By Marco Del Monte
Translated and adapted from the book “Hok Leyaakov” (Parashat Shemot, Yom Hamishi, Or Yaakov, based on the teachings of Rabbi Yaakov Abuchatzeira, Abir Yaakov ZZ”L)
“Moses said to G-d, ‘Behold, when I go to the children of Israel and say to them, “The G-d of your fathers has sent me to you,” and they ask me, “What is His Name?” what shall I say to them?’ And G-d said to Moses, ‘Ehyeh-Asher-Ehyeh’ (I Shall Be That I Shall Be), and He said, ‘Thus shall you say to the children of Israel: “Ehyeh has sent me to you”’” (Exodus 3:13-14).
One might wonder why Moses, when speaking with Hashem, asks Him to tell him D-o's name in case the people ask what His name is. Could it be that the people do not know Hashem? To answer this, we must look at the previous parashot when, in the covenant of the split animals, Hashem tells Abraham that it will come to pass that the people will become enslaved for 400 years. Therefore, according to handed-down tradition, the children of Israel knew that the slavery would last that period of time, and at that moment they were at about the halfway point of the years of servitude. However, when Hashem reveals Himself in the burning bush, He tells Moses that the time of redemption has arrived. Moses is astonished and wonders how it is possible that D-o's word would not be fulfilled, and yet, Moses thinks, D-o is truth and His seal is truth. Precisely for this reason, Moses thinks: "If I announce to the children of Israel that the hour of redemption has arrived, they will not believe me; therefore they will ask me what His name is, precisely to verify that I am indeed Hashem's messenger." For this very reason, Moses says the phrase "Veamerù lì ma shemò ma" ("and they will say to me, what is His name"), where the final letters of the words of the phrase form the letters of the Tetragrammaton Yud Hek Vav Hek, pointing precisely to the Name by which everyone named and knew Hashem. The Holy One, blessed be He, replies that the name through which He is giving the announcement of freedom is Ehiyeh asher Ehiyeh, a special name containing a secret message. The name Ehiyeh has a numerical value of 21. Ehiyeh asher Ehiyeh can also be read as: multiply the name 21 by 21 and you will arrive at the number 441, the numerical value of the word "Emet" ("Truth"), meaning there is no contradiction in Hashem, it is only pure Truth, and even if you see that the 400-year decree will end shortly, know that this is truth coming from Hashem.
How is this possible? The Chok leYaakov explains that every gezerah (decree) of the Holy One, blessed be He, is "al tenai" ("conditional"), meaning that if a person persists in their improper actions the decree remains in place, but in the event that a person changes their actions and does teshuvah, every bad decree is torn up and annulled. This is precisely the meaning of the sacred name that Hashem hands over to Moses: "I shall be what I shall be", meaning there shall be a consequence according to how the behaviour shall be: if it shall be persistent in wicked actions, the decree shall be persistent; if there shall be a positive change in actions, there shall be a positive change in the decree, and all shall be Truth. As we know, after 210 years the decree of slavery will be annulled, the people will be liberated, and will be led to Mount Sinai to receive the Holy Torah.
May all bad decrees be annulled for the merit of this Sacred Name, and may each of us receive the Torah directly from the voice of Hashem.
Shabbat Shalom Umevorach
Translated from the Italian with Google Gemini. The Italian text is the original.