Tell me Your name.

What is in a name?

God spoke to Moses. He said, I am YHVH.

What does this name mean? Why does the Holy One only now introduce Himself with this name?

Rashi interprets the Name as meaning: I am faithful. I will reward every person who walks before Me. When they do well they will find reward.

That is the meaning of the newly revealed name to Moshe. That concept of faith also extends to exact punishment from those who deserve it. Reward and punishment are intimated by the Holy Name.

That is why I did not make my real name known to those who came before you. The earlier ones knew Me as El Shaddai. They could however not be privy to My real Name. That is because some of the covenants were yet-to-be fulfilled. The faith I promise to you is one that will be fulfilled in your lifetime. The patriarchs died before the covenants of long ago could be completed. Now history is ripe for these things to all happen. That is why the name of faith, YHVH, is revealed to you, Moshe.

The question arises, why did God wait until now? What had changed in the intervening years that God could now reveal this new more powerful and intimate name?

The Talmud records dialogue between God and Moses. God despairs, Alas, the loss of those
who have passed away and are no longer found in this world. Many times I revealed Myself to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob by the name of El Shaddai. They did not question My ways. They did not ask Me, "What is Your name?" You now ask from the start, "What is Your name?" And now you [Moshe] say to Me, "You have not saved Your people!" 1

Does this mean that the Patriarchs were more faithful servants than Moses? Is what God says a complaint against Moses? Or does it praise him? What are we supposed to learn from this soliloquy? That God wants us to question Him? Or that we should have faith and keep silent?
Going back in time, the first introduction to the name of El Shaddai is when Abram turned ninety years old. At this time in his life a covenant was presented to the aging patriarch that would establish a relationship that continued through to this day. The covenant referred to here is the pact of the circumcision. With this deed came the promise of endless progeny. “I will increase your numbers beyond your imagination,” promised God. 2

The covenant was contracted with Father Abraham. Who was speaking? What name was identified with the promise? The Speaker called Himself El Shaddai. Of course, this is God. But why does He call Himself by that name?

Later in Genesis 3, God again appeared to a patriarch, this time it was Jacob, and renewed the promise that his offspring would bring forth nations and kings that would span thousands of years. This promise to Jacob was also delivered by El Shaddai.

According to tradition there are no less than seventy-two names for God. Each one denotes a different aspect of Divinity. If that is so, what does El Shaddai mean? And why did the One use it here when speaking to the founders of Judaism? Perhaps the connection of this primal name of God is of generation? Since in both instances in Genesis, God promises to multiply the numbers of their offspring El Shaddai may represent growth, increase. In fact, the word Shaddai itself connotes generation as it is related to the Hebrew word breast.

Perhaps then this is why God no longer revealed His essence as El Shaddai. Not only have the promises been made but they have been kept. In Moses’ time the nation of Israel has grown and prospered. The people remained faithful to their side of the covenant and now awaited redemption from enslavement. Their needs are not for numbers but for freedom.

The great mystic Ramban reads into our text: The Holy One blessed be He says: Until now I had to remain concealed. Humanity was not yet ready for this. My name, YHVH, I did not make known to them. I could not make it known to them.

In other words, God hid His higher, quintessential self, from humanity until the era of slavery. In Genesis, the Patriarchs did not need to know of this aspect of God. Or perhaps they were not able to know the Divine Name of God yet. El Shaddai is a more opaque, more distant name of God It is more limited because the relationship between people and God was being re-created after the fall of Eden. Abraham knew God in more limited scope than Moses.

El Shadai represents a more limited manifestation of My being. They could never comprehend My infinite, unknowable essence. To you, on the other hand, I have revealed My truth. That is why you have questioned My ways.

The Holy One blessed be He made higher and lower crowns. 4 This – the name Shaddai -- is one of the lowest levels of Divinity. It is the place where God is most discernable and accessible. In fact, Shaddai is the point of separation between the upper and lower realms. Shade, which is how the first two letters of Shaddai reads, means demons. Shade denotes the darkest parts of human existence. When the final letter of yud is added to the double letter word, shade, it becomes a point of holiness. That is why it was the first name of the Holy One that was made known to the ancient Patriarchs. They were the ones who traversed from the world of darkness so the world of light.

The Patriarchs brought a new vision to the world of responsibility, hope, justice and most importantly, God.

In Kabbalistic lore Moshe’s relationship with God is emblematic of the attribute of Hokhma. While the Patriarchs represent the heart of the Jewish people Moshe brings the dimension of the mind of the Jewish nation. That is ultimately why the Holy One revealed His next crown of Self to Moshe here at the brink of the birth of the nation of Israel.




1 Sanhedrin 111a
2 Genesis 17:2
3 Genesis 35:11
4 Zohar 1:95b