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Va'era וָאֵרָ֗א Exodus / Shemot 6:2 - 9:35

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Va'era וָאֵרָ֗א Exodus / Shemot 6:2 - 9:35
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ByRuth Schapira

וָאֵרָ֗א

The Hebrew word Vaera, means "I will see", and there will be both physical and spiritual things that will be seen.

Key Elements in Parsha Va'era
  • God reveals Himself to Moses
  • Moses asks Pharoah to “Let My People Go”
  • Reason? B’nai Yisrael can worship God in the wilderness for 3 days
  • God uses 4 different expressions for redeeming B’nai Yisrael from Egypt
  • Moses and Aaron request this of Pharoah and he stubbornly refuses
  • There is a series of miraculous events, some copied by Egyptian sorcerers
  • The plagues begin
We arrive at this Parsha noting important elements from the previous week: Moses' encounter with God at the burning bush when he resisted speaking to Pharaoh and God appointed Aaron as his spokesman.
שמות ד׳:א׳

(א) וַיַּ֤עַן מֹשֶׁה֙ וַיֹּ֔אמֶר וְהֵן֙ לֹֽא־יַאֲמִ֣ינוּ לִ֔י וְלֹ֥א יִשְׁמְע֖וּ בְּקֹלִ֑י כִּ֣י יֹֽאמְר֔וּ לֹֽא־נִרְאָ֥ה אֵלֶ֖יךָ יְהֹוָֽה׃

Exodus 4:1

(1) But Moses spoke up and said, “What if they do not believe me and do not listen to me, but say: The LORD did not appear to you?” (Parsha Shemot)

שמות ד׳:י׳-י״ד

(י) וַיֹּ֨אמֶר מֹשֶׁ֣ה אֶל־יְהֹוָה֮ בִּ֣י אֲדֹנָי֒ לֹא֩ אִ֨ישׁ דְּבָרִ֜ים אָנֹ֗כִי גַּ֤ם מִתְּמוֹל֙ גַּ֣ם מִשִּׁלְשֹׁ֔ם גַּ֛ם מֵאָ֥ז דַּבֶּרְךָ֖ אֶל־עַבְדֶּ֑ךָ כִּ֧י כְבַד־פֶּ֛ה וּכְבַ֥ד לָשׁ֖וֹן אָנֹֽכִי׃ (יא) וַיֹּ֨אמֶר יְהֹוָ֜ה אֵלָ֗יו מִ֣י שָׂ֣ם פֶּה֮ לָֽאָדָם֒ א֚וֹ מִֽי־יָשׂ֣וּם אִלֵּ֔ם א֣וֹ חֵרֵ֔שׁ א֥וֹ פִקֵּ֖חַ א֣וֹ עִוֵּ֑ר הֲלֹ֥א אָנֹכִ֖י יְהֹוָֽה׃ (יב) וְעַתָּ֖ה לֵ֑ךְ וְאָנֹכִי֙ אֶֽהְיֶ֣ה עִם־פִּ֔יךָ וְהוֹרֵיתִ֖יךָ אֲשֶׁ֥ר תְּדַבֵּֽר׃ (יג) וַיֹּ֖אמֶר בִּ֣י אֲדֹנָ֑י שְֽׁלַֽח־נָ֖א בְּיַד־תִּשְׁלָֽח׃ (יד) וַיִּֽחַר־אַ֨ף יְהֹוָ֜ה בְּמֹשֶׁ֗ה וַיֹּ֙אמֶר֙ הֲלֹ֨א אַהֲרֹ֤ן אָחִ֙יךָ֙ הַלֵּוִ֔י יָדַ֕עְתִּי כִּֽי־דַבֵּ֥ר יְדַבֵּ֖ר ה֑וּא וְגַ֤ם הִנֵּה־הוּא֙ יֹצֵ֣א לִקְרָאתֶ֔ךָ וְרָאֲךָ֖ וְשָׂמַ֥ח בְּלִבּֽוֹ׃

Exodus 4:10-14

(10) But Moses said to the LORD, “Please, O Lord, I have never been a man of words, either in times past or now that You have spoken to Your servant; I am slow of speech and slow of tongue.” (11) And the LORD said to him, “Who gives man speech? Who makes him dumb or deaf, seeing or blind? Is it not I, the LORD? (12) Now go, and I will be with you as you speak and will instruct you what to say.” (13) But he said, “Please, O Lord, make someone else Your agent.” (14) The LORD became angry with Moses, and He said, “There is your brother Aaron the Levite. He, I know, speaks readily. Even now he is setting out to meet you, and he will be happy to see you.

Parsha Va'era וָאֵרָ֗א Begins here.....
שמות ו׳:ב׳-ה׳

(ב) וַיְדַבֵּ֥ר אֱלֹהִ֖ים אֶל־מֹשֶׁ֑ה וַיֹּ֥אמֶר אֵלָ֖יו אֲנִ֥י יְהֹוָֽה׃ (ג) וָאֵרָ֗א אֶל־אַבְרָהָ֛ם אֶל־יִצְחָ֥ק וְאֶֽל־יַעֲקֹ֖ב בְּאֵ֣ל שַׁדָּ֑י וּשְׁמִ֣י יְהֹוָ֔ה לֹ֥א נוֹדַ֖עְתִּי לָהֶֽם׃ (ד) וְגַ֨ם הֲקִמֹ֤תִי אֶת־בְּרִיתִי֙ אִתָּ֔ם לָתֵ֥ת לָהֶ֖ם אֶת־אֶ֣רֶץ כְּנָ֑עַן אֵ֛ת אֶ֥רֶץ מְגֻרֵיהֶ֖ם אֲשֶׁר־גָּ֥רוּ בָֽהּ׃ (ה) וְגַ֣ם ׀ אֲנִ֣י שָׁמַ֗עְתִּי אֶֽת־נַאֲקַת֙ בְּנֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל אֲשֶׁ֥ר מִצְרַ֖יִם מַעֲבִדִ֣ים אֹתָ֑ם וָאֶזְכֹּ֖ר אֶת־בְּרִיתִֽי׃

Exodus 6:2-5

(2) God spoke to Moses and said to him, “I am the LORD. (3) I appeared to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob as El Shaddai, but I did not make Myself known to them by My name יהוה. (4) I also established My covenant with them, to give them the land of Canaan, the land in which they lived as sojourners. (5) I have now heard the moaning of the Israelites because the Egyptians are holding them in bondage, and I have remembered My covenant.

What is being expressed regarding the names that God gives Moses?
The divine Tetragrammaton Y-H-V-H differs in the quality of the relationship between Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and now Moses.
To the Patriarchs — G‑d is saying to Moses — I revealed Myself only as El Sha-dai, relating to them only via the constraints and limitations that define My investment within the created reality. But to you and your generation I shall reveal, for the very first time, "My name Y-H-V-H," the name that connotes "My quintessential truth." For the purpose of the Exodus (as G‑d said to Moses at the burning bush) is the revelation at Mount Sinai and the communication of My Torah, which is the very embodiment of My wisdom and will....withdrawal is an integral part of the tremendous revelation to come, which shall herald a new, unprecedented intimacy between man and God.
~Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi (1745 - 1812, Founder of Chabad, known as "The Alter Rebbe"
The name Shaddai comes from the word shiddud, meaning “to intervene.” This name for God implies occasional Divine intervention in the natural realm. This was the degree of providence that the Avot experienced. They lived in a world of natural forces - with occasional miracles. They were but travelers in the Land of Israel. God was thus revealed to them as El Shaddai. With the formation of Israel as a nation, however, the special providence of the Land of Israel became the Jewish people’s permanent inheritance. The generation of Moses was granted a higher revelation of God’s providence, as reflected in the name Y-H-V-H. This Divine name comes from the word lehavot, “to cause to exist.” Rav Kook (1865 - 1935), first Chief Rabbi (Ashkenazi) of British Mandated Palestine.
All life, say the Kabbalists, is characterized by a to-and-fro movement called ratzo v'shov (running forth and drawing back) or mati v'lo mati (reaching and retreating). The heart contracts and expands; the lungs exhale and inhale; the body sleeps, extinguishing its more elevated faculties (cohesive thought, sight, hearing, etc.), in order to rejuvenate its energies; the mind meditates, emptying itself of prior conceptions in order to receive fresh insight; the earth enters night and winter, enduring periods of darkness and hibernation in order to attain a new dawn or spring. ~Chabad.org
סידור אשכנז, ימי חול, תפילת שחרית, פסוקי דזמרה, אשרי ב׳

קָרוב ה' לְכָל קרְאָיו. לְכל אֲשֶׁר יִקְרָאֻהוּ בֶאֱמֶת:

Siddur Ashkenaz, Weekday, Shacharit, Pesukei Dezimra, Ashrei 2

The LORD is near to all who call Him, to all who call Him with sincerity.

With these interpretations, how does this parsha play out the ebbs and flows of faith and trust?
G‑d said to Moses....Many times I revealed Myself to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; they did not question My ways, nor did they say to me, “What is Your name?” You, on the other hand, asked from the start, “What is Your name?” ~Talmud, Sanhedrin 111a
You questioned My ways, unlike Abraham, to whom I said, “Isaac shall be considered your seed,” and then I said to him, “Raise him up to Me as an offering”—and still he did not question Me. ~Rashi
What can we infer about the relationship between us and God?
שמות ו׳:ו׳-ח׳

(ו) לָכֵ֞ן אֱמֹ֥ר לִבְנֵֽי־יִשְׂרָאֵל֮ אֲנִ֣י יְהֹוָה֒ וְהוֹצֵאתִ֣י אֶתְכֶ֗ם מִתַּ֙חַת֙ סִבְלֹ֣ת מִצְרַ֔יִם וְהִצַּלְתִּ֥י אֶתְכֶ֖ם מֵעֲבֹדָתָ֑ם וְגָאַלְתִּ֤י אֶתְכֶם֙ בִּזְר֣וֹעַ נְטוּיָ֔ה וּבִשְׁפָטִ֖ים גְּדֹלִֽים׃ (ז) וְלָקַחְתִּ֨י אֶתְכֶ֥ם לִי֙ לְעָ֔ם וְהָיִ֥יתִי לָכֶ֖ם לֵֽאלֹהִ֑ים וִֽידַעְתֶּ֗ם כִּ֣י אֲנִ֤י יְהֹוָה֙ אֱלֹ֣הֵיכֶ֔ם הַמּוֹצִ֣יא אֶתְכֶ֔ם מִתַּ֖חַת סִבְל֥וֹת מִצְרָֽיִם׃ (ח) וְהֵבֵאתִ֤י אֶתְכֶם֙ אֶל־הָאָ֔רֶץ אֲשֶׁ֤ר נָשָׂ֙אתִי֙ אֶת־יָדִ֔י לָתֵ֣ת אֹתָ֔הּ לְאַבְרָהָ֥ם לְיִצְחָ֖ק וּֽלְיַעֲקֹ֑ב וְנָתַתִּ֨י אֹתָ֥הּ לָכֶ֛ם מוֹרָשָׁ֖ה אֲנִ֥י יְהֹוָֽה׃

Exodus 6:6-8

(6) Say, therefore, to the Israelite people: I am the LORD. I will free you from the labors of the Egyptians and deliver you from their bondage. I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and through extraordinary chastisements. (7) And I will take you to be My people, and I will be your God. And you shall know that I, the LORD, am your God who freed you from the labors of the Egyptians. (8) I will bring you into the land which I swore to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and I will give it to you for a possession, I the LORD.”

ליקוטי מוהר"ן כ״א:י״ג:ה׳

רַע בָּעוֹלָם כְּלָל, רַק כֻּלּוֹ טוֹב וְכֻלּוֹ אֶחָד. וְגַם הַגָּלוּת הוּא רַק מֵחֶסְרוֹן הַדַּעַת, כְּמוֹ שֶׁכָּתוּב (ישעיהו ה׳:י״ג): לָכֵן גָּלָה עַמִּי מִבְּלִי דָעַת. וְעַל כֵּן הָיְתָה גְּאֻלַּת מִצְרַיִם עַל־יְדֵי מֹשֶׁה, שֶׁהוּא הָיָה בְּחִינַת הַדַּעַת. וְזֶה שֶׁכָּתוּב (שמות ו׳:ז׳): וִידַעְתֶּם כִּי אֲנִי ה' הַמּוֹצִיא אֶתְכֶם מִתַּחַת סִבְלוֹת מִצְרָיִם; כִּי עִקַּר הַגְּאֻלָּה עַל־יְדֵי הַדַּעַת.

Likutei Moharan 21:13:5

...even the exile is only because of a lack of knowledge, as in, “Therefore My nation has been exiled, for they have no knowledge.” This is why the redemption from Egypt came through Moshe. He was the aspect of knowledge. This is what is written (Exodus 6:7), “You will know that I am God, who brings you out from under the Egyptian subjugation.” This is because, principally, the redemption is through knowledge.

שמות ו׳:ט׳

וַיְדַבֵּ֥ר מֹשֶׁ֛ה כֵּ֖ן אֶל־בְּנֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל וְלֹ֤א שָֽׁמְעוּ֙ אֶל־מֹשֶׁ֔ה מִקֹּ֣צֶר ר֔וּחַ וּמֵעֲבֹדָ֖ה קָשָֽׁה׃ {פ}

Exodus 6:9

But when Moses told this to the Israelites, they would not listen to Moses, their spirits crushed by cruel bondage.

In what ways does experiencing difficult situations in life challenge our faith? In leaders? In the Divine?
Rebbe Nachman of Breslov (1772 - 1810) teaches about this verse. When a person has faith—but only that his faith is not perfect—it is considered “kotzer ruach,” impatience, which is half-way between when there is no “ruach,” no spirit, and a complete spirit. Therefore, when a person's faith is imperfect, he has to serve God with “hard work,” ---working harder to connect with God. For Rebbe Nachman, part of this equation is also believing in ourselves. Believing that we matter and our actions make a difference.
שמות ו׳:י׳-י״ג

(י) וַיְדַבֵּ֥ר יְהֹוָ֖ה אֶל־מֹשֶׁ֥ה לֵּאמֹֽר׃ (יא) בֹּ֣א דַבֵּ֔ר אֶל־פַּרְעֹ֖ה מֶ֣לֶךְ מִצְרָ֑יִם וִֽישַׁלַּ֥ח אֶת־בְּנֵֽי־יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל מֵאַרְצֽוֹ׃ (יב) וַיְדַבֵּ֣ר מֹשֶׁ֔ה לִפְנֵ֥י יְהֹוָ֖ה לֵאמֹ֑ר הֵ֤ן בְּנֵֽי־יִשְׂרָאֵל֙ לֹֽא־שָׁמְע֣וּ אֵלַ֔י וְאֵיךְ֙ יִשְׁמָעֵ֣נִי פַרְעֹ֔ה וַאֲנִ֖י עֲרַ֥ל שְׂפָתָֽיִם׃ {פ}
(יג) וַיְדַבֵּ֣ר יְהֹוָה֮ אֶל־מֹשֶׁ֣ה וְאֶֽל־אַהֲרֹן֒ וַיְצַוֵּם֙ אֶל־בְּנֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל וְאֶל־פַּרְעֹ֖ה מֶ֣לֶךְ מִצְרָ֑יִם לְהוֹצִ֥יא אֶת־בְּנֵֽי־יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל מֵאֶ֥רֶץ מִצְרָֽיִם׃ {ס}

Exodus 6:10-13

(10) The LORD spoke to Moses, saying, (11) “Go and tell Pharaoh king of Egypt to let the Israelites depart from his land.” (12) But Moses appealed to the LORD, saying, “The Israelites would not listen to me; how then should Pharaoh heed me, a man of impeded speech!” (13) So the LORD spoke to both Moses and Aaron in regard to the Israelites and Pharaoh king of Egypt, instructing them to deliver the Israelites from the land of Egypt.

עָרֵל (v) heb
    • to remain uncircumcised, count uncircumcised, count as foreskin
      • to regard as uncircumcised
        • to remain unharvested (fig.)
      • (Niphal) to be counted as uncircumcised
      ספורנו על שמות ו׳:י״ב:א׳
      הן בני ישראל לא שמעו אלי. כי חשב שהיה זה מפני שראו שמאז בא לדבר אל פרעה הרע הצורר ולא הציל השליח, כל שכן שיעשה זה פרעה שעשה כרצונו והגדיל:
      Sforno on Exodus 6:12:1

      הן בני ישראל לא שמעו אלי, he believed that this was due to the fact that from the moment he had started speaking to Pharaoh the latter had become worse in his attitude and the people, putting two and two together, had concluded that his mission had failed. If he felt that way, Pharaoh would certainly not pay any heed to him and continue doing what he liked.