Parshiyot Vayikra - 5761 “Step
Out and You Will Learn” In
the Haggadah, the text that both accompanies and defines the “order” of
the Seder (the word “Seder” means “order” or “sequence”), there
is an emphasis on what we can learn from “Sipur Yetziat Mitzrayim,” the
“Recounting of the Exodus from Egypt,” for our own lives:
“In every generation, each person is required to view himself as if
he or she actually left Egypt. For
it was not only our ancestors that He redeemed, but rather, also, did
He redeem us; as it says, ‘…and He took us out of there in
order to bring us and to give us the Land that He had sworn to
our Forefathers.’ The
beginning of the actual “Mitzvah” of “Sipur Yetziat Mitzrayim” in
the Haggadah seems to be the exposition of the verses recited by the Jewish
farmer upon bringing his “Bikkurim,” “First Fruits,” to the Kohen in
the Temple, found in Devarim 26:5-10. Those
verses begin with an indirect reference to Lavan and the humble beginnings
of our People, trace our period of bitter slavery in Egypt, and express
gratitude to HaShem for liberating us miraculously from Egypt and bringing
us to the beautiful and bountiful Land of Israel. There
is an extensive introduction to the actual “Mitzvah,” following the
principle of “We begin with the shameful aspect and advance to the
praiseworthy,” according to the two different viewpoints expressed in
Masechet Pesachim 116a, by Rav and Shmuel.
According to Shmuel, the shameful aspect was the physical slavery,
and the praiseworthy aspect was our physical liberation by HaShem.
According to Rav, the shameful aspect was the spiritual slavery of
idolatry with which we began our history, and the praiseworthy aspect was
the spiritual liberation whereby HaShem brought us to His worship at Mt.
Sinai. Since the dispute is
only a question of emphasis, the Baal HaHaggadah, the arranger of the text
of the Haggadah, rightfully included both. We
then come to a crucial paragraph, “Blessed is the One Who kept His Promise
to Israel; Blessed is He!” And we realize that “It was that promise that
preserved our ancestors as well as us…”
Then the Haggadah proceeds to “Sipur Yetziat Mitzrayim:” “Tze
U’lemad,” Step out (from a surface examination of events) and
you will learn (analyze their underlying meaning).”
The Haggadah makes reference to Lavan who, while he may have been
wicked, was not, at first glance, in the same league with Pharaoh.
But the Haggadah concludes otherwise – Lavan was worse; for his
actions, had his desires been fulfilled, G-d Forbid, as He did, The
Exile of Mitzrayim is first introduced in the Bible in the Vision of Avraham
in the “Brit Bein HaBetarim” (Bereshit 15:7-21), where HaShem says to
him, “Know with certainty that your descendants will be strangers in a
strange land, and they will be made to do harsh labor, and they will be
afflicted for four hundred years; but I will judge the nation that
they will serve, and afterwards, they will leave with great enrichment” (Bereshit
15:13). But in Parshat Bo,
we find, “And the stay of the Children of Israel in Egypt was four
hundred thirty years” (Shemot 12:40). The
RAMBAN, among others, is bothered by this seeming contradiction, but answers
that the behavior of the Jewish People, who were recognized as such only by
their attachment to certain elements of their past history: “their language, their clothing and their names,” was
otherwise nearly indistinguishable from that of the Egyptians, as the angels
protested (with Ogden Nash) “How odd of G-d to choose the Jews”…when
HaShem was ready to drown the Egyptians and save the Jews,…”These are
idol-worshippers and those are idol-worshippers!” The
RAMBAN adds that the Exile was indeed extended by another forty years in
the desert, because of the sin of the “Meraglim,” the spies of scouts
who brought back a discouraging report that triggered a massive loss of
faith in G-d among the Jewish People. The
desert where, despite the great efforts of HaShem to make them as
comfortable as possible, by providing Manna, the “bread from heaven” and
a well of sweet water that miraculously accompanied the People as long as
Miriam was alive, nevertheless the desert remained a desert, and the purpose
of the stay of the Jewish People there is described as “…that He
might afflict you and that He might test you…” (Devarim 8:16), fulfilling
the decree made by HaShem to Avraham, in the “Brit bein HaBetarim,” that
they be afflicted. The
RAMBAN says that the Egyptian Exile should have extended even longer, were
it not for the “Tefilot,” the Prayers, of the Jewish People.
The verses in Parshat Shemot are extremely emphatic, “And it was
after many days that the King of Egypt died, and the Children of Israel
sighed because of the harsh labor, and they cried out: and their cries of
despair rose up to the L-rd because of the harsh labor. And the L-rd heard their groaning, and the L-rd remembered
His covenant with Avraham, with Yitzchak and with Yaakov. And the L-rd saw (the misery of) the Children of Israel, and
the L-rd understood” (Shemot 2:23-25). They really were undeserving of
Redemption from the point of view of their actions, but because of their
prayers, they were Redeemed! This applies to us in our present Exile and has always applied to the Jewish People. There may have been times that HaShem was ready to bring the Final Redemption, but the behavior of the Jewish People or their lack of prayer prevented it. We see from the Haggadah that indeed there are two paths that we can follow to become worthy of "Geulah." The first is to improve our behavior with respect to our fellow man and with respect to Hashem. But even if our behavior is not at its highest potential, we can give ourselves a big boost by prayer. And if both are present – “Teshuvah,” Repentance on a wide scale, causing an upsurge in the “merit scale” of our People, combined with sincere “Avodah SheBaLev,” “Worship of the Heart,” that is the definition of “Tefillah,” we can be hopeful and confident that the gates of Redemption will swing wide open. Rabbi Pinchas Frankel |
