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- Pesach
The Torah study is dedicatedin the memory of
R. Avraham ben-tziyon ben shabtai
2. Why the Extended Servitude?
3. Thesis and Antithesis
SIGNIFICANCE OF THE TWO NAMES
Two terms are mentioned with regards to this holiday in the Torah: Chag Hamatzot ("The Festival of Unleavened Bread") and Chag HaPesach ("The Holiday of the Pesach Sacrifice") These names are parallel to two aspects of the festival - one is the crystallization of the Nation of Israel's Emunah , or belief, in God - symbolized by the name "Chag Hamatzot" - and Israel's treasured status - symbolized by the name, "Chag HaPesach." In the course of the Exodus from Egypt, God's Providence over the world revealed itself in the most obvious, concrete manner. Consequently, Jewish belief in Hashem is rooted in the Exodus. This is what the Matzah, consumed on the Seder night, symbolizes. In the words of the Passover Haggadah: "This matzah that we eat, what is its significance? We eat it since our forefather's dough did not leaven prior to the moment when the King of Kings, the Holy One Blessed Be He, appeared to them and redeemed them."
The Nation of Israel's unique, treasured status also manifested itself during the Exodus. During the ten plagues, the distinction drawn by God between Israel and Egypt became abundantly clear as the Egyptians were consistently smitten while the Jews were consistently spared. This sharp delineation was most stark during the smiting of the first born, when God smote the Egyptian homes but "jumped over" Jewish ones. The term "Pesach" is a reference to the "skipping over" of the Israelite homes.
These two foundational ideas, belief in God and the uniqueness of the Children of Israel, are also intertwined. We were formed into a new, treasured nation during the Exodus so that we would ultimately receive God's Torah; Israel's fate is dependent on its ongoing link to the Divine: When the Jews perform the will of the Creator and sanctify His name in the world, they are beneficiaries of all of the Torah's blessings. When, on the other hand, they transgress His will, all of the misfortunes cited in the Torah befall them.
The sanctification of God's name in the world is dependent upon Israel, as the prophet Isaiah states: "I created this nation for me, so that they would speak of My praises." This is why God's very contemplation of the creation of Israel preceded the actual creation of the world. The world was only created so that Israel would introduce knowledge and understanding of God to the world. This is also the meaning of the Talmudic passage that asserts that God made His creation of the world contingent upon Israel's receipt of the Torah. If the Jews would have failed to accept and fulfill the Torah, creation would have been without purpose, and the universe would have justifiably been thrown back into chaos and disarray.
The treasured status of Israel was more sharply illustrated by the fact that God chose us to be His nation, despite the fact that, at the time, we were lowly slaves, immersed, as the Kabbalah tells us, in the 49th level of ritual impurity. In light of the above, the two names of this holiday represent two themes that are really two sides of the same coin. The reality of God was to be finally revealed to the world, and the Jewish people were to be the vehicle for that revelation.
WHY THE EXTENDED SERVITUDE?
Question: Why was it necessary for the Jewish people, before they became consolidated into a full-fledged nation, to be enslaved in Egypt for such a long time and under such harsh conditions? Answer: The destiny of the Nation of Israel is to morally improve the world. In order for the nation to take on this challenge, it had to experience, in a very concrete manner, the extent of suffering and pain that one man could potentially cause to another.
On several occasions, when the Torah commands us in matters between man and his fellow man, it reminds us of our national experience in Egypt. "Do not oppress the stranger, since you know the soul of the stranger, because you were strangers in the Land of Egypt. (Shmot 23, 9) Elsewhere, in Vayikra 19, 33-34, we are told: "When a stranger lives with you in your land, do not oppress him. He should be treated as a regular citizen...and you shall love him as yourself, because you were strangers in the Land of Egypt. I am the Lord your God." The sages note that before God began to smite the Egyptians, He told Moshe to command Israel regarding the Mitzvah of releasing servants. Why? Before they left Egypt, they had to agree that in the future, when they are free men and become masters of their own servants, they will not take unfair advantage of those servants. Thus, after six years, a Jewish slave-owner must release his servant - and even provide him with generous "parting gifts"!(Jerusalem Talmud, Rosh Hashanah, 3, 5)
Something truly wondrous happened during the exodus from Egypt: all other nations, when they succeed in overcoming their oppressors, become haughty, and themselves become the "taskmasters" of their former masters. Yet Israel, even after the Egyptians were totally beaten, did not attempt to overpower and dominate them. All the Children of Israel cared about was their own freedom!
This was the first time that the ethical concept of the inherent freedom of man was revealed to the world. It is against this backdrop the festival of Pesach is referred to as the "Festival of Freedom." Our sages codified this in the text of the silent prayer for the holiday, calling Pesach "the time of our redemption..." Not coincidentally is this the first of the festivals, the holiday in which the foundation of man’s freedom was laid; a free man has moral responsibility for everything he does as an individual and as a member of society. Perhaps this is also why they used to determine the years of a king's reign from the month of Nissan, so that the Jewish monarchy would be firmly grounded in the concept of freedom.
THESIS AND ANTITHESIS
Israel and Egypt are polar opposites: Egypt was a highly materialistic society; Egyptians were believers in idolatry. But the Jewish nation held an abstract, spiritual conception of the world, and therefore only Israel could accept the abstract belief in the One God, who possesses neither physical form or any other material quality. Therefore, Israel's relationship to the physical world is also pure and perfect, This is why the people of Israel are, by their very nature, modest and distant from sexual immorality. The Egyptians, on the other hand, because of their focus on materialism, were very drawn to sexual licentiousness. Thus, the Torah commands, in Vayikra 18:3, "The deeds of Egypt, the land in which you dwelt, do not perform." And our sages say in the halachic midrash on Vayikra, Torat Cohanim: "There was no nation as abominable in its actions as was Egypt." The Maharal of Prague, in his epic work, Gvurot Hashem, notes that this was particularly true of the generations of Egyptians that enslaved Israel.
No doubt that during this era, Egyptian society achieved great things in terms of land development and usage, forging a stable system of government, a sophisticated irrigation system, and an advanced economic system - with the help of our forefather, Yosef. However, these accomplishments were divorced from any spiritual context. The Egyptians did not believe in the existence of an independent, spiritual soul, but rather thought that the soul was dependent, even subservient to its physical casing. This is why the Egyptians exerted such great effort to embalm dead bodies, since they thought that man's whole reality was intertwined with their physical existence; a person's death was, for them, not the end of his physical existence, it just meant that he could not speak or move. But in all other senses, he is completely alive...
Rabbi Eliezer Melamed
Rosh Yeshiva of Har Bracha and rabbi of the settlement.
Peninei Halakha 18. Torah Verses in the Prayers and in the Berakha of She-asa Li Kol Tzorki
Chapter 10: The Laws of Tisha Be-Av
Rabbis in Midrash
Lessons
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Kuzari -Rabbi Ari Shvat Kuzari class 5- "Proofs of G-d"
This may be the most important class of the entire book, where we finally get to the Jewish proof of the existence of G-d and truth of the Torah. We should follow His own direction where He tells us how to get to Him: through the Nation of Israel: Jewish history, Jewish prophets (and today, prophecies fulfilled), and national reward & punishment towards Am Yisrael.
Ein Aya One Humanity, One Creator, One Jerusalem
Rav Kook innovatively and beautifully explains this aggadeta where our sages say that after Jerusalem was destroyed her cinnamon fragrance is only found locked in a particular kingdom's treasury.
Shlach Lecha "Why So Many Don't Make Aliya?" - Parshat Shlach
This short article deals with the weird phenomena that every single time Am Yisrael is meant to enter the Land of Israel, throughout the Tanach, 2nd Temple and until today, they "chicken out" and look for excuses. What's the problem with this mitzvah that proves so challenging. The article, based on sources, suggests that the difficulties of Eretz Yisrael is precisely her secret and beauty!
Kuzari -Rabbi Ari Shvat Kuzari class 4
The class deals with Islam and how the Muslim tries convincing the King of the Khazars, and why he was also rejected.
Beha'alotcha JEWISH STATE= GUIDE TO G-DLINESS & SELFLESSNESS
A Jewish State not only is a good idea, but educates us towards selflessness, altruism and G-dliness in our daily lives.
Ein Aya In Zion Even the Smoke of the Bark is Sweet
Just as Jewish nationalism is different from others, so too our capitol of Jerusalem is totally different than other national capitols. Rav Kook beautifully explains the passage in the Talmud that the trees of Yerushalayim were cinnamon trees.
Kuzari -Rabbi Ari Shvat Kuzari class 3
The second speaker invited to convince the Khazar King is the Christian, who presents their beliefs. Even before the questions of the King, "between the lines", the author R. Yehuda HaLevi already begins disproving them.
Ein Aya "Intimacy: Love, Life & Giving or Egocentric Taking & Expiration"
Today, many confuse between intimacy in marriage, based on love, giving and life which are diametrically opposed to empty "sex", pornography and prostitution which destroyed the Beit HaMikdash. The practical importance of clarifying this topic in today's western society is obvious, especially for young adults.
