Home Home / Passover Lecture (2009)

Outline

2009

Passover Lecture (2009)

Pesach General Jewish Thought Yom Kippur War
View The Text

This content is currently available in its original PDF format. As we expand the library, we plan to add a text version as well.

RELATED CONTENT

Outline

עבדות וחרות (2005)

הרב אשרי, שו״ת ממעמקים, עמ׳ נ״ו–נ״ז: נשאל ע״י יהודי בגטו קובנה בליטא איך יוכל לברך "שלא עשני עבד" בזמן שהיהודים בשבי ובצער ורחוקים מאוד מהיות בני חורין. השיב על פי אבודרהם שהברכה אינה על העבדות עצמה אלא על כך שעבד כנעני אינו ראוי לבוא בקהל ואינו שייך במצוות. What a courageous/magnificent response! What, in the very pit of human degradation! אולם: ״השתא עבדי, לשנה הבאה בני חורין״; "עבדים היינו לפרעה במצרים" – האם אנו פטורים מברכת "שלא עשני עבד"? ודאי שלא, ואנו חייבים לברך! So, two kinds of slavery: physical–social / ethical–spiritual. עבד לפרעה – עבד לה׳... What if a Jew is a U.S. citizen, not formally a slave, but also not observant? For example: a sincere non-Orthodox American Jew – thus neither a slave to Pharaoh nor to God? The answer begins with another question I’ve often wondered about regarding יציאת מצרים. Of course, יציאת מצרים is an introduction to Sinai, thus to תורה ומצוות. But if so, why is יציאת מצרים mentioned so frequently, while הר סיני appears only once or twice? The answer is that יציאת מצרים is not as deep as Sinai, but it is broader: מוסר, דרך ארץ, and other ethical foundations are hinted at in the Torah but not expanded – and clearly, עבדות לה׳ began not at Sinai but at יציאת מצרים. That is hinted at in a wonderful Yalkut on Tehillim (247): אתה מוצא כ״ו דורות משנברא העולם עד שיצאו ישראל ממצרים ולא אמרו הלל, ובשעה שבאה מכת בכורות, עמד לו פרעה והלך אצל משה ואהרן, שנאמר "ויקרא פרעה למשה ולאהרן לילה", היה דופק פרעה על פתחיהן... התחיל פרעה צווח: לשעבר הייתם עבדי, ועכשיו הרי אתם בני חורין – אין אתם אלא עבדים של הקב״ה! צריכים אתם להלל להקב״ה שאתם עבדיו, שנאמר "הללויה הללו עבדי ה׳". כלומר: פרעה לא הכיר במצב־ביניים של חצי־עבד וחצי־בן־חורין – אם אינך עבד לפרעה, אתה מוכרח להיות עבד לה׳! In other words, if not a slave to Pharaoh, then automatically a servant of God – even if the Torah has not yet been received. So, one can be an עבד ה׳ before Torah – if sincere. אילו נתן לנו את התורה / אילו הוציאנו ממצרים – there are many “Dayenus” in between. Thus the Ko…
Pesach General Jewish Thought

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

Correspondence

Exchange with Michael Tabor about Passover and Thought of Chabad (1975)

Dear Rabbi Lamm, Greetings. After a break of about 6 months I thought it was time to renew our correspondence. Trust you and your family are well and that you have has an enjoyable פסח. Life in Carmel remains hectic but a constant challenge. One day I'll discuss the strange paradoxes of Carmel, but suffice it to say that it is possible and rewarding to מברר ניצוצית here... I enclose a שיחה on פסח which I think you will enjoy – it gives an unusual mystical twist to question of the חכם – the need for a התישבות בכלים and the primacy of ordered living.Also enclosed an ניגון to add to your collection. It's one of my old favourites and have used it recently as a fairly successful lullaby for Shoshana!!How is your book on חסידות getting on?Looking forward to hearing from you.חג כשר שמח!מיכאל ת'This is a central theme in חב"ד – how do you understand it? Also, I write to L. Jacobs on another idea I have come across in the literature quite frequently. The Alte Rebbe often speaks about the superiority of man over the angels by virtue of his potential of transforming the mundane world. To perform this task his neshama derives from a higher source – not "manly" from דיבור but מחשבה – The phrase used is תניא is הבן נמשך ממוח האב. I asked L. Jacobs about the meaning of this idea from within the literature – whether symbolic or an actual fact that the is derived from the brain (physical) of man. He wrote back and sent that it was quite common until modern times to assume the latter to be true. Again, any further comments?Lastly an interesting observation of the previous Rebbe on the ethics of American Society and how it differed from the values that permeated the former days in E. Europe".. דער רבי האט גענאגט אן א שיחה אז ען אמריקע איז פרראן א מחלה וואס ד' מחלה הויסט מען מעז .... איז פאראן א מאמר פון חסידים פונקט להיפך:וואס מי טאר זיט – טאר מען ניטוואס מען מעז – דארץ מען ניט
Pesach General Jewish Thought