At the end last week's parsha, Moshe complained to Hashem in strong language: “...Why did you do evil to this nation, why have you sent me? From the time I came to Pharaoh to speak in Your Name, the situation of this nation deteriorated...” (Shemos 5:22-23]. This week's parsha begins with the Ribbono Shel Olam’s response to Moshe’s complaint: “And Elokim spoke to Moshe and said: I am Hashem.” (Shemos 6:2).
This is a strange pasuk because the Name of G-d, “Elokim” and the Name of G-d, “Yud-Kay-Vov-Kay” (Hashem) have two very specific and distinct meanings in Lashon HaKodesh. Elokim carries with it a connotation of the Name of Hashem when the Attribute of Midas HaDin [Strict Justice] is employed. On the other hand, Yud-Kay-Vov-Kay is the Name of Hashem which connotes Midas HaRachamim [the Attribute of Mercy]. The pasuk begins with the phrase “And Elokim spoke to Moshe,” upon which Rashi comments, “He spoke mishpat [judgement] with him, for his harsh manner of speech questioning ‘Why did You do evil to this nation.’” Thus, the Ribbono Shel Olam is sternly rebuking Moshe. And yet what He tells him is “I am Hashem (the attribute of Divine Mercy)”. This appears to be a contradiction to the beginning of the pasuk.
Perhaps we can suggest the following interpretation:
The Ribbono Shel Olam is telling Moshe Rabbeinu something here that every Jew, and every person in fact, needs to realize (though it is much easier said than done.) Invariably, in the course of a lifetime, things occur which are extremely painful. There are situations where we think the Ribbono Shel Olam is punishing us, angry with us, or has abandoned us. The faith of a Jew, however, requires a person to realize what Rabbi Akiva taught us, and what Nachum Ish Gam-Zu taught us.
Namely, “Everything that the All-Merciful One does, He does for good.” Ultimately, what happens is for the good. The pain and suffering that a person endures during the course of his lifetime is ultimately what is best for him. This applies on an individual level and it applies on a national level as well. It is a very difficult concept of Emunah, but a person needs to believe this.
And Elokim spoke to Moshe: Moshe, you think I am torturing the people? Am I bad to the people? Am I causing ill to the people? Moshe Rabbeinu, you should know that I am Hashem, the ultimate source of mercy. It all comes from the same source. It is all essentially a manifestation of My Midas HaRachamim. Sometimes the Attribute of Mercy requires these types of things to happen as well.
Divrei Torah for the Shabbos Table
This is one of the fundamentals of the Jewish faith. When we recite the pasuk, “Shema Yisroel Hashem Elokeinu Hashem Echad”, which we do at least twice a day, we have to realize that this statement not only conveys the concept that the Ribbono Shel Olam is One (which is part of the mitzvah) and not only testifies to my accepting Him as my G-d (kabbalas ol malchus shomayim), but also, implicit in that statement is the unification of the Name Hashem (Midas HaRachamim – the Attribute of Mercy) together with the Name Elokeinu (Midas HaDin – the Attribute of Justice).
Everything is from the same source. Even when a person must endure terrible troubles as they did in Mitzrayim, that was part of the Ribbono Shel Olam's Grand Plan of how to create His Nation. Chazal refer to the experience of the Jewish people in Egypt as the crucible (kur habarzel), the melting pot used to refine silver or gold through intense heat that removes the dross and impurities of those metals. That was the Egyptian experience.
It was certainly horrible to endure that experience. It must have been extremely difficult for the people who saw their children being thrown into the Nile to view the experience as a manifestation of G-d's Attribute of Mercy. However, this is part of the Jewish mandate to believe: Shema Yisroel Hashem (Midas HaRachamim) Elokeinu (Midas HaDin) Hashem (Midas HaRachamim) is all One.
The Sanzer Rebbe, zt"l, once said that this is the meaning of a universally practiced custom. The Gemara in Berachos says that Rabbi Yehudah HaNasi put his hands over his eyes when he read krias shema. That is the way everyone reads Shema Yisroel. Why do we do it that way? The Sanzer Rebbe explains it is for this very reason. It symbolizes our inability to perceive the fact that the Midas HaDin and the Midas HaRachamim all come from the same source. We can't see the Attribute of Mercy being the ultimate source of bad things that happen to us. Therefore, we cover our eyes: I can't see how this could possibly be good. I can't see it – but I believe it!
If we look back at Jewish history, this is even harder to believe than personal life experiences which may trouble us. On the national scale, the things that Klal Yisroel have endured are mind-boggling. They are hard for the human mind to understand. Therefore, when we recite krias shema, we need to cover our eyes, because many times in this world, we simply cannot see the unification to which we are testifying – that Hashem Elokeinu Hashem Echad, that it all stems from the same Midas HaRachamim.
There is a sefer Kol Aryeh written by a talmud of the Chasam Sofer. He writes a beautiful interpretation of the pasukim which describe Hashem's words to Yaakov before his descent to Egypt: "...Have no fear of descending to Egypt, for I shall establish you as a great nation there. I shall descend with you to Egypt and I shall also surely bring you up; and Yosef shall place his hand on your eyes.” (Bereishis 46:3-4)
Yaakov Avinu was afraid to leave Eretz Canaan and go down to Mitzrayim. He knew through Ruach HaKodesh what they were getting themselves into. He foresaw the suffering and persecution that his children would face there. He feared the outcome of his descent to Egypt. Hashem told him not to be afraid because “In the end, I am going to take them out and, in the end, this is a necessary experience for the formation of Klal Yisroel. Just like you saw by Yosef HaTzadik – he was sold as a slave and experienced a tumultuous life, but in the end, his descent to Egypt turned out to be good for the family. Yosef is the living example of things that for many years appear to be horrible, but in the end, turn out to be a salvation."
That, says the Kol Aryeh, is what the Ribbono Shel Olam hinted to Yaakov with the words “and Yosef will place his hand over your eyes.” At the level of simple pshat, this means that when Yaakov died, Yosef would be there and would close Yaakov's eyes. But at the level of remez [symbolism], this alludes to the fact that Yosef represented the concept that interim suffering can ultimately work out for the best. Just like by krias shema, we cover our eyes to symbolize that while we are suffering, we cannot yet see the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, so too, the paradigm of Yosef symbolizes that in the end, this too will be for the best. (R’ Yissocher Frand)
