When Your Son Asks You – A Lesson on Understanding the Passover Questions (Auto Translated) | תמלול וסיכום מתורגם

Why is the Exodus from Egypt Relevant to Us? – The Four Parshiyot and the Question of “Tomorrow”

Opening – A Good Moed

A good moed, I didn’t know there was an ezrat nashim [women’s section]. My teachers and rabbis, the community activists, rabbis, and teachers.

The Fifth Question – Why Ask at All?

Today is erev Pesach [the eve of Passover], and there’s a custom to ask four questions. According to halacha [Jewish law], one asks four questions at the seder tonight. In our home, there’s a custom to ask a fifth question every year. The fifth question goes like this: Why do we ask so many questions when the child has already learned the answer for two weeks in cheder [Jewish elementary school]? This is a question one asks about the Ma Nishtana [the four questions asked at the seder].

And indeed this is a great question. It’s not clever to make jokes about this, but it is a question. We need to better understand the whole matter.

The Fundamental Question – “What Do I Care?”

There’s such a question, many Chassidic lectures begin with Pesach, it goes like this: “Mah achpat li [what do I care] that three thousand years ago there was some non-Jew, his name was Pharaoh, and there was some Jew, his name was Moshe, he happened to be the first Rebbe of all Jews, but it was a very long time ago. And all these stories about there was Yetziat Mitzrayim [the Exodus from Egypt], and there were ten makkot [plagues], all these things, ‘who cares’? What does it concern me? It’s not my problem.”

The Haggadah Itself Already Asks This Question

And this is also not a clever question, it’s not a question that’s used to build some Lubavitcher Torah. The Haggadah [the text read at the seder] itself already asks the question, and one needs to be able to read between the lines. Because the Haggadah began, we asked four questions, and it said, but the Haggadah itself began to give an answer, it wanted to cite a verse, and immediately it begins to say: “V’ilu lo hotzi HaKadosh Baruch Hu et avoteinu miMitzrayim” [And if the Holy One, Blessed be He, had not taken our forefathers out of Egypt].

Suddenly it said, what would have happened if not? Thank God He went out. The question, the “v’ilu lo hotzi HaKadosh Baruch Hu et avoteinu miMitzrayim” means, that you’re asking, the child, the young bachur [young man] is asking, nice story, three thousand years ago a story happened, it was in Egypt. I am today, I’m not three thousand years ago. So they said, no, you’re making a mistake, if we hadn’t gone out, they would say “v’hashivoti meni par Mitzrayim” [and I would return you to Egypt].

And the explanation, I mean even the simple meaning too, is not so hard to understand. All the mefarshim [commentators] immediately ask, what does it mean Pharaoh is already dead? “V’hashivoti meni par Mitzrayim”? He’s making himself important “v’hashivoti meni om Pharaoh.” These are all such forced, forced answers.

The Verses Themselves Already Ask This Question

And this is the Haggadah already asked the question, and I mean one can even go one step earlier. And the verses themselves, someone asked the question. We say the verses according to the whole hesber [explanation] of Chazal [our Sages of blessed memory], of the four banim [four sons], of the four questions, everything is all perushim [interpretations] on the “v’haya ki yishalcha bincha” [and it shall be when your son asks you] that appears in the verses.

If one looks into the verses, simple meaning, and I’ll bring the verses so one can look in, does anyone have the verses? Because it’s very important, I can’t really grasp the mehalech [progression] of the verses. The verses state four times almost the same mehalech.

First Parsha – The Korban Pesach in Egypt (Parshat Bo / “The Wicked Son”)

The Structure of Pesach Mitzrayim and Pesach Dorot

And it says like this, the first from Parshat Bo [the Torah portion that speaks about the last plagues and the Exodus], it’s the parsha of korban Pesach [the Passover offering], it’s divided like this, there’s the thing called Pesach Mitzrayim and Pesach dorot. The parsha, the first parsha, the parsha of the ben harasha [the wicked son] it’s called in the Haggadah, is the parsha of Pesach in Egypt.

It says one will make a korban Pesach, one should place the dam al hamashkof v’al hamezuzot [blood on the lintel and on the doorposts], all the halachot [laws] that Chazal at least say certainly that the halachot are not noheg [practiced] Pesach dorot, but were only once in Egypt.

The Question – Why Continue Doing It?

Afterwards it says verse 14, “u’shmartem et hadavar hazeh l’chok lecha ul’vanecha ad olam” [and you shall keep this thing as a statute for you and for your children forever]. The halachot, one needs to understand how the meaning is according to Chazal, but k’pshuto [according to the simple understanding], one should continue making a korban Pesach. The thing I’m telling you to make a korban Pesach is not only today. Because today it makes sense, yes, today we’re going out from Egypt, a mashchit [destroyer, the angel of death] is coming, God forbid it could go to the Jewish houses too, so one needs to place a korban Pesach, there’s blood, a protection. And you should continue doing this, ad olam [forever] you should do this.

Immediately the question arises, why? And the verse is clear, “v’haya ki tavo’u el ha’aretz” [and it shall be when you come to the land], you should only do it here in the midbar [desert], which one might think perhaps in the midbar there’s also some mashchit that one needs to guard against at the door. In Eretz Yisrael [the Land of Israel], it’s quiet there, there are no non-Jews, no persecution, no mashchit, there’s nothing. You still need to do it, it’s the same avodah [service, work] like this. You do the same avodah, but why do you need to do the avodah like this? The same avodah that you do today in Egypt, so that you won’t be affected by the mashchit, you should do the same avodah when there’s no mashchit at all, there’s nothing there.

The Answer – “Zevach Pesach” as Gratitude

And immediately comes the chacham [wise one], the rasha [wicked one] according to the Haggadah, he asks, “mah ha’avodah hazot lachem?” [what is this service to you?] You answer him, “va’amartem zevach Pesach hu l’Hashem asher pasach al batei bnei Yisrael b’Mitzrayim b’nagpo et Mitzrayim v’et bateinu hitzil” [and you shall say: it is a Passover offering to Hashem who passed over the houses of the children of Israel in Egypt when He struck Egypt, and our houses He saved].

That means, one must still give thanks. Before, the korban Pesach was indeed as protection, indeed so that “v’et bateinu hitzil” [and our houses He saved]. And now you still need to say “zevach Pesach.” It’s the same korban Pesach that we make, but this is not for the decree to protect you from Egypt, it’s in order to thank the Almighty. It’s to thank the Almighty that “v’et bateinu hitzil,” that He saved us, and for this we make the korban Pesach. This answered the question of “v’haya ki yevi’acha Hashem el eretz.”

Second Parsha – Chag HaMatzot (“The One Who Doesn’t Know to Ask”)

The Question on Matzah in Eretz Yisrael

And the same thing, very similarly, is asked about the next parsha, which is the parsha of Chag HaMatzot [the festival of matzot]. It doesn’t say, it doesn’t speak about korban Pesach, this is the question of the she’eino yodea lishol [the one who doesn’t know to ask].

And further it says “v’haya ki yevi’acha Hashem el eretz haKena’ani” [and it shall be when Hashem brings you to the land of the Canaanites]. That means, it’s still not speaking about today in the midbar. In the midbar there’s no question. Everyone understands why we make Chag HaMatzot, because we went out b’chipazon [in haste], it couldn’t “l’hachmitz betzekam” [leaven their dough]. It was a matter of chipazon from Egypt, chipazon of the Shechina [Divine Presence].

What it was, they understood the chipazon. The first year there was chipazon. Whether we learn chipazon from the first thousand nights, because they had to prepare to go out, or we learn the greatness of Egypt from another language, God forbid, the generation, the dor hamidbar [generation of the desert], they understand very well why they need to eat matzah, because we went out b’chipazon from Egypt, didn’t have time to bake.

But in Eretz Yisrael, when one already makes from “me’evur ha’aretz” [from the produce of the land], one makes the matzah not from the man [manna that fell in the desert], one makes matzah from the tevuah [grain], this has nothing to do with chipazon, there’s no chipazon.

The Answer – “Ba’asher hotzi Hashem oti miMitzrayim”

And quietly, and calmly, and well, then vigata v’nach [you labored and rested], when one is idle, one has time to say, “ba’asher hotzi Hashem oti miMitzrayim” [because Hashem took me out of Egypt], that because of the matzah the Almighty took me out of Egypt. One needs to understand the verse, it’s hard to understand, but in any case, it says clearly that the matzah that I eat today, ba’asher zeh [because of this], not the matzah, not the former matzah, the matzah that I eat today, should have something to do with Yetziat Mitzrayim.

Third Parsha – Kiddush HaBechorot and Peter Chamor

The Broader Question

And exactly the same thing appears in the next parsha, also when it speaks about kiddush of bechorot [sanctification of the firstborn], where there it doesn’t speak at all about the matter of Pesach, there it’s already a more comprehensive question, and there one truly needs to speak about the more comprehensive question that one can, one truly needs to speak, which doesn’t only have to do with Pesach, not specifically Pesach, but in truth, the true question that the children ask, is like we see here even more in the fourth parsha, in Va’etchanan [Parshat Va’etchanan], where we see they ask, why do you do all the mitzvot [commandments] at all? One can sometimes call it the question of ta’am hamitzvot [the reason for the commandments], but it’s even before ta’am hamitzvot, you’re a Jew, why? This is the question that appears in the Torah in the parsha of peter chamor [the firstborn donkey].

“Mah Zot?” – The Peculiarity of Peter Chamor

“V’haya ki yishalcha bincha machar lemor mah zot?” [And it shall be when your son asks you tomorrow saying: what is this?] Why do you do the bechorot, do you do the young ones? It’s a strange thing. I saw a video today from the Satmar Rebbe, he also makes it strange. It immediately asked me a question about this, mah zot? What is this? What is this that one takes a donkey, puts it into the beit midrash [house of study], treats it like a poodle in a bath, and shakes it, and makes its pidyon [redemption] with a seh [sheep]? It’s strange! And immediately the child asks, where? Yes? And it’s immediately a question, mah zot?

The Answer – “B’chozek yad hotzi’anu Hashem miMitzrayim”

And the Torah says further, “v’amarta elav” [and you shall say to him], you will need to answer him an answer. What is the answer? “B’chozek yad hotzi’anu Hashem miMitzrayim mibeit avadim” [With a strong hand Hashem took us out of Egypt from the house of slaves]. He didn’t just take us out of Egypt, but a detail happened there, another thing happened in Egypt, that all the bechorim [firstborn] were killed, our bechorim were saved, and in honor of this, all bechorim from then have a kedusha [holiness], and because of this one passes down the mitzvot to the children who were far from being in Egypt.

And it’s an even greater question, because the mitzvah isn’t relevant. So on the matzah there’s already a good answer, or even the first one there was a good answer, one eats b’chipazon, there was Pesach, one needs the sudden exit l’dam. But here it’s just a thing that he does l’zechirut [for remembrance], the answer, u’v’chozek yad hotzi’anu Hashem miMitzrayim.

Fourth Parsha – Va’etchanan (“The Wise Son”) – The Comprehensive Question

A New Generation That Didn’t See

Now, there was such a story, some years had passed, forty years at least, approximately forty years, there was a new generation. The verse calls them “bneichem asher lo yad’u v’lo ra’u et musar Hashem” [your children who did not know and did not see the discipline of Hashem]. They never saw from the whole story, they heard from the grandfathers. Approximately like we hear from our grandfathers, there was once a Hitler, there was an Auschwitz, we lived there in a shtetl in Hungary, I know where. It was already a story, but ultimately, they didn’t hear from all these things. And the children, they already ask a much greater question, a much more general question. This is the question that’s called the question of the ben hachacham [the wise son], but it’s also the question of Mishneh Torah [the book of Deuteronomy], the question of the dor bo’u la’aretz [the generation that enters the land].

The Questions Are All from “Ki Tavo’u el Ha’aretz”

And it’s speaking that all these questions are essentially questions of ki tavo’u el ha’aretz [when you come to the land]. There’s already completely the dor bo’u la’aretz. Not when they will come, it was the plan l’chatchila [from the beginning] that they would arrive in Eretz Yisrael, yes? Then I’ll give a good answer. The first three answers are b’chazak yad hotzi’anu. This is an answer, this is understood, it’s correct, it’s a continuation of Yetziat Mitzrayim. But here it’s already a completely new generation, which doesn’t know anything at all from all these things.

“Machar” Means L’achar Zman – The Verse Speaks of Us

U’sha’alcha bincha machar lemor [and your son will ask you tomorrow saying]. This is a verse, it’s a continuation of Parshat Chanoch, where Moshe is in the middle of one of his great drashot [lectures] that he said before the Torah and before Eretz Yisrael. He says, v’im bincha yifrosh machar. He doesn’t say machar, l’achar zman [after a time]. Machar doesn’t mean tomorrow, it’s a thousand years around. The verse speaks of us, it doesn’t speak of… One doesn’t need to give a drash that it speaks of us. It’s peshutot hapasuk [the simple meaning of the verse] that machar is l’achar zman. Machar means sometime, there will be sometime such a time, he will ask, mah ha’edot v’hachukim v’hamishpatim asher tzivah Hashem Elokeinu etchem? [what are the testimonies, the statutes, and the judgments that Hashem our God commanded you?]

“Etchem” – You the Grandfathers

What does etchem [you] mean? Everyone asks, there’s a difference between the rasha and the… Etchem means you the grandfathers, you were at Har Sinai [Mount Sinai], you the previous generations. Why did the Almighty command all these things that we continue doing? What does this have to do with me? I am today two hundred years later, what does the verse from Devarim speak to me. He says, v’amarta l’vincha [and you shall say to your son], you will tell him a whole long story.

A Novel Insight About “Bayom Hahu”

By the way, which I looked up, another novel insight, it says if one grasps the verse earlier from v’higadta l’vincha [and you shall tell your son], it says there also v’higadta l’vincha when? Bayom hahu lemor [on that day saying]. What does bayom hahu mean? Al pi drash [according to the homiletical interpretation] we learn it means on the day of Pesach, but the simple meaning is “bayom hahu” – that day, meaning l’achar zman, which we see in Sefer Devarim [the Book of Deuteronomy], “bayom hahu”, many times we see “bayom hahu”, “v’haya bayom hahu al ken Elokei b’kirbecha” [and it shall be on that day therefore your God will be in your midst], we see in the Torah, “bayom hahu” means in a later generation, one has already forgotten the Torah, one has already forgotten, it’s no longer that one needs Yetziat Mitzrayim and Matan Torah [the giving of the Torah], “bayom hahu” your son will ask, you will tell him that there was the story of Yetziat Mitzrayim and Matan Torah.

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[End of Part 1 of 3]

And by the way, what was said to do today, another thing, it says if you grasp the verse earlier from “v’higadeta l’vincha” [and you shall tell your son], which also says “v’higadeta l’vincha bayom hahu leimor” [and you shall tell your son on that day, saying]. What does “bayom hahu” mean? In the “al pi drush” [according to the homiletical interpretation] we learn it means the day of Pesach [Passover], but the simple meaning is “bayom hahu,” that day, delayed to a later time, which we see in the book of Deuteronomy, “bayom hahu,” many times we see “bayom hahu,” “v’amar bayom hahu Elokai Elohai b’kirbi” [and he will say on that day, my God, my God is within me], “yashlich pesilim” [he will cast away idols]. We see in the Torah [Torah], “bayom hahu” means at a later level, generations have already forgotten the Torah, they’ve already forgotten, it’s no longer that one needs Yetziat Mitzrayim [the Exodus from Egypt] to give the Torah. “Bayom hahu” one must tell his son, one must tell him that there was once this story, there was the story of Yetziat Mitzrayim.

The Ben Chacham – A Reconstruction of the Long Drasha (Parshas Va’eschanan)

And now, in the book of Parshas Va’eschanan [Parshas Va’eschanan], it was no longer enough to say such a single verse, “b’chozek yad hotzi’anu Hashem miMitzrayim mibeis avadim” [with a strong hand God took us out of Egypt from the house of bondage]. This is “l’ma’aseh” [in practice] the source for the “ben chacham” [the wise son] to whom one tells a long “drasha” [exposition]. The verse here is six verses in the answer to his… five verses, and one for the question. Five verses is the drasha that he answers for the “ki yish’alcha bincha machar leimor” [when your son asks you tomorrow, saying], not “b’chozek yad hotzi’anu.”

Stage 1: “Avadim Hayinu”

And the verse goes like this, first what can he say, “ki yish’alcha bincha,” “avadim hayinu l’Pharaoh b’Mitzrayim vayotzi’einu Hashem miMitzrayim b’yad chazakah” [we were slaves to Pharaoh in Egypt and God took us out of Egypt with a strong hand]. Grandfather, but it’s not enough.

Stage 2: “Osos U’moftim”

Each time someone continues something, meaning, one asks, okay, yes, and… he says further, “vayitein Hashem osos u’moftim gedolim v’ra’im b’Mitzrayim” [and God gave great and terrible signs and wonders in Egypt]. There were great, no, one must tell more, there were great wonders, and terrible wonders, upon Pharaoh [Pharaoh], and all things.

Stage 3: “V’osanu Hotzi Misham” – The Key Verse

After that he says another strange verse, which no one understands until my interpretation. “V’osanu hotzi misham l’ma’an havi osanu lases lanu es ha’aretz asher nishba la’avoseinu” [and He took us out from there in order to bring us to give us the land which He swore to our forefathers]. Can you say what he’s saying? I just said, “avadim hayinu l’Pharaoh b’Mitzrayim,” “vayotzi’einu Hashem misham.” “V’osanu hotzi misham”? He says simply, there is that one must have the story.

There was a grandfather, a very old grandfather already, and he told his great-great-grandchildren, I remember already, I was in Eretz Yisrael [the Land of Israel] already after the conquest and division, all things, we already live somewhere in Tel Aviv [Tel Aviv] there. And the grandchild asks him, “Grandfather, what are all these things that we do? Around us here there are Kena’anim, Emorim, Perizim [Canaanites, Amorites, Perizzites] with all this group, they don’t do all these things. So, grandfather, what are these chukim u’mishpatim [statutes and laws]? From where does this whole story of the Torah begin? What do you want from me?”

He says, “Come here, first of all you must know, there was once, we were once at home, we were once in Mitzrayim [Egypt], and the Almighty took us out, we didn’t come from here. And there was a whole story, there were signs and wonders and plagues and things, and us, ‘osanu,’ I was there, ‘osanu hotzi misham.’ You ask me why I drive you crazy with these yellow papers of Lag BaOmer [Lag BaOmer]? I was there, they took me out from there. And why did they take me out from there? You think it’s only for me, for my sake? For you they took me out. We have ‘osanu hotzi misham,’ we sit today in Eretz Yisrael, it’s good, we don’t have any problems. This happened because I, the grandfather, was unfortunately in Mitzrayim, and they took us out ‘l’ma’an havi osanu lases lanu es ha’aretz,’ the good and spacious land where you sit today. And you sit at the seder [Passover ritual meal], and you drive me crazy, why do I do all these stories? You don’t remember. Because if you had heard the ‘osanu hotzi misham,’ you would understand what we’re doing here on Pesach.”

Two More Verses That Don’t Appear in the Haggadah

Verse 1: “Vayetzaveinu Hashem La’asos Es Kol HaChukim Ha’eileh”

And after that, now there are two more verses that he adds, which don’t appear at all in the Haggadah [the Passover narrative], and on Pesach we don’t say them at all. And the two verses that he adds go like this: “Vayetzaveinu Hashem la’asos es kol hachukim ha’eileh l’yirah es Hashem Elokeinu l’tov lanu kol hayamim l’chayoseinu k’hayom hazeh” [and God commanded us to do all these statutes to fear God our Lord for our good all the days, to keep us alive as this day]. Here you grasp, here goes the story, I’m still not satisfied with the grandchild. Okay, it’s one story, it was once, and one must make a remembrance. Okay, I’ll do every year, I’ll come to grandfather to hear the stories of Lag BaOmer. Fine, so what? He says, “No, you must remember, here is another thing. And another thing, it’s not generally the entire Torah. And another thing is, why, what happened after the two verses? You can say that here he tells about matan Torah [the giving of the Torah]. Why did it happen, why do we do all these chukim, eidos v’chukim u’mishpatim [testimonies, statutes, and laws]? Not only as a remembrance of the Exodus, why? And when he wants to show, ‘vayetzaveinu Hashem la’asos es kol hachukim ha’eileh l’tov lanu kol hayamim l’chayoseinu k’hayom hazeh.’ The Torah and mitzvos [commandments] were made from the beginning so that ‘k’hayom hazeh,’ today is the time, when they live in Eretz Yisrael, after ten generations, it should be ‘l’chayoseinu.’ It’s not just to make life easier in the past, it’s ‘l’chayoseinu k’hayom hazeh.’ And ‘l’tov lanu kol hayamim,’ it’s not made to persecute people, that they should have nerves, it’s made ‘l’tov lanu kol hayamim.’”

The Rambam’s Foundation – Ta’amei HaMitzvos

The Rambam [Maimonides] says in a very famous chapter that this verse is the source for the ta’amei hamitzvos [reasons for the commandments] in the entire Torah. It’s in a general manner, there are specific reasons for all mitzvos, when there’s bechor [firstborn] and when there’s this and when there’s that. But in a general manner, where does it say in the Torah why one does mitzvos? Why are we Jews? Why do we keep the Torah? I don’t know another verse, even the Rambam didn’t find another verse in the entire Torah where it says the reason for the question, only this verse. And he says, the Rambam, what does it say? “Vayetzaveinu Hashem la’asos es kol hachukim ha’eileh l’tov lanu kol hayamim l’chayoseinu k’hayom hazeh.” And the Rambam makes a drasha, “l’tov lanu kol hayamim” means the days of the entire world, that is Olam Haba [the World to Come], “l’chayoseinu k’hayom hazeh” means to be good in this world. Why is everything? This is the explanation, this is the reason why one does all mitzvos, which one must answer. If someone, “v’hayah ki yish’alcha bincha machar leimor,” why does one do Torah? The answer is “l’tov lanu kol hayamim l’chayoseinu k’hayom hazeh.” It should be a good life, a good life, the body, the soul, all levels.

Verse 2: “U’tzedakah Tihyeh Lanu”

And he wasn’t satisfied, I haven’t finished his story yet, he added another verse. “U’tzedakah tihyeh lanu ki nishmor la’asos es kol hamitzvah hazos lifnei Hashem Elokeinu ka’asher tzivanu” [and it will be righteousness for us when we observe to do all this commandment before God our Lord as He commanded us]. What is this verse? What does the verse tell us? No one understands. It says like this, the Almighty gave us to do… now you understand what I mean to come to, my grandmother and my grandfather, it was, they brought, they arrived here, “kol hachukim ha’eileh.” And you know how good for us, and after it’s so good, the Almighty gives even more reward for this too. “U’tzedakah tihyeh lanu,” the Almighty who gave us “kol hachukim ha’eileh” “l’tov lanu kol hayamim l’chayoseinu k’hayom hazeh,” later He is even more beneficent to us also, that we submit ourselves to His commands from Mitzrayim and “l’chayoseinu k’hayom hazeh.” “U’tzedakah tihyeh lanu” means, not only do we have the “l’tov lanu kol hayamim,” but we receive even more righteousness, the Almighty is beneficent, we receive righteousness, we receive like an extra reward also for our doing the Torah. This is the meaning of what the parshah [Torah portion] says.

The Question Repeats Itself in Every Generation

Now, there’s no time to go through all, all, the whole story that happened throughout the generations, from that story of that grandfather who was Yehoshua bin Nun [Joshua son of Nun] until today.

But the story one must know that every generation, “sheb’chol dor vador chayav adam lir’os es atzmo k’ilu hu yatza miMitzrayim” [that in every generation a person is obligated to see himself as if he himself left Egypt], the meaning is that every generation was asked the question, and I can show it, there’s a whole book that shows this, and it shows, every generation a person asked the question, “mah ha’eidos v’hachukim v’hamishpatim” [what are the testimonies, statutes, and laws].

He asked it once about the details of the reality of Mitzrayim, he can ask it about another mitzvah [commandment], why does one sit in a sukkah [booth/tabernacle], why doesn’t one eat chametz [leavened bread], he can ask why one is a Jew at all, he can ask it in all kinds of ways, and in the end he will have more or less the same problem.

And each time there is a second answer, there isn’t one answer, there isn’t one.

The Haggadah Has Grown – Different Layers of Answers

One can even learn the Haggadah, people ask, how does the answer to the four questions stand in the Haggadah?

“Avadim hayinu,” the answer is as it’s written in various Haggados written in the margin.

It’s not true.

If the Jews had wanted to give the answer, one could have…

“Avadim hayinu l’Pharaoh b’Mitzrayim,” okay, enough.

But not enough, by the way, yes, one can say, “go’al Yisrael” [redeemer of Israel].

The Dispute Between Rav and Shmuel

But it implies that every piece in the Haggadah, one can see, one saw that the Haggadah became longer.

First there was a Haggadah of the Rambam, Rebbe Yehudah HaNasi [Rabbi Judah the Prince].

Later came Rav [Rav], with whom Shmuel [Shmuel] argued, and one said, wait a minute, what does it matter to me that Rebbe Yehudah HaNasi, one of them said, I must speak about avodah zarah [idolatry], I must speak about “mitchilah ovdei avodah zarah hayu avoseinu” [in the beginning our forefathers were idol worshippers], because that’s the main message of Yetziat Mitzrayim.

Not like Shmuel says, the main message of Yetziat Mitzrayim was that we were slaves, we went out, that’s written in one verse.

I have a second verse, the main message is, and what does one do?

One does both, because both are true, one is different from the other, which is a different meaning?

Later comes a second, one can’t do all the levels of the Haggadah, but the last, I mean the last piece that was inserted into the Haggadah, or one of the last, is “ha lachma anya” [this is the bread of affliction].

“Ha Lachma Anya” – The Exile Crisis

“Ha lachma anya” said, gentlemen, we’re standing here making a seder, but it’s a mockery the whole thing.

We’re going to talk about how the Almighty redeemed us, and we are thank God independent, and the Almighty is somewhere there, and I know who made us, and we live somewhere in Bavel [Babylonia], we speak Aramaic, and we’re surrounded by non-Jews, we can barely make a seder, we open the door for Eliyahu HaNavi [Elijah the Prophet], I don’t know why, no matter when we used to open the door, one must be afraid that the non-Jews will come in, therefore one cries out “sh’foch chamascha” [pour out Your wrath], there are non-Jews outside, one can’t open a door, and we don’t live in Eretz Yisrael, in Eretz Yisrael it was, one finished the fixed prayers for Pesach, one opened the door, and up on the roof, there is Tehillim [Psalms], it was, it was long before our times, it’s been long already, one can barely open the door a little bit the family, and one hopes that yes, but when will it come from this, when will one be able to go out like normal people.

And in short, it’s already the umpteenth seder, one says, gentlemen, you know, we were once in Mitzrayim, “ha lachma anya di achalu avhasana b’ar’a d’Mitzrayim” [this is the bread of affliction that our fathers ate in the land of Egypt]. They have a new interpretation of Yetziat Mitzrayim, and they took us out, and we hope the same way, why does one cry out “hashata hacha, l’shanah haba’ah” [now here, next year]? This is an introduction, because without this introduction one couldn’t make a seder. What will one do? Will one make a mockery? There’s no redemption, there’s no redemption. One says, no, “l’shanah haba’ah,” we still hope, and it’s still a voice, and one tries as much as one can, still a voice of despair, even though there’s fear of the non-Jews, and one still has a few Jews that one can invite to the seder, the situation isn’t completely ruined. And this is the introduction.

Pesach and the Future Redemption

And from this, this is the true simple meaning (peshat)

And from this, this is the true simple meaning (peshat), there are various homiletical interpretations (drushim) and liturgical poems (piyutim) about Pesach that have to do with the future redemption (geulah ha’asidah). It says “in Nisan they were redeemed” (b’Nisan nigalu), various homiletical teachings of the Sages (agados Chazal) and sermons that are said, and according to the simple meaning, this is not the literal translation, it’s a hint (remez), just as there is redemption, it’s a textual analogy (gezeirah shavah), redemption-redemption, also the redemption of the future redemption. This is the true meaning for Jews, in general what we have as a narrative (agadah). One can read all the prayers (tefillos) that are written and that we say on holidays (yamim tovim), almost the entire time we speak, one could think that all the holidays have become Tisha B’Av. “Please have mercy, God our Lord, on Israel Your people and on Jerusalem Your city” (racheim na Hashem Elokeinu al Yisrael amecha v’al Yerushalayim irecha), “and may our eyes see Your return to Zion with mercy” (v’sechezenah eineinu b’shuvcha l’Tzion b’rachamim). This is not just because we want to continue the crying (bechiyos) of Tisha B’Av in the middle of Pesach, which is what Pesach is made for. It’s because Pesach doesn’t really make sense. In order for it to make sense, one must say, gentlemen, the truth is, there is another meaning to Pesach. There was one meaning as we mentioned, there was another blessing of questions. Today the meaning is that the reason why we speak about Pesach is so that we should strengthen ourselves (mechazek) that there will be a redemption and we will indeed go out.

Rav Saadiah Gaon

And one can look at Rav Saadiah Gaon, he says explicitly (peirush) in the introduction, which the Arizal asks, what is the reason the Torah speaks so much about the Exodus from Egypt? This is one hundred voices (me’ah kolos), one of our questions. He says, yes, so that we should know, in Egypt there was a terribly worse situation than here, or the same bad, and we came out. Therefore we speak so much about this. This is the meaning, this is the meaning that the simple understanding was not to give thanks. And one can see, everyone said a second meaning, and said, “even we, the tribe of Israel” (admot afilu anu shevet Yisrael), “to be one like the nation of Israel” (l’echad k’Yisrael umah), four walls yes, and even a simple person, they don’t need to know four meanings, four answers, it’s not one strength (koach), it’s not even one “we.”

So I will just finish with one meaning, which I think are awesome meanings that are truly not for this reason.

Shabbat and Redemption: The Simplest and Deepest Benefit of the Exodus from Egypt

Therefore we speak so much about this

Therefore we speak so much about this. This is part of the simple meaning, not any fine points.

And one can see, everyone said a second meaning, and he says here, “even the poorest of the poor in Israel should not lack four questions to answer” (afilu ani she’be’ani she’b’Yisrael lo yechsar lo arba kushiyot letaretz). Even the simplest person, he doesn’t need to know four meanings, four answers (teirutzim), it’s not a cup, it’s not even a matter.

The Main Meaning: “And you shall remember that you were a slave” – Shabbat and the Exodus from Egypt

The Question of the Commentators

And I just want to finish with one meaning which I think is an awesome meaning, and it’s true on very many levels. It says, “and you shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, therefore the Lord your God commanded you to make the Sabbath day” (v’zacharta ki eved hayita b’eretz Mitzrayim, al kein tziv’cha Hashem Elokecha la’asot et yom haShabbat). This is written in the second tablets (luchot shniyot).

And one has difficulty (mis’kasheh), the commentators (meforshim), what is the connection of Shabbat to… and there is no connection to the act of creation (ma’aseh bereishit), that the Almighty made Shabbat. That makes sense, Shabbat, the Almighty rested, and we rest too. What comes in “you were a slave in the land of Egypt” (eved hayita b’eretz Mitzrayim)?

The Answer of Ibn Ezra and Ramban

Says Ibn Ezra with Ramban, both say such a meaning. They say, yes, actually very good. The remembrance of Shabbat… remembrance (zecher)? What is Shabbat a remembrance of? What is the idea of Shabbat? The idea of Shabbat is, we should know the Almighty made the world in six days and He rested on Shabbat. This is the idea of Shabbat.

But many ideas don’t help at all. Because if one is in Egypt, one must work the entire day, one cannot keep Shabbat. What does Shabbat mean if one doesn’t work? What does redemption (geulah) mean if one must work? What does “you were a slave in the land of Egypt” mean? What does it mean one is the entire Shabbat, Friday, Sunday, one cannot make Shabbat?

He says, “therefore He commanded you” (al kein tziv’cha) doesn’t mean “a remembrance of the Exodus from Egypt” (zecher litzi’at Mitzrayim) that one makes Shabbat. “Therefore He commanded you” means, through the fact that you went out from Egypt, you can have Shabbat. And you must remember, every time you have Shabbat, this is thanking the Almighty that I can have Shabbat, that I am not a servant and don’t have to work seven days a week. I can, thank God, take one day a week off. And this is a tremendous thing, this is a good gift (matnat tovah). The Almighty gave Shabbat, so one day a week we can take off.

Application: Freedom as the Possibility for Spirituality

The General Principle

And consequently (mimeilah), this is indeed the simple meaning of the Exodus from Egypt (yetzi’at Mitzrayim), and it’s true also each person according to their level (kol echad l’fi inyano), and it’s true also in this time (bizman hazeh).

One cannot, people think that spirituality (ruchniyut) one can have when one works. One cannot. If one must work the entire week, one has no time to learn, one has no time to pray, one has no time to live in freedom (cherut).

Practical Examples from Today

How much a person has a possibility, he can use Shabbat, he can make Pesach. There are entire communities of people where almost no one works on the intermediate days of a festival (chol hamo’ed), because thank God one is rich enough, one can afford not to work on chol hamo’ed.

This is the meaning, people ask, “What should I feel on Pesach? What is the gift?” The gift is that thank God, “and the eyes of God in the name” [unclear phrase], one doesn’t have to work so much. There are washing machines, and there are all kinds of wealth that one doesn’t have to work, that one can have Pesach, and one can have time every day to learn, everyone according to what time they have. This is the best intention (kavanah), and also the true simple meaning, one of the true simple meanings that stands on the simple meaning in the early medieval Torah authorities (rishonim) of Pesach.

Historical Example: Jews in America

And this is also literally the redemption. There were Jews in America who unfortunately did not keep Shabbat, not so long ago. And we are told that it was a difficult test (nisayon), a punishment in the World to Come (onesh olam haba) it was. But the way the righteous person (tzaddik) told it, it was a difficult exile (galut).

Why didn’t they keep Shabbat? It wasn’t that they didn’t believe in it. It wasn’t possible. There were a few people who sacrifice themselves (ba’alei mesirat nefesh), crazy people (meshuga’im), who did impossible things. But for a normal person there was such a system (seder), until the order of the world (seder ha’olam) was set up in America, for our parents, our grandparents, that the Jews who were immigrants, one cannot work six days a week. There is no possibility.

They were driven, why? Because if one doesn’t work, there is no food, there is nowhere to live, there is no bread. One had to work.

Conclusion: The Greatest, Simplest, and Deepest Benefit

And “and the eyes of God there is no because of this” [unclear phrase], thank God, one doesn’t have to work on Shabbat. The first intention of Shabbat is that I don’t have to work. The Almighty commands, He stands on his head, “You must not work.” Thank God, I don’t have to. I can take Shabbat off, I can take a holiday off, I can take chol hamo’ed off, I can take at night off, I can take in the morning, I can pray the three daily prayer services (shacharit, minchah, ma’ariv), even with a prayer quorum of ten men (minyan).

This is the greatest benefit (tovah), and the simplest benefit, and also the deepest benefit, which goes even until the end of generations (sof hadorot). And I hope that we will have time and strength (koach) and mind/intellect (moach), simply, man and woman (ish v’ishah), to arrive at this.