Worldwide Ethical Wrestling: Fate vs. Free Will

D’var Torah

By Avi Eisen
Montclair State University

“Moses said to God, “When I come to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is His name?’ what shall I say to them?”

“And God said to Moses, “Ehyeh-Asher-Ehyeh.” He continued, “Thus shall you say to the Israelites, ‘Ehyeh sent me to you.’” (Shemot 3:13-14)

“Ehyeh Asher Ehyeh” directly translated means “I shall be that which I shall be.” It seems like a strange response. Moshe asks God for God’s name, and God says, “I shall be which I shall be.” Why would God give such a cryptic response?

Knowing someone’s name is like knowing them personally. It gives people a specific entity to credit for their actions. In this polytheistic world, saying “I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob” would probably be taken the same way as saying “I am the god of Pharaoh.” Giving God a name would give B’nai Yisrael a specific god to which to refer, and since Pharaoh enslaved them for 210 years, they had little or no personal connection to the God of their tribal namesakes.

So why use a verbal phrase as a name? “I shall be which I shall be” does not exactly answer the question of “What is your name?” God is described as being kadosh, meaning unique. The phrase “I shall be what I shall be” describes one of the qualities of God that makes God unique. God is able to freely do and think without being constrained by rules and influences put forth by others.

We are bombarded by influences every day, from sources as innocent as our family and friends, to as sinister as radicals and self-serving individuals. Sometimes, we are more susceptible to these influences and are taken in by them. It is important to do things out of choice and to take responsibility for the consequences of those actions, whether they be good consequences or bad ones. We choose whether to listen to the advice of others or whether to disregard it.

“I shall be which I shall be.” This is a profound statement of individuality, citing our right to choose our own fate. We too are given free will and we are responsible for our own actions. We cannot sacrifice free will to some tangible or intangible higher authority just because we want to be ignorant about the consequences. We have been given the gift of free will, allowing us to make decisions for ourselves. With our free will, we can all strive to be whatever we want to be.

Avi Eisen is a sophomore at Montclair State University, leaning toward a major in education. He has been to Israel four times, one time to learn Hebrew in a Kibbutz environment for five months. Avi has also been on staff at Ramah Berkshires for the past three summers, and works as an assistant to the advisor of two Kadima and USY chapters in Northern Jersey. Avi has written short essays regarding Conservative Judaism for the Shefa Conservative Activist Network. He also enjoys theater, both being involved in the production and being in the audience.

[Posted 12/25/05]