Imagination and Redemption Past and Future

A Novel Look at the Mitzvah of Sippur Yetziat Mitzrayim

Rabbi Avie Schreiber

The theme of redemption dominates the night of the Seder. By delving into one of the primary Mitzvot of the evening - - we can identify the key to our redemption in the past. In turn, we can learn to unlock the potential to our present and future redemption as well. I. The Irony of I would like to begin by asking two questions regarding : Question #1 - "teach us . Why does the Mitzvah of include this detail? No other Mitzvah that involves memory of a past event requires us actually to visualize ourselves reliving the event! Before asking the second question we need to clarify two issues. 1) At what time of day did gain their freedom from ?Based on the and many , Am Yisrael as a whole physically left during the daytime on the 15th of as it says in the Pasuk: ' 1 : . However, the status of the Jews changed beforehand. It seems that at - when occurred, the Jews gained the status of free people 2. This is based on the Pasuk: .... 3 Based on this Pasuk, it is clear that the Jews were freed at night, even though they didnt physically leave until the next day. 4 2) When is the deadline for fulfilling the Mitzvah of ? We like that the needs to be eaten before midnight. According to some , the timing of is linked to the timing of , and therefore, the Mitzvah of must also be concluded before midnight 5. Based on the two points clarified above, there is an ironic twist to the Mitzvah of , which forms the basis for my second question. Question #2 - Why does the Mitzvah of apply only during the time that the Jews were still slaves - the night of the 15th before ?Since the Mitzvah is to imagine ourselves being freed from , the Mitzvah should apparently apply during the time

1 : 2 See the quoted below that supports this assumption. 3 , : 4 " , ( ) ' - ' , , . 5 1

were actually freed i.e., after . Minimally, it should extend past and apply until the morning! The in seems to relate to this issue. In this Braitta, Beit Hillel and Beit Shamai discuss how much of Hallel should be said prior to . ... [ ]? ? : 6 ! What part of Hallel is recited (before the meal)? say until ( only the 1st paragraph of Hallel which begins with the word - should be said) and say until ( the 2nd paragraph of Hallel which begins with the words should also be said)... said to , Did the Jews leave yet (at this early time of night) which would warrant the saying of ? responded, Even if we wait until morning to recite this paragraph [it still wouldnt be the time they left ]. The Jews didnt leave until midday! According to , we should wait to say until after the meal. Why? They seem to suggest that we should say the paragraph of at or near the time the Jews were actually freed i.e. . Since the Afikoman should be eaten right before , the meal will end at about and then the paragraph of will be said at the proper time.7 believe that we shouldnt say earlier in the evening because the Jews had not yet been freed. We, of course, follow who reject this reasoning. But s opinion requires explanation. We have a similar question for to that which we had before; Why is it acceptable and even preferable to say early in the evening, before actually left ? II. - Food of the Future In order to answer these two questions, lets deal for a moment with one more question. The tells us: , ? , , , , : , , , . , , : Why do we eat this matzah? It is because the King of Kings, the Holy one, revealed Himself to our fathers and redeemed them before their dough had time to ferment, as it is written: "They baked the dough which they had brought out of Egypt into unleavened cakes; for they were driven out of Egypt and could not delay, nor had they prepared any provision for their journey." Various Rishonim8 ask that if the reason for eating is to remember the manner in which we left , why was there an obligation to eat in on of the night of the 15th of the night before as it says "" . The Jews hadnt yet
6 ' , 7 )' ( ' 8 " .' " ". 2

left in a hurry - - and they hadnt yet baked the on the way out! What possible reason could there have been to eat the before the redemption actually occurred? Rav Yosef Kimchi quoted by the offers the following answer: . . The Mitzvah was to eat the Matzah - because of what would happen in the future. In a sense, the Jews were commanded to act out the redemption before it actually happened. We can elaborate and suggest that by eating the Matzah the night before , the Jewish nation was declaring that they believed with complete certainty that they would be redeemed the next morning. understood that the Matzah they ate that night, before they left , was a harbinger of their redemption. And perhaps it was also the cause for their redemption. Their ability to visualize themselves leaving even when they were still in the heart of their oppressors land was the key to their survival. Even in the midst of the darkness, they saw the rays of light. In short, their and in their own redemption enabled them to achieve that redemption. We learn from this that the key to Jewish survival is our unshakeable belief in our future. III. Imagination - Perhaps now we can answer our two earlier questions. The first question we asked was why is this the only Mitzvah that requires us to use our imagination - to visualize an event that is not actually happening right now? The answer is that this is exactly what did in on the night of . While they ate the that night, they imagined and envisioned themselves with great clarity leaving . Just as they used their imagination to visualize an event that was not actually happening at the moment, so we must use our imagination to visualize an event that is not happening right now. While the Jews in needed to conjure the future, we need to conjure the past. This also answers our second question. Why does the obligation of - of imagining ourselves being freed - end (according to some) at ?The answer is because in , the night of - until only - was characterized by imagination. But after when were actually freed, there was no longer any need for imagination because freedom had already become a reality! Likewise, the to use our imagination on this night only applies until as well. Therefore, - our of ends at the time that the actual redemption began. IV. - A Two Step Mitzvah But perhaps we can take this a step farther. In order properly to fulfill the Mitzvah of , we need to relive the process of freedom in the same way did. Just as it was necessary for to imagine themselves leaving even before they actually did, even when they were still slaves, we need to do that as well. We can suggest therefore that there are two steps to the Mitzvah of . The first step is to imagine ourselves as slaves in who have a steadfast and profound belief in our imminent freedom. This first step transports us back to "- to the time before were free. We learn how to believe in our freedom even when it is not yet actualized. And this leads to the second step. The second step is to relive the experience of . This step transports us to after and to - to the day of the 15th - where we
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relive the moment of actually becoming free. The first step is a prerequisite for the second. First, we need to strengthen our to the point that even in times of darkness - - we can see the light - just as did on that night - and only then can we truly relive the actual . Now we have another reason why the of ends at . The main of the night is to visualize even before it happens because ultimately this is the key to our redemption. This skill can only be developed on the night of the 15th while we are still in a state of slavery. This could be the explanation for in the mentioned earlier. argued back: ! .Even if we waited until morning to recite this paragraph [it still wouldnt be the time they left ]. The Jews didnt leave until midday! is saying that the point is to say before they were free as this expresses our confidence in our redemption - which ultimately leads to our redemption. V. - A Symbol of the Future The theme of belief in our future and in our redemption can be found in another aspect of . gained their freedom at - which was also the beginning of . The entire process of the culminated with the death of the first born . Why was this plague chosen to be the grand finale? What is so significant about the first born children? We can suggest that for a parent, the first born child represents the future. Once a first child is born, a persons future unfolds before him, extending for untold years and generations. Perhaps for this reason a is entitled to - a double portion of inheritance. One portion is for the himself and one portion is for the next generation. It is also interesting that the of the word is --. The numerical value of each letter is 2, 20, 200 respectively. Each letter represents the second level - not one, but two, not ten, but twenty etc. A is the beginning of the second generation and as such the beginning of the future as well. therefore is a fitting end to s mastery. As transpired, not only was of the present being toppled; of the future was being destroyed as well. All of s hopes and dreams vanished into the night. And on that night, as the future of crumbled before our eyes, our own future rose up before us - our were spared. Our future was secure. Our future was beginning now. A night that was characterized by our in our future and in our redemption, as expressed through our eating of the Matzah, ended with the salvation of our future symbolized by our . VI. - Put It Into Practice To conclude, there are those that frame the in the following way: Prior to , we focus on - our past redemption. After , we focus on the -our future and ultimate redemption. According to what we have discussed, we understand this framework even better. Immediately prior to we eat the . By this time we have accomplished the main Mitzvah of . We have visualized ourselves leaving . And perhaps more importantly,
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through the Mitzvah of we have also acquired within ourselves a new ability to see redemption even in a state of . The moment after , as we begin the second half of the Hagadah, we immediately put this new found ability to use. We confront our own state of and we begin to beseech and praise ' for the future . Even though we are currently in , we believe that the will come, and ultimately, this is the catalyst of our redemption. May we all emerge from the Seder with a refreshed belief in the years ahead and may the future hold for our families and all of klal yisrael many years of health, happiness and celebration. !