All right, for sure. Tonight is about the not so very known name of Hashem, Ekyeh, or really I'll pronounce it the right way because there are some opinions that you are allowed to pronounce it, even though other names of Hashem, certain ones you're not allowed to pronounce properly, but this one some hold that you are allowed, and the real word is Ehyeh. But because there are some who claim that you're not allowed to pronounce it, that's why I will be referring to it the whole time as the name of Hashem, Ekyeh. Just like Elokim, the real way to pronounce it is with a ה, and what we do is we don't want to say the name in vain, so whenever we refer to it we say Elokim, we change the ה for a ק. So too in this name, because there are some who say that you shouldn't pronounce it, so I will call it Ekyeh. But there are many who hold that you are allowed to say it, so I will mention that again, that that name of Hashem called Ehyeh. And we will be discussing the meaning of this name of Hashem, not just the meaning, but all about this name, and especially that this is not a known name. Most people know about all the other names. People know about the name Y-K-V-K, the real essential name of Hashem, which is Y-K-V-K, so we call it Shem Havayah, because we're not allowed to pronounce Y-K-V-K. Besides the point that we don't even know how to pronounce it, because the nekudos, the vowels that are printed in the Chumash are not real. It's just the vowels of the way we pronounce it. When we daven or read it, we say Adonai instead of Shem Havayah, so they put the vowels the way it would fit to the Shem Adonai, but really we don't know how to pronounce it. But whatever it is, we call, refer to it as Shem Havayah. Then we have Shem Elokim, everyone knows, and we have Shem Adonai, the one that we use when we daven. We have the Shem Kel, Shem Tzevaot or Tzevaot, Shem Shaddai, some say you're allowed to pronounce it with the Shaddai, or some say you shouldn't, so we call it sometimes Shakai. Then we have other names which are not from the names that are that holy, like Hakadosh Baruch Hu, it's also a name of Hashem, Ribono Shel Olam, it's a name of Hashem, רבון העולמים, Hamakom, we say in Haggadah, we say ברוך המקום ברוך הוא. These are all different names of Hashem. And these are more or less known to people. But there is one name which people don't really know much about, and that is the name Ehyeh, which is pronounced Ehyeh, and if we want to be careful not to say it, we would call it Ekyeh. The name is mentioned in the Torah once. In the whole Torah it's mentioned once, in Chumash, and not ever again in Chumash or in Tanach, or in the נביאים וכתובים, it's not mentioned. And one more time it's referred to it, but it's not so pashut. So it's mentioned once, the name Akiah. And that's why people don't know much about it. So let me discuss it. The reason I chose this subject is because the place where it is mentioned is in this week's parashah. In this week's parashah, we learn that Hashem spoke to Moshe Rabbeinu, the burning bush, and He said to him, \"Please go to Paro, go to Mitzrayim and tell Paro to let My people go,\" etc., etc. And Moshe didn't want to go and he had a whole dispute with Hashem. But one of the things he said to Hashem, \"What happens when I come to them and they're going to ask me מה שמו, מה אומר אליהם? They'll tell me you said Hashem, the God of the Jews sent you to come to us and tell us that we're ready to go, and what happens if the Jews will ask me, because Hashem sent him to Paro and to the Jews, what happens if the Jews will ask me, what's His name? Who is He that sent you? What's His name?\" So Hashem said, \"Tell them that אהיה אשר אהיה.\" The literal, literal translation of the words, \"I will be that I will be.\" And then he continues, \"Tell them that אהיה שלחני אליכם,\" that Ehyeh sent you to them. So from the simple peshat of the pasuk is that this is an answer to Moshe Rabbeinu's question, when they'll ask me what is His name, what is Hashem's name? This is His name, Hashem gave him the name. That this word Ehyeh or Akiah as we will refer to it, is Hashem's name. And actually the Gemara says in Shevuot that this is Hashem's name. The Gemara in Shevuot itself has two opinions, peshat, in the commentaries have two opinions of peshat in the Gemara whether the Gemara means that, not two opinions, two versions, whether the name of Hashem the Gemara refers to is אהיה אשר אהיה, all three words, or just the word Ehyeh. Whichever way, but the Gemara does say that this is one of the שבע שמות שאינם נמחקים, this is one of the seven names which are not to be erased. Because as I said before, there are different levels in Hashem's names and we know that there are seven names of Hashem which are holy, that if you write it you're not allowed to erase it. There is an issur, there is an aveirah in מחיקת השם, in erasing Hashem's name. And then there are names of Hashem which are allowed to erase, like the example I gave before, HaKadosh Baruch Hu. We all know Hashem is called HaKadosh Baruch Hu, Ribono Shel Olam. If you write the word HaKadosh Baruch Hu, you can erase it, even though you refer to Hashem. So the Gemara in Shevuos says that the name Ehyeh is one of the seven names which are not allowed to be erased. It's one of the holy, clean, every, call it taherdike, holy names of Hashem. But when we learn in the Rambam, the Rambam in Hilchos Yesodei HaTorah, where the Rambam talks about the issur, the prohibition of erasing Hashem's names, and he goes through the list of which seven names you're not allowed to erase, the Rambam does not mention this name אהיה אשר אהיה. Not אהיה אשר אהיה all three words, not even Ehyeh itself. The Rambam does not mention it. The Kesef Mishneh, who is one of the commentaries on the Rambam, the Kesef Mishneh writes that obviously the Rambam did not have in his Gemara the version that the Gemara mentions this is one of the names. Because if the Gemara mentions that it's one of the names, how could the Rambam, so to speak, argue and not mention it as one of the names that cannot be erased? So the Kesef Mishneh says that probably the Rambam did not have this in his version of the Gemara. And then he writes, but by the way, there are other versions in the Rambam himself where the Rambam did write it as one of the names. In other words, the Kesef Mishneh had the Rambam's version that he had, that the Rambam omit this, but he says there are others that did have it. This is what the Kesef Mishneh writes. But the same person, the Kesef Mishneh, in another one of his sefarim, we all know who the Kesef Mishneh was, the Kesef Mishneh was none other than the Beis Yosef himself, the Beis Yosef, the one that wrote the Shulchan Aruch, so when the Beis Yosef in the Shulchan Aruch talks about this prohibition of erasing Hashem's name, he mentions that Ehyeh is not one of them. In other words, he follows the opinion of the Rambam, accepting that the Rambam holds that it's not one of the seven names. And even though he himself writes that there are versions in the Rambam that the Rambam did write it, but he himself writes that it's not, and then he adds, there are some that hold that it is one of the names, but it's clear that the Kesef Mishneh, which is the Beit Yosef himself, holds that this name Ehyeh is not one of the seven names of Hashem. And the question is why would the Shulchan Aruch accept this opinion? In other words, the Shulchan Aruch holds, the Beit Yosef holds, that the real opinion, the accepted, the right one is that Ehyeh is not one of the seven names. Now this goes against the way we have it, the version in our Gemara, the way we have in most of the prints of the Gemara, we do have it there. And more than that, this seems to be against the simple pshat of the pasuk. Because the pasuk, if you learn the pasuk very simple pshat, Moshe Rabbeinu asked Hashem, \"If they ask me what is your name, what should I tell them?\" And Hashem said, \"Tell them, what's my name? אהיה אשר אהיה.\" So it's clear that Hashem called, gave this name. So obviously this should be one of the names of Hashem. So why does the Beit Yosef, the Shulchan Aruch פסקן, this is not one of the seven names of Hashem that are not to be erased, which basically means this is not one of the main names of Hashem. The question is why.

Now, there is a possibility of answering this question like this: in the Midrash it says that what did Hashem mean when he said the words אהיה אשר אהיה? This is what he meant: when Moshe Rabbeinu asked Hashem, \"When they ask me what's your name, what should I tell them?\", so Hashem said to him, \"You should know, you can't tell them any name, because I have so many names, and I am called every time by a different name based on what I do. לפי מעשי אני נקרא, according to my ma'asim, my actions, I am called.\" And Hashem said, \"If I fight a war, then I am called Tzevaot. Tzevaot means army, If I do kindness, I am called Kel. If I have pity, I am called Yud Kei Vav Kei, Havayah represents rachamim. If I do gevurah, if I do something that's strict, I am called Elokim. I have so many different names that my name changes depending on what we do. And it seems that the Midrash is trying to say that this is what Hashem answered him. When he asked him, \"What's your name?\", so Hashem said, \"אהיה אשר אהיה\" doesn't mean my name is אהיה אשר אהיה. What it means was, \"I will be what I will be,\" that means, don't ask me for my name, I have so many names, whatever I am, that's my name. So according to this peshat of the Midrash, when Hashem answered Moshe, \"אהיה אשר אהיה\", this was not an answer to telling him the name. Moshe asked, \"What's your name?\", so he didn't say, \"My name is אהיה אשר אהיה.\" He said to him, \"I will be what I will be,\" that means, \"I am what I am, whatever I am, that's what my name is.\" So therefore, the Shulchan Aruch learns that this is not a name of Hashem. That's one inyan. Then there's another Midrash. There's another Midrash that says, actually, not a Midrash, a Gemara, and Rashi in Chumash brings this Gemara, that what did Hashem mean when he said אהיה אשר אהיה? Moshe Rabbeinu asked him, \"What's your name? What shall I tell them when they ask me what's your name?\" So Hashem said to him, \"אהיה עמם בצרה זו ואהיה עמם בצרה אחרת. I will be with them in this galut, in this problem, and I will be with them in the future problems.\" And Moshe Rabbeinu told Hashem, \"Why are you mixing in the future problems? It's enough we have the problems now, you have to tell us about the new problems, the problems that will happen in the future?\" But anyway, what is the peshat in the pasuk according to this Gemara, the way Rashi says, that when Hashem said to him אהיה אשר אהיה, it wasn't an answer to, he asked him what's your name, he said, \"My name is אהיה אשר אהיה.\" What he meant to say, what's the difference what my name is? The reason they want to know my name, they want to know how to relate to me. Don't worry, I'm with them in all circumstances, I'm with them now, I'm going to be with them later. Makes no difference what my name is. That's actually how the Ramban explains peshat in the pasuk according to this Gemara. So again, according to this peshat, אהיה אשר אהיה is not a name of Hashem. It's just telling him something as a literal translation, \"I will be that I will be.\" That means, \"I will always be with them.\" Then there's a third thing. The Rambam says in Moreh Nevuchim, which is the Guide to the Perplexed, the Rambam talks about this pasuk, and the Rambam says that it makes no sense to say that Moshe Rabbeinu asked Hashem that the Yidden will want to know when I tell them that I was sent by God, they want to know who is he, what's his name, so tell me his name. So the Rambam says it makes no sense. I'll tell you why. He says like this: If they knew the name of Hashem, if the Yidden at that time knew the name of Hashem, then what kind of proof will Moshe Rabbeinu be able to bring when he is going to say that this and this is the name of Hashem? Everyone knows the name of Hashem. See, what there was supposed to be is that when he comes and tells them Hashem sent me, so he's supposed to show them some kind of siman, some kind of sign. So by telling them Hashem's name, \"Oh,\" they're going to say, \"Wow, if this is the name, then this proves he's saying the truth.\" But how will it prove anything? Because if everyone knew the name of Hashem, then maybe Moshe Rabbeinu knew it just like everybody else knew, so maybe he made the whole thing up and just gave the name of Hashem. And if people did not know the name of Hashem, then even if he'll come and say, \"Well, this and this is the name of the one that sent me,\" wouldn't mean anything to them because they don't know his name. So what kind of question did Moshe Rabbeinu ask? And therefore the Rambam says something else, that what Moshe Rabbeinu meant to ask was saying that in Mitzrayim at that time most people did not believe in the existence of Hashem. Only few people believed. And Moshe Rabbeinu said to Hashem, \"What I want you to tell me, when I come and tell them that you sent me, I want to be able to prove to them that you exist.\" And he used the term, \"What's your name?\" He didn't mean, it's like, tell me, tell me proof, tell me things that I will be able to relate to them to tell them that you exist. And Hashem told him אהיה אשר אהיה, which means I will be that I will be. Really what it means is that he told Moshe Rabbeinu different things that will be proof to the existence of Hashem. So again, according to this, he didn't tell him, \"My name is אהיה אשר אהיה.\" He told him, he proved to him that his existence is there in a way that he could relate it to the Jews. So again, the question wasn't, \"What's his name? What's your name?\" The question, it just used that terminology, but what he meant to say, \"When I come to them, they're going to say, 'Who is he? Is there such a thing as God? We don't know...\" know. And he said, \"Hashem, please tell me, what do I tell them?\" And Hashem told him. And in these few words, there is so much in it, probably so many explanations and proofs that Hashem had explained to him, what he's able to tell the Yidden when he comes to Mitzrayim. So again, according to this peshat, the way the Rambam says, אהיה אשר אהיה is not a name of Hashem. So now, it seems that we have an explanation, the reason why the the Beis Yosef in Shulchan Aruch does not learn that אהיה אשר אהיה is a name of Hashem, because the simple peshat in the pasuk, I mean not a simple, the way the Midrash or the Gemara explains peshat in the פסוק, אהיה אשר אהיה is not an answer to Moshe's question, \"let tell me your name.\" But it is not so simple to learn this way, because after all, most poskim, most codifiers learn that אהיה אשר אהיה is Hashem's name, the name אהיה or the name אהיה. It is a name of Hashem. And in the Gemara, in most versions, the Gemara does say it's a name of Hashem. And even in the Rambam, as we said before, there is a version that the Rambam does write it's a name of Hashem. So it's not enough to say, it's hard to say that the Beit Yosef in Shulchan Aruch would learn clearly against everybody and say that this is not a name of Hashem, when because of this Midrash, and it would seem that there is such an argument from one extreme to the other, that the Gemara seems to be saying in most poskim that it is a name of Hashem 100%, and here he comes, and one of the seven names that you can't erase, and he learns it's not even a name of Hashem at all. So we have to say it's not so, that they're both true somehow, that it's a name of Hashem, but it's such a name of Hashem which if we want to look at it we could not regard it as one of the holy names. Now how could that be? If it is a name of Hashem, which is the Gemara says and according to some versions the Rambam, at the same time to say that it's a name, but it's not a real name of Hashem. Now how does this work?

So the peshat is like this, and the Rebbe is this is the way the Rebbe explains it. And he says like this, this is the peshat in the name of Hashem, the name אהיה. And it's also based on the Rambam in also in a different place in Moreh Nevuchim. And the Rambam says that what the name אהיה אשר אהיה means, and let's see look the literal translation, which means, \"I will be that I will be\", is the name that tells us, and I'm going to use the terminology of the Rambam, and then go a little bit into this to explain it according to the way Chassidus explains this, explains it. The name אהיה אשר אהיה tells us that Hashem is מחוייב המציאות. מחוייב המציאות means that Hashem is a being that has to be. All other things in the world are beings that are there just because they are there, for whatever reason they were put into their place. But it doesn't necessarily have to be. And that the Rambam calls אפשרי המציאות. The word efshar means maybe. Maybe yes, maybe no. Their existence can be and cannot be. But Hashem is an existence which is מחוייב המציאות, an an an existence which has to be. This is the real real true existence. That's what the name אהיה אשר אהיה means. \"I will be that I will be\", that means I will be because I will be, not for any other reason. Hashem is מחוייב המציאות. Everything else in the world, any creation is here because it's here, and it could have not been here. The best proof that it could not have been here is that it wasn't. There was before it was here, it wasn't here. Obviously, it's not a being that has to be. But the existence of Hashem is something that has to be. This is what the Rambam means when he refers to Hashem with the title אמיתת המציאות, the true being. He uses the word אמיתת which means emet. The Rambam in the beginning of his sefer, not in the Moreh Nevuchim, but in the regular sefer Rambam. Everyone knows the first few lines of the Rambam, everyone knows this by heart. The Rambam starts off his sefer with saying, יסוד היסודות ועמוד החכמות, the foundation of all foundations and the pillar of all wisdom, is לידע to know שהוא מצוי ראשון, that he is the first being. ומאמיתת הימצאו נמצאו כל הנמצאים, and from this true being, all beings became. So he refers to Hashem as the true being. Hashem is emet. His being is a being of truth. There's a pasuk that says, השם אלקים חיים הוא אלקים אמת. Hashem Elokim is alive, and he is the one one that's true, He is the true God. Now it doesn't only mean, not only, it doesn't mean at all, that He is the true God and other gods are not true. Like you would ask somebody who doesn't learn Chassidus would say when you say, \"What does it mean Hashem is emet?\" Well, He is the only emes'dike God, other the other gods are false. We have to tell that the other gods are false? I mean, who thinks that there is another God? What it means is, not that other gods are false and He's the only emes'dike God. All other מציאות'ס, all the other beings are false. He is the only true being, because He is the existence that has to be, that's there because this is what existence is, not for any reason. And I want to explain this a little bit further. When we say He's a being that must be, it's different, or maybe the opposite, of the literal meaning of the words. But we just have no other way of describing it, so we use that word. Now I'll tell you what I mean. When you say something must be, usually when we say something must be, there is a reason why it must be. When you say, \"This must happen.\" Why must it happen? Because! \"Must\" comes along with a \"because\". This must be because of a reason. When we say, \"Why is this table here?\" Cuz it must be here! Why must it be here? Well, because otherwise we won't have a place to daven, we won't have a place to put the siddur down. There is a reason why. The fact that we say it must be for a reason shows that essentially it doesn't have to be here. The reason it's here, why is it here? Because it must be for some reason. That means if the reason wouldn't have been here, it wouldn't be here. So whenever we say this must be and \"must\" means \"because\", already shows that it's there it's not really something that has to be in essence by itself. When we say Hashem must be, we don't mean that. It's not He must be here because of a reason, but His existence is an existence that is existence, that's all. And we know that His existence is such an existence because it's only logical that the first being, as the Rambam says that there must be a מצוי ראשון, the first being, must be a being that has to be here, that means is there essentially. A being that's not limited to anything. It's only logical to understand, logical, not emunah. This is not belief, not trusting, not emunah. This is logical to understand that the first being is a being that's always there. There must be a first being that is not limited to time to say that it started at a certain point, because when we say something we know that there's generally a rule that everything has to have a source. There's a rule whether it's in in in Chassidus or a rule in in gashmiyus, in science, that אין דבר עושה את עצמו. Nothing makes itself. Everything has a source where it came from. Whatever we have, you know, where is this from? Must have this became from this, this came from this. Everything had to come from something. And we go further, and this came from that, and this came from that, this from that. But finally we come to a point when we say the last thing that we know it came from, where did that come from? And science that believes in evolution are stuck. The reason why they believe in evolution, because they don't believe in things beyond the laws of nature. And in the laws of nature, everything has to have a source. So they say everything must have evolved. This evolved, there's no such thing as creation out of nothing. Everything came from something. But then when you stop them and ask them, \"So where did the first this came from this, where did the first being come from?\" \"Well, we don't know.\" And that's considered logic. Answering we don't understand, we don't know, that's logic. What we say is, we know what happened. It came from this, you're right, it evolved, it evolved. But the first being, there must logically be a being that doesn't have to have a source. It doesn't have to have a source that it came from something. So where did it come from? From no it is This is the essence of being. There is an essential being that is there. And this being doesn't is not because it came into being. It is the true being. This is what we call מחוייב המציאות, a being that's essentially there. Just when we start thinking that there is such a concept as being, we call it in Hebrew metziut, the mere concept of metziut forces us to say that essentially the being is a being that has to be. Now we say that's God. Somebody else might not call it with the name God. That's why the Rambam in the beginning doesn't say that we have to know, right in the first words of the Rambam, that the foundation of everything is to know that there is a God. He doesn't say that. לידע שיש שם מצוי ראשון, there is the first being. If you don't like the name someone doesn't like the name God, call it a different name, call it give it a name, whatever name you want. But the The truth is, according to some opinions the Rambam does say Hashem, because the first words of the Rambam is לידע שיש שם מצוי ראשון, to know that there there is this first being. What's the there? Where is this there? So the simple peshat is there is an expression, it doesn't mean over there. There is, just like in English you say there is, what mean there? So here too. But some learn not like that, some learn that the Rambam meant to say שיש שם. שם is Hashem. שם מצוי ראשון, that there is Hashem who's the first being. But still the Rambam refers to Him as the first being. And that's something that we don't have to believe. That's why the Rambam doesn't write that the first foundation is להאמין, to believe that there is this first being. He says לידע, to know that there is this first being. Because this is something that's logical. Logical, you come to understand that there is a being that is there not because anyone have put it there, not because it became at a certain point, it's an essential being. And that's what we call emet. That's why He's called אמיתת המציאות. The whole meaning of emet, emet means truth. Truth means something that is not limited at all. The moment you say something is here and not there, it's not true. If you, for instance, when you say two and two equals four, that's true, that's a true שכל. You can't say it's true here and not true someplace else. You can't say it's true yesterday and not true tomorrow. Because if it's true, it's true, and it's true all over. Every truth is like that. Even even in stupidities, I'm saying we have this cup of tea here. It's true that it's here. The fact that it's here is true all over. In Russia, it's true that on this bimah in Miami Beach there is a cup of tea. The cup of tea is only standing here, but that's a fact, and since it's a true fact, this is a fact all over. If somebody in Russia is going to say that in Miami Beach in the shul of Beis Menachem there is no cup of tea standing, it's a lie. Because even over there, it's true. It's not standing there, but even over there it's true all over that this is happening, because truth is not limited anywhere. But here, in this case, it's true only the fact that it's standing here and people know about it. The real real truth means that this thing itself is all over. So this is not really true, it's only true בשם המושאל, in a in a borrowed term. The real truth would be something that is all over, always and all over, and not because of something, which means it's not true, it's only there because, so essentially it shouldn't be or it will stop when that reason goes away. That's called שקר, that's called a lie. Something that's only true now and not true tomorrow is a lie, can't be. It is true forever that this cup of tea is standing here. Not that it will stand forever, but forever it'll be true that on this and this day, at this and this moment, here stood this cup of tea, that's true. If tomorrow, if in 100 years from now, someone is going to say that it didn't happen today, it's a lie, because it's truth all over, but it's a truth only about something. But the real truth is something that's all over, that is in truth itself all over. That's how we find that נהרות המכזבים, which means there are certain rivers which are called liars, rivers that dry up once in a certain amount of years, less than seven years. The Mishnah calls it נהרות המכזבים, liars. And it cannot be used in those cases where a person has to טובל himself, go to the mikveh, because there are certain טומאות that you cannot use a regular mikveh. You have to use a מעיין, you have to use a well, and it has to be מים חיים, and it has to be live water. And live water means true water. And this person, which is usually a זב, would not be able to טובל in this river even though it comes from a well, and it's flowing, fresh water, very good, but we know the proof we could see, we know that this is going to stop soon or in a few years, it's called not חיים, it's not live, it's called in the משנה נהרות המכזבים, rivers that lie. Why is it called a lie? Because if it's not going to be for always, it's a lie. Anyway, getting back to the point. So Hashem the Rambam says is מחויב המציאות. This is essential מציאות. And the Rambam says that this is what the name Ehyeh, which is really Ehyeh I will be, or אהיה אשר אהיה I will be that I will be means. The fact that Hashem is מחויב המציאות, השם is the true being, not connected to anything else, He Himself is the true being. And that is the difference between this name and all the other names. אהיה אשר אהיה is a name of Hashem. But the name means this that Hashem is is the true being, while other names only describe Hashem in his relationship to outside of him. The name אלקים, as we said, represents Hashem as he behaves in a form of דין, in a form of strictness. קל represents Hashem as he is in the form of חסד. Or the name אלקים represents Hashem, as it says in Shulchan Aruch, Hashem who is the בעל the greatest strength of the world. He is so strong. It represents something specific, and it's all in relations to outside, like the Midrash says, לפי מעשי אני נקרא, I'm called according to my actions. All the names that we call Hashem are according to his actions. Even the name י-ק-ו-ק, which the name י-ק-ו-ק, הוי׳, represents Hashem himself, and the Rambam himself calls it the שם העצם, the name of the essence of Hashem, or שם המפורש and שם ה שם המיוחד, the name that's united with Hashem. But still, you know what the הוי׳ means? י-ק-ו-ק has a meaning. It comes from the word מהווה, creation. It represents Hashem the way Hashem creates. But it doesn't mean the way Hashem ממש creates, because that's really connected to שם אלקים. אלקים shows Hashem was the boss over the world, or the שם ש-ד-י, ש-ק-י, ש-ד-י, refers to Hashem. Even the way the Rambam explains the name ש-ד-י in a different way, right? Rambam in Moreh Nevuchim says the name ש-ד-י means שדי, that it's enough, Hashem himself, it's enough himself, he doesn't need any help in doing anything else. He himself is the best, the greatest, and he doesn't need any help. So this seems to be speaking about himself, that he is, but still, it's considered concerning him as he will do something and he doesn't need any help to be done. That's what שם ש-ד-י means. So every other name refers to Hashem as he relates. Even the שם הוי׳ refers to Hashem, Hashem himself, it's called שם העצם, the name of the essence of Hashem, but also as he will be ready to give go into a level of relating to creation. In other words, there are names which talk about him as he creates. Then there is this name of Hashem that talks about him not as he creates, but as he stands in a level of being ready to come out to create, but still not talking about Hashem himself. While שם אהיה is a name of Hashem, but the name of Hashem which is the true essence of Hashem, nothing to do with relating to others, it's the essence of Hashem as Hashem is מחויב המציאות, his being as his being for no other reason, which is greater even than the שם י-ק-ו-ק. As I said, it's not a such a famous one, not such a known name of Hashem, but a name of Hashem which is even deeper and greater of the name י-ק-ו-ק. Even though י-ק-ו-ק we said is, again, it refers to Hashem himself, beyond his actions, but it's Hashem himself as he stands ready to act. I want to use, since we have a few moments, to explain this using more the terminology of Chassidut. All the names of Hashem could fall under the category of Or Ein Sof, of or. Or is light. Light is a ray. Generally speaking, always in Chassidut we say that a name, even of a human being, is only a ray of the human being, it's not the human being himself. It's not the person's life. The best proof is a person could live 120 years without a name. The only reason you need a name is in relationship to others. Others should be able to talk about you, refer to you, call you, but on your own you don't need a name. On the other hand, we know a name is connected to the person, a name describes who the person is, and a person, if he faints, and you can't revive him, one of the eitzot is you put you call him by his name, it revives him, because the name affects the עצם of the person. So it's the ray of the essence of the person. It's the ray. So all the names of Hashem are also the same. They are the way Hashem manifests himself, which is like a ray. A ray is you have the the the thing that shines, and then you have the light that comes out of the thing that shines, of the luminary, is that the word? The luminary is the מאור. מאור means דער לייכטער, the one that shines, and then you have the or. So all the names of Hashem refer to Hashem as the or, we call it the light that comes from Hashem, but not the מאור, but not Hashem himself that is the luminary. The name הוי׳ refers to Hashem himself, not to the Or Ein Sof, but nevertheless, it refers to Hashem as we call him מאור. What's מאור? מאור is the luminary. When we speak about a luminary, the expression מאור, which means this is a luminary, means that He is, this is an object that will give out light. See, when we talk, when we call something מאור, we're not talking about the light. We're talking about the sun. You have the sun, that's the מאור. Then you have the light that comes out. The light are the rays. The sun itself is the מאור, the luminary. So we're talking about the thing itself. But still, when we refer to it as מאור, we are already referring to the essential thing the way He is an object which is ready to give out light. So you have the light that comes out, and you have the source of the light, but the source of the light meaning already in a level that He is ready to give out light. Then we call Hashem, sometimes in Chassidus it's referred to when we talk about אור אין סוף, we talk about the אור and we talk about Hashem, Hashem Himself being the מאור. And sometimes we use the word not מאור, but עצמות. עצמות means essence, and many time when we say עצמות, we mean Hashem beyond מאור. What do you mean beyond מאור? מאור is the luminary which is the source of the light, that's Hashem. But that's Hashem, even though it's not the light of Hashem, it's Hashem Himself as He is in a position of giving out light, already to give out light. הוי׳ is the name of Hashem, the שם העצם, the essence of Hashem. But since the שם הוי׳, the name itself contains the meaning of creation, it's Hashem the way He is ready to create. See, the other names are names of Hashem as He creates. He creates this, as He's doing this. לפי מעשי, when He is doing different things, the names represent different actions. That's already as He's doing. שם הוי׳ is not as He's doing, that refers to Hashem Himself, but to Hashem Himself as He is in a position of being able to do or ready to go out to do. That's the מאור. The names are אור, שם הוי׳ could be the מאור. שם אהיה, the name Ehyeh, that's Hashem beyond even being מאור. That's Hashem Himself as He Himself, as He is מחויב המציאות, as He is מחויב meaning a מציאות, a being, that's an essential being, as He is, which we would not even call מאור, we call עצמות. So it comes out to what we're saying now is that the name Ehyeh is a name. It refers to Hashem and it's one of the names of Hashem. But nevertheless, we understand now why the Beit Yosef in Shulchan Aruch would not write, would write that this is not one of the names that we cannot write, one of the names we cannot erase. It doesn't fall in the category of being a שם קדוש, of being a holy name. You would think at one second, adraba, contrary, now it's a real holy name. If those names which only represent, as the Midrash says, לפי מעשי, according to my actions, are holy, and שם הוי׳, יוד קי ואו קי, which represents Hashem, the שם העצם, as the Rambam says, the essence of Hashem, that's holy, so the name Ehyeh certainly should be holy, should even be holier, because it is a name that represents the essence of Hashem, the true essence of Hashem, the true עצמות. But it's the opposite. Just because of that, it is not a holy name.

What does holiness mean? What does kadosh mean, שם קדוש? Or as the Rambam calls it in Moreh Nevuchim, שמות קדושים וטהורים, the holy, טהור, the pure names? What is the meaning of the word kadosh? The word kadosh means holy. What does holiness mean? Something is holy. So Rashi in חומש says, and other מפרשים, on the פסוק, קדושים תהיו, you shall be holy, it means פרושים, separated. The word kadosh means מובדל, separated. The names of Hashem are kedoshim, they're holy, because they're separated. Separated means they're beyond. They're a category in itself. They're not connected. The world is חול. The world is just general secular, just nothing, no kedushah, and these things, these names, represent something that's higher, it's removed. That's called kadosh. And the greater it is, the more kadosh it is. That's why there are these names of Hashem, and then Shem Havayah, which is more kadosh. But when we say something is kadosh, something is separated, as much as it's far apart, separated, it's higher, there has to be some erech, some relationship. If something is so far away that there is no relationship whatsoever, you can't call it kadosh. You can't call it holy or, meaning, separated. For instance, in Tanya, he gives an example in the Iggeret HaKodesh of something like this. That when someone gives a say tells you a sechel, a sevara, gives you and tells you an idea, which is very, very deep, you could say it's so deep that the greatest mind couldn't understand it. Makes sense to say. Will someone say that this idea was so deep, you couldn't even touch it. It's true, you couldn't touch it, but makes no sense. When would you say something can't be touched? Something which is in that realm, something is in the category of being touched. So you say if this could be touched, this you can't touch. This But if something is in a complete different world altogether, it has nothing You can't It makes no sense to say it. Even though you're trying to describe how far it is, that's not called removed, it makes no sense, it's not to begin with. The word kedushah, which means holy, it could only be said concerning something which has some erech. Erech means some relationship, and it's so great, so it's holy. So this is holy means removed, separated. So all the names of Hashem that refer to Hashem, as the Midrash says, as he does things, כמעשי אני נקרא, as he does, since it's talking about Hashem doing, so it's kadosh. You have the world and then you have Hashem acting. And then you have a very holy name, Hashem the way he is beyond, but it's still it still has some ערך, some connection, because even the שם הויה, if it refer refers to Hashem himself, not as he's acting, but Hashem himself is able to act, that he is הויה means to create. He is not creating, not referring to him as he creates, that's אלוקים, or אדני, which means he's the boss of the world, אדון, the boss. It refers to him, but still, in a form that there is some relationship to creation. But the שם אהיה, which refers to Hashem as Hashem is completely beyond creation, just his being as the מחויב המציאות, the true, true, essential being, you can't It's not a שם קדוש, it's not a holy name. There is no holiness. As a matter of fact, low and high are equal לגבי this name. When we say something is holy, that means that something that's more spiritual is closer, something that's less spiritual is further. Then you have such a high level that the greatest and the lowest are equal. As it says, the difference, there is a difference between one and a billion. But בלי גבול, infinity, one and a billion are equal compared to infinity. Why? Because it's a different category altogether. See, a billion is made up of a billion ones, so one means something. Even though it's so far apart, but one has an ערך. The best proof is take one off, you'll have one less; take another off, you have two less; take twenty off, you have twenty less. You could take away and you'll have nothing left. So a billion and one have an ערך as far away as they are. But בלי גבול, infinity, has no ערך whatsoever. So compared to infinity, one and a billion are the same. So you couldn't say that infinity is kadosh. Kadosh means it's separated, it's far away. It's not far away! It's far and close at the same time because they're both the same. It's like I always mention the the vort that R'' Yitzchak Hamel'er said, he was speaking He was a great mind and he was speaking about his Rebbe who taught him a lot of inyanim, it was R'' Zalman Zazmer, and he said, R'' Zalman Zazmer's mind is so much greater than our mind, he says, like the cat, the mind of the cat. And he says, you know what I mean? I don't mean as far away as the brain of the cat is to my brain, that's how far my brain is from R'' Zalman Zazmer. He says that's not true. What I mean to say is that the brain of the cat and my brain compared to R'' Zalman Zazmer's brain are equal. That's how great He's אינו בערך. He is something that's אינו בערך. And therefore, it's hard to say he is greater than so great. It makes a difference! So then, one and a million and a billion, it's all the same. And therefore, the שם אהיה, the name of השם, אהיה, it's like the holiest name, in our terms holy, but it's not kadosh. It doesn't have that terminology of holy, and it it finds itself in the lowest, and therefore, it's a name that is the Rambam paskens is not one of those names. And that is the answer to the question. The question was, the Gemara seems to be saying that it's one of the names of Hashem, one of the holy names of Hashem, and the Rambam in Hilchot Yesodei HaTorah, when he mentions the name of Hashem, does not say it. And the Beit Yosef accepts that a version of the Rambam, and he says it's not. And where he goes against the Gemara? The answer is, it's both true. This is one of the names of Hashem. Not only one of the names, the main name of Hashem, as the Rambam explains in Moreh Nevuchim. But because it's the name of Hashem as Hashem is מחויב המציאות, that's why it cannot be referred to as a שם קדוש, and you could just use it. And therefore, many קבלה ספרים say, as I said in the beginning, that you are allowed to pronounce the name of Hashem, Ehyeh. Even though I've been using the name Akyah, you're allowed to say Ehyeh. But you're not allowed to say Havayah the right way. You're not even allowed to say Elokim, or Kel. All these names, we pronounce it in a way different than it's written, because chas v'shalom. This, he says, you're allowed to pronounce. Why are you allowed to pronounce it? Because it's the holiest, so you are pronouncing another not pronouncing makes no difference. When something is at least in some connection, some relation, it's relative, so therefore has, say, it's so holy, don't pronounce it. But something that's so beyond, we're allowed to pronounce. And this is what the name Ehyeh is. And this is the reason why it's found very seldom, once in Chumash. It's the name of Hashem and it's found only once because this is something that's so special, that this is the essence of Hashem, beyond any other name, and because of that, this is a name which the Rambam refers to as not one of the שמות הקדושים.

Any questions? Yes. No no, so we're saying that's what he wrote in the Kesef Mishneh. And see, there he wrote different. Exactly. In the Kesef Mishneh he writes one way, and the ספר that he wrote later, the Shulchan Aruch that he wrote much later, and there he paskent, he wrote different, exactly. In the Kesef Mishneh he writes that the Rambam, said before that the Rambam must have not had that version in the Gemara, because if the Gemara says it, the Rambam wouldn't say different. And nevertheless, the same Kesef Mishneh said in the beginning in the ספר Beit Yosef, in the Shulchan Aruch actually, not the Beit Yosef, writes differently. So later on he assumes that the Rambam could have had that version in the Gemara and nevertheless paskent differently, because it's no contradiction, and he holds like yes. Well, he's stating a fact. There he says that the Rambam must have had the version, and here he says not. So the fact you can't change, but the peshat we understand. He said, yeah, but his opinion is that if he would have had that version, he would have had to write this in the Sefer. And later he says not, and we're saying that it's no contradiction because that's what he wrote in the Shulchan Aruch. Yes. Well, we have no other words. But according to this pshat he meant it as a name. That is his name, but a name that's so beyond. But because that name is so beyond, that's why it has a close connection to us, and it could be down here. It's lower because low and high makes no difference. No, it's a true being. It's the true We don't have any other words, so we say being, but it's the true being, not as we imagine what being means. We can't, but we know that we can't imagine what it is, but we know that it is so. It's called ידיעת המציאות, not ידיעת המהות. We know it's so. We know that Hashem is a being that's beyond any being. See, the beings of creation, any being, any being, is called מציאות. When it's a being as we see it. The Rambam refers to Hashem as מציאות בלתי מציאות נמצא. He's a being that's not in the form of of being as we imagine a being is, and we still call מציאות, because what else? We can't find any other words. But that's what he is. He's a מציאות בלתי מציאות נמצא. And that's what In other words, he is the אמיתית המציאות, the real מציאות. But we have no words, so we say the real מציאות. And the moment we add the word real, as I explained, for emet, means that this is a being which is מחוייב המציאות, that has to be. מציאות you mean a being, no. מהות is what type of being. We're saying the first thing that this is a being which is the essential being that is there essentially, not because it was put there, not because This is what מציאות is. מהות usually is what it is. That's something else. That's מה הוא. The word מהות comes from the word מה הוא. Well, the word מציאות fits better. It's also different pesukim, yeah. Makom is from the Gemara, from the pesukim. Shalom is from a pasuk. Says the name of Hashem is emet. That's a name. Hashem's seal is emet. All kinds of different names we have of Hashem. Many names. But not all are אינם נמחקים, that you can't erase. Just seven. And the Rambam says Ehyeh is not one of those. Okay.