In last week’s Parashat: Shemot, Moses understands that he has failed in his mission and asks Ha-Shem: “G-d, why did You bring harm upon the people? Why did You send me?” (Ex. 5:22-23). G-d promises Moses in this week’s Parashat that the Israelites, suffering under Egyptian oppression, will witness G-d's fulfillment of the covenant He made with the patriarchs, by giving them the land of Canaan (Ex. 6:2-8).
Another revelation G-d makes is His other name, the name no one so far has heard or used. The name we don’t say nor try to decipher. This name we don’t even try to pronounce in our own minds for fear of mispronouncing it. To Avraham, Yitchak and Jacov, G-d went by El Shaddai or Elohim, here, He reveals Himself to Moshe as ‘Havaye’ (the Hassidic accepted referal to the real name). This new name G-d reveals to Moshe, is according to the Rashi (ibid, v 3), the name G-d uses when He is faithful to His word, by keeping his promises. G-d promised to take His people to Ha-Eretz before but did not fulfill them in their times. He did not reveal His ‘Havaye’ to them.
This time it’s different, He promises to take them out of the land in their time. This is interesting because this means that this present generation in Egypt will witness the fulfillment of the Exodus. The Lubavitcher Rebbe takes what Rashi states a bit further; based on the Kabbalistic meaning of the word ‘Havaye’, one who is on an extremely exalted level. Before, when G-d revealed Himself to our forefathers, He was on a lower level and thus used the names Shaddai and Elohim. But now that His Israelites underwent the hardship as a people, they were worthy to be exposed to the higher Name. In Chassidic thought, the two earlier names of G-d were in accordance of the development of nature: With other words, in the order nature happens.
According to the Chassidut (Netivot Shalom), the Jewish people are finding themselves on the 49th level of spiritual purity with only one level to go down, the 50,th which would keep them in Egypt for another 190 years. Remember, Ha-Shem did tell Avraham that they would be enslaved for 400 years. So Ha-Shem decides to override nature (his two other names) and stop the suffering. Another requisite to reveal and use the new Name is the receiving of the Laws, the Torah. Thus you can say that by G-d ‘stepping in,’ He also makes the commitment to stay for as long as the Exodus out of Egypt takes and to give the Israelites to the Torah when the time is right. So Ha-Shem, now known by His new name, is not leaving.
With this comes a third part: the revelation of his mighty miracles. Or, you could call that ‘G-d’s ammonition’ that is meant to physically get the Israelites out of there, and also meant to show the commitment to His own people. We’re set and ready to go: We have the divine Name, we will have His fullfilment of the promise and we have the ammo. Now, let my People go, go ,go.
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