Archive for the ‘00. Pesach’ Category

Out like a leper

The Torah explains how to diagnose a metzora, someone stricken with tzaraas: וְרָאָה הַכֹּהֵן וְהִנֵּה כִסְּתָה הַצָּרַעַת אֶת כָּל בְּשָׂרוֹ וְטִהַר אֶת הַנָּגַע כֻּלּוֹ הָפַךְ לָבָן טָהוֹר הוּא – The kohen should check the white mark. If it has cleared from his skin, it is purified. If it has spread and infected his entire body white, he too is purified. (13:13)

If the mark was not purified, the man was sent away from the city for a week.

Tzaraas should not be thought of as a physical disease, for which the metzora was quarantined. If it were so, what of the man whose entire body was stricken? Think of it as a spiritual shortcoming that is physically manifest, for which the metzora is isolated through solitary confinement.

The isolation is a critical part of being cured, but why?

The cause of tzaraas is gossip, which the Torah is highly sensitive to. Gossip is a highly destructive force, tearing apart the fabric of society by planting harmful ideas, destroying perceptions and relationships. The metzora must leave the community because tzaraas can be hidden otherwise – symbolic of how the gossip himself is able to blend into society when he is actually destroying it. This person is not what he seems – or in other words, a fake – and since he can blend, people are not on their guard. The Rema explains that this is not the case with the person whose entire body is stricken – their physical condition matches their spiritual condition – people know to steer well clear of such a person, and this metzora can therefore stay in the city.

Solitary confinement may seem a little extreme, but R’ Yisrael Salanter explains that the punishment fits the crime; the gossip – if telling the truth – is exacting over the finer details of other peoples lives. Such an expert is forced to confront his own character flaws by being exposed to only himself for a week, to rectify his own wrongdoings.

Later on, where the parsha addresses tzaraas affecting the clothing, the Torah reveals a fundamental idea, key to the entire portion of the metzora: וְרָאָה הַכֹּהֵן (…) וְהִנֵּה לֹא הָפַךְ הַנֶּגַע אֶת עינו – The kohen should check, and if the eye of the mark had not reverted… (13:55).

The point of the purification process of a metzora is for the eye to revert. Figuratively speaking, the character flaw that causes tzaraas is the eye that looks at others. At the end of his isolation, his eye should be fixed firmly on his own actions and dealings.

The Divrei Shaul points out how this reflects the Mishna in Avos, that identifies a person with a favourable eye as one of the students of Avraham Avinu, and an evil eye as a student of Bilam. If the metzora’s eye has not been fixed, he cannot end his isolation, because he is not ready to integrate into society.

Around the time the State of Israel was founded, many Jews were fighting and dying every day. A student exclaimed to the Brisker Rov how, “It’s the secular people’s fault! If they kept Shabbos surely no one would die!”.
The Brisker Rov dismissed his foolishness, “When the prophet, Yonah, fled rather than chastise the Jews’ sins – he blamed himself and preferred to be thrown off a boat – בשלי הסער הגדול הזה! Even if the entire nation were idol worshippers like then, we don’t look to others for accountability, we say בשלי הסער הגדול הזה – this great storm is all my fault. A Jew’s job is not to judge, but only to say, “How can I make it better?”".

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“… As if their very selves had experienced the departure from Egypt…”

During the Seder we recite that every person has to feel as if their very selves left Egypt. But why?

We say that מתחלה היה עובדי עבודה זרה, ועכשיו קירבנו המקום לעבודתו – At first, they worshipped strange idols, but now Hashem drew them near, in His service.

This is of huge significance. This is when the transition occurred; we ceased to be slaves, and became a nation free to serve Hashem. But what is ועכשיו קירבנו המקום לעבודתו – but ״now״ Hashem drew them near, in His service? It is precisely for this reason that we are enjoined to feel like we personally left Egypt. In the same way our ancestors had an Exodus that transitioned them into servants of God, we each need to experience our own personal exodus, every year, and renew our own commitment.

The Emek Bracha wonders how at the end of Maggid, we say the opening two paragraphs of Hallel, and yet no Bracha is said on it. He answers how there is no bracha because it is not a Hallel at all! In the names of the parts of the Seder, Hallel is after the meal – the opening two paragraphs take place during Maggid, because they are actually a Shira – a song of praise, like לפיכך – the Shira at the miracle we have to see ourselves as going through!

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So what’s with the egg on Pesach?

On the Seder plate, there is a designated section for an egg. All the sections have a more obvious symbolic function, but the egg’s role is less clear.

The Ishbitzer elucidates how the egg is symbolic of the nascent Jewish nation; like an egg requires nurturing and warmth to hatch, the newly formed nation was on its way to “hatching” at Mount Sinai, upon receiving the Torah.

The Rema says that this is the very same egg as on 9 Av, and points out that the fast of 9 Av will always be on the same day of the week as the first night of Pesach. But there is more to it than just that.

Avraham was told his descendants would be enslaved in Egypt. When they left Egypt, the Torah recounts how וּמוֹשַׁב בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל אֲשֶׁר יָשְׁבוּ
בְּמִצְרָיִם שְׁלֹשִׁים שָׁנָה וְאַרְבַּע מֵאוֹת שָׁנָה – the settlement of the Jews in Egypt lasted 430 years (12:40). (Note: I am aware that the number promised to Avraham is 400. I do not yet have a solution). Not commonly cited, is that “only” 86 of the years spent in Egypt were spent in slavery, which began at Miriam’s birth (hence her name, meaning “bitter”). The early departure was forced because the Jews were mired in the depth of decadence, the 49th level of impurity, beyond which they could not be saved. They had to leave early, if they were ever to leave.

But this means that only one fifth of the prophecied 430 years of slavery was spent in actual slavery. This is slightly hinted to when Yosef interpreted the butler’s dream, where he described how he’d squeezed grapes for Paroh. In the dialogue, the word כוס appears four times. Figuratively, Yosef announced that when the cup was squeezed into, he would walk free, and the same with the Jews in Egypt, that when they were “squeezed” into the כוס – 86 – they walked free. That only one fifth of the time was served is one the explanations of the bizarre word וחמושים – also a source that many Jews did not live to leave Egypt, perishing in the darkness.

The deficit in time is 344 – the word כוס multiplied four times, the numerical value of שמד – disaster. On 9 Av, the Torah portion we read berates us and says שָּׁמֵד תִּשָּׁמֵדוּן – we owe for our early, forced departure from egypt. And on the eve of 9 Av, we eat an egg, in memory of the destruction and imperfection of the world.

As the Rema says, this is the very same egg as on 9 Av. We left early, but leaving Egypt was not the perfect redemption, which we still await. We remind ourselves of this with the egg we eat before 9 Av.

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Aramaic with a Kittel

We begin the story telling aspect of the Seder, Magid, with a short prayer, הא לחמא עניא – This is poor man’s bread… But next year, may we have liberty in Jerusalem.

The prayer is not in the usual Hebrew, but in Aramaic, and this presents a thorny issue. Prayers are usually carried to heaven by angels, but angels do not understand Aramaic, and so cannot present prayers in Aramaic; as such, prayers are not meant to be said in Aramaic. Why then, is this portion in Aramaic?

Perhaps there is a way around this issue. There are times when an emissary is not required. There is a Gemara that teaches that Hashem’s presence is manifest in the room of an ill person. Prayers are more effective – there are no angels required; Hashem is right there.

The Shaagas Aryeh points out how the same is true on Yom Kippur – the Kohel Gadol goes into the Kodesh HaKadashim, and utters a prayer in Aramaic. How is that the prayer can pray in Aramaic? It is because he is in the Kodesh HaKadashim, in front of the Ark, where Hashem is manifest. No angels necessary.

Most of the year round, we are under the influence of the Satan. But not all year – השטן has a value of 364, a year, less one day – that is one day per year that the Satan does not influence us – Seder night; it is a Leil Shimurim. When we are enjoined to keep Pesach, we are told that וְשָׁמַרְתָּ אֶת הַחֻקָּה הַזֹּאת לְמוֹעֲדָהּ מִיָּמִים יָמִימָה – the word ימימה is very odd; this is it’s only appearance in the Torah. It has the same initial letters as the second part of Tehillim 93:3 – כִּי הוּא יַצִּילְךָ מִפַּח יָקוּשׁ מִדֶּבֶר הַוּוֹת – Hashem Himself will save us, ימימה. This is why there is no Satan on Seder night. Hashem is there.

Just like on Yom Kippur. Which is one reason for a kittel. But it goes deeper – the animal used for the korban Pesach is set aside on the tenth of the month, the tenth of the month that Yom Kippur is. ימימה is a 24 hour day, but it is not the same day.

It is Leil HaSeder and Yom Kippur that Hashem is in front of us, and therefore we wear a kittel and pray in Aramaic.

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Pesach 5633 Second Night Second Ma’amar–What is the Matza for?

There is a large debate regarding the Matza on Pesach. Is it because of the slavery, the poor man’s bread; or is it because of the freedom, that they left before they had time to bake bread properly?

The Sfas Emes explains that we cannot celebrate being freed from Egypt on it’s own; we must praise the fact we were enslaved as well. The reason the slavery must have been a good thing, is that if we were capable of being a nation that could serve Hashem in slavery, we weren’t in need of being saved, and the slavery itself would serve no purpose. So we must say that being enslaved in Egypt was a key part of the process through which we became Hashem’s people.

The simple explanation of this is that by being in crushing and devastating slavery, the people were pushed far beyond their comfort zones, and far beyond the extremes of what they thought they were capable of. This was a demonstration to the people that all the arrogance and haughtiness of man could be removed, and a person could devote his entire being to something. This was a key stage in becoming Hashem’s servants – the people knew that they were capable of giving their all, which they might not have been able to had they not been through the ravages of slavery.

The Sfas Emes explains that this is what all evils and bad things in life are for – they educate us about our limits, and more than that, they show us the opposite extremes to which we can aspire and attain. This is the only purpose they serve, just like Egypt. If they weren’t there to help us become closer to Hashem, they would have no function.

The Sfas Emes explains that this was the only moment in which the Jews could have accepted Hashem as their King properly, that  in the same way they had been entirely subjugated to Paroh, they could now subjugate themselves entirely to Hashem. This was the critical moment the Jews were born as a nation. However, the procedure and process started earlier. As we say in Shema every day: אשר הוצאתי אתכם מארץ מצרים להיות לכם לאלוקים – “That I took you out of Egypt to be for you a God” (Bamidbar 15:41). The implication is clear – we had to have been in Egypt before, in order to be taken out to become everything we were meant to be.

The Sfas Emes re-emphasises that being Hashem’s people hinged on the need to have removed the arrogance and haughtiness of man. This is what the pasuk means when it says that טוב אחרית הדבר מראשיתו – “the end is better than the beginning” (Koheles 7:8). It was not pleasant to be in Egypt, but what followed was receiving the Torah.

The Sfas Emes tells us that our celebration of leaving Egypt must hinge around the fact that we became better once we left – we accepted Hashem as our King and our God, and we received the Torah. The first thing we did on being freed was for Hashem – this is why there is a concept of firsts going to Hashem, for example the korban Omer (and Pidyon haBen, bikkurim etc).

This is what is so vital on Seder night, to relive the Exodus from Egypt. It is when we became God’s people.

The Sfas Emes answers that this is why Matza correlates to the slavery and poverty – it is devoid of the arrogance and haughtiness. But it also correlates to the freedom – the process of freedom started when we were slaves. It is how we became truly free to serve Hashem. Our freedom stems from having not been free once.

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Pesach 5631 First Night Second Ma’amar–Lacking in טעם

 

In the Haggada we read; “חכם מה הוא אומר? “מה העדות והחוקים והמשפטים אשר צו ה אלוקינו אתכם – What does the wise son ask? What are the testimonies, statutes and laws that God our Lord commanded you?”

The Sfas Emes understands that the wise son is asking the reasons behind the laws, not the laws themselves. Since he is the wise son, it is assumed that he knows the laws. However, how can he ask for a reason for the חוקים ? חוקים do not have reason. Included in חוקים, for example, are the Para Aduma and sha’atnez. These mitzvos have no obvious reason. So why does the wise son ask for the reason for these mitzvos?

In Sefer Tehillim, we say; “מַגִּיד דְּבָרָיו לְיַעֲקֹב חֻקָּיו וּמִשְׁפָּטָיו לְיִשְׂרָאֵל – He told his words to Yakov, His statutes and laws to Israel”. מַגִּיד is a discussion – the implication is that חוקים is not just an instruction, but a talking point, something that was discussed. So we see that really, חוקים have meaning as well. How can we come to know these reasons? The Sfas Emes explains that the way to attain an understanding of the חוקים is by doing them even without understanding, but with the belief that what we are doing has a deeper meaning. By performing these mitzvos without understanding the reason, we merit knowing the reason as well eventually.

The Sfas Emes explains that the mitzvah of matzah alludes to this. The matzah is made of flour and water. It has no additional taste. In Hebrew the same word is used for taste and for reason – טעם. We specifically do not add any טעם to it to show that the mitzvah itself has enough טעם for us.

Through this, we develop a closeness with Hashem, a Naaseh v’Nishma of sorts, that we do what Hashem commands even though we don’t know why we were commanded.

The answer we give the wise son is, “We do not eat any dessert after the Pesach lamb.” He wants to know the טעם for the mitzvos including the חוקים . We tell him that the way to know the reasons is to do them, without knowing why, but with faith in Hashem Who commanded us. We give him a hint when we tell him not to add to the טעם of the Korban Pesach.

It seems that the Sfas Emes is saying that by asking the right question, it leads us to see that it is more important trust in Hashem than know why.

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Of Cups and Highlights

At Kadesh – we  drink the first of the four cups of wine. Each of the four cups of wine symbolizes the four highlights of the seder at which we drink one of the cups: the first at Kadesh, the second at Maggid, the third at Barech and the fourth at Hallel.

The ability of a kiddush is to draw a distinction between that evening and other evenings. The way we do this is through remembering Yetzias Mitzrayim – the Exodus. We do this through a passing mention of  “זכר ליציאת מצרים“-  in memory of Yetzias Mitzrayim. The reason we do this is because Yetzias Mitzrayim is the שרש – the root – of being Hashem’s people. The Sefer Hachinuch goes so far as to say that most mitzvos do have a direct link to Yetzias Mitzrayim.

The function of any kiddush is to express service, allegiance and fealty to Hashem. This is true of kiddush on every Shabbos and all Yomim Tovim. This is the first cup of wine that we drink.

The second is drunk at Maggid. Maggid’s place in the Seder is to perform the mitzva of סיפור יציאת מצרים – the in depth discussion of the events of Yetzias Mitzrayim - rather than the זכר of Kadesh. The function of the mitzva of סיפור יציאת מצרים is to recreate and relive the events, rather than to remember. The wording of the halacha is “כל דור ודור חייב אדם לראות את עצמו כאלו הוא יצא עתה” -

To fulfill the mitzva of סיפור , there are three requirements. The first is the most basic – the engagement that occurs in question and answer form. This engagement constitutes a dialogue that differentiates it from the monologue of a זכר . This is the educational aspect of סיפור .

The second requirement of סיפור is for the Seder to envision Yetzias Mitzrayim. This is achieved through the story telling aspect of Maggid. As with any story, it begins with a problem and ends with a solution.

The final, most demanding requirement of סיפור is the טעמי הצמוות – the rationale behind the mitzvos of the Seder must be explained and understood.

R’ Chaim Brisker says that these requirements distinguish the mitzva of סיפור from the regular mitzva of זכר . The mitzva of סיפור constitutes a key highlight of the Seder, and this is why the second cup of wine is drunk at the end of Maggid.

The third cup is consumed at the conclusion of Birchas Hamazon, Barech. The function of the bracha is to give thanks to Hashem for what we have eaten – so the bracha goes back on all the אכילות מצוה – the Matza, Marror as well as the meal. The instructions to perform these mitzvos created the circumstances through which we could leave Egypt – the Jews had to eat the Korban Pesach the night the Egyptian firstborns died. The bracha of Birchas Hamazon is the conclusion of all the mitzvos of the evening, and as such, is as much key highlight as the mitzvos themselves were, and the reason we drink the third cup of wine at this point.

The fourth cup  is drunk at the conclusion of Hallel. Hallel is a shira, a song of praise and gratitude for all the kindness Hashem has done for us, which is what the whole Seder was about.

Wine is chashuv – it is prestigious and indicates prominence. It is with wine that we mark the prominent events of the Seder, and as we have now seen, the junctures at which we drink encompass the entire evening.

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Work or Food?

דַּבֵּר אֶל בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל וְאָמַרְתָּ אֲלֵהֶם מוֹעֲדֵי ה’ אֲשֶׁר תִּקְרְאוּ אֹתָם מִקְרָאֵי קֹדֶשׁ אֵלֶּה הֵם מוֹעֲדָי – Speak to the Children of Israel and tell them these are the Festivals that they shall keep holy (23:2)

שֵׁשֶׁת יָמִים תֵּעָשֶׂה מְלָאכָה וּבַיּוֹם הַשְּׁבִיעִי שַׁבַּת שַׁבָּתוֹן מִקְרָא קֹדֶשׁ כָּל מְלָאכָה לֹא תַעֲשׂוּ שַׁבָּת הִוא ה’ בְּכֹל מוֹשְׁבֹתֵיכֶם - [For] six days, work may be performed, but on the seventh day, it is a complete rest day, a holy occasion; you shall not perform any work. It is a Sabbath to the Lord in all your dwelling places. (23:3)

Rashi wonders why Shabbos is inserted into the middle of the parsha of the Festivals (moadim).

The Vilna Gaon comes up with a fascinating explanation that explains the pasuk in a different vein. On all the Festivals certain types of melachos are permitted (‘ochel nefesh‘), whereas on Shabbos all melachos are forbidden. However on one yom tov no melacha is permitted – Yom Kippur  - which is also known as שַׁבַּת שַׁבָּתוֹן – the same terminology that the Torah uses for a regular Shabbos. Thus the Vilna Gaon explains the pasuk like this;

דַּבֵּר אֶל בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל וְאָמַרְתָּ אֲלֵהֶם מוֹעֲדֵי ה’ אֲשֶׁר תִּקְרְאוּ אֹתָם מִקְרָאֵי קֹדֶשׁ אֵלֶּה הֵם מוֹעֲדָי – Speak to the Children of Israel and tell them these are the Festivals that they shall keep holy (23:2)

שֵׁשֶׁת יָמִים תֵּעָשֶׂה מְלָאכָה וּבַיּוֹם הַשְּׁבִיעִי שַׁבַּת שַׁבָּתוֹן מִקְרָא קֹדֶשׁ כָּל מְלָאכָה לֹא תַעֲשׂוּ -  six days “of these” a melacha is permitted ( “these” are first and last days of Pesach(2), one day Shavuos (3), one day Rosh Hashana (4), one day Succos (5), one day Shmini Atzeres (6) [these are the days that are Yom Tov 'mideoraisa' which are still observed today in Israel]) however the seventh is the holy of holiest – no melacha is permitted (yom kippur [not even ochel nefesh])!

Geshmack :)

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Special occasions

If we take a look at the Musaf prayer of the 3 festivals we see a difference in the Korbonos (sacrifices). At both Pesach & Succos the concept of offering the sacrifice on the Mizbeach is introduced before the mention of Mikra Kodesh- a Holy Convocation, whereby the day itself becomes holy. Regarding Pesach offering the sacrifice is mentioned in Bamidbar 28:18, and Mikra Kodesh is mentioned in the next Posuk 28:19, and at Succos Mikra Kodesh is mentioned in Posuk 29:12 and the offering is in 29:13. When it comes to Shavuos it mentions the offering first in 28:13 and later in the same pasuk Mikra Kodesh. Why does the order change by Shavuos?

This is also reflected in this week’s sidra too. Pesach:

בַּיּוֹם הָרִאשׁוֹן מִקְרָא קֹדֶשׁ יִהְיֶה לָכֶם - On the first day, there shall be a holy occasion for you… (23:7)

‘וְהִקְרַבְתֶּם אִשֶּׁה לַה - And you shall bring a fire offering to the Lord… (23:8)

Succos:

בַּיּוֹם הָרִאשׁוֹן מִקְרָא קֹדֶשׁ כָּל מְלֶאכֶת עֲבֹדָה לֹא תַעֲשׂוּ - On the first day, it is a holy occasion; you shall not perform any work of labor. (23:35)

‘שִׁבְעַת יָמִים תַּקְרִיבוּ אִשֶּׁה לַה – [For] a seven day period, you shall bring a fire offering to the Lord. (23:36)

Succos and Pesach have the day called “a holy occasion” before the offering is mentioned. But by Shavuos:

עַד מִמָּחֳרַת הַשַּׁבָּת הַשְּׁבִיעִת תִּסְפְּרוּ חֲמִשִּׁים יוֹם וְהִקְרַבְתֶּם מִנְחָה חֲדָשָׁה לַה- You shall count until the day after the seventh week, [namely,] the fiftieth day, [on which] you shall bring a new meal offering to the Lord. (23:16)

וּקְרָאתֶם בְּעֶצֶם הַיּוֹם הַזֶּה מִקְרָא קֹדֶשׁ יִהְיֶה לָכֶם – And you shall designate on this very day a holy occasion it shall be for you (23:21)

This (Vayikra) in consistent with the order given in Bamidbar, but why the marked difference by Shavuos to other Yomim Tovim?

There is a big difference between the festivals of Pesach and Succos in contrast to Shavuos. By the Festivals, there is a concept called מקדש ישראל והזמנים – whereby Hashem tell us that we have power over the times of the festivals. This is not a concept found by Shabbos, which was set in stone from Creation, whereby every 7th day is holy. Festivals are based on when Rosh Chodesh, which is entirely flexible, based on when the Sanhedrin decided to start the new month (more info here).

Pesach and Succos are based on Rosh Chodesh – the 15th day of the Rosh Chodesh proclaimed by the Sanhedrin is called mikra kodesh – because we have said when Rosh Chodesh is, the 15th day automatically becomes set aside. It follows that to honour this day we bring an offering. The offering follows the holiness of the day.

However, by Shavuos, 23:16 says that the moment you finish counting you bring an offering. Since there is an obligation to bring an offering, the day becomes holy as a result. But it is not based on Rosh Chodesh Sivan at all, rather it is based on the 49 days of counting.

This explains the order of the psukim perfectly. By Pesach and Succos, (the primary) mikra kodesh is based on Rosh Chodesh, and the offering is the follow up. But by Shavuos, the offering is the primary feature which is based on counting the Omer, and mikra kodesh is the follow up.

There is a Gemara in Shabbos about Kabbalas HaTorah that Shavuos can occur on either 4th,5th,6th of Sivan. How can this occur at any juncture, and not be specified in the Torah (ie 15th of the month). As we have explained, Shavuos is based entirely on the counting and not on a calendar day at all.

The Ramban writes that Shavuos is to Pesach as Shemini Atzeres is to Succos, and the 49 days of sefira in the middle are like it’s chol hamoed. The commentators wonder what this means, but now that we know that Shavuos is not made holy by the day itself, but by the counting of the days from Pesach, we understand the meaning of this Ramban.

The Ibn Ezra says that the word “Chamishim” is like the Yom HaShmini. The commentators have difficulty understanding the meaning of this Ibn Ezra and try to explain it according to Kabbalah. According to what we said it’s exceedingly simple; just like Shemini Atzeres is an automatic follow up from when the first day of Succos is, so is Shavuos solely based on the passage of time from when we start counting the Omer.

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What does the Korban Pesach signify?

The Maharal writes that the halachos of Korban Pesach all reflect a unity – bones have to be kept whole, – eaten in one group – in one place – at one time – roasted to keep it in one piece etc. All these are meant to reflect that  ה’ אחד - that G-d is one, and His unity is everywhere.

However, this would seem to be at odds with another Maharal, that all Korbanos are meant to reflect the person bringing it. If the Korban Pesach is reflecting Hashem’s unity, how is it reflecting us, the people bringing it?

R’ Yehoshua Hartman explains that as a nation, we reflect the אחדות of Hashem. We have nothing but Hashem, and nothing else on what to fall back. This is not found anywhere else. If we compare to Israel to Egypt, if in Egypt it doesnt rain for years, it’s not a problem, the Nile sustains everything anyway. If in Israel it doesn’t rain for one year, there are serious problems, and people start worrying(and when people start worrying, they start praying). We do not have anywhere else to go, but to Hashem.

When the Jews said נעשה ונשמע – we will do and we will listen – what they were effectively saying is that they did not enter the equation. When Hashem asks something of us, that is all that matters, and this explains why so many Jews in history were willing to be מוסר נפש – self-sacrifice – rather than commit a sin and cause a desecration of Hashem’s name. The rationale behind this is that Hashem doesn’t want you to to do something, and if you do it, it’s the same as dying, as it is antithetical to what G-d wants.

So we can see that really, there is no contradiction between the two Maharals. We say in Aleinu that אין עוד – which means there is no other reality other than what G-d wants. No-one symbolises this more than the Jews.

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What is going on with the Rasha?

From a speech by R’ Shlomo Freshwater

In the Haggada, the ben haRasha asks questions, and the father rebukes him, and says that the father should הקהה את שניו – knock out his teeth – and say to him אלו היה שם לא היה נגאל – if he had been in Egypt at the time, he would not have been redeemed.

What’s do all these things have to do with each other? His teeth, Egypt, redemption – what’s really going on here?
(more…)

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And they embittered their lives

In the enslavement in Egypt, we are told how:

וַיְמָרְרוּ אֶת חַיֵּיהֶם” – and they embittered their lives… (Shemos 1:14)

Hashem told Avraham that his children would be enslaved in a land not their own for 400 years. Yet we find that they left after just 210 years of actual enslavement. Where are the missing 190 years?

There is an answer suggested that Egypt treated the Jews much worse than they should have, so as we say in ברוך המקום during Seder night:

ש”הקבה חשב את הקץ – Hashem reckoned the end. What “end” is this talking about? Hashem hastened the גאולה and reckoned off קץ - 190 (from 400)- leaving us with 210.

The Vilna Gaon points out how this is very subtly hinted to by the notes on וַיְמָרְרוּ אֶת חַיֵּיהֶם are קדמא ואזלא, which means “they got up and went”. Additionally, the numerical value of this is 190! They were over-embittered to a value of 190, so they got up an went!

R’ Yosef Chaim Sonnenfeld points out that the redemption from Egypt was only completed 7 days after it began, when the Red Sea parted and when Paroh and his army were destroyed, so where is this reflected in events?

He answers the 400 years were counted from Yitzchak’s birth. The extra week is found at his circumcision. Yitzchak was only circumcised 7 days after his birth – so only became Jewish then, and only 400 years from then were the Jews genuinely free.

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False start

Looking at the 15 steps of the Seder, ורחץ- “and we wash our hands” – is out of step with the rest. It is seemingly linked to the previous step of Kadesh. But this results in a further problem – the order is wrong! Shouldn’t we cleanse ourselves of the negative, symbolised by washing our hands, before sanctifying ourselves with positive, through kiddush?

We can ask the same question about Matza and Maror, shouldn’t we get the negative (slavery) out of the way before commemorating the positive?

R’ Moshe Feinstein answers that sometimes we are in so deep that we can’t cleanse ourselves of the negativity. We have to jumpstart the process of growth by diving in and doing positive acts despite the fact we still have negative baggage. Then we build up the spiritual strength to be able to cleanse ourselves of and be rid of that baggage – which is exactly what happened in Egypt.

There is a Chassidic analogy of a man with dirty boots in a muddy field. He must walk to the end of the field before he can clean his boots.

This is an exceptionally deep משל, but on a basic level, what it means is that when we have a problem that we can’t avoid (dirty boots), we must change the situation we are in (leaving the field). Once we have changed and grown, when we find ourselves with “muddy boots” we will no longer be in the “muddy field”. We can even take this analogy further – people can look around at the world (muddy field) and wonder how they can have faith when there is so much evil (mud) in the world. The answer is that the muddy field isn’t the problem – your boots are!

The reason we start the Seder in this way is to show us that we just need to take the initiative – Kaddish – and then ורחץ – we will be cleansed!

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Pesach for Pesach’s sake

The Korban Pesach is meant to commemorate the miracle of the Jewish households being “passed over” in Egypt.

But why were they ever at risk? The other plagues were punishments to the Egyptians for enslaving the Jews. If the plagues were targeted, why should there have been any threat to the lives of the Jewish firstborn, to the extent that we celebrate that they were spared?

no special “sign” had to be made to G-d that He should leave them be, and no special sign is remembered today. So why is the salvation of the Jewish firstborn different, so much so that it required demonstrable acts that they were Jews by spreading blood on their doors, and later generations then had to remember this act by eating the Korban Pesach?

R’ Yitzchak Blaser explains that the Gemara in Yuma 86a teaches that even though repentance alone does not usually atone for a violation of a negative commandment; nevertheless, on Yom Kippur the flood of mercy is so great that if a person repents, he can have achieve forgiveness – even if they might not deserve it!

The Midrash says: Woe to the wicked, who convert Divine mercy to strict justice (מדת הדין into מדת הרחמים).

R’ Yitzchak Blaser explains that what the Midrash means is that if a person had an opportunity to erase sins they couldn’t get rid of an entire year, and turned their back on this opportunity,  the disdain for the mercy shown rebounds, and it becomes strict justice.

Although the Jews had served the Egyptian idols, it hadn’t been out of choice. But with the Exodus over, and Hashem having saved them, they had the chance to throw off any trace of idol worship and show their commitment and dedication to Him by taking a lamb, an Egyptian deity, and in their faces, roast it, eat, and put it’s blood on display.

If they turned their backs on this ideal opportunity they would have incurred Hashem’s wrath and מדת הדין.

The other plagues were specific punishments that the Jews were not deserving of, but the 10th plague was not “just” a punishment for the Egyptians, unlike the previous plagues, as it had a secondary function. Whilst all the plagues were punishments in that they revealed Hashem’s hand in nature to the Egyptians, the Jews were not meant to be punished in this way. But here they had an opportunity to throw off the yoke of idol worship, and had they not used this opportunity, they would have incurred a מדת הדין, and the Korban Pesach we take is a remembrance of the kindness we were shown, that led to us being saved.

This explains why the Mechilta says that the Jews were as deserving of destruction in the final plague as the Egyptians, up until the final Korban Pesach was brought.

Also, in Pirkei d’R’ Eliezer, it says that some people would not undertake circumcision, the merit of which was needed for the גאולה as well (דם פסח ודם מילה). So Hashem told Moshe to make the Korban Pesach, and Hashem sent a breeze from Gan Eden, which caused people to faint at the irresistible aroma, at which point Moshe said כל הערל לא יאוכל , and they immediately underwent circumcision.

All this shows Hashem’s great mercy, as the Targum translates ופסחתי (Shemos 14:13) as a word meaning “compassion”.

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The significance of the Yamim Tovim

There is a Mishna in Pirkei Avos (4:28) that says:

רבי אליעזר הקפר אומר, הקנאה והתאווה והכבוד, מוציאין את האדם מן העולם – Rabbi Eliezer said: jealousy, lust and pride removes men from the world.

The Chiddushei Harim explains that the Shalosh Regalim atone for these three. Pesach makes up for תאווה , lust, as we eat לחם עוני , poor man’s bread, which is the basest (and therefore purest?) of all foods, which should theoretically be considered wholly undesirable, and yet it is all we eat for a week, showing how we marginalise our desires, because Hashem asks us to.

Shavuos atones for קנאה , jealousy, as we say that the Torah was given בעין טוב , with a good eye, as opposed to the evil eye, which caused the deaths of R’ Akiva’s students. The submission to keep the Torah shows how the Jews were not looking at what they could get from others, as this was a unique opportunity that Hashem had offered them.

Succos atones for כבוד , pride, as it commemorates our reliance on the ענני הכבוד , the clouds Hashem surrounded us with in the desert. This also shows how we are marginalising ourselves, in that we remember our reliance on Hashem, the opposite of pride, whereby someone tries to make out how independent and great he is.

Geshmack!

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Matza and Maror – chalk and cheese

Why Matzah is done in the seder before Maror?

Matzah is meant to remember that we were redeemed with such haste that the Jews’ bread did not have time to rise, and  the Maror is meant to remember the bitterness of the slavery. Why don’t we reflect the sequence events unfolded, and remember the affliction with the Maror first, and then appreciate the redemption with Matzah? The Chiddushei HaRim explains with a parable.

There was a king who had an only son and heir, the crown prince. One day, the prince got drunk in the royal court and embarrassed the king greatly, for which he was banished. Over time, the king’s grief grew at what he’d done – he’d banished his only child! He sent scouts across the kingdom to locate the prince and bring him back. A scout found the prince, dishevelled and a mess, working as a lumberjack deep in the middle of distant forests, with worn clothes and covered in dirt.  Said the scout; “My lord, the king has requested your immediate return to the palace, what do you need?”.

Came the reply, “I’m not sure about going back… But you know, what I really need is a better axe; this one is getting a bit blunt. Could you possibly get me another?”.

The scout was bewildered -when presented with the opportunity to return to the the royalty he came from, the heir to the throne forgot what it meant to be the prince, he had become a peasant; a simple laborer, who just wanted a better axe to be a better lumberjack.

The Chiddushei Harim explains that we couldn’t understand how terrible the slavery was until we’d experienced redemption and liberty. If you put your face an inch from this text you can’t read it, you can only see the word right in front of you. To appreciate something for what it is, we need to step back from it. From darkness we understand light, and vice versa. Light is brightest coming in from the dark, and dark is darkest when the lights go out.

We need to start with redemption, as that teaches us that anything but that is what we are really lacking.

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Chametz and Matza

In the Hagada, one of the four questions asked is that שבכל הלילות, אנו אוכלין חמץ ומצה, הלילה הזה כולו מצה – Why on other nights do we eat chametz and matza, whereas tonight we only eat matza?

The Abarbanel explains that this is question has an additional layer of depth to it. The Korban Pesach is essentially a Korban Toda, a thanksgiving offering, for having been saved. With an ordinary thanksgiving offering, the sacrifice is brought with chametz loaves and matza wafers as part of the offering. This being the case, why does this change on Pesach, that we only offer the matza?

The Chasam Sofer explains that chametz is a metaphor for negativity. It is symbolic of the inflation of the ego, among other things. Matza is synonymous with the positive – it is representative of things the way they ought to be, in their most natural state. When we offer a regular thanksgiving sacrifice, we are thanking Hashem for the good He has done, but equally, the bad from which we learn to appreciate the good. But on Pesach there is no such thing as bad; even being enslaved served a “good” purpose – it wasn’t a punishment for anything the slaves had done! If the Jews could achieve perfection without going through Egypt, they wouldn’t have had to – therefore it served a constructive purpose. The purpose was so that when they were offered the Torah the Jews would be able to understand and accept the concept of service – they had been pushed to the limit and beyond in Egypt; they could do the same for Hashem. We point out how Pesach is a night where כולו מצה – there is no such thing as bad, there is only good.

The Chafetz Chaim wonders why Moshe was unable to build the Menorah, a problem he had not had when building everything else, and had to ask many times for the instructions to be repeated. The answer parralels the above. The Menorah is compared to to the Torah – hence the phrase “the light” of Torah – and it’s eternity. Moshe’s problem was that he did not understand how he could make something that was meant to reflect the infinite and eternal. How could the Jews keep the Torah forever? Wouldn’t there be evil? Exiles, wars, Holocausts, Inquisitions, expulsions and pogroms?

Hashem’s answer to Moshe illustrates this concept perfectly. “Put it in the fire, and see what comes out”. In reality, there is no negativity, and adversity is not bad. It is only a trial from which there is potential to grow.

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Who we are

After informing the Jews to perform the mitzva of the Korban Pesach, to protect from the final plage, the Torah tells us how וַיֵּלְכוּ וַיַּעֲשׂוּ בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל כַּאֲשֶׁר צִוָּה ה’ אֶת מֹשֶׁה וְאַהֲרֹן כֵּן עָשׂוּ – The Jews went and did as the Lord commanded Moses and Aaron, and so they did. (12:28)

It is quite perplexing as to why the Torah would insert כֵּן עָשׂוּ, which Rashi explains to mean that Moshe and Ahron also performed the mitzva. Would we have expected otherwise?

But why is human input necessary at all? The first nine did not affect Jews, by default. For example, frogs, animals, and hail did not enter Jewish areas. Why by the final plague is there a requirement to perform this Mitzva and smear the door posts and lintel in order to be saved?

Furthermore, the Korban Pesach was not the only Mitzva given that night; circumcision was instituted that night too. What is particularly special about these two mitzvos that they needed to be instructed to perform them on the night of the Slaying of the Firstborn?

In Ezekiel (16:4) the Prophet says that the Jewish People were “born” in Egypt. There are two aspects of the Jewish People – the “doing”, and the “being”, active and passive.

Every person born to a Jewish mother is a Jew from the moment they open their eyes until the moment they finally close them. This is passive, the “being” aspect. There is not a thing that can change this; people can convert or practice other religions, but halacha states that they remain Jews, they can just opt right back in. There is no element of choice in the matter. G-d chose the Jews, and that choice obviously cannot be undone.

The second aspect, of “doing”, is much more down to personal choice, to do as we are told.

Circumcision is a passive mitzva – it is performed 8 days after a boy is born and the child will have no knowledge or choice in the matter. It cannot be undone either. However, Korban Pesach is a personal choice, an active mitzva to be done. It is the only mitzva in the entire Torah where the word עבודה, service, is used in terms of a mitzva. It is not for nothing that these are the only two positive commandments whose punishment for not performing them is Kareis, spiritual excision – being cut off from Hashem.

R’ Shlomo Farhi observes how in Parshas Yisro, Moshe Rabbeinu is described as an Egyptian man. Moshe Rabbeinu! The same would be true of the Jews in Egypt, themselves almost Egyptian. These mitzvos set them apart.

So why did the Jews have to do something to be saved from the 10th plague? R Yehoshua Hartman explaining the Maharal teaches that the difference here is that Hasehm performed it Himself. Hashem says this time, it will be Him; not an angel, messenger, seraph etc. This has an obvious implication that with the other 9, angels and messengers were used. The Maharal explains that angels are not usually able to harm Jews, as Jews are a higher spiritual being. But Hashem is not subject to this instruction; He is above everything! He was looking for people to bind themselves to Him through the Mitzvos He gave them; it wasn’t like the other nine where it had been enough to be born to a Jew. They had to demonstrably show in a visible way they identifed themselves with G-d to be saved, with these mitzvos.

With this in mind, we can answer the first question. If people had to prove they were with G-d, one might think that being G-d’s spokesperson to Egypt and the Jews was enough for Moshe and Ahron; that they’d shown who their lot was cast with. This is inaccurate. Moshe and Ahron only did what G-d asked them when they were asked to fulfil a task, but whenever they weren’t in His service, they were just normal people. So the pasuk said כֵּן עָשׂוּ to explain that actually, Moshe and Ahron also performed the Mitzva, and they too only became servants, עבדים of Hashem after performing the עבודה of the Korban Pesach.

The doing/being has another relevancy to us. The mitzvot of Tfilin וּקְשַׁרְתָּם לְאוֹת עַל-יָדֶךָ וְהָיוּ לְטֹטָפֹת בֵּין עֵינֶיךָ And you shall bind them as a sign upon your arm, and they shall be for frontlets between thine eyes. The brachos we make show this, one is “lehaniach” – on the binding, one is “al mitzvas” – passive, on the mitzva. This is further shown in the fact that if one puts on Tefilin before sunrise, one must retie the arm Tefilin to make the bracha, but does not need to adjust the head Tefilin. The reason for this is that our arms are what we use to do, so they must be active, and perform actions. Our heads are passive, our minds are who we are, and as such no new bracha is required.

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ראש חודש ניסן

This Weeks Parsha

Israel: Bechukosai

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