Or HaChaim on Exodus 3:14/אור החיים על שמות ג׳:י״ד

1 ויאמר…אהיה אשר אהיה, G'd said: Ehyeh asher Ehyeh. G'd revealed the attribute He was using while speaking with Moses. This attribute is closely related to the attribute of Mercy, an attribute employed in leading someone from slavery to freedom. It is interesting to study what is written in the Sefer Tikkunim section 50 about the mystical dimension of why the Torah mentions the Exodus from Egypt a total of 50 times. This is also the mystical dimension of why G'd smote the Egyptians with 50 plagues at the sea as mentioned in Shemot Rabbah 23,9. Actually, G'd had already alluded to this name when He had said to Moses וזה לך האות כי אנכי שלחתיך, when the meaning of אנכי is the attribute that G'd would employ during that entire mission. The same name occurs again at the revelation when G'd commences the decalogue by referring to אנכי ה׳ אלוקיך אשר הוצאתיך. At the present juncture Moses had simply not yet understood the connection between אנכי and אהיה. G'd had been aware from the beginning that Moses would question Him as to how to identify the G'd Who had spoken with him.

2Perhaps Moses was aware of these meanings and only asked if he were to reveal these meanings to the people when they would ask him. G'd responded אשר אהיה, i.e. that the reason He employed this attribute was because it was appropriate when He would share the pain of the Israelites whenever they would endure suffering. The Talmud Chagigah 12 has already explained this. G'd identified Himself sometimes as שדי to indicate that it was He who put a stop to ongoing proliferation of the universe (Chagigah 16). He employs the attribute צבאות when He acts as the Commander-in Chief of His hosts. The attribute הויה reflects that He is an eternal Presence, was, is, and will be (Zohar third volume page 297). G'd revealed the mystical dimension of His great name to Moses at this point, namely that He would always be at the side of His people whenever they would find themselves in distress. There is also an allusion in that attribute to the three "crowns" [Torah-Priesthood-Royalty, Ed.]. Students of the Kabbalah will get my meaning.

3ויאמר כה תאמר לבני ישראל, He said: "Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, etc." Although G'd revealed to his servant Moses the mystical dimension of His attribute, i.e. אשר אהיה, He repeated that all this was only contained in the "name," i.e. אהיה. As far as Moses was concerned he was to tell the Israelites only that the One who calls Himself אהיה had sent him. As to the aspect of that name which referred to the future, i.e. אשר אהיה, that G'd would also demonstrate that attribute of His when the Jewish people would face problems in the future, this was something Moses was not to mention.

4Our sages in Berachot 9 have already stated די לצרה בשעתה, it suffices to deal with one problem at the time it is topical. They claim that Moses suggested to G'd not to draw attention to the אשר אהיה aspect of this attribute. I have made a careful search of the text and found that the sages in the Talmud who attributed this reply to Moses were absolutely correct. If there had been no new dimension added at the end of the verse which had not been present at the beginning, why would the Torah have inserted the word ויאמר once more within the same verse? Our sages therefore concluded that G'd had originally meant to conclude His answer with the words אהיה אשר אהיה. He added the new version, i.e. אהיה שלחני as a result of Moses' question "why speak about future troubles already now?"

5You will no doubt ask how it is that G'd was not sensitive to that consideration even before Moses raised it? When you examine G'd's words closely you will observe that G'd had already indicated His awareness of that aspect. When G'd instructed Moses to speak to the children of Israel, His instructions should have commenced with the words: כה תאמר לבני ישראל, as this would have been the appropriate answer to Moses' question: "when they say to me what is His name what shall I say to them?" However, since G'd already knew that Moses would query that answer G'd immediately pre-empted his question by explaining that he should identify G'd first as the One who is known as אהיה. If G'd first spoke about אהיה אשר אהיה, this was privileged information for Moses only at this time that just as G'd could be relied upon in this crisis so He could also be relied on in any future crises; however, Moses was to keep the latter part of the promise to himself at this stage. In the future, after the Torah would be revealed and the generation reading this had already experienced G'd's salvation, they would realise that the same G'd who appeared to Moses out of the burning bush would also be at their side in any future troubles. If G'd would have answered Moses by saying immediately: "The G'd of your fathers has sent me to you, etc.," then the words אהיה שלחני would have lost their impact since the principal message had already been delivered. It is also possible that seeing that Moses was exraordinarily perceptive he only wanted to hear G'd spell out in detail what he had already surmised to be the meaning of אהיה.