BO (EX 10:1 - 13:16) Part 2, Return to Part 1, Next Page, Torah Lesson Plan, or YHVH Homepage
In Shemot (Exodus) 12:3 - 6 we read that Hashem told (commanded) us to take a lamb. He did this on the tenth of the month of Nisan. Also, we were told to keep the lamb at home for some days, and then offer it up as the Koroban Pesach (the Passover offering). This was to be done on the fourteenth of the month of Nisan. It seems that there lies great significance within both periods. For if not, the Torah would not have mentioned the two separate actions. One, keeping the lamb on the tenth of the month, and two, offering the lamb as a sacrifice on the fourteenth of the month. What was the purpose of keeping the lamb for four days?
Our Sages tell us that the purpose was to arouse the curiosity and emotions of the Egyptians. When the Egyptians would see this act of Israel, they would be compelled to ask them of their purpose, to which Israel would answer, in fear; "in order to slaughter it and to offer it as a sacrifice."
The Egyptians regarded the sheep as icons, one of their godly powers. Moses saying to Pharaoh, "Shall we sacrifice the abomination of the Egyptians before their eyes and will they not stone us?" The Egyptians revere their idol, but in relation to the Israelites it is an abomination. We also see reference to this with Joseph, who told his brothers to not tell Pharaoh that they were shepherds, but rather cattlemen, because, "every shepherd is an abomination in Egypt." (Gen. 46:32 - 34). Hashem demanded that we stand up the Egyptians, however fearful, and openly answer them, "we shall slaughter and offer it unto Hashem."
This was a great display of mesirat nefesh (self sacrifice) on the part of Israel, and such an act will always bring about redemption. Israel, upon leaving Egypt, was "naked and bare." In other words, Israel was new, like a baby, it had no mitzvot with which to cover it’s soul. Hence the Passover offering was the first to be commanded as a whole nation, to each individual.
As we know, a mitzvah is nothing more than a vessel directed to connecting the lower sphere with the higher, as well as connecting our soul to it’s essence. The main part of the mitzvah does not only consist of the vessel (outer husk), but also of the spark within it. This is the energy which each individual gives the mitzvah upon performing it. This is the driving force which will determine it’s ultimate direction, destination, true intention, and result. Here, with the Passover sacrifice, Hashem gave Israel the correct ingredients which would guarantee that the performance of their mitzvah would culminate into perfection (intended goal). He gave them mesirat nefesh (self sacrifice). Self sacrifice stimulates the essence of bittul (insignificance), making the performance of the mitzvah for pure ulterior motives, ulterior to oneself. The only fuel within this mitzvah was because Hashem asked for us to do it, even though it seems that we are putting our lives in danger, admitting to the Egyptians; "we are going to sacrifice to our God, your god." With such energy behind the performance of the Koroban Pesach, the ultimate action of their mitzvah flew to the highest realms, and climaxed into the ultimate redemption for their time. It initiated the ultimate bonding between bride and groom, the complete proof that Israel placed their love and trust in Hashem, above and beyond their own existence.
The Scriptures state, "As in the days of your coming out of Egypt I will show the people marvelous things." The focus of this verse must be on the words "As in." This alludes to similarity. The exodus from Egypt is a paradigm for the future redemption. The conditions which brought about the exodus from Egypt must, and will bring about the future redemption. Fortitude and mesirat nefesh will, and must play a major roll.
We learn from the above, as well as in many places of Torah, that the intention which we give to the mitzvah, while we perform it, is the fuel or momentum behind it. All mitzvahs must be filled with a bittulness (insignificance) of our self, but rather, we must do the mitzvah. For the sake of the mitzvah itself, for the sake of Hashem. This is especially of great importance with the mitzvah of ahavat Yisrael (Love of Israel - love for a fellow). This mitzvah must be performed with a complete exterior approach rather than adapting it to ones own needs i.e. "what can he do for me? If he fills my needs, I like him, other wise, no comment." One must speak to his fellow about Torah, and about Hashem. If he shows a antagonistic reaction, there is no reason to fear, or become repelled. On the contrary, this reaction from him should prove to you that he has been deeply affected. One does not become emotional about that which does not concern him. When a person approaches his fellow with such talk, he must do so with vigor in his heart, for the sake of the other, not for the sake of the conquest (the world will be the same whether a person believes or does not. Hashem will exist whether your fellow believes in Him or not.)
"The words of the wise spoken in quiet are heard more than the cry of a ruler among fools (Eccl. 9:17)." If you are not successful at first, the fault will usually lie within yourself rather than within the other. The other is acting perfectly for the position in which he finds himself, but you, on the other hand, hold the higher card, you have the greater knowledge which you wish to channel down into his limited understanding. If he is not receptive to this flow of greater knowledge, than it is obvious that the vessels in which you are encasing your thoughts (knowledge) are faulty vessels. Your words must "come from the heart," your emotional involvement, and personal feelings.
At the time of the exodus from Egypt, Israel’s vigorous refusal to be affected by the Egyptians led to their leaving the land of Egypt - also taking with them the gold and silver. The Egyptians drowned and "there remained of them but one," Pharaoh, and ultimately, even he wound up in Niniveh where he came to suffer still more. This applies even today. When going about with vigor and mesirat nefesh, we're not affected by the world around us. Further into the theme of Pesach (Passover) in parshat hachodesh, Exodus 12, about the mitzvah of eating matzah (unleavened bread) "Seven days you shall eat matzot." This mitzvah is completely a Biblical obligation. There are basically three principles related to Pesach: The Pesach offering, eating matzah, and eating marror (bitter herbs). Nowadays, we can no longer perform the Pesach offering, due to the lack of the Temple, however, we have substituted our offerings with the Holy prayer service from our siddurim (prayer books). Therefore, the offering of our lips have become the offerings of our bullocks. The mitzvah of marror still applies as a rabbinical ordinance, and the mitzvah of eating matzah remains to be of Biblical obligation.
There is one thing which we must refrain from during Passover, we must refrain from it and literally do away with it, and this is chametz (leavened bread). Chametz and Matzah differ in two respects:
1) With chametz the dough rises, and with matzah the dough remains as is. In spiritual terms this means, chametz signifies conceit, arrogance, self elevation, while matzah signifies bittul, self effacement. Matzah is therefore termed as Lechem Oni (the bread of the poor). Because matzah signifies bittul which manifests itself specifically in "bread of the poor." The matzah which the Israelites ate was this same matzah, bread of the poor, lechem oni.
2) The interesting thing about the word matzah and chametz are that they both consist of the same Hebrew letters, with the exception of two interchangeable letters, the letter hey (H) and the letter chet (CH). Chametz is spelled with the letter chet, and matzah is spelled with the letter hey. These two letters are similar to each other. For those who are not familiar with the shape of the letters, they are similar to the greek letter pie, or, almost like an upside down "U", with it’s bottom curve now flattened to form the shape of a house. Both letters, the hey and the chet, consist of three lines and are open from below. The only difference between them is that the letter chet is completely closed from all three sides, but the letter hey as a small opening at it’s upper left side (as you view it). To give an example using this text medium, for those who are not familiar, it is much like: "17" with the "1" a bit lower and the "7" going over the "1" therefore, leaving a small gap between the top of the "1" and the "7".
The opening at the bottom, which both letters share, symbolizes that "sin crouches at the entrance (Gen. 4:7)." The closer on all other sides, in the letter chet, indicates that there is no escape from that fact. The opening above, in the letter hey, indicates that there is an opening above, with a possibility to leave your condition behind and do teshuvah (repentance). [It is also interesting to note that the word teshuvah, which literally means "return" in Hebrew, is actually written, "shuva", but in the sense of "repentance" we say t’shuva ‘h, with the letter hey at the end, as to say on a more esoteric note; "to return through the letter hey."] It is true, the opening which the letter hey offers is very small, but our sages teach us that Hashem says; "Open for me as little as the eye of a needle, and I will open for you like the entrance to a hall." For a single thought of teshuvah can change man instantaneously from an altogether wicked person into an altogether righteous person.
The differences between matzah and chametz are interdependent. If there is bittul (matzah) then when he sin he will think of teshuvah. Where there is conceit, or arrogance and self esteem (chametz) he will not think of teshuvah. If a person is bittul he will not muster an attempt at self justification. Rather, he will take honest stock of himself, and when finding flaws, he will do teshuvah. On the other hand, with conceit, he will always try to justify and excuse all of his doings.
In a case of conceit we will not only find excuses for everything, since he only wishes to prove himself correct, but when confronted with an obligation which demands a yielding of his ego, to become submissive (bittul), we will find that his conceit will cause him to find all kinds of reasons and arguments to exempt himself. For example, charity (the mitzvah of tzaddakah). When seeing a poor man, the one who seeks to avoid the mitzvah of tzaddakah will use the argument of Turnus Rufus, who asked of Rabbi Akiva, "If your God loves the poor, why does He not support them?" In other words, for reasons of self esteem he accepts his wealth as his due, and in fact he feels that he deserves even more than what he already has, why then should he give away any of it? Self esteem does not allow for the reality of another and thus, he takes it for granted that the other is not his equal. To him, therefore, it is self evident that the other is poor simply because he does not deserve any better. As it is surely the Divine Will that the other be poor, why then should he give him anything? The humble, a person filled with bittul, views this differently. He examines and judges himself whether he is essentially better than the other, and his self examination leads him to give charity.
It is indeed possible that the deprivation of the poor is a form of Heavenly punishment, Heaven forbid. The humble contemplates this possibility, but he also notes that he himself has been blessed generously in spite of his own deficient status and condition. Thus he is moved to conclude that we are as children of God, and, as in the parable of Rabbi Akiva’s reply to Turnus Rufus, even when a king punishes his own child and a friend of the king still extends kindness to this child, the king himself is in fact pleased by the kind action of his friend. As king David alludes to in his Psalm, some are merely stepping stones (foundations) for others. Sometimes when we are forced to ask for charity, it is not only for the sake of ourselves, but also for the sake of the one who is able to give.
Hashem does not give man a mitzvah or task which he does not have the tools with which to perform them. The conceited person devises self justifications for all his doings. Moreover, even when unable to come up with a rationalization and compelled to admit that his behavior is improper, he will still find all sorts of excuses and will thus continue to regard himself as beyond reproach. Some things he will blame on the evil inclination (yetzer hara), while other things he will blame on his environment, the place of his residence causes him to sin, etc. In other words, all the arguments that one must use to defend another, he uses to defend himself. He even thinks that by virtue of his personal circumstances his status is quite praiseworthy for surely another, under identical circumstances, would already have been who knows what! Even when realizing that his behavior is not correct and unable to blame it on any outside cause, his self love still covers all transgressions. He has no excuse and knows that he is a rebel, a willful transgressor, yet, love covers all. He is unable to dismiss his faults altogether, not even with falsehoods, thus he covers himself with self love.
Here we will see the difference between chametz and matzah. Chamatz signifies conceit, and it is written with the letter chet, open below; "sin crouches at the door, and closed on all sides, denying any opening for teshuvah. His conceit causes him to justify his actions to the point of regarding them as good, and he also finds excuses and rationalizations for his behavior. His self love covers all transgressions. In short, he will not do teshuvah. Matzah, on the other hand, signifies bittul, self negation. Matzah is written with the letter hey - open above, for his bittul precludes him from justifying his behavior, and also, from looking for excuses, and he is crushed when realizing the fallenness of his present condition. May you all continue with our united fight against our limitations, and may we all succeed in raising the world to Higher grounds.
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