Our parasha this week is Va'era in which the first seven plagues afflict Egypt in response to the hardening of Pharoah's heart. The term 'plagues' is a later rabbinic description; the Torah text uses the words "signs" (otot), "marvels" (moftim) and "wonders" (niflaot).
The opening verse is curious: God spoke to Moses and said to him, "I am Adonai. I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob as El Shaddai, but I did not make Myself known to them by my [real] name Y-H-V-H."
What difference does it make by which Name the Holy One is known, and why does the text use the connecting word 'and' between each of the patriarchs' names, rather than just say "God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob"? The Baal Shem Tov (founder of Chasidut/Chassidism) explained that Abraham's understanding of God was different from Isaac's knowledge of God, or Jacob's, teaching us that God reveals Godself differently to each one of us. We each come to know God through our own personal encounters, in our own way. Rabbi Zev Wolf of Zitomer offered a similar teaching, suggesting that The Holy One chooses to reveal to each of us through a different Name, and we are charged with the task of discovering and exploring this unique expression; if we can't seem to find God, it's because we're seeking God through a Name other than the one that is meant for us.
The first step out of emotional and spiritual 'slavery' is to be able to know the Name revealed to us individually - who or what God is in our lives - and by extension, know well our own.
This coming week, during an intense and fractious time for our nation, we will commemorate MLK Day and inaugurate a new President. It is sometimes a challenge to keep our hearts open as we brace ourselves in our kishkes for perhaps more disruption, but that is what we do as we call on God, or, if you prefer, on our innermost consciousness - whatever name of The Holy One is meant for you.