This is our final class before Pesach. I'd like to share a beautiful commentary from one of the Rishonim, Rabbenu Manoach, in his commentary on the Rambam (chapter seven) in the laws of Hametz and Matzah. He says the purpose of the night of the Seder is to arouse in us a belief in Hashem and to remember the redemption of Mitzrayim that was open to everybody, which showed us that only Hashem is in charge. He says that we say, B’Chol Dor V’Dor/In every generation you have to view yourself or act out as if you got out, in order to
- cause us to have fear of God,
to realize Hashem's supervision of the Jewish people and that Hashem never forsakes us.
And even if we have a difficult time, a very difficult time, we have to rely on Hashem, Who is the hope of the Jewish people Who’s going save us in times of sorrow.
And here's the punchline: Just like He saved us from difficulty in the exile of Egypt, and that difficulty was the cause for things to turn around and get us to a better place, so too all the exiles will be the source of our ultimate redemption. This is an important point. The night of the Seder is there to give us hizuk. The Shiboleh Haleket says the same thing- that Hashem showed Avraham Avinu all the exiles and gave him a promise that we’d get out of all of them- Mitzrayim, Bavel, Madai, Yavan and Edom.
We say,“Sh’Lo Echad Milevad Alenu/Not only one generation, which means that not only not only once did they try to destroy us, but in every generation, they're trying to wipe us out. We continue to survive because of God's promise, and eventually we'll get get out. The Midrash says that the four cups of wine are a bitachon message for us- that just like we got out of Mitzrayim, we're going to get out of the all four exiles-Bavel/Babylon, Madia/Medea, Yavan/the Greeks, and eventually Edom, which is the exile we're in today. Just like we got out of those, we'll get out in the future.
That’s the message for us- that we will survive and we will get out. But there's an important caveat- we can't get lost amongst the goyim.
The simple explanation of V’Hi SheAmdah, is that it refers to the promise that God made at the Brit ben HaBetarim.
But there’s another explanation, that V’Hi SheAmdah refers to the glass of wine. The fact that we have a law that we're not allowed to drink the wine of goyim, that we're separate from goyim, that's what keeps us alive. That's our secret to survival- that we are a proud Jewish people separate from the goyim.
The Hida says something unbelievable down, in the name of a rabbi called the Zerah Berach, from the sefer Magaleh Amukot: If you look at your hand, you have four fingers, and your thumb is separate. The thumb is not part of the four fingers. He says the four fingers represent the four exiles and the thumb represents the Jewish people. What keeps us alive and surviving through the four exiles is the fact that we don't mix with them. It says that we were a Goy Gadol/a great nation in Mitzrayim- which teaches us that they were Metzuyanim/They were outstanding. We stood out. We did not mix with the goyim. We did not mingle with them. We were proud of our heritage, proud of being the sons of Avraham, Yitzhak and Yaakov. And that's what we need to keep in mind today. Even the poorest person in Jewish people must lean, to remind us that even though we are currently in exile, we are free. The Sefer Rokeach gives a beautiful mashal: He says that there was a prince who was taken into exile and then later freed by his father, the king, who told his son, “Every year, on day you were taken out, I want you to put a crown on your head to remember that you are a prince and not a slave.”
That's what the Jewish people are supposed to remember every single year.
We are princes, we're the sons of God. He will redeem us. He will take us out of this problem now, just like He took us out then. But, that is provided that we remember that we're kings, remember that we’re princes. That's why we lean, that's why we drink the wine, and that's why we perform all the activities of freedom. Because we are, and will always be, free people connected to Hashem.
That's the message of the night: We will get out of this exile, but we have to rely on Him and believe that just like He did it then, He will do it again.
Anochi Hashem Elokecha Asher Hotzeticha M’Eretz Mitzrayim/I am Hashem’s your God that out of Egypt…. The Smak says it means “Just like I took you out of Egypt, I'll take you out of this exile as well.” That's the source for Sipita L’Yeshua/ Look forward to God's salvation, and it’s one of the points that we have to strengthen ourselves in, on the night of the Seder.
We have to remember that when the first Seder took place in Mitzrayim, they weren’t out yet. They were making a Seder, hoping to get out, and that's our Seder as well.
Have a Hag Kasher V’Sameach.