What Moses Discovered Before Redemption is the Key We Need Today. | Land of Israel Fellowship

Shalom fellowship today. I would never let this happen, but I'm not able to make the fellowship live. One of our dear friends, our old nextoor neighbors before moving to the Arugo farm, whose children grew up with our children, invited me in Tahila to the wedding of their oldest son. So, I made this video so we wouldn't miss a week learning together. And the truth is, it's a really deep teaching. The para starts right off with the tables turning. Moses had complained to God asking, "Why have you made it so hard for the people of Israel? Since I came to Pharaoh, it's made things worse. The people of Israel aren't just suffering. It's as hard as it's ever been for them." And then Moses is told by God, "Watch out. I'm going to get involved now, and you're going to see what I'm about to do to Pharaoh in Egypt." And in this week's para, after the suffering reached its peak, the secret that has kept Israel alive for all time is revealed. Exodus 6:es 2 and 3 God Elohim spoke to Moses and said to him, "I am the Lord. I am Hashem. I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob as El Shadai, but with my name Hashem, I did not make myself known to them." So from the first verse, Elohim spoke to Moses and said, "I am Hashem." What is that about? In English, it sounds totally different. By the way, it sounds kind of cool. It's like, "And God spoke to Moses and said, "I am the Lord." It sounds like God is saying, "Moses, I'm the boss. I'm the master of all things. Watch out." But in Hebrew, something else is being said. Something totally different. It's revealing to us the reality of God in the world. And Elohim spoke to Moses. Elohim is the name of judgment. It's the name that represents the raw powers of the universe that operate through strict laws of nature, physics, biology. In that way, Elohim is the divine name that expresses God as the judge, the governor of reality. Hashem relates to the world through law, structure, justice. The side of God that kind of holds creation together, accountable for truth, measure for measure, consequences. Nothing is random. Everything has a cause and everything has an effect. Your choices, well, they will make consequences and objective justice determines the outcome. There is right, there is wrong. Moral clarity and clear boundaries between good and evil, that's Elohim. Choose wisely because a wrong choice will have consequences. So, Hashem appears to Moses as Elohim. The Israelites are enslaved. The brothers sold Joseph into slavery. They were successful outsiders and threatened the empire. A new Pharaoh arose and enslaved the people. Maybe the children of Israel should have packed up, moved back to the land of Israel instead of staying in the comfort and luxury. Maybe it's the consequence that a stronger nation will always enslave the weaker nation. Survival of the fittest and Egypt is the fittest of them all. So the Jews by the laws of nature will end up persecuted, enslaved, and suffer the consequences of being a small and different people. So Elohim speaks to Moses and says, "I am Hashem." In Jewish thought, Hashem represents the God revealed through Rahamim, through love, compassion, closeness, and mercy. We've spoken about this so many times. And here it's revealed to us right before redemption that this secret had to be revealed. Hashem is the name that speaks not only about what is true, but to the divine compassion behind the truth. the loving presence that stays close, that nurtures the soul, that makes room for chuva, for repentance, for healing, for growth. And Hashem is the name of Chuva, which means that no matter what you've done wrong, according to the strict laws of nature, you're lost. But according to God's law, to Chuva, to Hashem's name, you can turn your life around because God's love overpowers any system or laws of nature that are in place. Hashem is the name of chuva, the name of return. Meaning, no matter what you've done, no matter what the laws of nature, what should happen next, you can turn your life around. You've made bad choices. And with bad choices come bad consequences. In Chuva, Hashem says you can rebuild. You can restore. You can come back. And so because God's love is the essence of life, it's deeper than the system of laws that governs the world. Hashem is the soul of this world. And before redemption begins, Moshe is shown the deepest secret, the formula of Amuna. The judgment is not outside of God. exile, Egypt, slavery. It's not random. Even the crushing weight of reality, the pain, the obstacles, the hardships, the delays, the suffering, even when it feels like life is just faceless, strict justice of the world. Elohim says, "I am Hashem." The hard times are not God against you. They are God with you. Sometimes hidden, sometimes it's severe. But times have purpose because there's nothing outside of him. Oil, no enemy outside of him, no force outside of him, no setback outside of him. So when we read those words, Elohim spoke to Moses and said, "I am Hashem," we are being taught how to look at our lives. When you feel pressure, when you feel boxed in, when the world feels harsh and unfair, when reality feels like it's closing in, don't assume that God is distant. Sometimes Elohim is speaking. But the message beneath is always the message of Hashem. I am Hashem. I am here. I am with you. And everything, even this is for the good. But the final truth of redemption, it's like there is nothing outside of Hashem. Hashem is Elohim. That's what we say at the end of Yom Kipur. And the moment you realize that and you really internalize that in life, the pain becomes much less. It stops being meaningless. It's a part of a journey. It becomes refinement. It becomes the beginning of kula, beginning of redemption. But sometimes the justice of this world is just too heavy. It's too heavy for little old me to carry. And sometimes the weight of strict reality just feels unbearable. And in those moments, it's not only hard to accept God's judgment. It's hard to see Hashem behind the hardship at all. That's why we call it panim, a hidden face. God is there, but he feels hidden. He's close, but you can't see him. So, what do we do then? What do we do in a reality when we feel so far away from God and we only see just the strict reality of justice that's coming hard on us. The very next verse gives the answer. I appeared to Abrak and Yakov as El Shadai, but with my name Hashem, I did not make myself known to them. Exodus 6:3. What does it mean that the patriarchs didn't know Hashem? Cuz the Torah, knowing is never just intellectual. It's not facts. It's not theology. Knowing means intimacy, a relationship, a lived experience. Like the Torah says, Adam knew Eve. That's a meaning, a bond that's so deep it produces life. So, Hashem is saying something really shocking. The avote, the patriarchs, they believed in me. They loved me. They trusted me but they did not experience me as Hashem because that can only be revealed through time. Hashem's name Yudhe V is the name that carries time itself. It is past, present and future. Haya Hov and Y together. Timeless reality is Hashem's name. the reality that's beyond time, beyond the system, beyond the laws of nature. That is Hashem. Hashem is God revealed in history. He's the master of destiny, the keeper of promises. He's the one who writes meaning into time itself. Araken and Yakov knew God was loving, but they didn't get to see the love unfold. They received promises. They walked with faith. They planted seeds that they would never harvest. They believed in redemption that they would never see. In other words, they knew Hashem, but they didn't yet know Hashem. Not only you know him when the promise finally becomes real. And now after hundreds of years of slavery, God tells Moshe, "I am Hashem. Your fathers waited. They hoped. They trusted. But now is the moment when my love will no longer just be believed in. It's going to be revealed. Now you will see in time. Now you will know. Now you'll have a relationship. And that becomes the first message of redemption and maybe the deepest message of our generation. Sometimes judgment can only be understood as compassion with time. In the moment it feels like judgment. It feels like loss. It feels like Hashem is hiding. October 7th. What's going on? But Hashem is teaching Moshe. He's teaching us no that Elohim is Hashem. You need to know Hashem's essence is only revealed in time. The more time that passes, the more of a bird's eyee view that we get, the more godly eye view we get, we see the world with Messiah eyes, that's when we can see God's love only over time. In the moment, there's just the moment. And that moment sometimes can be really painful. Can't see the love yet, but we can trust that in time, Hashem will reveal it. That's what was being revealed to us 3,000 years ago. To know that Elohim is Hashem, to know that Hashem's love is revealed only in time. That's the beginning of redemption. The story of redemption from Egypt. It's the story of our lives. It's the blueprint for life itself. And when the times are hard, it's teaching us to have amuna to hold on to time because Hashem elohim Hashem is God is justice is the hardship. And with time, you'll see Vado there's nothing outside of him. Everything is for the good. And so may we be blessed as the people of Israel are being redeemed. We too should see full redemption in our days. Bye guys. Hey, that was a highlight from this week's Land of Israel Fellowship. If you like that highlight, you'll love the land of Israel Fellowship. Find out more on the land of Isisrael.com. Join our global community from over 50 countries around the world that gather together every Sunday live from Israel. Check it out on the link below. >> [music]