Nachal novea; makor chochma -
A flowing river; the source of wisdom (Mish. 18:4)
Moshe, in his holy wisdom, knew that it is extremely difficult to bring
total redemption to the Jews, meaning that, due to the physical nature
of the earth, it is practically impossible for anyone to sustain the
high spiritual sensitivity necessary for enjoying a close and intimate
relationship with Hashem. Moshe had reached the highest levels of
humility, indicating that he had also reached the highest levels of
truth, for Moshe had come to realize that, in truth, man is nothing, he
is a mere creation of Hashem, as the verse says, "Who am I that I
(Moshe) should go to Pharaoh and that I should take the Children of
Israel out of Egypt [I am a mere mortal and I have no power of my own to
do anything, except that which Hashem enables me to do]?" (Exodus 3:11)
Rav Noson says that Moshe spoke these words in sincere humility
motivated by truth, and felt that his role in bringing out the Jews from
Egypt was unnecessary. So, he declined to carry out the mission. Indeed,
Hashem can accomplish everything on earth without man's effort.
Nevertheless, Hashem insisted that Moshe fulfill his mission, and forced
him to redeem the Jews.
Rav Noson adds that the name Kail Sha-dai is an awesomely holy
name--even some angels are called by this name, as the verse says,
"Behold! I (Hashem) send an angel before you(Beware of him--listen to
his voice, do not rebel against him, for he will not forgive your
willful sin--for My name is within him." (Exodus 23:20, 21) The name of
that particular angel has the same numerical value as Sha-dai, meaning
that the angel is intimately connected to Hashem. Rav Noson explains the
concept, how an angel's name can be synonymous with Hashem's name and
what placing Hashem's name within an angel means: Each angel is given a
name that is related to some aspect of Hashem. The angel's name enables
it to understand and be unified with that aspect of Hashem with which
its name is associated. However, Rav Noson warns that one should not be
fooled into deifying an angel. For an angel merely reflects a certain
aspect of Hashem, but has no real power of its own. Since Moshe was on
such a high spiritual level, he perceived the spiritual energies of
truth that are associated with the inner essence of the name Y-H-V-H,
which is the highest of levels. He was not satisfied for the Jews to be
lead in the desert by an angel that merely reflected the name of Hashem,
because Moshe's perception of Hashem's truth was greater than that which
would be manifested by an angel, as the verse says, "He (Moshe) said to
Him (Hashem), "If Your Presence [lit. face (the highest level of
perceiving Hashem's truth humanly possible)] does not go along [with us,
as opposed to a mere reflection of Your truth, manifested through an
angel], do not bring us up from here [from the desert]." (Exodus
33:15)
Although it is impossible for any human to ever discover the absolute
truth about Hashem, everyone, from the greatest Tzaddik to the most
simple commoner, is able to serve Hashem based on the spiritual energies
of truth that are provided to them by Heaven. After Moshe complained to
Hashem about how poorly things had worked out, Hashem spoke to him for
the purpose of injecting within him higher levels of truth, which helped
expand his mind, enabling Moshe to realize that his understanding was
infinitely inferior to Hashem's. Because of this, Moshe was able to
realize that it was best to trust in Hashem and humbly submit to His
wishes. Once Moshe completely humbled himself to Hashem's will, with the
help of the increased spiritual energies of truth that Hashem had given
him, he was then able to become unified with Hashem and draw forth all
of the energies necessary to redeem the Jews from Egypt.
When Hashem wanted to appoint Moshe as His agent to bring the Jews out
from Egypt, Moshe emphatically refused. However, Hashem forced Moshe to
carry out the mission. Rav Noson explains why Moshe was obstinate and
initially rejected this all-important role. Each Tzaddik (saint) is
strongly connected to truth, through which the world was created and
upon which it was established, as the Talmud relates, "Rabban Shimon ben
Gamliel says, 'The world endures on three things--justice, truth, and
peace...'" (Avoth 1:18) The powerful energies of truth that permeated
Moshe's being prevented him from accepting his mission, even though
Hashem Himself, the source of all truth, had commanded him. Moshe denied
his sacred mission because he prophetically foresaw that the results of
all of his efforts to bring the Jews closer to Hashem would not last. He
saw that the Jews would rebel against Hashem ten times in the desert ,
as the verse says, "[They, the Jews in the desert] have tested Me
(Hashem) th ese ten times." (Numbers 14:22)
All of Moshe's arguments for his refusal were derived from the spiritual
energies of truth that were created when Hashem consulted the angels
about whether or not to create man. [Note: There is a rule that every
action creates spiritual energies which are eternal and can be accessed
even centuries later.] The angels did not approve of creating man
because he is predisposed to rebel against Hashem and they responded to
Hashem from this truth: "What is frail man that You (Hashem) should
remember him, and the son of mortal man that You should be mindful of
him?" (Psalms 8:5) Not only the angels, but even the great Tzaddikim
(saints) grapple with the fact that man is prone to rebellion and
therefore should be rejected. Since every Tzaddik, by definition,
resonates only with absolute truth, they are attuned to the spiritual
energies of truth created by the angels at the time of the creation of
the world. It is those spiritual energies which influence them and cause
them to instinctively feel that people who do not measure up to their
high standards are unworthy of redemption or of any consideration by
Hashem. Moshe had such an inner feeling. He felt that although it was
possible for man to attain some degree of closeness with Hashem, in the
end, due to the average man's instability, it would not last. This, plus
the fact that he, himself felt unneccessary (as explained above) played
into Moshe's decision to refuse Hashem.
Hashem is the source of all life, nothing can exist without Him or
without the spiritual energies with which He nourishes the world, such
as the energies of truth. There is no human being that can live without
some form of the truth. Therefore, even the wicked possess fragments of
the truth. However, the wicked are so skilled at their deceptions that
they are able to twist the crumbs of truth they possess and present it
as the entire loaf--as the absolute and total truth. This point was
graphically illustrated when Moshe and Aaron confronted Pharaoh and
asked him why he had made the work harder for the Jewish slaves.
Pharaoh, as is typical of the wicked, not only refused to accept any
responsibility for making the Jews work harder, but twisted the small
fragment of truth that he possessed--that Moshe and Aaron were the one's
demanding that the Jews be freed--and used it to place all of the blame
upon them. "The king of Egypt [Pharaoh] said to them, 'Moshe and Aaron,
why do you disturb the people from their work [implying that Moshe and
Aaron were troublemakers, trying to prevent the Egyptians from
exercising their legitimate rights to benefit from their Jewish slaves]?
Let the work be heavier upon the men and let them engage in it; and let
them not pay attention to false words." [Pharaoh responded defiantly to
Moshe and Aaron's demand that the Jews be freed and he blamed them for
the added suffering in order dispel their assertion that the Jews were
entitled to their freedom. Therefore, Pharaoh asserted that the claims
of Moshe and Aaron were based totally upon a big lie, and that the Jews
were not unjustly enslaved.] (Exodus 5:4, 9) Pharaoh was well aware of
the truth, however he distorted it to advance his own selfish
interests--he really desired that the Jews serve him for nothing instead
of serving Hashem.
Dathan and Aviram, two wicked Jews who always tried to thwart Moshe's
efforts, often used the same tactics as Pharaoh to advance their own
self-serving agendas. When Moshe and Aaron had just exited from their
encounter with Pharaoh, they were met by Dathan and Aviram, who with
righteous indignation blamed Moshe and Aaron for inflaming Pharaoh,
causing the labor to become harder on the Jews. They pretended to be
concerned for the plight of their brothers, but their real motive was to
discredit Moshe and Aaron for they themselves coveted the leadership
positions, as the verse says, "They (Dathan and A'veram) said them
(Moshe and Aaron) 'May Hashem look upon you and judge, for you [are
directly responsible for recklessly placing the people in jeopardy,
making the situation even worse. However, we are fit to be the leaders,
because we are truly concerned about the Jews.' (Just as Pharaoh had
done, they had twisted the truth, focusing on a small point of truth in
order to advance themselves.)]" (Exodus 5:21) Dathan and Aviram's big
lie convinced even the man of truth, Moshe, confusing him to the point
where he complained against Hashem, and thus incurred punishment, as the
verse says, "Moshe returned to Hashem and said, 'My L-rd, why have You
done evil to this people (the Jews), why have You sent me?'" (Exodus
5:22) "Hashem said to Moshe, 'Now you will see what I shall do to
Pharaoh [which implied, according to Rashi, that he would not see what
Hashem would do to the Cana'anites meaning that he would not be
privileged to enter the holy land, because of his unjustified
complaint]." (Exodus 6:1)
The fact that, in this world, truth can be perceived as falsehood and
falsehood accepted as truth is the result of damage done to the
spiritual essence of truth. This is why we cannot comprehend much of
what Hashem does in this world, such as how, in order to maintain the
balance of free choice, so many of the righteous have to suffer, while
so many of the wicked prosper. Thus, Hashem answered Moshe's complaints
as follows, "Elokim [Hashem's name that refers to His attribute of stern
justice] spoke to Moshe and said to him, 'I am Y-H-V-H [His non-spoken
name, which we call "Hashem", that refers to His attribute of
compassion]." (Exodus 6:2) The juxtaposition of these two names means
that Hashem's mercy and strictness are one and the same, even though, to
humans, they seem to be contradictory characteristics. [If we were able
to perceive the spiritual realms, we would see that they are the same.]
These two names of Hashem appear together elsewhere in the Torah,
alluding to this concept. In Deut. 4:35, Hashem, in response to Moshe's
complaints as to why the severity of the bondage became even worse,
especially after he had complied with Hashem's request to demand freedom
for the Jews, says, "Y-H-V-H [referring to Hashem's attribute of mercy],
He is [also] Elokim [referring to Hashem's attribute of strictness.
Thus, Hashem's response to Moshe was that even the increased harshness
of the bondage was an act of mercy, but since a human being cannot fully
fathom this, he must have simple faith--the faith of the patriarchs,
Avraham, Yitzchak and Ya'akov--that everything that Hashem does is for
the good, even if the road seems very bumpy.
Hashem's various names represent the different ways in which He deals
with and reveals himself to the world. To Moshe, Hashem revealed himself
as 'Y-H-V-H', His highest level of manifestation, while to the
patriarchs, He revealed Himself as Kail Sha-DaI, a lower manifestation
of His essence. This name is derived from the Hebrew word,
DaI--sufficient or enough--associated with Hashem's ability to control
the entire creation by setting limits to physicality. Additionally, this
name refers to how Hashem sets limits to the amount of success a person
has or to the amount of suffering he must endure. Hashem rebuked Moshe,
"I (Hashem) appeared to Avraham, to Yitzchak, and to Ya'akov as Kail
Sha-DaI, but My name, Y-H-V-H, I did not make known to them. [Yet, the
patriarchs had perfect faith in Me and never questioned My ways, as
opposed to you, Moshe. You perceived my highest manifestion, and yet did
not trust Me.]" (Exodus 6:3)
MOSHE ON A HIGHER LEVEL THAN TO THE PATRIARCHS
Hashem said to Moshe, "Although you have been shown more of the truth
about Me than the patriarchs, you still cannot understand the absolute
truth about My ways. As you, Moshe perceive the truth, the following is
all true: Pharaoh has made the work even harder, the Jews will not
listen to you, and Dathan and Aviram have both challenged you. You
logically deduced that all of these things would happen, which they
have, and this is why you did not want to accept your mission, and now
since all of these things have actually happened, you have complained to
Me so bitterly. Despite the truth of what you see, the Jews will be
redeemed from Egypt. Therefore, you should nullify your thoughts to
Mine, and believe that I will enable you to successfully complete your
mission. What will happen to the Jews in the future, after you pass
away, is no concern of yours, for whatever will happen to the Jews will
ultimately be for their benefit and I will make sure, through My great
compassion for them, that Israel will never be destroyed, and they will
live forever! This is the highest level of truth, which is beyond human
comprehension, therefore I say to you, "I am Hashem" (Exodus 6:2) [I
alone can understand the highest level of truth and I therefore
guarantee that everything will turn out as I want it to]."
Moshe learned that no human should ever apply human standards--which are
based on limited understanding and perception--to Hashem. This later
gave Moshe the courage to confront Hashem's intense wrath and challenge
His threat the annihilate the Jews after they had committed the sin of
the Golden Calf. Moshe realized that although based upon human
standards, they deserved to be exitincted for their sin, Hashem, Whose
mercy is infinite, wanted to forgive them, and never actually wanted to
carry out His threat. Therefore, Moshe ignored the appearances and
strengthened himself in prayer, "Moshe pleaded before Hashem, his G-d
[after the sin of the Golden Calf], and said, 'Why Hashem should Your
anger flare up against Your people [even though the Jews had committed
the worst sin possible. By disregarding the superficial truth that they
deserved the severest punishment, and praying to Hashem in this manner,
Moshe activated the spiritual energies of Hashem's infinite mercy, which
saved the Jews from certain destruction]..." (Exodus 32:11) Moshe's
prayers were so effective that not only did he gain atonement for the
Jews, but he merited that Hashem teach him the formula which would
always arouse Hashem's compassion, the thirteen attributes of mercy,
which is always at least partially effective.
A PRACTICAL APPLICATION OF HASHEM'S HIGHER TRUTH
The thirteen attributes of mercy, that Hashem revealed to Moshe, taught
him the full truth about Hashem's mercy--that His compassion is
infinite. No matter how bad a situation or sin committed looks in the
eyes of man, prayer, appealing to Hashem's infinite compassion, always
helps, whether on the physical level, where it can be openly seen, or on
the spiritual level, where the results are hidden to the human eye. This
is contrary to the angels' limited perception that it wasn't worth
creating man for he would sin. Even they did not understand the extent
of Hashem's infinite mercy, that He can tolerate even the worst type of
sin.
Through prayer, appealing to Hashem's mercy, which is the highest truth
of all, all harsh decrees can be sweetened, as the verse says, "Hashem
is near to all who call upon Him [to deliver them from their sins.
Hashem comes near even to one who has committed the most heinous of
sins, when he calls out to Hashem in sincere prayer], to all who call
upon Him in truth. [His compassion and tolerance for the worst of
sinners and sins is associated with the highest level of truth, which is
beyond human comprehension.]" (Psalms 145:18) "May my prayer to You,
Hashem, be at a favorable time; [despite my unworthiness, due to my
sins] Hashem, in the abundance of Your kindness, answer me with the
truth of Your deliverance [it is Your high level of truth that will
enable You to have compassion upon me, and to deliver me, despite my
many sins]." (Psalms 69:14) So we see that, despite anything we may have
done, Hashem still desires to save us. Therefore, Rav Noson says that we
must always rely upon and strengthen ourselves with prayer. We should
never despair, for Hashem's compassion can always be aroused through
prayer, as the Talmud says, "Rebbe Yochanan and Rav Eleazar both said,
'Even if a sharp sword rests upon a man's neck [and he is about to be
killed], he should not desist from prayer [because prayer always arouses
Hashem's compassion, which might be manifested by actually being saved
from physical death and if not, then certainly from spiritual death, for
obviously one who was placed in such a situation had committed some sin,
which was in need of atonement].'" (Talmud: Berachot 10a) Thus the Torah
dwells on Moshe's confrontation with Hashem to draw our attention to
this central lesson. May Hashem help us to always remember to return to
Him in prayer, no matter what. Amen! (Lekutai Halachot: Yorah Dayah:
Hilchot Ri'bis 5:30-33)
(there are many levels of truth, there is the truth as perceived in this
world and the higher level as perceived in the world of truth(Rebbe
Yosef ben Rebbe Yehoshua ben Levi became ill and went into a coma [he
suddenly expired and his soul departed (Rashi) Note: This probably
refers to a near death experience, when a person is clinically dead for
a short time and then comes back.] When he recovered, his father asked
him, "What did you see [in the upper world]?" [Rebbe Yosef] said to him,
"I saw an upside down world. I saw that those people who are important
[in this world, are considered to be] on the bottom. Those people who
are not considered to be important [in this world, in the upper world
are] on top. [Rebbe Yehoshua] said, "My son, you have seen a clear world
[in which people occupy the positions they truly merit]. We [who are
Torah scholars (Rashi)], how are we [situated] there?" [Rebbe Yosef]
said to him, "Just as we are [important] in this world, so we are
[important] in the upper world. And I heard them saying, 'Happy is he
who comes here with his [Torah] learning in his hand.' And I also heard
them saying, 'Those martyred by the government, no man can stand within
their partition [in paradise. They are in such an exalted position in
the hereafter that they are unapproachable].'" [The Talmud asks] who are
these martyrs [to whom Rebbe Yosef was referring]? Shall we say, Rebbe
Akiva and his companions [the ten sages who were executed by the Roman
government for teaching Torah]? Is it because they were martyrs of the
government, and nothing else? [Surely they had other merits that would
earn them the distinction of being unapproachable in the hereafter, such
as their great scholarship and piety. The statement must then refer to
those who only had the merit of being martyred, without any other
distinction. (Rashi)] Rather [what was meant was] the martyrs of Lud
[The Emporer's daughter had been murdered and no one had a clue as to
who was the culprit. The Emporer made and edict, that unless the Jewish
community of Lud bring forth the killer, the whole city would be
slaughtered. The poor Jews of Lud were at a loss--they had no idea who
had committed the crime. Their situation looked hopeless until two
brothers, Lulianus and Papus, took matters into their own hands and
falsely claimed that they were the murderers. The Emporer sentenced them
and they died a martyr's death, thus saving the lives of the entire city
of Lud. (Rashi)]. (Talmud: Pesachim 50a)