Parshas V’era

“And Elokim spoke to Moshe and said to him I am Hashem”. Shemos 6,2

A first reading of the opening verse of the parsha reveals something quite unusual:

The verse begins referring to Elokim, the name connoting God’s attribute of justice and correspondingly has God speaking to Moshe, connoting harshness.

However, the verse finishes with God referred to as Hashem, connoting His attribute of mercy, saying to Moshe, connoting softer speech!

Put like this the verse reads, “And God with his attribute of justice spoke harshly to Moshe to say to him in a softer fashion that, ‘I am God in my attribute of mercy’!”

Why did the verse need to open with justice and harshness in order to close with softness and mercy, without even saying anything in between?!

Parshas Shemos ends with Moshe Rabenu, filled with distress that his first meeting with Paroh has resulted only in the increase of the hardships of the Bnei Yisroel. He asks God, “Master! Why have you worsened the lot of this people? Why have you sent me?”

Rashi explains our verse in this week’s parsha as beginning with God speaking to Moshe harshly and with justice, on account of his having questioned Him (in Shemos) and ending with God confirming that He will reward those who walk in front of him and that not for nothing has he sent Moshe on his mission.

The Satmar Rov, HaRav Yoel Teitelbaum asks two questions on this verse:

1) Why should God speak harshly to Moshe for asking in his distress at the suffering of Yisroel, why He allowed the situation of to worsen?

2) Having done so, why should God go back on Himself to speak with Mercy within the same prophetic communication? He could have “made His point” continuing to speak harshly!

The Satmar Rov continues to quote a Midrash, that in our verse, “Elokim” refers to God’s dealing with Egypt and “Hashem” to Yisroel, explaining in the name of the Yefes To’ar, (a Chassidic work on the Torah), that God explains in this verse that he will judge Egypt and have mercy upon Yisroel. On this Midrash and its explaination, Reb Yoel asks, “Who mentioned Egypt”? The verse is referring to God talking to Moshe about the sufferings of Bnei Yisroel and Moshe’s response to those sufferings!

To provide a theoretical basis for his answer the Satmar Rov, turns to another Midrash. This Midrash explains that the verse dealing with the splitting of the Red Sea, “And the water was for them a wall, (Chomah)” should also be read homiletically as “And the water was for them angry, (Chamoh)”

The sea was filled with anger at Yisroel for serving idols in Egypt. Ultimately this anger was unleashed on the pursuing Egyptians as the walls of the sea came crashing down upon them. Reb Yoel explains that even though both Yisroel and Egypt had served Idols, the Jewish People are judged swiftly, in order to punish them in this world, whereas the other nations are shown clemency, in order that those good deeds that they have are fully rewarded in this world and not the World to Come.

Nonetheless, this punishment was transferred onto the Egyptians and the sea’s anger at Bnei Yisroel was unleashed on their oppressors, even though Bnei Yisroel were guilty of idolatry and even though Egypt had plenty of their own misdeeds to be punished for, without needing to receive anyone else’s punishment instead!

At that moment it was appropriate to punish Yisroel, and so the sea filled with anger. However, the sins of the enslaved Jewish nation were not entirely of their own volition, under the strain of their slavery and the influence of the corrupt Egyptian society surrounding them, they were led into sin.

Therefore the anger generated at the sins of Yisroel ultimately found the right address; those responsible for the descent into sin!

With this Midrash, Reb Yoel is able to explain the two difficulties outlined above, although Moshe Rabbenu was moved by the suffering of his brethren, for somebody on his exalted spiritual level, his complaint against God was considered to be improper. Thus, God’s attribute of justice was aroused.

However, Moshe’s distress was caused by the suffering inflicted by Egypt, thus the punishment was directed at Egypt!

Now we can understand the first Midrash, the attribute of justice aroused by Moshe’s complaint was transferred into Egypt, leaving Moshe and Yisroel to be dealt with according to the attribute of God’s mercy.