Note:In the following article the original names of God are used in Hebrew in order to educate about them which is allowed by Jewish Law for the purposes of Chinuch (חִינּוּךְ—”Education”).
We are now in the period of time between Pesach (Passover) and Shavuot (Pentecost) bridged by the counting of Sefirat HaOmer (Counting of the Omer) that is a continuum of seven weeks linking these two Biblical festivals.
We began Pesach by celebrating the Seder on Pesach night as we read and followed the Haggadah. The Haggadah famously leaves out any mention of Moses, that remains a great mystery since he was the central figure on the side of the Children of Israel as they confronted Pharaoh and the ancient Egyptians at the time of the Exodus from Egypt. However, the Haggadah does make specific mention of the three forefathers (אבות) of the Children of Israel, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, so who were they?
To understand who Abraham, Isaac and Jacob truly were one needs to understand what they embody according to Torah thinking. In order to do so one must understand who God is.
If one were to ask a general audience how would you describe God? There would be a lot of puzzled looks as everyone would come up with their own ideas, thoughts that they would most likely not share with the audience. Over Pesach I gave a series of talks at an Orthodox Shull and few were willing to answer the question of “how would you describe God?” One elderly man finally spoke up and answered that he was taught that God is “like a fire”! Everyone else kept silent!
Is God such a deep mystery that one cannot describe him at all? Of course we cannot know God in absolute terms, but the Torah does NOT leave us with worshipping and obeying an enigmatic puzzle, so how would we begin to describe the God that we worship all the time? As I told my audience, let us look to the Torah. How does the Torah describe God?
In the very first verse of the Torah it says “בְּרֵאשִׁית, בָּרָא אֱלֹהִים, אֵת הַשָּׁמַיִם, וְאֵת הָאָרֶץ” (Genesis 1:1) that it was “אֱלֹהִים” (Elohim) that created the heavens and the earth! What does “אֱלֹהִים” (Elohim) mean? It denotes God as a “Lord” or “Judge” that is a manifestation of God’s attribute of JUSTICE (Judgment). So right at the beginning of the Torah God is described as a Lord or Judge and He acts like the supreme Lord and ultimate Judge deciding the fate of everything and everyone. As we say in the Unetaneh Tokef prayer on the High Holidays:
“On Rosh Hashanah it is inscribed, and on Yom Kippur it is sealed – how many shall pass away and how many shall be born, who shall live and who shall die, who in good time, and who by an untimely death, who by water and who by fire, who by sword and who by wild beast, who by famine and who by thirst, who by earthquake and who by plague, who by strangulation and who by lapidation, who shall have rest and who wander, who shall be at peace and who pursued, who shall be serene and who tormented, who shall become impoverished and who wealthy, who shall be debased, and who exalted. But repentance, prayer and righteousness avert the severity of the decree.” (Sefaria)
Not to mention that God’s actions as a Lord and Judge extend over and encompass the animal kingdoms, all of nature, the planets, the solar system, all the galaxies, the entire universe and all of existence. In Torah thought, God’s attribute in acting as “אֱלֹהִים” (Elohim) is called Midat HaDin: the Attribute of Judgment.
That is only the beginning because as the Torah gets to the second chapter of Genesis it introduces another name for God “יְהוָה”:
“אֵלֶּה תוֹלְדוֹת הַשָּׁמַיִם וְהָאָרֶץ, בְּהִבָּרְאָם: בְּיוֹם, עֲשׂוֹת יְהוָה אֱלֹהִים–אֶרֶץ וְשָׁמָיִם” (Genesis 2:4) that begs the question why is there another name to describe God, isn’t one enough? The answer is that the Torah is introducing us to another dimension or attribute of God, that he is not just a God of Justice and Lordship but He is also a God of MERCY (Mercifulness)! In Torah thought, God’s attribute in acting as “יְהוָה” (pronounced “Adonai” or called “HaShem”—*the Name”) is called Midat HaRachamim: the Attribute of Mercy.
This means that God forgives sinners if they repent which is how God taught Moses to pray the Thirteen Attributes of Mercy to gain forgiveness for the terrible sin of the Children of Israel worshipping of the Golden Calf in the wilderness after the Exodus from Egypt.
“יְהוָה יְהוָה, אֵל רַחוּם וְחַנּוּן–אֶרֶךְ אַפַּיִם, וְרַב-חֶסֶד וֶאֱמֶת. נֹצֵר חֶסֶד לָאֲלָפִים, נֹשֵׂא עָוֺן וָפֶשַׁע וְחַטָּאָה; וְנַקֵּה” (Exodus 34: 6-7):
“(1) יְהוָה YHVH (compassion before a person sins): (2) יְהוָה YHVH (compassion after a person has sinned): (3) אֵל El (possessing the power to bestow kindness): (4) רַחוּם Raḥum: merciful (that humankind may not be distressed); (5) וְחַנּוּן VeḤanun: and gracious (if humankind is already in distress); (6) אֶרֶךְ אַפַּיִם Erekh appayim: slow to anger; (7) וְרַב-חֶסֶד VeRav ḥesed: and plenteous in kindness; (8) וֶאֱמֶת VeEmet: and truth (fulfilling His promises); (9) נֹצֵר חֶסֶד לָאֲלָפִים Notzer ḥesed la’alafim: keeping kindness unto thousands (of generations); (10) נֹשֵׂא עָוֹן Noseh avon: forgiving iniquity; (11) וָפֶשַׁע VaFeshah: and transgression; (12) וְחַטָּאָה VeḤata’ah: and sin; (13) וְנַקֵּה VeNakeh: and pardoning. (Wikipedia).
It does not end with these two main descriptions of God in the Torah because classical Judaism teaches that God wanted not just to rule humanity by means of these two attributes of Judgment and Mercy but that in addition God wanted to endow humanity with these two attributes as well in human form. This comes about by means of Abraham and his son Isaac.
Abraham embodies God’s Attribute of Mercy. This is exemplified by Abraham and his wife Sarah welcoming strangers into their home, by discovering the true God and preaching Ethical Monotheism to the masses of people surrounding them, and by Abraham praying for the sinners in the cities of Sodom and Gemora to be saved from God’s wrath.
This is not enough, a world based on mercy alone will not suffice and just as God manifests Himself through another attribute, that of Judgment, so too must humanity be a receptacle for that attribute. It is Isaac who embodies the attribute of Judgment. This is symbolized by Isaac’s unconditional acceptance of God’s decree that he be offered up as a human sacrifice (ultimately cancelled at the last moment, but only after Abraham shows he is willing to go through with God’s command to sacrifice his son Isaac), known as Akeidat Yitzchak (עֲקֵידַת יִצְחַק—Binding of Isaac) by the command of God and by the hand of Abraham. (Genesis 22).
That is why the sacrifice of Isaac is considered primarily a test for Abraham who was the embodiment of the attribute of Mercy and only secondarily for Isaac who was the embodiment of the attribute of Judgment. The attribute of Mercy that is Abraham’s core essence is to forgive and grant life and it goes against its nature and essence of Judgment to kill or to be instructed to murder so that is why it was primarily Abraham’s ultimate test by God. On the other hand Isaac embodies not just the attribute of Judgment but of accepting judgment and of lovingly offering oneself and of even paying the ultimate price of giving one’s life if that is what God wants! It is the classical prototype example of Kiddush HaShem (קִדּוּשׁ הַשֵּׁם—Sanctification of God’s Name) of martyrdom for the glory of fulfilling God’s will.
However, according to classical Torah thought it does not end with Abraham as the Pillar of Chesed (אֲמוּד הַחֶסֶד) as an expression of the Divine מִּידּת הָרַחֲמִים—Attribute of Mercy and Loving-kindness and Isaac as the Pillar of Judgement (עמוד הדין) as an expression of the Divine מידת הדין—Attribute of Justice because there is the last and most important attribute of God and of the greatest of the three forefathers of the Children of Israel and that is Jacob that is a combination of Mercy and Judgment which results is the attribute of TRUTH with Jacob being the Pillar of Truth (עמוד האמת) as an expression of the Divine מידת האמת— Attribute of Truth!
There is a verse in the Hebrew Bible from the Prophet Micah that states: “תִּתֵּן אֱמֶת לְיַעֲקֹב, חֶסֶד לְאַבְרָהָם, אֲשֶׁר נִשְׁבַּעְתָּ לַאֲבֹתֵינוּ, מִימֵי קֶדֶם”: “You will give truth to Jacob, and loving-kindness to Abraham, which you have sworn to our fathers from days of old” (Micah 7:20) that confirms the Divine description of Truth as describing Jacob’s greatest essence. The proof for this comes from the Torah itself, as follows:
We see that Abraham had another son by the name of Yishmael about whom God foretells that: “וְהוּא יִהְיֶה, פֶּרֶא אָדָם–יָדוֹ בַכֹּל, וְיַד כֹּל בּוֹ; וְעַל-פְּנֵי כָל-אֶחָיו, יִשְׁכֹּן” (Genesis 16:12). Yishmael will be a “Pere Adam” (פֶּרֶא אָדָם—”wild donkey (of a) man”) which is regarded as a negative by-product of unadulterated Mercifulness because kindness and goodness without bounds in the extreme leads to wildness, mayhem and chaos. While on the other hand Isaac had another son by the name of Esau about whom the Torah says: “וְעַל-חַרְבְּךָ תִחְיֶה, וְאֶת-אָחִיךָ תַּעֲבֹד” (Genesis 27:40) “And by the sword you shall live…: that denotes the consequences of unbridled Judgment which taken to an extreme leads to “death by the sword” and far worse.
That is why there has to be a balance between Mercy and Judgment, as symbolized by the scale in the hands of “Lady Justice” where the application of too much justice leads to guilt while too much mercy leads to forgiveness so that there always has to be a correct balance between Mercy and Justice. In classical Judaism the name of that balance between Mercy and Justice is called TRUTH and classical Judaism teaches that “TRUTH IS THE SEAL OF GOD” which is when God as “אֱלֹהִים” (Elohim—”Lord/Judge”) and God as “יְהוָה” (pronounced “Adonai” or called “HaShem”—*the Name”) are combined and working in perfect harmony with each other creating the perfect balance describing God for the Jewish People, humanity, the world and the universe!
It is Jacob as the Amud HaEmes (“עמוד האמת”—”Pillar of Truth”) who embodies and combines within himself the two great attributes describing God as the God of Mercy as well as the God of Judgment. Jacob’s perfection as the greatest of the three patriarchs of the Children of Israel is manifested in that ALL of his sons were perfect hence forming the Twelve Tribes that constitute the Children of Israel, with “Israel” being Jacob’s other name granted to him by God after he was victorious over an angel of God in a conflict and the Torah then says that the angel then declares:
” וַיֹּאמֶר, לֹא יַעֲקֹב יֵאָמֵר עוֹד שִׁמְךָ–כִּי, אִם-יִשְׂרָאֵל: כִּי-שָׂרִיתָ עִם-אֱלֹהִים וְעִם-אֲנָשִׁים, וַתּוּכָל” (Genesis 32:29) “And he (the angel) said: ‘Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel…”!
Finally, Torah wisdom teaches that “יעקב אבינו מטתו שלימה”—”Jacob our forefather, his bed is perfect” meaning that all his descendants, his sons, are all PERFECT. This is the ultimate result of the combination of God’s attribute of MERCY and God’s attribute JUDGMENT in this world producing the perfect TRUTH which is what the Children of Israel (i.e. Jacob) embody and represent to this very day!
Rabbi Yitschak Rudomin was born to Holocaust survivor parents in Israel, grew up in South Africa, and lives in Brooklyn, NY. He is an alumnus of Yeshiva Rabbi Chaim Berlin and of Teachers College–Columbia University. He heads the Jewish Professionals Institute dedicated to Jewish Adult Education and Outreach – Kiruv Rechokim. He was the Director of the Belzer Chasidim’s Sinai Heritage Center of Manhattan 1988–1995, a Trustee of AJOP 1994–1997 and founder of American Friends of South African Jewish Education 1995–2015. From 2017–2024 he was a docent and tour guide at The Museum of Jewish Heritage – A Living Memorial to the Holocaust in Downtown Manhattan, New York.
He is the author of The Second World War and Jewish Education in America: The Fall and Rise of Orthodoxy. Contact Rabbi Yitschak Rudomin at (email protected)
Source link
2025-06-12 03:23:00
