Rabbi's Derasha

The whole book is called Shemot.  That is among the first words of the Parasha last week but the significance of names goes beyond that.  Later in last week’s Parasha, how to name Hashem plays a significant role.  And how to deal with Hashem’s name continues this week as a major theme.

The first question Paro asks Moshe is, “who is this Hashem?”  This is not because he is an atheist.  He’s aware of powers beyond this world.  But that power is not what we call “Hashem.”  There’s a telling moment after the third plague where this becomes clear.  The Egyptian wise men are clear about the plague of lice: it is no less than the finger of G-d.  Etzba Elokim, they call it.  The very next words show no reaction.  Paro hardens his heart.  How can he ignore what they have said?  It’s the finger of G-d, after all.  

Paro seems to believe in Hashem the way many people do.  The Lord is a sublime force in the universe, that which forges mountains, drives the rivers, and fills the seas.  But Paro does not believe in “Hashem.”  There is no personal G-d, not for people and not for nations.   

We said goodbye this week to Morad, a”h.  He was known for his human connections, of which there were many.  But he was also a Maimon, a believer, and he imbued what he did with that too.  He liked to work for the Shul because it was work L’shem Shamayim, for the sake of Heaven.    

Much has been made of the differences between Ashkenazim and Sefardim.  There are all kinds of differences in style and in customs.  But among the most distinct is that there are very few atheists among the Sefardim.  They feel Hashem in their bones.  Morad had that sense in every fiber of his being.  

And that belief was never just in Elokim.  He was always with Hashem.  He knew Hashem had a special connection to the Jewish people.  And Hashem had a special connection to certain individuals.  His own grandfather had been a well-known Tzadik.  The non-Jews came to him for blessings.  And when he passed away, everyone, including the Muslims, closed their shops and came to the funeral.  Morad knew the power of a Tzadik.  He marked the Yahrzeits of the Tzadikim and the rebbes.  His own Yahrzeit is the day after that of Yaakov Abuchatzera, ztz”l, the grandfather of the Baba Sali, ztz’l.  Both of those Yahrzeits were always occasions for Morad to sponsor Seuda Shlishit.    

That was also why he believed so deeply in the Geula.  Because Hashem is personal, and He is also the one who fulfills promises.  Our Parasha begins with the distinction between names of Hashem.  It says that Hashem told Moshes that His name -- Hashem -- was not made known to the Avot.  There are of course many places where “Hashem” speaks to the Avot.  But this is not about speaking.  Hashem is also the name that denotes the fulfiller of promises.  Avot often don’t see the fulfillment of promises.  They are there for the beginning but not the end.  The speech Hashem gives at the beginning of the Parasha is about fulfilling promises, which the Jewish people will see even if the Avot did not.   

Morad loved to dwell on the fulfillment of the ultimate promise.  He wondered why my Derasha didn’t always end with “Bimheira Viyameinu,” looking forward to the fulfillment of the ultimate promise of the final redemption.  He was focused on it.  He delighted in the small salvations seen by the Jewish people throughout their history.  And he eagerly  anticipated the final salvation.  In the merit of such deep Emuna (faith), we should see that promise fulfilled, Bimheira Viyameinu.