Parshas Shemos: Ehyeh Asher Ehyeh and Being Present

AI summary (may contain mistakes)

Why does Moshe Rabbeinu ask Hashem's name at the burning bush, when the Jewish people already know it? A name shows how Hashem relates to us. Havaya, was, is and will be, is the one eternal now. Being present in that now is where geula begins, and without it there is no real davening.

Key points

• Ehyeh is Hashem speaking in first person, appearing to us in each present moment.
• Havaya joins hayah, hoveh and yihyeh, and the Shulchan Aruch gives this as its kavana.
• In its second perek, on zehirus, the sefer likens the Yetzer Hara's constant busyness to Paro overworking the Jewish people.
• One reading of the two doorways in Brachos: first emptying the mind, then connecting to Hashem.
• The Zohar reads Mitzrayim as meitzar yam, a constriction of the boundless sea.

In this shiur

1. 0:00Moshe Rabbeinu at the burning bush
2. 8:14The names Ehyeh and Havaya
3. 11:47Living in the now
4. 13:53Tzimtzum and Hashem's perspective
5. 16:02Zehirus and Paro's hard work
6. 20:25Two doorways before davening
7. 24:01The many days in Mitzrayim
8. 25:39Zohar on Mitzrayim and the Yam

Topics

• Names of Hashem
• Tefillah
• Zehirus