Elokim to Moshe, Hashem to the People

1“God spoke to Moshe and said to him, ‘I am Hashem.’”¹ The Alshich, the Kli Yakar and the Ohr HaChaim discuss a well-known question on this verse. Why does it open with the Name Elokim, “God,” the attribute of judgment, and close with “I am Hashem,” the Name of the attribute of mercy?

2Notice the wording, too. First the verse says “to Moshe,” by name, and then “to him,” without his name. And why does it use two different verbs for the same speech, “spoke,” vaydabeir, and “said,” vayomer?

3The Midrash says that Moshe told Hashem: “When You told me, ‘Come, I will send you to Pharaoh,’ You told me with the attribute of mercy that You would redeem them. Perhaps by the time I arrived, it had turned into the attribute of judgment?” The Holy One, blessed be He, said to him, “I am Hashem: I stand by the attribute of mercy.” That is what is written: “and said to him, ‘I am Hashem.’”² This is puzzling. Why did Moshe think that mercy had turned into judgment? If he thought it was because Israel had sinned in the meantime, how does Hashem's reply, that He still stands by the attribute of mercy, answer him?

4Another Midrash speaks of Moshe's complaint “Why have You done evil to this people?” It says: “Because of this, the attribute of judgment sought to strike Moshe. That is what is written: ‘God spoke to Moshe.’ But when the Holy One, blessed be He, saw that Moshe had spoken this way because of Israel's suffering, He went back to dealing with him through the attribute of mercy. That is what is written: ‘and said to him, “I am Hashem.”’”³ This too is hard to understand. If it was a blemish in Moshe Rabbeinu to question Hashem's ways, what difference does it make that he did so because of Israel's suffering? In the end, he still questioned Hashem's ways.

5We may explain all this by first citing Rashi on the creation of the world.⁴ At first it arose in Hashem's thought to create the world through the attribute of judgment. But the Holy One, blessed be He, saw that the world could not endure, so He put the attribute of mercy first and made it a partner to the attribute of judgment. The holy sefarim, among them the Shelah at length, teach that “He joined the attribute of mercy” refers to the simple people of Israel, while with tzaddikim Hashem still deals through the attribute of judgment.⁵ The reason is that only tzaddikim can serve Hashem even when He deals with them through judgment. Even when a tzaddik is punished from Heaven, he does not, Heaven forbid, question Hashem's ways, so Hashem can deal with him through judgment. But it is impossible to deal with the simple people through judgment, for they might, Heaven forbid, come to question His ways. So He deals with them through the attribute of mercy.

6Now the Midrash that judgment sought to strike Moshe for saying “Why have You done evil?” is fully explained. Judgment sought this because a tzaddik must accept judgment as it comes, without questioning Hashem's ways. “But when the Holy One, blessed be He, saw that Moshe had spoken this way because of Israel's suffering”: Moshe Rabbeinu himself did not, Heaven forbid, question His ways. He came with a claim on behalf of the simple people of Israel, who might stumble and question Hashem's way of judgment. So Hashem turned back and said, “I am Hashem,” the Name of mercy.

7The other Midrash, in which Moshe feared that mercy had turned into judgment, can be explained the same way. When Moshe Rabbeinu heard the words “God spoke …,” he thought that Hashem was now dealing even with the simple people of Israel through the attribute of judgment, Heaven forbid. So he asked about it, since the Holy One, blessed be He, had told him that He would redeem them through the attribute of mercy. And Hashem answered that He stood by His word: Israel's redemption would come through the attribute of mercy.

8The wording of the verse now fits well. “God spoke to Moshe”: toward Moshe Rabbeinu himself, and him alone, the verse uses vaydabeir, a harsh word, and the Name Elokim, which signifies the attribute of judgment. But it goes on, “and said to him, ‘I am Hashem,’” and this part is addressed to Bnei Yisrael, who are joined “to him,” to Moshe. Toward them it uses vayomer, a word of gentle speech, and the Name Havayah, the Name of the attribute of mercy. This also settles why the verse says “to him,” without naming Moshe.

9It follows that even when we see Hashem acting through the attribute of judgment and punishing, Heaven forbid, it is really nothing but the attribute of mercy. In our times too the attribute of mercy is great, and through it the Holy One, blessed be He, has showered us with abundance, both spiritual and material. All the judgment He brings is merely a partner joined to mercy. It comes because of “the leaven in the dough” that holds us back,⁶ so that we will return to Him.

10Our generation has already had a great deal of judgment, to bring us to accept the yoke of the kingship of Heaven. May it be His will that we now be privileged to see “and Hashem said,” the gentle speech of mercy, with blessing and success, until the coming of the righteous Redeemer. Amen.