The other week's Torah portion begins with God telling Moses, "I appeared to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob with the name א-ל ש-די (literally, "Almighty Power"), but by name י-ה-ו-ה (the "Essential Name") I did not become known to them." (Exodus 6:3)
I have a few questions on this:
1) The name י-ה-ו-ה denotes God as He chooses to act beyond the constraints of nature. Can we truly say that the supernatural miracles which our Patriarchs benefited from were not considered "above nature"?
2) In Judaism the prophetic experience is very tied in with the name י-ה-ו-ה. To the best of my knowledge, our Patriarchs were second only to Moses in prophecy. How could they not have had encounters with the name י-ה-ו-ה when they entered into prophecy?
3) It seems likely that what God was relating to Moses was not only for him, but for the entire Israelite nation. How can ordinary Israelites be treated to a spiritual experience which was denied to the Patriarchs, when the Patriarchs were much greater prophets than they were?
Perhaps, an answer could be that when God addressed Moses, He was not referring to the revelation of the name י-ה-ו-ה in the higher worlds, as experienced in prophecy. Rather, God was referring to the consistent revelation of His name י-ה-ו-ה down here on earth. The consistency of this name's earthly revelation did not happen for the Patriarchs, even with occasional miracles. It's a consistency which can only occur through the Torah.
The ability to access God as He acts "down here" by the name י-ה-ו-ה, began during the period of the Exodus from Egypt, when the Torah began to become a reality in every Israelite's life. Through the Torah, every Israelite was given the ability to access God as He is beyond nature even if His own response ends up clothed within nature.
This has nothing necessarily to do with being "spiritual". The name י-ה-ו-ה is about having a close relationship with God. It's about love! Often, what's "spiritual" is another version of the natural, which simply plays by a different set of rules and considerations. That kind of "spiritual" was the expertise of Pharaohs' sorcerers. Hence, it's not surprising that Pharaoh did not know God's name י-ה-ו-ה.
However, when someone is in a relationship with God and knows that nature is just Him presented differently, then it seems to me that such a person is experiencing the name י-ה-ו-ה. Even within nature, such a person has an active relationship with God's reality beyond nature.
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