Welcome back to our Daily Bitachon, after the Pesach Hiatus.
Although Pesach is over, it's actually not, because
we continue to count to Shavuot, and as the Ramban says, the time between Pesach and Shavuot
is like one long Hol Hamoed.
At the end of Parashat Shelach, the topic of Tzizit are
discussed, and it’s placed next to Shabbat because it says Tzitzit
weighs in like all the mitzvot. But there are
a few Rashis there which contain an important lesson, that many people
don't know. The purpose of Tzitzit is to remind us of Yetziat Mitzrayim.
Firstly, we know that Tzizit are referred to as Al Kanfeh
Bigdehem, which means the corners
of the clothing, but the word Knaf
can also mean wing, and Rashi says
this corresponds to the concept of how
God took us out of Egypt-
וָאֶשָּׂ֤א אֶתְכֶם֙ עַל־כַּנְפֵ֣י
נְשָׁרִ֔ים
When God took us out of Egypt, it was on the wings of
eagles. So when we gather our Tzitzit, our four corners together, we
think of God putting us on the clouds of glory.
Next, it's a four-cornered garment, and the number four is prominent in Yetziat Mitzrayim. There are four
terms of redemption:
I will take you out, I will save you, I will redeem you and I will take you to Me as a
nation.
Furthermore, the dark
blue Techelet of Tzizit refers to Makat Bechorot/destruction of the
firstborn, because the word Shikul (which is to a lady lose her
child) is Tichlah in Aramaic,
which means to destroy.
This is hinting to the plague of Makat Bechorot,
which took place at night when the sky was
dark blue.
And finally, our punchline: Why are there eight strings (four
folded over) on each corner?
“Because it was eight
days from when they left Mitzrayim until
they sang the song at the sea.” This answer is an obvious difficulty, because we
know that they sang Az Yashir on Shevi’i shel Pesach- the seventh
day, not the eighth. So what does this mean? The most common answer is that
they were really considered freed when they slaughtered the Korban Pesach on
Erev Pesach, so therefore, counting from Erev Pesach, it was the eighth day.
But this year, I saw a fascinating explanation from Rabbi
Wolfson, the Mashgiach of Torah Vadaas. He says that the great Shira, Az
Yashir, is not the one that they said at the sea on the seventh day,
because of course, when you see a miracle, you sing a song. He says that the great song was the one that they said on the
eighth day, the day after the Shirah.
When everything is going on in a normal fashion, do you then realize that Hashem is in
charge? Do you sing a song, when you get up in the morning, that you're able to
breathe? That's the Az Yashir that we’re supposed to remember
throughout the year. Therefore, I think it's important and appropriate to
continue talking about the messages of Pesach, and specifically Az Yashir,
as it continues. We see form a pasuk in Devarim that it’s a responsibility of ours to take our Pesach experience of Emunah Bitachon and stretch it
throughout the year. The Torah, when talking about the holiday of Pesach in Devarim
16,3 says,
לֹא־תֹאכַ֤ל עָלָיו֙ חָמֵ֔ץ שִׁבְעַ֥ת
יָמִ֛ים תֹּֽאכַל־עָלָ֥יו מַצּ֖וֹת לֶ֣חֶם עֹ֑נִי כִּ֣י בְחִפָּז֗וֹן יָצָ֙אתָ֙
מֵאֶ֣רֶץ מִצְרַ֔יִם לְמַ֣עַן תִּזְכֹּ֗ר אֶת־י֤וֹם צֵֽאתְךָ֙ מֵאֶ֣רֶץ
מִצְרַ֔יִם כֹּ֖ל יְמֵ֥י חַיֶּֽיךָ
Don't eat Hametz, Seven days eat matzot, Lechem Oni, because you went out
of Egypt in a rush…so that you should remember the day that you left Egypt, all
the days of your lives.
As we know from
the Hagaddah shel Pesach, the word כל kol comes to include not
only days but night as well.
In the simple reading of the pasuk, God says, ‘Do you
know why I told you eat matzot for seven days? Not just for seven days, but
L’ma’an/ so that you should remember Yetziat Mitzrayim your
entire life, every day, every night, in Keriat Shema. So the goal of Pesach
to supercharge our daily remembrance of Yetziat Mitzrayim. It's not just for
seven days. Its Kol Yeme Hayecha-All the days of your life.
It’s not like a seven
day holiday, and then, that's it- it’s over. No, it has to keep going.
Kol Yeme Hayecha
The Hagaddah shel Pesach quotes that Mishnah, but it’s really talking about Keriat Shema, so why
mention it at the Seder? To let us know that the purpose of the Seder is to keep it going..
Hashem didn't make a Seder just for seven days. It's supposed to stay
with us, for our entire lives, twice a day, and thus stay fresh in our
mouths. It's the eighth day of Pesach. It's the day after. How do you
look on the day after?
Isru Hag, the
term for the day after the holiday (which
was this past Friday) means Tie the
Holiday. We are supposed to tie
the holiday with ropes, to keep it with us.
B’Ezrat Hashem, we will do that
by analyzing Az Yashir over the next few days so that we can understand it
better.
Have a wonderful day.
