Parashat VaYikra - 5764

“Here the Child Asks” (Pesach Haggadah)

This Shabbat, we begin to read the Book of VaYikra, that focuses on the sacrifices offered in the Mishkan, the main purpose of which was to maintain the holiness of the People of Israel. Also discussed in this Sefer are other methods prescribed by the Torah for the attainment and maintenance of the holiness of the People, such as sexual morality, honor and reverence for parents, not to steal from, lie to or cheat one’s neighbor; in general, to regard one’s neighbor as being, equally with oneself, a “Tzelem E-lohim,” an Image of G-d.

Last Shabbat we read Parashat HaChodesh, in which the Month of Nisan was described (Shemot 12:2), “This month is your month, the Head of the Months; it is the first for you, of the months of the year.” This is clearly a month of supreme importance for the Jewish People – Nisan was their Month of Redemption, when they were released from physical slavery, and set on the path towards spiritual freedom, with the acceptance of the Torah.

In Maseches Rosh HaShanah 10b we find two opinions as to which month the World was created. The “Kedushas Levi,” by the great Chassidic leader, Levi Yitzchak of Berditchev (1740-1809), in “D’rush L’Pesach” relates this to the question of why it is only on Pesach and not, say, on Sukkot, that we find “Here the child asks...”

He says there are two ways in which HaShem conducts the World. One is from the universal perspective of the “Borei Olam,” the Creator of the Universe and all that is in it, and from the corresponding verse in “Ashrei,” (Tehilim 145:16), “You open Your hand and satisfy every living thing, out of Your Desire and Will.” The second way stems from intimate concern for the Children of Israel. He has made a Covenant with us; we are His representatives, the representatives of Torah and morality in the World.

“Kedushas Levi” writes, “This is the hinted-at meaning of the Gemara, ‘One opinion is that in Nisan the World was created; this refers to the conduct of the World that the Holy One, Blessed is He, exercises by uniting Himself with the Destiny of Israel, and therefore the People of Israel experienced miracles and great wonders in this month. The other opinion is that the World was created in Tishrei; this refers to the conduct of the entire World with His Great Kindness, and thus we find that ‘both these and those are the Words of the Living G-d.’ ”

“Kedushas Levi” then extends the idea to all types of creative activity “in which when one made something, there are two aspects: one is the actual making of it, the second is the reason one made it. As it were, when the Holy One, Blessed is He, created the World, the reason for it was not known, but in Truth the basic reason was to delight in His World with Israel (See “VaYikra Rabbah” 36:4), that they would do His Will and recognize His Greatness, and they would understand that He created everything for the sake of His Honor (Avot 6:11). But at the time of the Creation of the World, that reason was still not known until Nisan in which Israel left Egypt, and everyone saw that He is the Almighty, the Master of the Universe, that He created all the Worlds, and to Him alone it is fitting to worship...”

In order for the first method of conducting the affairs of the World from a universal perspective and certainly for the second method, where there is a particular focus on Israel, to exist, there had to occur a “Tzimtzum,” a Contraction, of HaShem’s Infinite G-dly Essence.

With the above idea, we can understand why the child asks questions specifically on Pesach. The depth of understanding of the father is generally greater than that of the child. “Kedushas-Levi” writes, “It is only because of the great love that the father has for the child that he contracts himself in order to answer the child’s question – in analogy, as was mentioned above – that the Holy One, Blessed is He, contracts Himself into the Dimensions or Attributes of Israel, to take delight in them, to do their will.”

And Sefer VaYikra, the Book of the Priests, represents our side of the Covenant. We recognize the Divine Presence of HaShem, worship Him and attempt to emulate Him by holy behavior, so that we can be worthy of the description (Shemot 19:6), “And you will be for Me a Kingdom of Priests and a holy nation.”

Rabbi Pinchas Frankel

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