B"H
You know the drill by now. Full text of Midrash Tanchuma on Va'era is here
1) Shemot 5:22 - 6:3
וַיָּשָׁב מֹשֶׁה אֶל-יְהוָה וַיֹּאמַר אֲדֹנָי לָמָה הֲרֵעֹתָה לָעָם הַזֶּה לָמָּה זֶּה שְׁלַחְתָּנִי. כג וּמֵאָז בָּאתִי אֶל-פַּרְעֹה לְדַבֵּר בִּשְׁמֶךָ הֵרַע לָעָם הַזֶּה וְהַצֵּל לֹא-הִצַּלְתָּ אֶת-עַמֶּךָ.
א וַיֹּאמֶר יְהוָה אֶל-מֹשֶׁה עַתָּה תִרְאֶה אֲשֶׁר אֶעֱשֶׂה לְפַרְעֹה כִּי בְיָד חֲזָקָה יְשַׁלְּחֵם וּבְיָד חֲזָקָה יְגָרְשֵׁם מֵאַרְצוֹ. {ס} ב וַיְדַבֵּר אֱלֹהִים אֶל-מֹשֶׁה וַיֹּאמֶר אֵלָיו אֲנִי יְהוָה. ג וָאֵרָא אֶל-אַבְרָהָם אֶל-יִצְחָק וְאֶל-יַעֲקֹב בְּאֵל שַׁדָּי וּשְׁמִי יְהוָה לֹא נוֹדַעְתִּי לָהֶם
2) Midrash Tanchuma on Va'era, Chapter 1
וַיָּשָׁב מֹשֶׁה אֶל-יְהוָה וַיֹּאמַר אֲדֹנָי לָמָה הֲרֵעֹתָה לָעָם הַזֶּה לָמָּה זֶּה שְׁלַחְתָּנִי. כג וּמֵאָז בָּאתִי אֶל-פַּרְעֹה לְדַבֵּר בִּשְׁמֶךָ הֵרַע לָעָם הַזֶּה וְהַצֵּל לֹא-הִצַּלְתָּ אֶת-עַמֶּךָ.
א וַיֹּאמֶר יְהוָה אֶל-מֹשֶׁה עַתָּה תִרְאֶה אֲשֶׁר אֶעֱשֶׂה לְפַרְעֹה כִּי בְיָד חֲזָקָה יְשַׁלְּחֵם וּבְיָד חֲזָקָה יְגָרְשֵׁם מֵאַרְצוֹ. {ס} ב וַיְדַבֵּר אֱלֹהִים אֶל-מֹשֶׁה וַיֹּאמֶר אֵלָיו אֲנִי יְהוָה. ג וָאֵרָא אֶל-אַבְרָהָם אֶל-יִצְחָק וְאֶל-יַעֲקֹב בְּאֵל שַׁדָּי וּשְׁמִי יְהוָה לֹא נוֹדַעְתִּי לָהֶם
2) Midrash Tanchuma on Va'era, Chapter 1
תדע לך, שלא גלה אותו לאבות העולם. ולמה גלה אותו למשה. על הלך לגאל את ישראל. מה כתיב למעלה מן הענין, וישב משה אל ה' ויאמר, ה' למה הרעותה לעם הזה. אם אמר אדם לגדול הימנו למה הרעותה, דבר קשה הוא אומר. ולא עוד אלא אמר, ומאז באתי אל פרעה לדבר בשמך הרע לעם הזה. אמר לו הקדוש ברוך הוא למשה, חבל על דאבדין ולא משתכחין, הרי כמה פעמים נגליתי על אברהם יצחק ויעקב באל שדי, ולא אמרתי להם ששמי ה' כשם שאמרתי לך, ולא הרהרו אחר מדותי. אמרתי לאברהם, קום התהלך בארץ לארכה וגו' (ברא' יג יז), בקש מקום לקבור שרה ולא מצא, עד שקנה בארבע מאות שקל כסף, ולא הרהר אחר מדותי. אמרתי ליצחק, גור בארץ הזאת כי לך ולזרעך אתן את כל הארצות האל (שם כו ג), בקש מים לשתות ולא מצא, שנאמר, ויריבו רועי גרר עם רועי יצחק לאמר לנו המים וגו' (בראשית כו כ), ולא הרהר אחר מדותי. אמרתי ליעקב, הארץ אשר אתה שוכב עליה לך אתננה (שם כח יג), בקש מקום לנטוע אהלו ולא מצא, עד שקנה במאה קשיטה, ולא הרהר אחר מדותי. ואתה תחלת שליחותי אמרת לי מה שמך, ועכשיו אתה אומר, ומאז באתי אל פרעה לדבר בשמך וגו'. לפיכך עתה תראה אשר אעשה לפרעה וגו'. במלחמת פרעה תראה, ואין אתה רואה במלחמת שלשים ואחד מלכים שיעשה בהן נקמה יהושע תלמידך. מכאן את למד, שנטל משה את הדין, שלא ליכנס לארץ. לפיכך כתיב, וידבר אלהים אל משה, שישב עליו במדת הדין. ויאמר אליו אני ה', מדת רחמים, שאגאל את ישראל ואכניסם לארץ. לכך כתיב, וארא אל אברהם אל יצחק ואל יעקב באל שדי:
3) Bereishit 17:1-2 and 8
א
וַיְהִי אַבְרָם בֶּן-תִּשְׁעִים שָׁנָה וְתֵשַׁע שָׁנִים וַיֵּרָא
יְהוָה אֶל-אַבְרָם וַיֹּאמֶר אֵלָיו אֲנִי-אֵל שַׁדַּי הִתְהַלֵּךְ
לְפָנַי וֶהְיֵה תָמִים.
ב
וְאֶתְּנָה בְרִיתִי בֵּינִי וּבֵינֶךָ וְאַרְבֶּה אוֹתְךָ בִּמְאֹד מְאֹד
ח
וְנָתַתִּי לְךָ וּלְזַרְעֲךָ אַחֲרֶיךָ אֵת אֶרֶץ מְגֻרֶיךָ אֵת
כָּל-אֶרֶץ כְּנַעַן לַאֲחֻזַּת עוֹלָם וְהָיִיתִי לָהֶם לֵאלֹהִים.
4) Bereishit 26:2-3
ב
וַיֵּרָא אֵלָיו יְהוָה וַיֹּאמֶר אַל-תֵּרֵד מִצְרָיְמָה שְׁכֹן בָּאָרֶץ אֲשֶׁר אֹמַר אֵלֶיךָ.
ג
גּוּר בָּאָרֶץ הַזֹּאת וְאֶהְיֶה עִמְּךָ וַאֲבָרְכֶךָּ כִּי-לְךָ
וּלְזַרְעֲךָ אֶתֵּן אֶת-כָּל-הָאֲרָצֹת הָאֵל וַהֲקִמֹתִי אֶת-הַשְּׁבֻעָה
אֲשֶׁר נִשְׁבַּעְתִּי לְאַבְרָהָם אָבִיךָ.
5) Bereishit 28:13
יג
וְהִנֵּה יְהוָה נִצָּב עָלָיו וַיֹּאמַר אֲנִי יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵי
אַבְרָהָם אָבִיךָ וֵאלֹהֵי יִצְחָק הָאָרֶץ אֲשֶׁר אַתָּה שֹׁכֵב עָלֶיהָ
לְךָ אֶתְּנֶנָּה וּלְזַרְעֶךָ.
Ref only - Bamidbar, 20:7-12 re: Moshe and Aharon hitting rock and being punished.
"And Moshe returned to G-d and said 'My Lord, why have you done evil to this people, why have you sent me? From the time I came to Pharoah to speak in Your Name he did evil to this people, but You did not rescue Your people'. G-d said to Moshe 'You will soon see what I shall do to Pharoah, for he shall let them go because of a greater might and because of a greater might he shall drive them from his land'. And G-d spoke to Moshe and said to him 'I am HaShem. I appeared to Avraham, Yitzhak and Ya'akov as El Shaddai, but with My Name HaShem I did not make Myself known to them'." (Source 1 above)
Straddling the end of parshat Shemot and the opening of parshat Va'era, this passage is highly enigmatic in its closing lines. G-d claims to have revealed Himself to Moshe through a different name from that by which the Avot knew G-d - yet, we can see for ourselves that the four-lettered Name referred to here is used throughout Bereishit. How, then, can this be a new 'name' for G-d?
The midrashic explanation (source 2) above sees this as G-d's coded rebuke following Moshe's outburst, telling Moshe both that he will only live to see the Exodus itself (i.e. what G-d will do to Pharoah) but not the later conquest of Eretz Yisrael, and that Moshe has somehow failed to live up to the standards set by the Avot who, the midrash states, did not question G-d's middot even when their own experiences appeared to contradict G-d's promise that Eretz Yisrael would belong to them and their descendants.
The midrashic explanation (source 2) above sees this as G-d's coded rebuke following Moshe's outburst, telling Moshe both that he will only live to see the Exodus itself (i.e. what G-d will do to Pharoah) but not the later conquest of Eretz Yisrael, and that Moshe has somehow failed to live up to the standards set by the Avot who, the midrash states, did not question G-d's middot even when their own experiences appeared to contradict G-d's promise that Eretz Yisrael would belong to them and their descendants.
Superficially this appears to work - the midrash contrasts the Avot's patience and faith in G-d with Moshe's impatience to see G-d redeem his people. In some ways, this explanation for Moshe's being barred from entering Eretz Yisrael also ties in with the p'shat explanation for this later in on Bamidbar where Moshe's hitting the rock to obtain water is seen by some as a sign of Moshe's impatience and/or anger.
However, what has this got to do with the name by which either Moshe and the Avot know G-d by? And if we are being honest, surely Moshe has some justification for protesting at G-d's apparent inaction? After all, if Avraham can protest against G-d's condemning the cities of S'dom and Gemorrah to destruction surely Moshe is entitled to at least some frustration when the victims in this case are what G-d has claimed to be His chosen people? If we look into the midrash more closely, we can perhaps solve some of these problems.
The most striking aspect about this midrash is that it is very specific about the Avot not questioning G-d's middot (usually translated as 'character trait' e.g. he/she has good middot). In order to interpret this, we need to bear in mind the tradition that G-d's various Names (which are the overall concern of this midrash) each refer to a different midda or aspect of G-d. The four-lettered name 'HaShem', which G-d claims to have revealed Himself by for the first time to Moshe, therefore connotes a different aspect or 'midda' of G-d than 'El Shaddai', the name by which the Avot are meant to have known G-d by. While the midrash itself does not explicitly state what 'El Shaddai' represents, it does explain that the divine Names 'HaShem and 'Elokim' represent G-d's aspects of mercy (rachamim) and strict justice (din) respectively.
However, what has this got to do with the name by which either Moshe and the Avot know G-d by? And if we are being honest, surely Moshe has some justification for protesting at G-d's apparent inaction? After all, if Avraham can protest against G-d's condemning the cities of S'dom and Gemorrah to destruction surely Moshe is entitled to at least some frustration when the victims in this case are what G-d has claimed to be His chosen people? If we look into the midrash more closely, we can perhaps solve some of these problems.
The most striking aspect about this midrash is that it is very specific about the Avot not questioning G-d's middot (usually translated as 'character trait' e.g. he/she has good middot). In order to interpret this, we need to bear in mind the tradition that G-d's various Names (which are the overall concern of this midrash) each refer to a different midda or aspect of G-d. The four-lettered name 'HaShem', which G-d claims to have revealed Himself by for the first time to Moshe, therefore connotes a different aspect or 'midda' of G-d than 'El Shaddai', the name by which the Avot are meant to have known G-d by. While the midrash itself does not explicitly state what 'El Shaddai' represents, it does explain that the divine Names 'HaShem and 'Elokim' represent G-d's aspects of mercy (rachamim) and strict justice (din) respectively.
This is crucial in order to interpret the midrash. As we may remember, in parshat Shemot Moshe famously asks G-d to reveal His Name to him, seemingly as 'proof' for Moshe to bring to Am Israel of his G-d-given mission to help free them from Mitzrayim. However, it is after Moshe's first disappointing encounter with Pharoah (where Am Yisrael's workload is made heavier rather than lighter) that Moshe turns to G-d and says 'From the time I came to Pharoah to speak in your Name...'[my emphasis]. If we look at this through the prism of divine Names representing different aspects of G-d, then Moshe's point becomes even starker - G-d, by allowing the slavery of 'His people' to become worse, is not being true to His attribute of rachamim as represented by the name 'HaShem' which G-d had specifically told Moshe to use when approaching Pharoah to ask for their freedom.
G-d's rebuke to Moshe - that the Avot never questioned His middot despite not having had G-d's Name of HaShem revealed to them - also makes more sense if we understand that the name of 'El Shaddai' represents a particular aspect of G-d which was special to G-d's relationship with the Avot. We first see this name used when G-d changes Avram's name to Avraham and establishes a new brit with him, as part of which G-d reiterates His earlier promises that Eretz Yisrael ultimately belongs to Avraham and his descendants (see source 3 above). Avraham that changes his name, reiterates promise re: land belonging to him. G-d repeats this promise about Eretz Yisrael to both Yitzhak and Ya'akov the first time He appears to them (see sources 4 and 5 above) and - although the specific name 'El Shaddai' is not used here - G-d in both cases identifies Himself through His relationship with Avraham.
The midrash therefore appears to pick up on this point by making G-d's promise regarding possession of Eretz Yisrael part of the midda represented by 'El Shaddai' - yet the Avot, who never truly 'possessed' the land in their lifetimes without having to either buy portions of it (Avraham and Ya'akov) or be subjected to disputes over it (Yitzhak), never questioned G-d's apparent failure to be true to His promise as represented by this name/midda. This is an exact parallel to Moshe's situation at the end of parshat Shemot where he questions G-d's apparent lack of rachamim - hence, according to this midrashic interpretation G-d's rebuking Moshe through the opening of parshat Va'era.
Furthermore, in this midrashic explanation of why Moshe is barred from entering Eretz Yisrael Moshe is punished neged k'neged middah for questioning G-d's aspect of rachamim by having G-d judge him through his aspect of 'din' at first, and only afterwards employing rachamim. What the midrash is also telling us here is that, just because G-d does not give us 'instant' results or appear at a superficial level to be acting in accordance with a particular aspect/promise of His, this may not be an accurate reading of events. Sometimes, only the passage of time can reveal the way G-d works.
Shavua tov!
RPT
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