Or HaChaim on Exodus 6:3/אור החיים על שמות ו׳:ג׳

1 וארא אל אברהם, I used to appear to Abraham, etc. The reason G'd did not lump the three patriarchs together but referred to each one by name is, that G'd's relationship with each one of the patriarchs was based on something unique to the patriarch in question. Abraham was unique in that he recognised his Creator without having had guidance from another human being. If someone had foreknowledge of the existence of G'd and His power, he does not deserve special credit for conducting himself in line with such knowledge. Every intelligent being would choose good over evil once he possessed such knowledge. Abraham did not possess any of these advantages which would have acquainted him with G'd's attributes. We have explained in connection with Isaiah 41,9 that the reason G'd called Abraham "the one who loves Me" was because his faith and morality was the result of his being a "self-starter." He cleaved to his faith in G'd in spite of the most demanding tests G'd subjected him to.

2Isaac possessed another unique characteristic; he had submitted without question to his father's request made in the name of G'd to give his life for that G'd. He did not even ask for an explanation of why he had to give his life.

3Jacob was unique in not wasting a single drop of semen by producing offspring which was not worthy of him. All his children remained loyal to his teachings.

4G'd explained to Moses that He had not revealed His attribute of the four-lettered name י־ה־ו־ה which He had revealed to Moses to any of these three patrirachs, but had revealed to them only His attribute שדי. G'd now told Moses that in view of the revelations He had already made to him, he had displayed ingratitude by speaking to Him in an inappropriate, critical manner.

5While it is true that in the Torah's report of G'd's communications with Abraham (Genesis 18,1) we find such an expression as וירא ה׳ אל אברהם, which seems to suggest that G'd revealed this aspect (the tetragram) of His attributes to Abraham, this is misleading. G'd may have dealt with him on that basis, but He had not confided that fact to Abraham, i.e. Abraham remained unaware of the difference between G'd in His capacity as אל שדי and G'd in His capacity as י־ה־ו־ה. This is what G'd meant when He said ושמי ה׳ לא נודעתי להם, "they were not informed of My name י־ה־ו־ה.

6G'd also meant that the patriarchs were not aware of the unique simultaneous effectiveness of both of G'd's attributes, as we mentioned in connection with verse two. The mystical dimension of this is recorded in Kings I 18,39 when the assembled people realised this after Eliyahu's demonstration on Mount Carmel. The prophet Zachariah also makes reference to this phenomenon in Zachariah 14,9 when he describes that in the futre והיה ה׳ אחד ושמו אחד, people will realise that in spite of G'd's many attributes these are all part of the same Essence. G'd's name and G'd's Essence will be perceived as an indivisible unit, unlike all creatures whose names do not necessarily reflect anything about their essence. It was inappropriate for G'd to say לא הודעתי, "I have not made known," since it was G'd's "name" who was speaking. This is why the Torah had to write: לא נודעתי "I have not become known."

8G'd may also have answered Moses' question why He had sent him on this mission before the time designated for the redemption. He explained that G'd's timetable is not absolute. When He had spoken to Abraham about a period of 400 years after which the Israelites would leave their exile and bondage with great wealth (Genesis 15,14), that timetable had been based on G'd having revealed His attribute אל שדי to Abraham. That attribute is one which is inflexible. It reflects the fact that G'd has set absolute limits to certain developments. However, that attribute is part of the overall attribute אלוקים, an attribute which governs G'd's manifestations in nature. G'd had not taught Abraham that by appealing to His attribute of רחמים, Mercy, the limitations which are part of the אל שדי syndrome can become more flexible. Since the prayers of the whole Jewish nation had reached His attribute of Mercy this is why He decided to respond before the time which had originally been designated for the redemption. G'd began by saying that he was י־ה־ו־ה in order to teach Moses that when one "knocks on the door of Mercy," such knocks are apt to evoke a response on the other side of that door.

9There may be yet another nuance in G'd's saying "I have appeared to Abraham." The implied message is G'd's rhetorical question: "How could I turn a deaf ear to a nation who are the offspring of My most beloved Patriarchs, to each of whom I made a point of revealing Myself separately at the appropriate time. The Torah made a point of not writing אברהם,יצחק,יעקב, but of interposing the word אל each time. This underlines that each one of the patriarchs merited a revelation in his own right. In spite of all this, G'd continues, I still did not reveal the aspect of the attribute of Mercy to these patriarchs. One of the reasons I could not do this was because I had not yet demonstrated how this Mercy is expressed in practice, such as now when I am about to change My timetable for the redemption.