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April 14, 2005

עבדות וחרות (2005)

Pesach General Jewish Thought
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Biblical Anthropology - Passover (2008)

In Exodus, the Bible (in the original JPS translation) Exodus 12:6-8, says, "6. Seven days thou shalt eat unleavened bread, and in the seventh day shall be a feast to the Lord. 7 Unleavened bread shall be eaten throughout the seven days; and there shall no leavened bread be seen with thee, neither shall there be leaven seen with thee, in all thy borders. 8 And thou shalt tell thy son in that day, saying: It is because of that – "ba’avur zeh" – which the Lord did for me when I came forth out of Egypt"Because of that which the Lord did for me when I came forth out of Egypt." What is the antecedent of the word "that?" The verse lacks clarity and is therefore open to various interpretations. In the 1985 JPS translation of Tanakh, the ambiguity is resolved: "And you shall explain to your son on that day, ‘It is because of what the Lord did for me when I went free from Egypt.” Hence, clearly, the Passover ritual is occasioned by the need to acknowledge and praise the Lord for liberating us from the shackles of Egypt. That is, indeed, the common understanding of this key sentence. Rashbam, and apparently Onkelos, agree with this reading of our text, as do Ramban and others. However, Rashi and more explicitly Ibn Ezra and implied in the Targum Jonathan, reverse the cause and effect: It is in order that I perform these rituals that the Lord took us out of Egypt. Ramban, as I mentioned, is critical of this translation, one which is adopted as well (without mentioning the above authorities) by a famous contemporary scholar, R. Yitzchak Zev Halevi Soloveitchik. At first, this seems to be an outrageous halakho-centric exegesis: it is not the divine gift of freedom that is celebrated at the Passover Seder. Rather, He blessed us with freedom so that we might perform the mitzvot of Passover: the matzah, the bitter herbs, the Haggadah narrative.However, upon further reflection, what they are saying is that, in general, the Torah is not here to teach us history unrelated to practica…
Bo Pesach General Jewish Thought

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Passover Lecture (2009)

For me – a valedictory or farewell sermon. Essence this festival = מעבדות לחירות. Need to understand עבדות. Begin w Q addressd t a Rabbi (when I first read – wept): הרב אשרי, שו"ת ממעמקים, עמ' נ"ו-נ"ז: נשאל ע"י יהודי בגיטו קובנה בליטא איך יוכל לברך "שלא עשני עבד" בזמן שהיהודים בשבי ובצער ורחוקין נאוד מהיות בני חורין. השיב על פי אבודרהם שהברכה אינה על העדות עצמה אלא על שעבד כנעני שאינו שייך במצוות. Wht courag's/magnft ans! Wht dignty in vry pit humn degrdn!
Pesach General Jewish Thought Yom Kippur War

Synagogue Sermon

The Fourth Son (1966)

One of the intriguing and fascinating characteristics of Passover is that it is the season of questions. The Halakhah prescribes questioning as a month-long preparation for this festival: "We must ask and expound the laws of Passover thirty days before the holy day." Indeed, the Rabbi who receives many she'elot (religious questions) before Passover considers himself fortunate. The highlight of the Seder itself is the asking of the Four Questions. All of the Seder is composed of strange rituals, "so that the children may ask questions" when their curiosity is aroused. Moreover, according to R. Hayyim of Brisk, one of the most eminent Halakhic scholars of all times, a major difference between the commandment of mentioning the Exodus from Egypt every day of the year, and that of relating the Exodus on Passover, is that during the rest of the year we declare the fact of the Exodus in a simple narrative manner, whereas on Passover we do so in a question-and-answer form. Indeed, to ask a question is a profoundly human act. Recently, a research scientist wrote that while it is true that computers are far more efficient than the human brain, providing answers more accurately and quickly, nevertheless, only a human being knows how to ask the right questions! It is the asking, rather than the answering, that constitutes the human creative act. Not only is it human, but it is also essentially Jewish to ask. The Hebrew word darosh means not only to interpret, and not only to preach, but also – to ask. Thus, the traditional Hebrew term for a school is bet ha-midrash, which is usually translated as "the house of interpretation," but which more literally implies: "the house of questioning." Indeed, the traditional Jewish manner of study is to ask a question first. When we read, for instance, a comment of Rashi, we first ask ourselves: What troubled Rashi? What implicit question occasioned his explanation? An interpretation is merely an intellectual fact, but an answer – that is, …
Pesach General Jewish Thought