Rebbe Nachman

Rebbe Nachman on Parshat Vaeira (Toras Nosson)


I appeared unto Avraham, Yitschak and Yaakov as El Shaddai, but I did not make myself known unto them with my Name Havaye ....

Moshe had just asked God why he had forsaken his people, especially right after God had appointed him to lead the Jews out of Egypt.
Rabbi Simon said, when God wanted to create Adam, the first man, all the angels got together for a big debate. Some groups of angels said,
create him, and some said, "dont create him," This is as it is written in the Tehilim, "Lovingkindness and truth have met, righteousness and peace have kissed." Lovingkindness, known as Chesed, said, "create him, for man is kind to others." Truth said, "don't create him," for he is filled with lies." What did God do? He took truth and threw him to the earth.
We see that the world is a place of lies. People decieve each other right and left in order to fulfill their own desires. But the angel of truth made a mistake, as even the angel of truth does not fully understand the intentions and the ultimate purpose God has for man in the world.
How so? First of all, God forced Moshe into the job. He saw the difficulties., the inflexibility of and increasing cruelty of Pharoah, and the eventual unruliness and rebellion of the Israelites.
Truth is an unfolding process, the truth becomes a little more clear after a life's struggle and many trials and tribulations. Our goal is to get to emes l'amito, the deepest level of truth, but it is a nearly impossible task, perhaps ocasionally granted by God to a few select individuals, (great judges such as the Talmudic sage Rava, for instance, in the story of "Rava's cane.")
Truth comes from the power of choice, by means of our choices, we make a clarification of the truth, this is good and true, this is destructive and false.
Moshe was spending a lot of time with the angel of truth. Consider Moshe's situation. First of all, he didn't want the Job as leader of the Jewish people because of the truth. He knew that even once he took them out they would not listen to him, he knew that God would give His greatest treasure to Israel only for Israel to abandon it time and time again. And Moshe thought that this was the real expression of humility and meekness before God. "Who am I to be such a leader, and If I cant change them, then why bother asking me!!"
All doubts and reluctance to be the hero of the story flows from this accusation of the angels with the creation of the world, "what is man that thou art mindful of him" This is the yetser hara. this is the force that causes man time and time again to shoot himself in the foot.
Even the greatest of Tsaddikim have to toil and sweat for years in order to clarify the truth. and they are in great competition with the evil ones who always dress their words in the truth. Pharoah said "why do the Jews want to go and serve God? this is a big lie! God does not want you to serve Him! God wants you to redeem yourself by makeing bricks, working hard for the boss, working here on earth for your own physical well being." Pharoah tells us, "If God wanted you to serve Him, he would give you a great inspiration and all the Jews and all the Egyptians would see Him and feel a great awakening to serve Him! But it is not happening. If God wanted you to serve him, he would make it easy for you and make it happen automatiically.

Pharoah said "Al yesha'u b'divrei sheker!" Dont contemplate false matters! Be in the world, look at reality, thats life and stop dreaming about airy spiritual matters. Sitting in Yeshiva? Feh! Get back to work and be real!"
But all of these cities, pithom and Ramses, were really uselsess cities. They were cities dedicated to a dead body, a sarcaphagos, and a momentous lie inventied in order to do nothing more than tourture the Jews. And today, the mindless pursuit of more, the feeling once you made your first three milliion that you are not going to be satisfied until you have made your first thirty milliion, your first three hundred million, it never stops, but the desire keeps growing and growing, what is this? THese are huge cities dedicated to the dead,

Pharoah wants us to believe that Moshe and Aharon are lying to us when they are calling us to serve God. Pharoah wants us only to serve him, and Pharaoh is in each generation to this day. Pharoah wants us to think that he loves us more than Moshe and Aharon love us. "I am giving you a job and a reason to get out of bed in the morning, where Moshe and Aharon are fobbing off baselsess dreams and fantasies."
Then Moshe starts to believe Pharoah, belive the angels that say "dont create man, he's filled with lies." And how do we know that moshe starts to belive these mistaken notions? Moshe says, "why are you harming this people! Why are you bringing the Jews suffering instead of redeeming them as you have promised!"
Too much truth causes even the great tsaddilim to make mistakes, to give up hope and loose their faith.
So thats why it says in the beggining of this weeks parsha, "ANd E-lohim said to Moshe, I am Hashem." Elohim is the aspect of judgment, harsh truth, Hashem is the aspect of mercy and kindness. All of this suffering, all of this judgement, it is really kindness, it is really God leading the world in the best possible way. THe man of doubt doent see the ultimate purpose. THe man of faith knows that no matter how difficult the situation, God never forsakes us and never abandons us. Bad things happen to good people, but most likely we will not have the privilege of knowing why. Shema Yisrael Adonai Eloheynu, Adonai Ehad, God's judgement is Gods mercy, they are both one. We cannot percive it with out senses or with our intellect, just as we cannot perceive God's essence.
So why did he appear to Avraham, Yitschak, and Yaakov as El Shaddai, the Almighty, but But God did not make his name Havaye known to them only to Moshe? God began to reveal his Divinity to the patriarchs, but it was just a begining. But you cannot reveal everyting all at once! It is a process of slow revelation in the world of Choice that takes a life time, many lifetimes, all generations until the moshiach! Truth is revealed through choice. God is one and His name is One, all good, all kind, all kadosh. But from our point of view, we only know and see that goodness and kindness according to how hard we work to see it, even in the difficult times, even in the times of suffering, This is real work! Everyone will see it according to his efforts.
"Noda be'shearim Ba;lah" beshearim is like estimation , "mesha;arim," you know God according to how much you let him in your heart, according to how much you want to know him and strive to know him.
El Shaddai, this is the numerical equivalent of Metat"" the leader of the angels. God said to Moshe, "I will send and angel before you to lead the children of Israel to redemption." Moshe refused, and said, "NO God, I only want you. It is you or nothing." This angel, Metat" had becom indistinguishable from the name E-L Shaddai, they are the same number. But this is a great danger. The angel is not God, we cannot ever confuse a created force for the ultimate force, God forbid, we are only led by the essence. The essence, is, however, hidden from our view, and we need rather to ascend in faith, and the higher you go in faith, the more your faith becomes knowing. Moshe only went after the name of God's infinite and hidden essence, Havaye, which is not onloy all truth and all good, all kindness and all mercy, It is beyond, mammash beyond. Dont think that it is so bad to go after El Shaddai, the beginning of the revelation where God is still largely hidden! The great tsaddikim, like Avarham, Yitschak, and Yaakov, also went after El Shaddai, but they knew it was just the beginning and there was so much more to know.

Moshe says to God, "why have you harmed the people." God says, "Look at Avraham, who even though I had given him the land of Israel had to deffer to Bnei CHeth and pay a huge sum of money for a grave that was rightfully his! Look at the problem that Yitschak had with the his own wells that were stolen from him, Look at how Yaakov paid for the field next to Schem, "Vayikon et chelkat hasadei" and not one of them questioned me, accused me and said that I am being unfair and going back on my promise!"
So now that I you know that I am Havaye, the God of mercy despite the suffering and the judgements, if you think that you will know it, feel it, and see it all right away, then think again! You, Moshe, are stil far from the truth. All you need to now for the time being is that the more you know, the more you know how much you don't know, how infinitely much more there is to know. It will unfold, it will come to you, but it will take days, years, lifetimes.
God promises us and Moshe, "I have heard your suffering, I feel your pain, But do not be afraid, because I always keep my promise. You will get to the promised land, you will serve Me and witness my presence in the Holy Temple, but you must be patient. It will not all happen at once." And it will happen, he remembers the the kindness of our forefathers, and he will bring a Redeemer to their children's children, all for the sake of His name and with love."

Remember the difficulties Avraham had with the people of his day, running out into the wildreness when they only mocked him and derided him, after he bent over backwards all day to show them kindness and teach them to bless God. God said to Avraham, "you have been struggling with them for a few hours and now you give up. But I have been struggling with them for all the years of their lives, and I have not given up on them." And God never gives up.