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Parshat Va'eira
By: Rabbi Moshe Goodman, Kollel Ohr Shlomo, Hebron

בס"ד

לשכנו תדרשו

Cleaving to the Holy Presence in Our Holy Land

אני ה'

"And unite our hearts to love and fear Your Name" (Second blessing of morning Shma).

The Name of God, the Tetragamatton (havaya), takes a dominant role in the Redemption from Egypt as seen in the opening of this week's parsha. In the following verse we also see that the covenant of HaShem with the Patriarchs to give the Land of Israel to their offspring also takes prominence in this Redemption. The connection between these two concepts can be explained by a halacha unique to the Temple Mount, the crown of the Holy Land. Halacha mandates that, although the Tetragammaton is strictly forbidden to be uttered as it is spelled throughout the world over, nevertheless this holy Name may be uttered as it is spelled on the Temple Mount. This law highlights how through the sanctity of the Land one is able to more greatly express God's Name.

It seems that this law is directly connected to assertion that the concept of God's Name is directly related to the concept of God's Presence, i.e the Holy Presence. In the past we have proven this relationship through such proof-texts as the Targum's translation of "expressing my Name" (Ex.  20, 20) as "resting my Presence" and more. Based on these sources, we may assert that the proclamation of God's Name to Moshe in context of the promise to give Israel the Holy Land means that one of the ultimate reasons for this Redemption was to manifest HaShem's Name or Presence in the Holy Land and especially at the Temple Mount as we just explained (as can also be seen in Ex. 6, 8). If so, what is the meaning of the verse here saying that God did not reveal Himself to the Patriarchs through the Tetragammaton, even though our Patriarchs did live in the Land of Israel?

It seems that the answer to this question lies with the understanding of the sanctity of the Land of Israel being accentuated with spiritual power inherent in the masses of the People of Israel. Halacha mandates that the liability for the sacred Truma (and also Maasros etc.) in the Land of Israel is subject to the majority of the People of Israel living in the Land. This law and many others show that a People mass is essential  in 'developing', so-to-speak, the Holy Presence already inherent in the Land.  In the understanding that the Land of Israel is the 'wife' of Israel the 'husband' as discussed at length in the past we find how this spiritual 'development' matches perfectly with our Sages teaching that a husband and wife have the ability to make the Holy Presence rest in their midst.

Based on this, we understand that the Patriarchs, as individuals greatly righteous as they were, were still not able to reach the high revelation of the Tetragammatton given to Moshe, who is meant to lead Israel as a People to the Holy Land, the ultimate spiritual union which gives 'justification' for such high revelations for this purpose. Nevertheless, the level of Moshe's revelation is not to be seen as disconnected from that of the Patriarchs. On the contrary, Moshe's revelation is a continuation from the covenant with the Patriarchs, and where the Patriarchs left off Moshe continues. Thus, Moshe's name is numerically equivalent to the Name of God that the Patriarchs did achieve "El Shaddai" = 345.

In a similar way, the Arizal explains the relationship between Jerusalem, City of the Temple, and Hebron, City of the Patriarchs. According to the Arizal King David's spiritual work in Jerusalem (and his preparation for the Temple there) does not stand disconnected from his spiritual work in Hebron. Rather, it is through connecting to the Holy Presence of Hebron that David reached his great spiritual grandeur in greeting the Holy Presence in Jerusalem.

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Real Stories from the Holy Land #151

"I had dated with at least ten girls and had been offered dozens of proposals, but for some unknown reason I never saved any of these girls phone-numbers on my cell-phone (rather on slips of paper, etc.). One day, I was matched with one girl, and I suddenly had the urge to save her number on my cell. It turns out that that girl became my wife... " M.Y   

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