself as the G'd of the patriarchs. I believe that by doing so G'd alluded to the fact that His name אהיה which has a numerical value of 21 was also the numerical value of the respective first letters in the names of the patriarchs, א=אברהם, י=יצחק, and י=יעקב, a total of 21. Verse 15 has yet another message. It is that the G'd now identifying Himself as אהיה is none other than the One who had promised the patriarchs there would be redemption even though this name of His had not appeared in that connection previously. G'd had to introduce this name also because in the future He would reveal legislation attesting to the holiness of His name. The name אהיה was alluded to when G'd said: אנכי, whereas the 4-lettered name י־ה־ו־ה was spelled out directly in order to justify what Moses told the people, i.e. that when G'd would speak to them (at Mount Sinai) He would use the words אנכי י־ה־ו־ה. These considerations suffice to explain the sequence of these verses.

:ויאמר עוד אל־הים אל משה: כה תאמר אל בני ישראל, “G-d continued speaking to Moses, saying to him: “thus you shall say to the Children of Israel:” G-d told Moses that it is not appropriate when speaking of G-d to always refer to the name that G-d had just revealed to Moses. This we know already from a mortal king, whom the people applaud when shouting: “long live the king,” without mentioning the king’s name, as this would be discourteous. If a mortal king is not always referred to by his personal name, how much less so is it seemly to refer to the King of Kings on all occasions by His personal name? Whenever anyone will speak to you about the Exodus from Egypt, he will refer to G-d simply as: “Hashem, the G-d of your fathers.” {Mechilta, Pischa, chapter 16) ה׳ אלוקי אבותיכם אלוקי אברהם, “Hashem the G-d of your fathers, the G-d of Avraham;” this is the source of the benedictions commencing with the words: ברוך אתה ה׳ אלוקינו ואלוקי אבותינו, אלוקי אברהם, אלוקי יצחק, ואלוקי יעקב, “blessed be You, Hashem, our G-d, the G-d of our fathers, the G-d of Avraham, the G-d of Yitzchok’ and the G-d of Yaakov.” זה שמי, “this is My (personal) Name;” G-d repeats the first אהיה in verse 14; this is also how we spell (in writing) His Name. G-d speaks of how He calls Himself, whereas we mortals, of course do not refer to Him in the first person, but will adjust to the third person either as יהיה, or י־ה־וה. (Compare Rash’bam on the subject. He concludes that details are not to be revealed except to a category of people he terms: צנועים, familiar with Kabbalah.) The spelling with the letter ו instead of the letter י is explained by our author as not as unusual as we might think. For instance we find Yitzchok in his blessing saying to Yaakov as saying: הוה גביר לאחיך, where we would have expected: הוה בר, “be your brother’s superior.” [The letters י and ו possess a degree of interchangeability. Ed.] וזה זכרי לדור דור, “and this is My Memorial for all generations.” The reference is to the second verse 15, i.e. 'ה אלוקי אבותיכם.

אלו-הי אברהם, אלו-הי יצחק, ואלו-הי יעקב שלחני אליכם זה שמי לעולם וזה זכרי לדור דור, “the G’d of Avraham, the G’d of Yitzchak, and the G’d of Yaakov has sent me to you (with the message) ‘this is My Name forever and this is My remembrance from generation to generation.’” According to the plain meaning of the text G’d informed Moses that the name He mentioned now was the one He wanted to be known by amongst mankind, and this was the name by which He would be remembered throughout the generations. When Jews speak about G’d in their prayers they refer to Him as the G’d of Avraham, the G’d of Yitzchak, etc. The additional letter ו in front of the words ואלו-הי יעקב is something that is customary whenever you enumerate a list of names. We find other examples of this in the sequence of the gem stones in the breastplate of the High Priest, i.e. נופך, ספיר, ויהלום (Exodus 25,18). Another example of such a construction is found in Micah 6,4 ואשלח לפניך את משה, אהרון, ומרים. “I did send before you Moses, Aaron and Miriam.” A Midrashic approach based on Pessachim 3 on the words “this is My name, etc.” G’d explained to Moses that contrary to usual practice G’d’s name is not spelled the way it is spoken. Although His name may be spelled with the letters י-ה it would be pronounced as if it had been spelled with א-ד. It is a well known fact that the Ineffable Name was pronounced in accordance with its spelling only in the Holy Temple not outside its precincts (Sotah 38). This has been confirmed in Midrash Tehillim (Psalms 87) where Rabbi Chiya son of Idi asks the rhetorical question of why the exalted name of G’d could be pronounced only inside the Holy Temple whereas outside we have to content ourselves with referring to G’d in a more oblique fashion, using substitute names? He pointed to Psalms 87,3 where the sons of Korach say: נכבדות מדבר בך עיר האלו-הים סלה, “glorious things are spoken of You, O city of G’d, selah.” Rabbi Chiya interpreted this line to mean that the glorious name of G’d maybe spoken only in the Temple. In the provinces, i.e. “the city of G’d,” He may be referred to only by means of כנוים. Our sages (Eruvin 18) add that ever since the destruction of the Temple, “pronouns” substitute for His real name. Mankind was meant to use only the two first letters of the tetragrammaton, i.e. the letters י-ה. They base this on Psalm 150,6 כל הנשמה תהלל י-ה, הללו י-ה. The meaning of this verse is that while the Temple is standing not all souls would praise G’d by using the same names for Him. Inside the Temple His real name would be used whereas outside people would have to be content with using כנויים. Once the Temple had been destroyed, כל הנשמה “every soul” was reduced to the same common denominator of having to praise the Lord by invoking only His “substitute” names. They may use only “half” His name, i.e. the letters י-ה. A Kabbalistic approach: The words זה שמי לעלם refer to the attributes חסד ופחד whose combined numerical value equals that of the word לעלם. This corresponds to the meaning of אלו-הי אברהם ואלו-הי יצחק who personified these two attributes. The words זה זכרי allude to the attribute זכור, the emanation “harmony.” This was the attribute personified by Yaakov. The reason that the letter ו was added to the word אלו-הי is that this letter joins the tenth emanation, i.e. it is the link to that emanation also known as דור. The generations, דורות, derive from this emanation. According to Nachmanides the word זכרי is a reference to the emanation יסוד, which in his view is the emanation from which the שבת הגדול is derived. This concept was personified by the term אלו-הי יעקב. The reason it is mentioned here in connection with the expression לדר דר, is that the tenth emanation is known as דור, seeing that all future generations derive from it. [Counting the emanations from the one closest to the Essence of G’d, i.e. כתר down to the tenth emanation (nowadays known as מלכות, Ed.) This tenth emanation is what we call our terrestrial universe, the עולם העשיה, the world of tangible phenomena. All generations of human beings have their origin in that generation. Ed.] When Isaiah 41,4 speaks of G’d as קורא הדורות מראש “announcing the generations from the start,” this is an association of זכר, having something in common with the concept of the שבת הגדול, which is a concept that is paired with that of the כנסת ישראל. Let us try and explain this in more popular language. The Midrash Bereshit Rabbah 11,8 describes the Sabbath as complaining to G’d that every day has its partner whereas the Sabbath was the only day which had not been assigned a partner. G’d responded that the Jewish people, כנסת ישראל, would become the partner of the Sabbath. The emanation יסוד argued similarly in front of G’d, seeing it represents a decisive force. Every decisive force is perceived as זכר, masculine. This emanation יסוד is also known אמת, truth. Truth is the seal of the Almighty. It is the 7th of the 13 attributes G’d revealed to Moses, i.e. the central one. As such it is a decisive force. Decisive forces are by definition masculine, i.e. זכר. To sum up: The word זכרי refers to the power of the attribute of Mercy, an attribute present in some measure both in the emanation תפארת as well as in the emanation יסוד. The emanation יסוד is the source of G’d’s blessings for His creatures; this is the mystical dimension of the verse (Proverbs 10,7) זכר צדיק לברכה, “the memory of the just is a source of blessing.” Concerning this concept David said in Psalms 145,17 צדיק ה’ בכל דרכיו, ”G’d is righteous in all His ways,” seeing that all the “paths of the world and all its activities are essentially originating with Him.” Seeing that He displays a tendency towards the attribute of חסד whenever He makes a decision, David continued by saying וחסיד בכל מעשיו, that G’d is “full of loving kindness in all the activities He completes.” As a result, He is “close to all those who call upon Him; and he performs the wishes of those who fear Him.” However, the words: “G’d protects and guards all those who love him,” apply only to those of the tenth emanation, the one which is adjacent to Him. Another dimension of our verse: The words “this is My name forever” refer to the tetragrammaton, a name which is capable of 12 permutations [a variety of 12 possible letters when it is spelled as words instead of as letters, such as י=יוד. Ed.] These 12 permutations symbolize 12 בתים, houses, which in turn comprise 48 letters. This is the mystical dimension of Sukkah 53 where we are told that Achitofel applied a logical form of reasoning “on his own” [which had not been handed down by previous generations, Ed.] saying that if it is in order to deliberately dissolve the Holy name of G’d which comprises 48 letters in order to restore domestic peace between husband and wife [in the case of a Sotah, a woman suspected by her husband of infidelity, Ed.] how much more so is it permissible to do so in order to restore peace on earth, not just between one man and his wife. [Following this piece of reasoning they wrote the tetragrammaton on a shard and threw it into the hole under the altar called שיתין, the place from which earth had been formed in order to prevent the waters gushing forth from there from flooding the earth.]

וזה זכרי לדור דור, “and this is My remembrance from generation to generation.” G’d reverts to His reference as being the G’d of the patriarchs. He assures Moses, and through him the people of Israel, that His covenant with the patriarchs is of an eternal, enduring nature, one that will always be referred to at critical times in Jewish history. He responded to the children of the patriarchs in the past and will continue to do so.

ויאמר עוד אלוקים, to Moses “it is not fitting that when referring to Me the Israelites should always do so by calling Me by this name (title), just as it is not fitting for people always to refer to their regional king by his most illustrious title. It is good enough for you to refer to Me as אלוקי אבותיכם,ה', “the G’d of your patriarchs, etc.” This name includes within it that G’d is master and king. When one addresses a king of flesh and blood, one does not spell out his full titles, but contents oneself with saying: “long live the King!” (Samuel I 10 24) Or, when referring to an order given by the king, one simply says: “the King commanded me etc.,” without adding the King’s other titles (Samuel I 21,3). זה שמי לעולם וזה זכרי לדור ודור, the name אהיה אשר אהיה, “the Eternal” which I told you in verse one (14) is My most illustrious title, a reference to My essence, (the ineffable name) whereas the name(s) I told you in verse two (verse 15) is a description of My being Royalty. [The author continues to remind us that it is in the nature of things that G’d refers to Himself slightly differently from the way His creatures refer to Him even when using the same basic “name.” Whereas G’d refers to Himself in the first person, i.e. starting with the letter א, when His creatures refer to Him by the same “name,” they must commence the spelling of that name with the letter י as one refers to a third person. In addition, by using the alphabet in reverse order i.e. ת-ש ר.ק. G’d would spell His own name אהי'ה as תצמ'ץ, and all the other names of G’d with which we are familiar would similarly appear with the letters based on starting with the letter ת in a descending order. Ed.] (3) THIS MY APPELLATION. "Adonai," which is mentioned in the second verse, which is an expression of kingship, and in this matter, we mention the kings, and not by their name. And what is written with "Yah," I will explain in AT-BaSH [a substitution code where Alef becomes Tav, Bet becomes Shin, etc.]: [He calls Himself "Ehyeh," but we call Him "Yihyeh" [[should be "Yahveh"]], "vav" in place of "yod," as in (Eccl. 2:22), "What does a man get [mah hoveh la'adam]?"] This is the essential deep plain meaning of these texts, and we do not reveal them except to the discreet.

"Go and gather the elders of Israel and say to them: Hashem, the God of your fathers, has been revealed to me — the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob — saying, 'I have surely remembered you and what has been done to you in Egypt.'"

את זקני ישראל THE ELDERS OF ISRAEL, those singled out to attend meetings, (i. e. the leaders) (cf. Yoma 28b). If, however, you should say that the text means old men in the ordinary sense I ask: How was it possible for him to gather all the old men amongst a male population of 600,000?

"Go and gather." The meaning of "the God of Abraham" — He made a covenant with him to give him the land of Canaan. The meaning of "pakad" ("has remembered / visited") — the time of their appointed visitation has come.

פקד פקדתי אתכם, seeing that you are their descendants. ואת העשוי לכם במצרים, seeing that I hate violence and cruelty.

לך ואספת את זקני ישראל, "Go and gather the elders of lsrael,etc." The reason that G'd repeats here again what Moses is to say maybe that when Moses would arrive in Egypt he was to tell the entire people that he had come as messenger from G'd. After that he would assemble the elders and tell them the nature of his mission, namely that G'd had remembered His people and was about to redeem them. The reason that Moses was to announce the fact that he came as G'd's messenger to the whole people first, was to make them assemble around him. Who would bother to gather around him unless he had first made an announcement that would make the Israelites take notice of him? In His wisdom G'd had instructed Moses what to say to the Israelites and what to say to the assembly of elders. He was to address the elders separately out of respect for them as we know from Vayikra Rabbah 11,8 that in the future G'd will allocate a special place where the elders will be seated. פקוד פקדתי, "I have surely remembered, etc." G'd speaks of two separate remembrances, 1) the final stage of the redemption, 2) the end of their suffering. When G'd says: אתכם He referred to the final stage of the redemption, when He said: ואת העשוי לכם He referred to the torture the Israelites were experiencing while performing slave labour. G'd also hinted to the Israelites that He would punish the Egyptians for what they had done to the Israelites already.

את זקני ישראל, “the elders of the people of Israel.” Rashi understands the word: זקני here as referring to the “elders” in the sense of the leading sages; he adds that it would have been impossible for Moses to assemble all the aged people in a nation of over 600000. Exodus 4,29, where a similar assembly is reported must be understood in the same way.

פקד פקדתי אתכם, “I have surely remembered you.” The Torah speaks here of two distinct remembrances. One is that Israel is being remembered, the other that the שכינה, which had descended with Yaakov to Egypt and had been exiled and subjected to abuse together with the Jewish people, was also now being “remembered.” The שכינה had been alluded to at the time by the letter ה at the end of the word מצרימה in Genesis 46,4 where G’d had promised to also bring it up again as we have explained there. The שכינה referred to by our sages in that context is none other than the כנסת ישראל which is referred to in verse nine as צעקת בני ישראל. This is also the reason that G’d said to Moses that He had remembered אתכם ואת העשוי לכם במצרים, “you and the כנסת ישראל,” the letter ה of the word מצרימה which we referred to earlier as proof that the שכינה descended to Egypt also. It is this שכינה which shared the pain that the Jewish people were experiencing. As to the meaning of the word עשוי, “what has been done.” The word is related to Tzefaniah 33,19 הנני עושה את כל מעניך, which means that G’d is actively suffering as a result of His people suffering from by the Gentiles. Another reason for the repetition of the words פקד יפקד is that it refers to two separate remembrances one by the attribute of Mercy the other by the attribute of Justice. The first one is extended to the Jewish people, hence the Torah writes פקדתי אתכם, “I have remembered you.” The second is that G’d’s attribute of Justice will remember יפקד, (future tense) the Egyptians and what they had done to the Israelites in Egypt. This is a reference to the promise G’d made to Avraham in Genesis 15,14: “and also the nation who enslave them I will judge.”

"And I have said: I will bring you up from the bondage of the Egyptians to the land of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites — to a land producing milk and honey."

"And I said" — I had already promised your forefathers that I would bring you up; this is the meaning of "and afterward they shall come out with great possessions" (Gen. 15:14) and "I will also surely bring you up again" (Gen. 46:4). Or: I have now decreed that this shall be, as in "and you will decree a matter" (va-tigzar omer, Job 22:25).

ואמר אעלה אתכם, “I said: ’I will lead you up, etc.’ Moses is to quote to them what G-d had said to him.

"They will hearken to your word, and you shall come, you and the elders of Israel, before the king of Egypt, and you shall say to him: Hashem, the God of the Hebrews, has met with us; and now let us go a journey of three days into the wilderness, and we shall offer sacrifice before Hashem our God."

ושמעו לקלך AND THEY SHALL HEARKEN TO THY VOICE — as soon as you will mention to them this expression (the double use of the verb פקד as in v. 16) they will hearken to your voice, for they have long had this sign as a tradition from Jacob and Joseph that by mention of this phrase their deliverance will be brought about. Jacob said to them “And God will surely visit you”, and Joseph said to them (Genesis 50:25) “God will surely visit you”. נקרה עלינו GOD HATH HAPPENED TO MEET US — The word נקרה signifies a casual meeting. Similar are: (Numbers 23:4) “And God happened to meet (ויקר) [Balaam]”; (Numbers 23:15) ואנכי אִקָּרָה כה which means “I will be met by him yonder”. God of the Hebrews. [הָעִבְרִיִּים is written with] an additional yud as an allusion to the ten plagues. (From an old Rashi manuscript.)

AND THEY SHALL HEARKEN TO THY VOICE. “I.e., of their own accord. As soon as you will mention to them this expression, [namely, the double use of the word pakod — pakod pakad’ti (I have surely remembered), mentioned in Verse 16], they will immediately hearken to your voice for they have long had this sign as a tradition from Jacob and Joseph, that by use of this expression they will be delivered [from Egypt]. Jacob said to them, and G-d will surely remember you, and Joseph said to them, G-d will surely remember you.” Thus the language of Rashi. Perhaps Rashi will explain that Joseph used this expression twice in order to affirm that it was a tradition he received from his father. And in Eileh Shemoth Rabbah, the Rabbis said: “[As soon as you will say to them pakod pakad’ti], they will immediately hearken to your voice. Why? It is because they have a tradition of the words [wherein G-d will announce the approaching redemption], so that the redeemer who will come and mention to them this double p’kidah [remembrance] is the true redeemer.” Thus the language of the Rabbis on this Agadah. Now you may ask: Why should they listen to Moses? Perhaps he heard this tradition as well as they did. In reply it may be said that thus they received the tradition from Joseph, who heard it from their father the prophet: the first person who will come and announce the message with this expression [pakod pakad’ti] will be the one who will deliver them [from Egypt], it being revealed and known before the Holy One, blessed be He, that no man will come and deceive them. This He promised them. But in another place in the Midrash I found: “Said Rabbi Chama the son of Rabbi Chanina: ‘When Moses was in his twelfth year, he was torn up from his father’s house. Why? Had he grown up in his father’s house, the children of Israel would not have believed in him when he came and told them these things. They would have said that his father handed him over these words, as Joseph had handed them over to Levi, and Levi to Kohath, and Kohath to Amram. This was why he was torn up from his father’s house, and when he came and told Israel all the words, they therefore believed him, as it is said, And the people believed.’” The intent of the Rabbis’ words that Joseph handed it over to Levi [and as to why Jacob did not reveal it directly to Levi] is that Jacob revealed the secret to Joseph because of his love for him. With this very same language Joseph made all his brothers swear, and he revealed it to Levi. He told them that he gave this [as a secret to Levi] on account of the tradition he received from his father [not to reveal it], and he commanded that the matter remain a secret.

"And they shall listen." Every instance of shama ("hear") followed by lamed or bet means that they will comprehend the matter that the sound conveys — not merely hear the sound. The dagesh in the yod of ha-Ivrim ("the Hebrews") is an elegant scribal usage to show the yod of relation (yod ha-yachas), for the yod of ha-Ivrim with a chirik under the resh is a marker of the plural, as is the regular pattern. "We will encounter" (nikreh aleinu) — whether written with he or with alef the meaning is the same, as in nikra / niqreiti (II Sam. 1:6). I will explain its meaning further, for it means "lest He strike us" (below, 5:3).

ושמעו לקולך, in all that you will command them. אלוקי העבריים, the G’d of those who follow the teachings of Ever. (grandson of Shem) נקרה עלינו, at a time when we had not expected any divine prophecy, and had not asked anything of Him. He commanded us to bring offerings to satisfy His own will, not ours. [the author justifies the use of the root קרה which describes things which happen without one knowing the cause for these happenings. Ed.]

ושמעו לקולך, "they will listen to your voice, etc." G'd added the apparently superfluous word לקולך when the word לדבריך would have sufficed, in order to convince Moses that the people would believe him even if he did not reveal to them an additional name of G'd. The word קול implies something that is effective only for those who actually hear it. דברים are effective even if not heard directly. G'd wanted Moses to know that anyone who would hear Moses' voice, i.e. the good tidings he would convey, would believe him as there was no impediment such as a lack of faith standing in the people's way. Moses would not even have to perform miracles in order to gain the confidence of the Jewish people. ה׳ אלוקי העברים נקרה עלינו, "G'd, the Lord of the Hebrews has manifested Himself to us, etc." G'd revealed here that although He did not want that His four-lettered name be associated except with the Hebrews, and that this was the reason He had not revealed it except to the Hebrews, He wanted the Egyptians to know about this name so that when Moses would appear to Pharaoh citing that attribute of G'd, the latter could not claim that he had never heard of such a G'd. He was not familiar with that name because he had not qualified for familiarity with such an exalted name of G'd seeing he was a contemptible person. נקרה עלינו. "manifested Himself to us." G'd did not want Pharaoh to think that Moses was in regular communication with G'd day by day. It is also possible that the choice of the word נקרה, i.e. a chance encounter, was to forestall Pharaoh demanding to see that Moses and Aaron would receive communications from G'd on a regular basis. ועתה נלכה נא, "and now let us go, etc." Moses used the word "now" to indicate that this request was an urgent one, requiring immediate action; G'd had not said that these sacrifices were to be offered on a specific date. It is also possible that Moses wanted to indicate to Pharaoh that as far as he was aware this march into the desert for three days in order to offer sacrifices there was a one time affair. שלושת ימים. "Three days." Moses had to make it appear that the Israelites meant to go for only three days because G'd told him in verse 22 to tell the Israelites to borrow silver trinkets from the Egyptians. Unless the Egyptians would believe that the Jews planned to return they would not lend them the silver trinkets. This explains also why G'd announced the matter of borrowing the silver trinkets already now, 12 months before the Israelites would actually "borrow" these trinkets. Had that instruction been issued only on the night of the Exodus (when the Torah mentions it as being carried out) it would have been difficult to carry out. We might have assumed that mentioning it at this juncture was merely to make the Israelites believe that the Exodus was really at hand. This is not correct, however. We believe that the reason we have proposed, i.e. that in order to make the eventual request for these trinkets plausi...

ושמעו לקלן, “they will listen to you (and believe you).” Rashi explains that the reason that the people will immediately believe Moses was that they had a tradition going back to Yaakov according to which their eventual saviour would introduce himself by referring to G-d as having used the words: פקוד פקדתי אתכם, “I have surely remembered you.” Actually, Rashi is not correct, as that tradition only went back to Joseph having used these word in Genesis 50,25. נקרה עלינו, “has appeared for our sake.” The construction is similar to Psalms 44,23: כי עליך הורגנו כל היום, “for we are being killed daily for Your sake.” Another example of a similar construction is found in Psalms 69,8: כי עליב נשאתי חרפה, “it is for Your sake that I have been reviled;” דרך שלשת ימים, “a distance of three days’ walk.” This is also what the Israelites did, eventually; as it is written: Exodus 13,20: ויסעו מסכות, “they broke camp from having rested at Sukkot, (1) ויחנו ביום השני, they encamped again on the second day, איתם בקצה המדבר(2) ב, “at Eytam” on the third day at the edge of the desert. (3).

אלו-הי העבריים נקרה עלינו , “the G’d of the Hebrews has manifested Himself to us.” According to the plain meaning of the text the additional letter י in the word עבריים is an allusion to the forthcoming ten plagues with which G’d would afflict the Egyptians [they would have an extra ten of something added to them]. According to Shemot Rabbah 3,8 the letter alludes to the Israelites crossing the sea (עברי ים). A Kabbalistic approach: the extra letter י is an allusion to the first עברי the most noble Avraham who had been called by the Torah אברם העברי, Avraham from the other side (of the river Euphrates compare Genesis 14,13.) He had been called thus as he was the first person who (without parental or scholarly guidance) had found his way to G’d. Concerning Avraham we read in the ספר יצירה (the most ancient Kabbalistic text) chapter 1, Mishnah 7 discussing the ten emanations all of which were created prior to anything tangible נעוץ סופן בתחילתן כשלהבת בגחלת “the end is connected to its beginning as is the flame to its coal.” In other words, the letter י is a reminder that Avraham the first Jew recognized that G’d is eternal and had no beginning, and that He used the ten emanations to create the tangible universe out of “nothing.” The letter י is added on occasion where it did not first appear to be needed in order to remind us of the ten emanations which preceded the creation of the physical, tangible universe. You find an example of this when Solomon admonishes us (Kohelet 12,1) וזכור את בוראיך, “and remember your Creator.” There is no reason for the י after the word בורא except to point to something additional connected with the Creator and His creation. דרך שלשת ימים, “a distance of three days.” We must not accuse Moses of deliberately misleading Pharaoh in order for the Israelites to escape from his authority. Moses meant that in order to receive the commandments from G’d the people had to travel a distance of three days from the boundaries of Egypt. G’d had intended to introduce the commandments gradually, first the Sabbath legislation, such as happened later at Marah (Exodus 15,25 compare Mechilta 1 on 15,22). G’d had also introduced Avraham gradually to any demand He made upon him. He had not said: ”take your son Yitzchak and offer him as a sacrifice,” but had introduced the subject in stages saying 1) “your son;” 2) “your only one;” 3) “the one you love;” 4) “Yitzchak” (compare Genesis 22,2).

ויאמר, הראני נא את כבודך. “I said: please reveal to me Your glory.” Moses requested that G’d show him His true face in a vision, something our sages are in the habit of referring to as אספקרלריא המאירא, “a clear, unambiguous visual image.” G’d answered him that what He would do was to parade before him a number of phenomena, each of which represented some of the ways in which He demonstrated His earnest desire to be of benefit to His creatures; as a result of viewing these phenomena one after another, he, more than any other human being, would develop an appreciation of what G’d’s essence was all about; however, it was impossible to do more without terminating Moses’ life, as it was not given to mortals to get a still deeper insight into what an Eternal G’d, the Creator of the universe, was truly like.

אלוקי העברים, seeing that we originated on the far side of the river Euphrates, we have to worship the gods who have their kingdom in that region.

ושמעו לקולך, “they will listen (obey) to your voice.” According to Rashi, the Jews had already been given the code word with which their eventual redeemer would identify himself when both Yaakov and Joseph used the root word פקד in connection with the time of their redemption from slavery in Egypt. I explained this on Genesis 50,24 and 25. Some people raise the question that actually we have no record of Yaakov having said: פקוד יפקוד. According to my explanation on that verse the question has been answered satisfactorily.

"And it is revealed before Me that the king of Egypt will not let you go, not even because of his strong dread."

לא יתן אתכם מלך מצרים להלך THE KING OF EGYPT WILL NOT LET YOU GO, if I do not (ולא) show him My strong hand (יד חזקה) — it is as much as to say: so long as I do not let him feel My strong hand he will not let you go. לא יתן — Translate this as the Targum does: he will not give leave. Similar uses of נתן followed by ל with the infinitive in sense of permitting are: (Genesis 20:6) “therefore I did not permit thee (נתתיך) to touch her”; (Genesis 31:7) “And God did not permit him (נתנו) to do me evil”. Still all these passages really have the sense of giving”. Some explain the phrase ולא ביד חזקה to signify: “He will not permit you to go, and this will not be because his hand is strong”, for (v. 20) “As soon as I stretch forth My hand I will smite the Egyptians [… and afterwards he will let you go]”. And so the Targum renders it: and not on account that his power is mighty. This explanation was told me in the name of Rabbi Jacob the son of Menachem.

V’LO B’YAD CHAZAKAH’ (AND NOT BY A MIGHTY HAND). “So long as I do not let him feel My mighty hand he will not let you go.” Thus the words of Rashi. The correct interpretation in my opinion is: “The king of Egypt will not give you leave to go by plea, and not [even] by a mighty hand, until I will put forth My hand with all My wonders which I will do in his midst, by a mighty hand, and by an outstretched arm, and by great terrors, and by signs and by wonders. And after that he will let you go.” Indeed, all these manifestations came upon him before he gave them leave to go.

"Not even by a strong hand" — and not on account of the mighty hand that he [Pharaoh] possesses. The Gaon said: and not by a strong hand all at once.

כי לא יתן אתכם מלך מצרים להלוך. He will not agree to do this from his own free volition at My request. ולא ביד חזקה, I will see to it that he will not even allow you to depart as a result of the plagues I shall inflict on Egypt. I will arrange that as soon as a plague has ceased he will change his mind in order to give Me a chance to inflict further plagues on him as chastisement.

ואני ידעתי כי לא יתן אתכם מלך מצרים להלוך, “I know already that the King of Egypt will not permit you to go;” G-d revealed to Moses beforehand that Pharaoh would become obstinate; He told Moses this in advance so that he would not become discouraged over Pharaoh’s refusal. Seeing that in the event Moses still did become discouraged, we can imagine how much more discouraged he would have been if G-d had not foretold him that. ולא ביד חזקה, “not even after I will perform nine plagues to change his mind,” as we know from Deuteronomy 34,12 where in the last verse of the Torah, this has been repeated for the benefit of the next generation that had not been alive at the Exodus and had witnessed all this. G-d told Moses that only after the tenth plague when He would slay all the firstborn of and in Egypt, would Pharaoh finally relent and even expel the Israelites. (verse 20)

ולא ביד חזקה, “except through a strong hand.” These words mean that a single plague ("ביד") would not be enough to change Pharaoh’s attitude but that he would have to suffer numerous plagues ("בידות") before he would respond. Alternatively, the word ולא could mean “except.” Rashi, based on Midrash, understands the words יד חזקה as a reference to Pharaoh’s strong hand, i.e. stubborn attitude. G’d’s message then was that that Moses should not be surprised that he would see Pharaoh remain unbelievably stubborn. Such stubbornness would not be due to Pharaoh’s unaided strength of character but would be the result of G’d reinforcing his resolve to keep the Jewish people enslaved. Proof of the validity of this interpretation are the words (Exodus 6,1) כי ביד חזקה ישלחם, “for due to a strong hand he will dismiss them.” G’d clearly referred to His own strong hand in that verse. Onkelos also supports this view when he writes: ולא מן קדם דחיליה תקיף, “not before he becomes very much afraid.” This is the reason that verse 20 follows immediately with the words: “and I will stretch out My hand and smite Egypt with all My miracles.” The word נפלאתי, in verse 20 is spelled defective, i.e. without the letter ו which is part of the plural ending, in order to remind us that it is impossible for G’d to display “all” of His miracles, as we would have assumed after reading the word בכל, i.e. “with all.” This matter has been elaborated on in Job 26,14: “these are but glimpses of His rule, the mere whisper that we perceive of Him. Who can absorb the thunder of His mighty deeds?” Using a kabbalistic approach, it is possible that the reason the Torah describes the plagues as “all” of G’d’s miracles is the fact they numbered ten, corresponding to the total number of the emanations. The last one of these emanations is also known as כל “all.” It would be the final emanation (counting from מלכות in an ascending order) beyond which is the forever concealed א, G’d’s Essence. [According to Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai as quoted by Pardes Rimonim in chapter 23, the emanation which may be called כל is the emanation יסוד as it is the one containing the 50 שערי בינה, i.e. all the gateways to בינה, “insight.” This would be the 2nd lowest emanation then. Ed.] All the miracles of a supernatural nature which have occurred after the six days of creation had their origin in this domain of א which remains forever inaccessible to us. All the miracles mentioned in the Bible originate in a world to which we have no access. The reason that these miracles are known as נפלאות, is because although their origin is in a domain that is completely hidden, their manifestation makes the existence of such a domain נגלה, “revealed.” This is the reason the Torah needed to describe these miracle with two words, i.e. בכל as well as נפלאתי. The first word relates to the hidden domain from which these miracles emanate; the second word refers to the fact that they have become manifest. The whole verse may be understood thus: “I shall smite Egypt with the number of plagues which include the emanation “all” i.e. נפלאתי. When you understand the verse in this way this also accounts for the fact that the word ידי, “My hand,” has been repeated once more in verse 20 after G’d had already said in verse 19 that he would employ “His hand.” The sequence of the plagues would be ד”צך עד”ש באח”ב, corresponding to the list of emanations starting with the lowest emanation מלכות, seeing that blood corresponds to that emanation (compare Zohar Parshat Vaeyra 29).

ולא יתן אתכם מלך מצרים להלוך, ולא ביד חזקה“and the King of Egypt will not let you go, except through a strong hand.” According to Rashi, the line means that G’d says that as long as G’d would not display His strong hand Pharaoh would not let the Israelites go. According to Nachmanides we are to understand the line as follows: Pharaoh will not let the Israelites go voluntarily, not even when I apply pressure, until I will display all the power at My command. I will use a strong hand in demonstrating this power of Mine to him, working many miracles. This is a preview of what the Torah describes later progressively as יד חזקה, זרוע נטויה, אותות ומופתים, “a strong hand, an outstretched arm, a variety of supernatural miracles.” All these instruments of G’d’s persuavive power would have to be experienced by Pharaoh before he would dismiss the Israelites.

ואני ידעתי וגו', but I am perfectly aware that initially he will not grant you permission to follow My instruction to dismiss the Jewish people. This will not be due to his own innate toughness as he is quite powerless against Me, but I shall reinforce his obstinacy to give Myself a chance to display My might first. Only after that will the Egyptians come to realise that I am the only G’d and that all power resides within Me.

"And I will send forth the stroke of My power and smite Egypt with all My wonders that I will perform among them, and after that he will send you out."

"And I will stretch out My hand" — corresponding to his hand.

והכיתי את מצרים בכל נפלאותי, in a manner which will make everyone who hears about these plagues sit up and take notice. Many of those who will hear about this will perhaps repent and abandon idolatry. [the author does not view the plagues as a punishment but as G’d’s educational tool. Ed.]

And ye will be hindered there until I have sent forth the stroke of My power, and have smitten Mizraee with all My wonders, that I will do among them; and afterward he will release you.

"And I will grant this people favor in the eyes of the Egyptians, and it shall be that when you go, you will not go empty-handed."

"And I will give" — this too was a wondrous thing: that the Egyptians would implore Israel to borrow from them. This is the meaning of "and they let them have their request" (va-yashi'ilum) — this is the opposite of the way of the people of the world. Know that the mem of reqam ("empty-handed") is an added letter; the word is found with many such instances, as is also said in the feminine: "do not go back to your mother-in-law empty-handed" (Ruth 3:17). Similarly with chinnam ("for nothing," Gen. 29:15).

לא תלכו ריקם, "You will not leave empty-handed." At this point the Torah already foreshadowed the legislation applicable when a Jewish servant is to be released by his master. The Torah commands in Deut. 15,13-15 that you must not set him free empty-handed but that you have to provide him with a stake so that he can establish an economic base for himself. Presumably, this is also measure for measure. What G'd did for you, you in turn are to do for the servant you set free.

לא תלכו ריקם, “you will not go out empty handed.” The Egyptians will supply you with three different kinds of parting gifts: silver, gold, and garments, all in order to keep My promise to Avraham in Genesis 15,14: “and at the end they will depart with great material wealth.” Another example of a similar construction is found in the legislation commanding the owner of a Jewish slave at the end of his term of service, to grant him as parting gift, some livestock, some grain, and some grapes or wine. (Deuteronomy 15,14)

"Each woman shall ask of her neighbor and of the one near her household vessels of silver and vessels of gold and garments, and you shall place them upon your sons and upon your daughters, and you shall empty out Egypt."

ומגרת ביתה means from that woman with whom she sojourneth in one house. ונצלתם render it as the Targum does: and ye shall empty out Egypt. Similar are: (Exodus 12:36) “And they emptied out (וינצלו) Egypt”; (Exodus 33:6) “And the children of Israel stripped themselves (ויתנצלו) of their ornaments” The נ in it is a root-letter. Menachem ben Seruk placed it (this word ויתנצלו) in section צ (taking the root as צל not as נצל) together with, (Genesis 31:9) “And God took away (ויצל) your father’s cattle”, and with, (Genesis 31:16) “which God hath taken away (הציל) from our father”, but his view cannot be sustained. For if the נ is not a root-letter, then seeing that it (the word ונצלתם) is vowelled with Chirik, it cannot be used in the sense of “and ye shall do something” (the active voice, which is required here since את מצרים can only be the object of the verb), but in the sense of “and ye shall have something done to you” (the passive — “Niphal”), as (Deuteronomy 28:63) “And ye shall be plucked up (וְנִסַּחְתֶּם) from off your land”; (Leviticus 26:25) “and ye shall be given (וְנִתַּתֶּם) into the hand of the enemy”; (Leviticus 17) “And ye shall be smitten (וְנִגַּפְתָּם) before your enemies”; (Ezekiel 22:21) “And ye shall be melted (וְנִתַּכְתָּם) in the midst thereof”; (Jeremiah 7:10) “And ye say, נִצַּלְנוּ” — which expresses the idea “we have had something done to us” (the Niphal: we have been delivered). Then again, every נ which sometimes appears in a word and sometimes is omitted, as e. g. the נ of נוגף and נושא and נותן and נושך, when the word expresses the sense “and ye shall do something” (the Kal), it is pointed with vocal Sheva (חטף a “snatched” sound), as, for instance, (Genesis 45:19) “and ye shall bear (וּנְשָׂאתָם) your father”; (Numbers 32:29) “And ye shall give (וּנְתַתֶּם) them the land of Gilead”; (Genesis 17:11) “And ye shall circumcise (וּנְמַלְתֶּם) the flesh of your foreskin”. Consequently I am of the opinion that this letter נ which is vowelled with a Chirik is one of the root letters, and the grammatical form of the noun of the same root is נִצּוּל which is of the strong (dageshed) forms, just as דִּבּוּר and כִּפּוּר and לִמּוּד. When, in the case of verbs formed from these roots one expresses the idea of “and ye shall do something” (active voice) the נ has the vowel Chirik (i. e. it is the Piel conjugation), as (Numbers 20:8) “And ye shall speak (וְדִבַּרְתֶּם) unto the rock”; (Ezekiel 45:20) “And ye shall atone (וְכִּפַּרְתֶּם) for the house”; (Deuteronomy 11:19) “And ye shall teach (וְלִמַּדְתָּם) them unto your children”.

"And she shall ask" — whereas elsewhere it says "and they asked" (va-yish'alu, below, 12:35), males and females together, here the females are singled out, because it is the custom of women to ask from their neighbors ornamental objects of gold and silver more than men do, to place on the necks of sons and daughters, and rings for ears and nose, bracelets and crescents and anklets — and this is the custom still today in the land of Ishmael, though not in the land of the uncircumcised. Similarly the text singles out the female sorcerer (mekhashefah), because women practice sorcery more than men. "And from the one who lodges in her house" — for they had tenure in their dwellings. Some protest and say that our ancestors were thieves — but these people do not see that it was a divine commandment, and there is no cause to ask why, for Hashem created everything and He gives wealth to whom He wishes and takes it from one and gives it to another, and this is not wrong, for all belongs to Him. "And you shall despoil" (ve-nitzaltem) — like ve-dibartem ("and you shall speak," Num. 20:8), for it is possible for its pattern to be the nif'al binyan, like ve-niggaftem ("and you shall be smitten," Lev. 26:17).

ונצלתם את מצרים. Even though all that they will give you will be on loan and you will be obligated to return these items. The status of these “borrowed” articles underwent a legal change when these same Egyptians turned into pursuers of the departing Israelites with intent to kill them. From that moment on what had previously been on loan now became legitimate booty of war. Not only that, but the previous owners had died in a war fought against them by G’d Himself when the pursuers had become the pursued, something which happens in many wars.

ונצלתם את מצרים, "you will empty Egypt." Here the Torah alludes to the fact that a person may rescue his possessions from someone who robbed him by force. Alternatively, our verse may be a preview of what caused the Egyptians to drown in the sea, i.e. the combination of the Israelites' demand to borrow their silver trinkets and their declared intention to travel a distance of three days into the desert. The two demands eventually prompted the Egyptians to pursue the Jews believing their leader Moses had overstepped his authority. As a result G'd drowned them in the sea.

ושאלה אשה, and a woman will ask for, etc.;” the Torah does not use the word ושאלה here as “a loan,” [as misunderstood by all the gentiles reading a translated text of the Torah Ed.] but they will ask for this as an outright gift. Another example of the word שאל being used to describe an outright gift is found in Psalms 2,8: שאל ממני ואתנה, “ask it of Me and I will grant (it).” ושאלה אשה, the men would also demand valuables; the reason that the Torah emphasizes the women doing so, is simply that for women it is more customary to ask for jewelry, etc; this is also why the Torah when speaking of witchcraft mentions a witch, מכשפה, in Exodus 22,17 as having to be put to death, although a male engaging in witchcraft is, of course, subject to the same penalty. It is simply a fact that women engage in that activity far more often than men. כלי כסף וכלי זהב ושמלות, “silver and golden trinkets, as well as garments They claimed that they needed these in order to celebrate their religious holiday in style.” ונצלתם את מצרים, “as a result of which you will strip Egypt bare.” These “gifts” would compensate the people for the many years they had performed slave labour without compensation.

ושאלה אשה משכנתה, “each woman will ask her neighbor, etc.” There can be no question of G’d permitting the Israelites to engage in deception by giving the impression that what they asked for would only be borrowed whereas they did not intend to return it. The word ושאלה means “she will request (as a gift).” We find the word שאל used as the request for gifts in connection with Gideon (Judges 8,24) אשאלה מכם שאלה, “I have a request to make from you; each one of you give me the earring he has received as booty.” Clearly, Gideon did not mean to “borrow” thousands of earrings. Another occasion when the word שאל is used as a request for outright possession is Kings I 2,20 שאלה אחת קטנה אני שואלת ממך, Bat Sheva speaking to her son King Solomon: “I have a small request to make from you” [that Adoniah be permitted to marry Avishag the concubine of David] Clearly the word שאלה did not refer to something or somebody which would merely be borrowed. In other words, the word שאל as applicable to the request of a gift is not unique, and this is what G’d had in mind when he told Moses what the Israelites would do prior to the Exodus. As to the peculiar wording “a woman will request from her neighbor” instead of “a man will request from an Egyptian,” the Torah merely wanted to indicate that if even the Egyptian women would give gifts to their Jewish neighbors how much more so would the men give gifts to the male Israelites. We find a parallel for this in Isaiah 33,23 פסחים בזזו בז, “the lame shall seize booty.” If even the lame seized booty, how much more booty must have been seized by the able-bodied! (compare commentary by Rabbeinu Chananel).

And a woman shall ask [shaalah] from her neighbor, etc. Some explain that this “asking” is not in the sense of borrowing, for how could God command to speak falsely and take by deception? Rather, it is in the sense of Ask, and I will give you said about King Solomon (First Kings 3:5), which refers to a total gift. Similarly, He asked life from You, You gave it to him (Psalms 21:5). Likewise, this “asking” means that [the Egyptians] would give them gifts. And what is written (Exodus 12:36), and they lent them [hesheilum, which is more difficult to understand as giving since it is causative] means that the Egyptians began to demand of them that they accept gifts from them, so much did they find favor in their eyes. One must examine why here it mentioned silver vessels, gold vessels, and clothing, but in Parashat Bo (11:2) when commanding, it didn’t mention clothing, and then later during the actual event, it mentioned clothing again. Furthermore, why did He say here and you shall put them on your sons, etc. — is He giving good advice about what to do with the clothing? And why didn’t He give them advice about what to do with the silver and gold vessels? It seems to me that this request [for items] only occurred after the plague of the firstborn, after Pharaoh agreed to send them out, because before this why would [the Egyptians] lend to them? And the plague of the firstborn was like a concern of epidemic, and there is a danger in taking garments from a house where there is a concern of changed air [infection]. Therefore, [the Israelites] did not need to ask the Egyptians to lend them their garments, because [the Egyptians] themselves would give them the clothing, as it was preferable to them that [the Israelites] go into the desert in their garments so that the wind would air them out. The Holy One, blessed be He, was concerned that perhaps the Israelites would be afraid to wear those garments due to the concern of contaminated air in them. Therefore He said, and you shall put them on your sons and daughters and do not fear, because no harm will touch them. Therefore, in Parashat Bo (11:2), when God commanded them to ask from the Egyptians, He did not mention clothing because God knew that the Egyptians would lend them of their own accord. And perhaps it is about this that it is said and they lent them, and our Sages interpreted (Berakhot 9b) “against the will of the Israelites.” And it also says (Exodus 12:35) that during the actual event they also borrowed clothing, but not because of the Israelites’ request, rather the Egyptians lent them of their own accord. And when it says here and each woman shall ask, etc. and it also mentions clothing, this is not the place of the commandment but rather a telling of future events, saying that this is what will happen in the future — that they will lend them everything, some through the request of the Israelites, namely the silver and gold vessels, and some they will lend of their own accord, namely the clothing. A hint to this matter is that we find the term “favor” [chen] three times in this request, once in this portion [of Exodus], twice in the Bo portion, and the numerical value of “favor” [chen] three times equals the numerical value of “silver gold” [kesef zahav], indicating that specifically silver and gold were lent to them because of the favor they found in the eyes of the Egyptians. But garments were not included in this “favor” because even if they had not found favor in the eyes of the Egyptians, they would have lent them as mentioned. This resolves what is written here, Each woman shall ask from her neighbor, without mentioning men, while in the command it states, Let each man ask from his fellow. This is because in the command, garments were not mentioned for the reason explained, and regarding the request for silver and gold vessels, both men and women were equal. But here, when foretelling the future that they would also borrow garments, and presumably the women whose firstborn husbands had died would lend them in order to allow the wind to [shake out] the clothing, therefore only the women are mentioned, and it refers to the outer garment of men that daughters also typically wear.

ושאלה אשה משכנתה, “Each woman will request from her neighbour, etc.” even though the Torah had used the masculine mode when speaking of the actual event, i.e. (Exodus 112, and 12,35) implying that both the males and the females would request valuables from their Egyptian neighbours, the reason that a feminine mode was chosen by the Torah here is that it is usually women who borrow from their neighbours, not men.

ושאלה אשה משכנתה, as an outright gift. After all, G’d had encouraged the people to ask for these gifts, the Torah telling us in verse 21 that G’d would make the people favourably disposed towards the Israelites so that they would not refuse such requests. The expression שאל in the same sense as here occurs also in Psalms 2,8 שאל ממני ואתנה גוים נחלתך, “Ask it of me, and I will make the nations your domain.” This is the principal meaning of the verse and it effectively silences the heretics who speak of the Jews borrowing and not giving back these trinkets. כלי כסף וכלי זהב, ornaments in honour of the festival that they would celebrate in the desert. ושמתם על בניכם, same as ושמתם אותם על בניכם “you will garb your children with them.” (3) AND YOU WILL PLACE them ON YOUR CHILDREN.

ושאלה, the meaning of the word שאל here, is not “to borrow” but a request to be given as a gift.” The word occurs in this sense also in Psalms 2,8 "שאל ממני ואתנה", “just ask it of Me and I shall give it.” When the Egyptians would be in a hurry to send the Hebrews out of the country as they were afraid of dying, they did not think of receiving these trinkets back again. They gave all of them willingly.