eliyahu – Parsha Ponders

Fateful forefather fenagling[1]

ויאמר עוד אלקים אל משה כה תאמר אל בני ישראל יקוק אלקי אבותיכם אלקי אברהם אלקי יצחק ואלקי יעקב שלנחי אליכם זה שמי לעולם וזה זכרי לדור דור: לך ואספת את זקני ישראל ואמרת אליהם יקוק אלקי אבותיכם נראה אלי אלקי אברהם יצחק ויעקב לאמר פקד פקדתי אתכם ואת העשוי לכם במצרים
G-d said further to Moshe: “Thus shall you say to the Children of Israel: Hashem, the G-d of your forefathers, the G-d of Avraham, the G-d of Yitzchak, and the G-d of Yaakov, sent me to you. This is My Name forever, and My remembrance from generation to generation. Go and gather the elders of Israel and say to them: Hashem, the G-d of your forefathers appeared to me, the G-d of Avraham, Yitzchak, and Yaakov, saying, I have surely remembered you and what was done to you in Egypt”[2]

Everyone knows the episode of the burning bush. Hashem appeared to Moshe in a vision and told him that he would be the one to redeem the Jewish people from their bondage in Egypt. What’s interesting is we find back-to-back verses where Hashem describes Himself as the G-d of our forefathers. More interesting is we find an inconsistency. First, Hashem describes Himself as the G-d of Avraham, the G-d of Yitzchak, and the G-d of Yaakov. The second time, however, He simply calls Himself the G-d of Avraham, Yitzchak, and Yaakov, without repetition. Why the inconsistency?

Continue reading “Shemos 5785”

Ensuring the redemption[1]

וזכרתי את-בריתי יעקוב ואף את-בריתי יצחק ואף את-בריתי אברהם אזכר והארץ אזכר
I will remember my covenant with Yaakov; as well, my covenant with Yitzchak, and I’ll remember my covenant with Avraham, and I’ll remember the land[2]

Parshas Bechukosai describes all the devastating things that will happen when the Jews will be exiled from their land. After all these events are described, Hashem assures us that we will not be forgotten. We are assured[3] that we will evade total annihilation, despite our enemies’ plans otherwise. Hashem tells us that He will recall the covenant He made with our forefathers: to be an eternal nation[4], living peacefully in our homeland[5]. When the Torah writes the name of Yaakov, it is written as יעקוב, with an extra “ו”. Rashi points out[6] that this happens five times[7] in Tanach. This is to correspond to the five times[8] that Eliyahu the prophet’s name is written אליה, missing the final “ו”. This is to teach us[9] that Yaakov, so-to-speak, “took” a letter from Eliyahu’s name as collateral, to ensure that Eliyahu will come and announce to Yaakov’s children the imminence of their final redemption[10]. If this is the lesson of the extra letter in Yaakov’s name, then why did it need to be demonstrated five times[11]? If this had happened just once, it would have been sufficient.

Continue reading “Behar-Bechukosai 5778”