Rabbi Daniel: Thoughts on Torah

Dear friends,

In 5786 we read the first third of each weekly parsha.  In parshat Vaera, the second verse of the first aliyah reads as follows:  
 
וָאֵרָ֗א אֶל־אַבְרָהָ֛ם אֶל־יִצְחָ֥ק וְאֶֽל־יַעֲקֹ֖ב בְּאֵ֣ל שַׁדָּ֑י וּשְׁמִ֣י יְהֹוָ֔ה לֹ֥א נוֹדַ֖עְתִּי לָהֶֽם׃
I appeared to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob as El Shaddai, but I did not make Myself known to them by My name יהוה.

Rashi is troubled by this verse; 

 Moses is said to have a deeper relationship with God than God had with the patriarchs and matriarchs.  What is the nature of God's four letter name that he withheld from our ancestors in Genesis?  According to Rashi, the relationship between Moses and God leveled up because God fulfilled his promise to the people.  God was known by the patriarchs and matriarchs according to a diminished name of God because God's promise had not been fulfilled. 

We learn an important lesson about how keeping promises is an essential part of deep relationship building.  If we find ourselves in a situation of holding out on fulfilling a promise it affects our very name - an essential part of ourselves. 

Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Daniel