On the night of the Seder, while it’s important that we speak about the miracles of the past, we also have to strengthen our Emuna in Hashem‘s ability to save us in the future. This is one of the reasons that Hallel is divided into two parts on the night of Pesach. The first half, B’set Yisrael, found in Maggid (as we said yesterday) is praise for what God did for us in the past. The second half, which we say in the Hallel portion of the seder, is for what will happen in the future.
The question is asked, how can we sing a song for a miracle that hasn’t happened yet? And the answer is that this is one of the great examples of bitachon: praising God for a miracle before it happens.
We see this from the Jewish people at the first Seder in history, which was in Mitzrayim. We ate the Pesach, Matzah and Marror, celebrating our freedom- which had not happened yet. We were waiting there, with sticks in our hands, to be rushed out but nothing had happened at that point. This is a part of our Seder every year.
Not only are we celebrating what happened in the past, but we are fulfilling the obligation to forward to what will happen in the future as well.
As we have mentioned in the past, looking forward to God’s salvation doesn’t only mean the general salvation of the coming of Mashiach, it also means an individual’s salvation from all of his challenges including health, finances, shalom bayit, children and all of the challenges that come with life.
Among the various lists of the 613 Mitzvot made by different Rishonim, there is the sefer Mitzvat Katan, written by one of the Baalei Tosafot.
He asks how it can be that after 120 years, one of the six questions they ask is, Sipita L’Yeshua/ Did you look forward to God’s salvation, if we were never told to do so?
It doesn’t seem like a fair test if we were not warned..
Having children is one of the Mitzvot, learning Torah is one of the Mitzvot, but we were never told that we have to look forward to the salvation.
He answers that the first commandment of the Torah, “I am Hashem your God that took you out of Egypt,” is where we were commanded this Mitzvah.
The Mitzvah of Anochi Hashem is not just to believe in Hashem, or it would have just said, “Anochi Hashem Elokecha,”
But it says, Anochi Hashem Elokecha, I am Hashem your God God, Asher Hotzeti Me’Eretz Mitzrayim/That took you out of Egypt. Which means that when we were in trouble, Hashem took care of us.
And this wasn’t only in the past. It will be in the future as well.
As we say, “Like the days when You took us out of Egypt, once again You will show us wonders and miracles.“
An important part of our Seder is to give us the hope and belief that we will get out of this Galut now like it happened then.
We see this in V’Hi SheAmda/ And it is this that has stood…
What does this mean?
Hi SheAmda , “This that has stood,” written in the feminine form, is not referring to the glass of wine in your hand.
As we go through Maggid, it’s important to understand what we are saying.
We might hear many nice explanations, but as always, we must understand the simple meaning before we go on to level 2,3 and 4.
The simple explanation is that it’s referring to the Brit ben HaBetarim/The Covenant between the Parts.
God spoke to Avraham and told him that his children would be sojourners in a land that isn’t theirs for 400 years, and then “I will take them out and judge the nation.” That promise to Avraham about Yetziat Mitzrayim was not just about Yetziat Mitzrayim. It was about getting us out of all exiles.
That’s what Hi Sh’Amda L’Avotenu V’Lanu means. That promise stood for our forefathers and us. Shelo Echad B’levad
It wasn’t only one (Paroah) that tried to destroy us, but rather, in each generation they want to destroy us….
And the next verse, Se U’Lmad: Go out and learn, means, I’ll prove it to you. I’ll prove that in every generation they want to destroy us- and the proof is .. Lavan HaArami. Not Esav, says the Maharal. Of course we know that Esav hated us. Esav was the villain. But Lavan was Yaakov’s father in law. He never showed any weapons. We wouldn’t even have known about it, if not for the fact that the Torah told us that when Yaakov escaped, Lavan was ready to kill him. We didn’t even know about that enemy.
So we see that in every generation there are enemies that want to destroy us, even if we don’t realize it. And what is saving us is the Covenant Between the Parts. The promise by Hashem to Avraham Avinu, to take us out of Egypt, applies in every generation.
Every generation has its challenges, and part of the promise is that Hashem will take us out of them.
That is part of the belief of the night of the Seder. It’s not just about what God did in the past but what he can and will do for us in the future, not only as a people, but as individuals as well. We cannot forget about this aspect of the Seder. We have to talk about it and share it with our children God took us out, and He will take us out.
Have a wonderful day.