Voices of WRJ: Va-eira

You are very familiar with this week’s Torah portion, because we retell the story every year at Pesach! Nonetheless, this Shabbat, we read the second portion in the Book of Exodus. Exodus, by the way, from the Greek word meaning “departure from Egypt,” is called Sh’mot in Hebrew, meaning “names.” There are so many names—including women’s names—in both last week’s portion and in Va-eira. This is notable, since the names of our female Biblical predecessors are often not mentioned in Torah. But here, we have many specific names and specific explanations of their personality traits and their relationships. LET MY PEOPLE GO! This is the refrain from the familiar story we read in Parashat Va-eira (“I appeared”). Moses and Aaron are dispatched to Pharaoh to prevail upon him to let the Israelites leave slavery in Egypt. The first seven of the 10 plagues occur in this portion. Additionally, an especially interesting thing happens in Va-eira having to do with names, specifically the Divine Name. God speaks to Moses and says, “I am ‘yod-hei-vav-hei’, ” which we read as Adonai. God continues, “I appeared to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob as El Shaddai, but I did not make Myself known to them by my name ‘yod-hei-vav-hei’.” Does this mean that our ancestors did not really know God? Why does the Divine reveal a new name at this moment? We recall that Moses had consistently been the reluctant representative of our people. He complained that he was thick of speech or worried about going to Pharaoh alone. So God reiterates the terms of the Covenant and reveals a new Divine name to Moses. This enigmatic name—YHVH—is supposed to prove to both the Egyptians and the embittered Israelites that God is supreme. Although we know how history unfolds, we are still unsure about this Divine Name. Our ancestors believed that to speak God’s name was so sacred that only the high priest was permitted to say it. Not surprisingly, the pronunciation of the four letters, YHVH, has been lost to us. Hence, we have many substitutions (Adonai, Hashem, G-d, etc.). What a dilemma! An unpronounceable name is difficult to understand and even more challenging to developing a relationship with. Names enable us to have relationships and our deeds and actions are associated with them. Names are often the first exchange we have with another. So it is no wonder that we are constantly striving to develop our relationship with the Divine when there are numerous names, and not even agreement on how to write them. (See the poems in The Torah: A Women’s Commentary on page 353.) As always, Jewish tradition offers us a wonderfully rich answer to this challenge. There are said to be more than 70 names for God and each of them enables a relationship with God and with other human beings. For example, one Divine name is hei-hei-ayin, meaning unconditional love. I need only look at my children and grandchildren to understand that name and to feel a Divine presence. Another example is mem-tzadi-reish, meaning freedom. Today, we feel blessed to live in countries that offer freedom to worship God in meaningful and personal ways. Finally, we know the name of the Divine as Shechinah, the female essence of God dwelling among us. Certainly being a part of WRJ offers each of us the opportunity to feel the presence of God. Whether we are chanting from the Torah, studying from The Torah: A Women’s Commentary, feeding people at a homeless shelter or holding hands during a rousing Shabbat song session, we feel the Divine presence when we are with our sisters. My wish for each of you is that you experience more of these Divine moments. The Kabbalists teach that the pronunciation of YHVH sounds like breathing and that the Messiah will teach us how to pronounce the entire Torah as one long, uninterruptible Name of God. I pray that time will come speedily and in our day. Kein y’hi ratzon, may it be so.