Hamaayan / The Torah Spring Edited by Shlomo Katz Pesach Volume XII, Number 25 15 Nisan 5758 April 11, 1998 Hamaayan will not appear next week. Next issue: Parashat Shemini This issue is dedicated for a refuah shleimah to Moreinu Harav Gedaliah Hakohen ben Rivka shlita Today's Learning Negaim 10:5-6 Kitzur 36:5-9 Shabbat 133 Yerushalmi Bikkurim 12 R' Ephraim of Luntschitz z"l (17th century; author of Kli Yakar) observes that the number 15 recurs in many aspects of Jewish history and practice. For example, Pesach comes on the 15th of the month, as did the Exodus; the song "Dayenu" has 15 stanzas; the greatest glory of the Jewish kingdom occurred in the 15th generation from Avraham (i.e., under King Shlomo); the destruction of the Temple took place 15 generations later; there were 15 steps up to the Bet Hamikdash and there are 15 psalms which begin, "Shir ha'maalot"/"A song of ascents." He explains: The number 15 alludes to the completion of Hashem's throne. Thus, when Hashem swore that His throne would not be complete until Amalek is destroyed, He used the Name which is spelled "yud-heh," i.e., whose gematria is 15 (see Shmot 17:16). This is why the greatest glory of the Jewish kingdom occurred in the 15th generation from Avraham. (King David, who battled Amalek was the 14th generation. Note that the gematria of "David" equals 14.) The number 15 also represents one half of a lunar month. The greatest glory of the Jewish people was in the 15th generation, just as the moon's glory is fullest on the 15th day of the month. The destruction of the Temple took place 15 generations later, just as the moon disappears 15 days after it is full. King Shlomo, the 15th generation, built the Temple with 15 steps. (The fifteenth "Shir ha'maalot" psalm refers to those who stand in the "House of Hashem," i.e., the Temple.) The 15thline of Dayenu also refers to the Temple. The Torah (Shmot 13:18) states that Bnei Yisrael left Egypt "chamushim"/"with fives." We also read (14:7) that Pharaoh chased Bnei Yisrael "with threes." R' Ephraim explains that these verses refer to three groups of five gifts each which Hashem gave to Bnei Yisrael. The first group consists of the five ways in which the Egyptians were punished. The second group consists of the five basic necessities which Hashem provided our ancestors in the desert. The third group consists of the five special gifts which Hashem has given us as His people. All 15 of these are listed in the 15 lines of Dayenu. (Olelot Ephraim, II, Pillar 5) A Parable About Chametz "Bedikat Chametz" typically translated, "The search for chametz" actually means, "The search of chametz." What does it mean to search the chametz? R' Yissachar Ber Rokeach z"l (the Belzer Rebbe) answered this question with the following parable: A group of merchants was walking home from a successful day at the market, and they decided to rest under a tree. But where could they place their day's earnings for safekeeping? After looking around for a safe place to deposit their moneybag, they decided to hang it among the branches of a tree. Satisfying themselves that the only witnesses were the cows grazing nearby, the merchants hid their treasure in the foliage. Soon they had fallen into deep sleep. The merchants did not stop to think that where there are cows, there may be a cowherd. From his place in the nearby brush, the cowherd had seen everything. Stealthily, he removed the gold coins from the sack in the tree and filled the bag with an equal volume of dung. He then hid the money in a hole he had dug and concealed himself in the brush until the merchants would leave and he could reclaim his ill-gotten wealth. Upon awakening, the merchants took their bag from the tree. Feeling that the sack was much lighter than before, they looked inside and realized they had been robbed. But who had done it? There were no humans nearby! Obviously, the merchants concluded, the cows were the culprits. But who had ever heard of cows that steal gold coins? Who had ever heard of cows that climb trees? How did the cows put the dung in a bag? No matter - there was no other explanation. With that, the merchants shrugged and went on their way. These merchants were fools, said R' Yissachar Ber. Had they investigated further, they would have found the real thief and their money. Only a fool shrugs off such a loss. Chazal teach that chametz is a metaphor for the yetzer hara/evil inclination, the cause of the great spiritual losses which we suffer on a regular basis. Our duty at this time of the year is to eradicate chametz, and what it represents. However, it is not enough to search for chametz; we must search the chametz itself. We must examine the nature of the chametz within ourselves and ask ourselves how it got there. We may not shrug it off like those foolish merchants shrugged off their discovery of dung in their moneybag. (Haggadah Shel Pesach Sha'arei Armon) The Exodus R' Eliezer Nachman Foa z"l (Italy; 17th century) observes that the Exodus from Egypt did not put an end to the Jewish people's troubles. Immediately following the Exodus, Bnei Yisrael wandered in the desert for 40 years and suffered through various trials. In the millennia since then, Jews have suffered innumerable periods of oppression. Why wasn't the Exodus the final redemption? He explains: It is well-known that fruits which fall off of the tree before they are ripe will not taste as good as those which ripen on the tree. Similarly, Hashem redeemed Bnei Yisrael from Egypt before the time was ripe (because they were about to be overwhelmed by the impurity of that land). Therefore, the redemption could not be a complete one. In this light, we can understand why Chazal warned us not to rush the final redemption. If the redemption comes prematurely, it will not be complete. R' Foa adds: When we speak of the "strong arm" which Hashem used to redeem the Jewish people, we do not mean that He had to struggle to defeat the Egyptians. Rather, we mean that He, so-to- speak, used force to subdue Din/Justice, for Justice claimed, correctly, that Bnei Yisrael did not deserve to be redeemed. This explains why it was necessary for Pharaoh to say the word, "Go!" Hashem could have redeemed Bnei Yisrael in any case, but the attribute of Justice required that Pharaoh acquiesce. (Haggadah Shel Pesach Midrash Be'chidush) The Four Cups The "arba kosot"/four cups of wine which we drink at the seder are traditionally associated with the four expressions of redemption in Shmot 6:6-7: "I shall take you out from under the burdens of Egypt; I shall rescue you from their service; I shall redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great judgments. I shall take you to Me as a people . . ." But why are there four different expressions for redemption? Also, why are these commemorated specifically with wine? R' Yitzchak Mirsky shlita explains (based on the writings of R' Naftali Zvi Yehuda Berlin "Netziv" z"l): The four expressions represent four phases of the Exodus. The first phase occurred after the fourth plague, when Bnei Yisrael were relieved of their back-breaking labor. At that point we read (Shmot 8:28), "Pharaoh hardened his heart this time also, and he did not send out the people." The redundant phrase, "he did not send out the people," indicates that he did not free them entirely, but, it implies, he lightened their burden. In the second phase of the redemption, Pharaoh began to respect his Jewish subjects. This occurred after the plague of hail, where Pharaoh refers for the first time to "Bnei Yisrael" (Shmot 9:35), rather than to "the people." The third phase was the actual Exodus. It will be noted that these three phases parallel, in reverse order, Hashem's prophecy to Avraham (Bereishit 15:13): "[1] Your descendants will be strangers in a land which is not theirs, and [2] they will enslave them and [3] oppress them." In the fourth phase, Hashem took us as His people. This refers to the giving of the Torah. Why wine? Netziv explains that wine is used because it changes a person's complexion just as the Exodus brought joy to the faces of our ancestors. (Haggadah Shel Pesach Hegyonei Halachah) Rabbenu Bachya z"l also explains the four expressions of redemption as referring to four events: The first expression refers to the end of Bnei Yisrael's slavery; the second, to the actual Exodus; the third, to the splitting of the Yam Suf/Red Sea; and the fourth, to the giving of the Torah. If all four of the quoted expressions describe redemption, why is one of the expressions: "I shall redeem you"? Rabbenu Bachya explains that the third step the splitting of the Sea was the culmination of the redemption. Even when a master frees his slave, the slave must fear that the master will change his mind and chase after him. Only when the master is dead, as all of Pharaoh's army perished at the Yam Suf, can the slave truly feel free. (Commentary on the Torah) ************************* One year, at the seder of R' Shimon Sofer z"l (known as the "Michtav Sofer"), his grandson asked him the reason for stealing the afikoman. At first, the Michtav Sofer did not respond, but after the seder, he explained as follows: The Torah (Shmot 11:7) relates that as Hashem passed through Egypt killing the firstborn, not one dog belonging to a Jew barked. It seems strange, said the Michtav Sofer, that Chazal did not establish any remembrance for this miracle which the Torah troubles itself to mention. [Ed. Note: In contrast, we allude in the Haggadah to literally hundreds of miracles which the Torah does not mention at all.] In fact, said R' Sofer, stealing the afikoman is that remembrance. The gemara (Pesachim 113a) states that one is not permitted to live in a city that has no dogs. Rashi explains that the barking of dogs is a protection against thieves. It follows, therefore, that on Pesach night, when the dogs did not bark, there was a greater risk of thieves. We allude to this by stealing the afikoman. Why didn't R' Sofer answer his grandson until after the seder? It has been suggested that he sought to teach his grandson that a Jew must accept our Torah, mitzvot and customs even when he does not understand them. (Quoted in Vayaged Moshe; our thanks to the reader who e-mailed us this story)