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Why did the Avos never see Hashem (ה׳) fulfill His promises, and what changed with Moshe and Klal Yisrael? The shiur develops a fundamental yesod: the Avos related to Hashem through His midos (attributes), which are conditional and can change. Klal Yisrael at Yetzias Mitzrayim received the revelation of Shem Hashem—the essence of Hashem Himself—creating an eternal bond of achdus where promises must be fulfilled because they emerge from the relationship itself, not merely from how Hashem acts.
This shiur presents a profound analysis of the opening pesukim of Parshas Vaeira, particularly focusing on Rashi (רש"י)'s statement that Hashem (ה׳) appeared to the Avos as Kel Shakai but His name Hashem (the Tetragrammaton) was not made known to them. Rabbi Zweig tackles several fundamental questions that perplex the Rishonim and Acharonim: If it simply wasn't yet time to fulfill the promises made to the Avos, why does the Torah (תורה) emphasize that they didn't see the fulfillment? Why introduce a theological discussion about different names of Hashem rather than simply stating they didn't witness the fulfillment while Moshe's generation would? How could Moshe tell the Avos that Hashem fulfilled His promise when Klal Yisrael hadn't yet entered Eretz Yisrael and many things could still happen? The shiur begins with a fundamental insight drawn from the Midrash's interpretation of "Vayigash" in Parshas Vayigash. Chazal teach that Vayigash simultaneously means three things: tefillah (prayer), peace (appeasement), and milchamah (war). Rabbi Zweig asks: How can one word express three contradictory approaches simultaneously? The answer reveals a crucial principle about human relationships: we never actually deal with the essence of a person, but rather with the various "hats" or roles they wear. A person might be a teacher, a politician, a chesed (חסד) activist—different facets presented to different people in different contexts. When Yehuda approached Yosef, he was simultaneously addressing Yosef's multiple interests and roles: the viceroy of Egypt, someone with personal feelings toward his brothers, and Pharaoh's administrator. Thus three approaches could coexist because they addressed three different "personas" within the same individual.
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Shemos 6:2-3 (Parshas Vaeira)
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