God spoke to Moses and said to him, "I am YHVH. I
appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob as El Shaddai, but with My name
YHVH I did not make Myself known to them." (Exodus 6:2, 3)
We celebrated the marriage of Shmuel and Shevi this week at Kibbutz Hafetz Hayim. Shmuel's father Steve and Mel are first cousins.
Our photos show Steve bringing the groom to his bride and
the bride's parents escorting her to the hupa wedding canopy.
Under the hupa, Shevi walks around Shmuel and
Steve blesses them. The band greets the
newlyweds and the dancing begins.
YHVH God said, "It is not good for man to be alone. I will make a compatible helper for
him." (Genesis 2:18)
The beautiful dialogue between husband and wife that draws
divine light into every aspect of their lives together is revealed in YHVH.
All the divine names in the Torah are not really names of
God, but rather names for levels of divine light drawn down into everyday life.
The name YHVH revealed to Moses, usually translated
as “God,” should be translated as “Is-Was-Will Be.”
It integrates past, present, and future of the verb "to
be" while revealing the divine attribute of inner beauty (tiferet).
Tiferet is where masculine and feminine divine
attributes meet to create the beautiful inner glow shared by a loving couple.
Tiferet is the beautiful integration of successfully
(netzah) creating a lifelong relationship based upon loving
kindness (hesed).
YHVH as the integrating tiferet was revealed
to Moses, while Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob only knew God as El (hesed)
and Shaddai (netzah).
