Hashem revealed himself to the avot (Avraham Yitzchak, and Yaacov) as Kel Shadai. Why now is He saying that He is now Hashem ? It seems that the name Shadai is connected to blessings, the word dai meaning enough, in other words Hashem has enough of everything to give everyone what they need. However, now the Jewish people are in need of something more, they need salvation (to be freed from the tyranny of Egypt) and spirituality (to receive the Torah). Therefore Kel Shadai is now Hashem who not only gives blessings but who can punish those who oppress his people such as Pharoah. The attention now shifts to the drama of two leaders Moshe and Pharoah. The Torah was given to us so that we may learn from our leaders such as Moshe. However, there are also lessons to be had from our enemies such as Pharoah as well. In one of their first encounters Moshe tells Aharon to take his stick, throw it to the ground in front of Pharoah. It became a snake. Why a snake and not any other animal. The reason is that this demonstration was actually a message to Pharoah. Hashem was trying to tell him not to be like the stick which symbolizes being stubborn, unbending and uncompromising. A snake on the other hand is supple, can bend and can survive in almost any situation. Had Pharoah heeded the warning he could have prevented the ten plagues. It is interesting to note that all along for most of the plagues the stick was used to bring them on (another hint that the plagues could have been prevented if not for his stubbornness). The consequences were severe because he even got a second warning when Aharons stick swallowed the sticks of the Egyptian wise men. This was the hint that in the end the Egyptians would get swallowed up at Yam Suf (the Red Sea). Noteworthy is that a previous Pharoah also had two warnings with seven cows swallowing other cows and seven stalks swallowing other stalks. But he listened to Yosef, was good to the jews and was rewarded. This Pharoah was stubborn and rigid like a stick, but in the end Hashem changed him. He would become flexible like the snake and eventually let the Jewish people go. We can learn from his mistakes. Hashem is constantly sending us messages, we need to receive them and to heed them.
Posted on: Thu, 15 Jan 2015 20:00:00 +0000
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