Va'era

“I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob as El Shaddai, but by My name YHVH I did not make known to them,” said God in this week’s Torah portion.
Why does God mention His name and the names of the forefathers to Moshe rabbenu?  
He was letting Moshe know that each one of them had struggled to find the holiness that inheres in every place, but that no one had ever seen.  Abraham, Isaac and Jacob searched to locate godliness in the world.  Without their tireless dedication none of us would be here today.  And yet, these great progenitors of the Jewish tradition never possessed the apex of Creation, the Torah.  That ultimate gift would be handed to Moshe.
That is why God told Moshe that He appeared as El Shaddai to Abraham, Issac and Jacob.  Shaddai in Hebrew comes from the word “enough.”  Even though these patriarchs did not receive Torah their discovery of God in all the hidden places was sufficient.
How fortunate are we who are the children and beneficiaries of their efforts and the gift of Torah.

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