Ilustration Credit: Elad Lifshitz, Dov Abramson Studio
Midrash מִדְרָשׁ
After describing terrible punishments for Benei Yisrael, God promises to remember the בְּרִית (brit, covenant):
וְזָכַרְתִּ֖י אֶת־בְּרִיתִ֣י יַעֲק֑וֹב וְאַף֩ אֶת־בְּרִיתִ֨י יִצְחָ֜ק וְאַ֨ף אֶת־בְּרִיתִ֧י אַבְרָהָ֛ם אֶזְכֹּ֖ר וְהָאָ֥רֶץ אֶזְכֹּֽר׃
Then I will remember My brit with Yaakov; and also My brit with Yitzhak, and also remember My brit with Avraham; and I will remember the land.
In Hebrew, some vowels can be either מַלֵא (malei, full) or חֲסֵר (haseir, missing). A malei vowel appears with a vav or with a yod, and a haseir vowel appears without these “extra” letters. For example, the holam vowel, which makes the O sound, can be either. It’s malei in the word שׁלוֹם (shalom) and it’s haseir in the parashah name בֹּא (Bo).
In the Torah, the final syllable in the name Yaakov is almost always written with a holam haseir: יַעֲקֹב. But in our pasuk, it appears malei: יַעֲקוֹב. Why the extra vav?
This midrash offers an explanation:
Midrash Haseir Ve-Yeter 24
Every “Yaakov” appears haseir, except in five places in the Torah.
And every “Eliyahu” appears with a vav, except in five places.
Why? It’s a promise that Eliyahu will come and redeem the descendants of Yaakov.
As it says: “I will send for you the prophet Eliya” (in shortened form, without a vav; Malakhi 3:23).
מדרש חסר ויתר שבתנך (ווערטהיימר) כ"ד
כָּל יַעֲקֹב חָסֵר בַּר מִן יהוה,
וְכָל אֵלִיָּהוּ כְּתִיב ב-וָאו בַּר מִן יהוה.
לָמָּה? לְלַמֶּדְךָ שֶׁאֵלִיָּהוּ בָּא וְגוֹאֵל זֶרַע יַעֲקֹב,
שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: "הִנֵּה אָנֹכִי שֹׁלֵחַ לָכֶם אֵת אֵלִיָּה הַנָּבִיא" (מַלְאָכִי ג:כג).
In Sefer Malakhi (3:23-24) אֵלִיָּהוּ הַנָּבִיא (Eliyahu Ha-Navi, the prophet Eliyahu) is described as the one who will announce divine redemption and usher in the time when God will save the Jewish people from their troubles. We sing about Eliyahu at the Pesah seder, and many people have the custom to sing about him weekly at Havdalah.
- This midrash suggests that the extra vav in Yaakov’s name in the pasuk above hints at the promise of Eliyahu coming to begin the time of redemption. Why would that hint be important after the punishments in our parashah? What is the connection between God remembering, which is mentioned three times in the pasuk, and the start of the redemption?
- How do you stay hopeful when times are tough? Do you have something you think of to remind you that the future can be better?
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