Mission Impossible
The minutes pass by unbearably slowly. The blazing desert sun glares down, threatening the workers with its piercing rays. With dust everywhere and Egyptian policemen screaming orders like fierce dogs, the future seems as bleak as the far off desert horizon. Just then, when all a person can humanly do is give up, a Jew calls out deep within the recesses of his heart to his Maker, a silent cry that only He can hear. The seemingly non-existent end to their suffering had suddenly come very near, for the Divine Machination began moving, one cog activating another, until the noose started to loosen around their necks.
Even when Hashem revealed to Moshe Rabbeinu that the process of redemption had begun, he was not able to see it yet. It was so well concealed within the present administration of stern justice that not only could he not fathom it; but more so, he knew that the Nation definitely couldn't and wouldn't accept it. He was meant to come to them and say Aleph Heh Yud Heh has sent me, the Name that expresses His care in the future taking precedence over the tribulations of the present; but they had a tradition from their forefathers that Hashem, Yud Heh Vav Heh, is constantly looking after their welfare: "And they will say to me what is His name what will I say to them?" The last letters of the words "Li Mah Shmo Mah" (...to me what is His name, what...) spell out the holy Tetragrammaton, the name of compassion which they were familiar with and were expecting to hear.
Vayomer Od Elokim... Hashem then proceeded to give Moshe Rabbeinu a different sign that he could convey only to the Elders, for the Name they were familiar with could not be fully revealed in exile. The Gemmatria of the more concealed half (Leolam) of that Name , Yud Heh, added to Shmi (My Name) expresses the passive Force of Creation (365), whereas the revealed half, Vav Heh, with Zichri (My Revelation) amounts to the active Force (248). Although the Elders would not be able to fully explain these concepts to the people, they nevertheless felt confident enough to tell them that the redemption was only moments way. So close that all they had to do was to muster up enough patience to see it through, for that silent cry had had its silent effect deep in Hashem's heart.