Passover Seder Secrets: Deep Mystical Insights - Part 2 - Rabbi Eli Deutsch

In Maggid section, with beginning with Rabbi Elazar ben Azariah. Rabbi Elazar ben Azariah was a rabbi who was very He was the top rabbi, but he was only 18 years old. And ultimately, God does for him a miracle that he should look like he's 70 by getting gray streaks or white streaks in his beard even at the age of 18 in order that he should have the respect from the the people that he needs in order to accomplish what he need to accomplish as a teacher and a leader of the Jewish people. Not exactly what the beauty industry would do nowadays, but this is perhaps the spiritual beauty industry of Hashem. And in that section, I think about it. Think about this. He was 18 years old and he was a leader and a massive massive Torah scholar. Think about how we talk about and think about youth in our time, right? Oh, they're just Oh, this person this they're supposed to be a kid. Oh, you're just a kid, you're supposed to be a kid. If you think about it, the truth is very different. There's an aspect of that, of course, that is true, but also I think we underestimate the capacity for our kids to actually gain and retain Judaism and Jewish wisdom. We have many leaders throughout our times who accomplished so much, who accomplished so much in terms of obviously their own scholarship, but then in terms of authorship as well. Rambam, for example, Maimonides wrote the famous Mishneh Torah at age 20 something. Ramban Nachmanides, he wrote his famous commentary on the Chumash and he was only age 16. Um Sfas Emes also is legendary that he was extremely young in the amount of learning he was involved with at age, let's say, 14 um you know, vast majority of the day and he would sneak in for for more time with uh with the tutor as well, even after his grandfather, the Chidushei HaRim, wanted him to stop learning. Now, obviously, these people are the top top people of the generation, but the point is the message here for us is hold on a second. What we and what our kids can retain is a lot more than we give nature and the brain credit for. Especially at younger ages, the brain works in a certain way that it's much more of a like a like a sponge. It's able to take things in. It's able to bring in information if the education is done right and if it's done thoroughly. So, it's a time to consider, what are we doing with our time? Are we using our time wisely? Are we doing valuable things with our time? Really valuable things with our time? Are we learning what we could be learning? Are we spending the time doing things that are truly meaningful? How much time are we taking comfort or resting on our laurels? A certain amount of comfort is good and needed. But how much are we just going into that when we have a spare moment instead of utilizing that spare moment for something that's ultimately more valuable and more towards who we can really be. Next, we get to the section Baruch Hamakom. In this section, we find that it says Baruch four times. So, one of the great Slonimer Rebbes said that it's to teach you that the four sons, which we're about to be talking about, each of them are Baruch. Each of them are in the category of blessed. Interestingly enough, Yitzchak, who is the original son of the Jewish people, if you think about it. Avraham, father of the Jewish people. Yitzchak, original son of the Jewish people. Yitzchak is gematria the same numerical value as the word ben, which means son, four times. To teach you that these four sons are outgrowths, expressions, branches of that original son Yitzchak and they're all in the category of Baruch. They're all in the category of blessed. And so, it says k'neged arba banim dibrah Torah, that the Torah spoke to each of those four sons. Meaning that the Torah is the path to each of the sons' freedom and growth. Interestingly enough, we see that if we look at the acronym for the four sons, chacham, rasha, tam, and v'she'eino yodea lishol, we find that that's the same letters as the word cheirut in Hebrew, which means freedom, because the Torah is the freedom for each of these four sons. What do we mean by the freedom? What we mean is that the Torah is teaching us how to get outside of ourselves, what path to go on. Without that, we're being pulled to whatever our physical side of ourselves is pulling or our emotional side of ourselves is pulling, the society around us or our nature. Torah is giving us the direction to be able to get outside of that and where to go with ourselves and our potential. In the section of Maggid Matzilah, it talks about how the Jewish people really, originally, were idolaters, meaning to say, before Avraham, where did Avraham come from? His father is Terach. Terach was an idolater. He was even kind of mayor of the idols. He was wheeling and dealing in idols. And so, it teaches us that it teaches us at the beginning of our own history, you see that we went from idolatry to believing and connection in Hashem. This is the move from Terach to Avraham. So, also, a message we can take from this is no matter where we've gone, no matter how far we've strayed, we've been there before. And if Avraham can come from Terach, so then we can change our ways as well. We can go ahead and grow as well. We can become new people as well from now. And that is actually the words that's used in this section. It says v'achshav, and now. When is now? It's whenever you choose it to be. Whenever we say, "Okay, what has been has been. What was was. And now, I'm going to move forward. And now, I'm going to be different." That is the moment when we can change. And this is what the Chasam Sofer teaches, that just like we are supposed to see ourselves as going from slavery to freedom, we are also supposed to see ourselves on this night as going from idolaters to being connected with Hashem. Meaning that whatever wherever we are up to in our lives, whatever imperfections we have, whatever and whatever way that we are not really who we should be, so this is a time where we can go ahead and turn that around. That we are now freeing ourselves from that life and entering into a new life, a life with Hashem, a life that's dedicated to Torah and mitzvot and godliness. Now, we come to the section on B'chisha Amda. B'chisha Amda is about how Hashem has been there and Hashem has saved us from our enemies that ultimately in every generation, there are enemies that come up and try to destroy and try to get rid of and try to genocide the Jewish people and Hashem saves us from their hands. And I want to focus on something that the Baal Shem Tov said, the founder of Chassidus. He said, "Look at the end of that section, v'Hakadosh Baruch Hu Matzilenu mi'Yadam. Hashem saves us from their hand." He says literally, "from their hand." So often, it's from their hatred, from their plots, from something that they did, from that comes our salvation. If you think about it, Moshe, the original savior of the Jewish people in the story that we're talking about here on Pesach, where did he grow up? He himself grew up in the house of Paroh. Haman was ultimately hung on the gallows that he had instituted, that he had put up in order to hang Mordechai. And Hitler, if you think about it, also caused the State of Israel, which ultimately served as a refuge for the Jewish people. So, this speaks to a principle in the Talmud that before the ailment, Hashem has already provided the refuah. Hashem has already provided the healing, the remedy. Now, we come to a section in Maggid called Vayihisham Lagoy, that the Jewish people were a nation. They were a nation within a nation. They themselves were their own people, a distinct people within the nation of Egypt. And this is important and relevant in our lives in the culture around us today. Who are we? Who do we want to be? So often, the society where we find ourselves looking to gain approval from the nations around us. Is that really the path? Is that really the way we should be uh conducting ourselves? Like uh a rabbi once taught, I believe it was Rabbi Shimshon Raphael Hirsch, but I'm not sure, that if the Jewish people don't make kiddush, the non-Jewish people will make havdalah. If we don't elevate ourselves, sanctify ourselves, express our own uniqueness and distinction, the non-Jewish people will will around us will show us that we are different. And this is something to be thinking about on this night and also in general in our lives. What are we valuing? What are we looking to? Who Who and where do those values come from? A section in the Haggadah that a lot of groups within Chassidic world make a big deal about is the Vayitzak section. Vayitzak, that the Jewish people cried out. And they say, based on the Apter Rav and others, that this is a time, Vayitzak, which means to cry out, this is a time to cry out. That for each of us, this is a time to cry out on whatever we need now, whatever Egypts you have going on in your life, whatever servitude, whatever constrictions, whatever difficulties, whatever struggles you have going on in your life, this is a time that's a segulah, a real energy in order to cry out to Hashem. And not only yourself, get others involved as well. Get others involved in screaming out and crying out and praying for your salvation. This The idea here is that this night is alive. This isn't just some memorial that once was. We're not just commemorating the time the Jewish people got out of Egypt. This is called perhaps in English this is called a holiday because it is a holy day. It is alive. There's something real going on. We're not just remembering something that once was. And this is a time where we can go ahead and bring about salvation. This is a night of miracles. So we should be blessed to be able to take advantage of the moment and really call out to Hashem recognizing the opportunity that is at hand. Okay, now we come to the section in Magid where we discuss how each one of the Makot, each one of the plagues actually were kind of like four plagues or according to opinion five plagues. Let's understand this a little bit. What does this mean? Well, if you think about it in a simple terms, think about it in our own lives. Imagine someone were to hit you with a metal rod really hard. So there would be numerous aspects to that. Yes, the the hit, the smack would be one. But the way it would express itself would be more than one. The pain from the initial hurt. Then it becomes bruising. Then it becomes warm. Then it becomes maybe over time it gets kind of as it's healing it becomes itchy. So there are numerous aspects, there are numerous plagues so to speak, numerous effects, numerous ways it affects you even though there's one hit. So it's one hit that felt like four different aspects to it. Four, five different aspects to it. Let's understand though a little bit deeper what it's trying to say because really there's a principle that numerologically any move that's made from the spiritual to the physical expresses itself numerologically as a move from one to four. We see the source of this at the beginning of the Torah where it says that there was a river that flowed forth, that flowed out of Gan Eden, that flowed forth out of the Garden of Eden and then it broke into four rivers. It broke into four. So this is expressing the idea that in the more spiritual elevated space is the concept of oneness. But as it comes into this world of fragmentation it expresses itself as four. And you see this also that the roots of creation and says the Maharal also is this concept of four. There's four basic elements in creation, earth, water, wind and fire. Also, there's four levels essential levels in creation, domem, tsomeach, chai, medaber. Inanimate object such as a rock. Tsomeach, vegetation, and chai, an animal, and medaber, a speaking being. So we see that this is the roots of physicality. And as we move from spirituality to physicality, that is a move numerologically from oneness to four. So this is the concept of on the one hand there are 10 plagues because they are coming they are coming from the spiritual. They're being brought by Hashem. That's spiritual. That's oneness. But then when it comes down here and actually expresses itself here in the physical so then it the expression is four. And according to the opinion that says that each plague was five because those that four, that physicality cannot survive without that spiritual midpoint, without the spiritual essence holding it together. That's the concept of the number five. Okay, now we come to one of everyone's favorite sections in the Haggadah, the Dayenu. Now if you look at Dayenu we find that the word dai means enough. And the truth is this is essentially a Jewish idea, a very basic Jewish idea which is to recognize and show appreciation for Hashem, for what Hashem gives us. Matter of fact, some would say if you if you have the Yiddish persuasion, you would say that it's hinting to the idea dai is also the letters for Yehud, which means a Jew. That the essence of a Jew is to recognize and to say thank you on the specifics, on the different things that Hashem sends his or her way. And so much so is this the core of the Judaism that this is the first thing we open up our day with. The first thing that a Jew says when they wake up in the morning is Modeh Ani, thanking Hashem for waking us up. And there was a rabbi, I believe it's Rabbi Soloveitchik that asked, "Okay, why is it that we say Modeh Ani?" In Hebrew it it doesn't really make sense. First I should say Ani Modeh. I thank Hashem. Right? Instead we're saying Modeh Ani, which in English would translate as thank I. And the answer says Rabbi Soloveitchik is that because a Jew doesn't start his day with the word I. That's egotistical. That's self-centered. The Jew gets outside of himself and herself in order to start their day. And so this is the idea of the concept of dai, enough. And also I give you another idea too. Another idea is that the word dai also is gematria, numerical value of 14, which is remember the amount of steps, the amount of stages there are in the Haggadah. And so the point is that throughout the Haggadah, throughout this evening, we should be able we should be having in mind a thankfulness, a thankfulness for the yad, the hand of Hashem and all that Hashem did in order to save us from the Egyptians as well as other issues along the way throughout Jewish history. Another point that I want to share with you because this is something that my wife likes to share, her idea that she shares every year at the Passover Seder. She asks the question, "Why is it that the section in Dayenu, it's there's a part of it which says that if the Jewish people got to Mount Sinai but they did not get the Torah, Dayenu, that would be enough." And so the question is, "Okay, like what is it about the Jewish people at Mount Sinai that is so special that even if they that that's its own stage?" And so my wife answers of course that the Jewish people we know when the Jewish people were at Mount Sinai they were unified. K'ish echad [clears throat] b'lev echad like the rabbis teach, that that is its own level. The unity of the Jewish people, that the Jewish people are able to give over to of their essence towards one another and feel each and every one of us to be able to feel that we are one with our fellow Jew. Okay, so what is the message of Korban Pesach? The Maharal of Prague explains that one of the ideas about Korban Pesach is the unity between Hashem and the Jewish people. And this can be seen in all of the ones so to speak that you find in the laws about Korban Pesach, about the Paschal lamb. For example, it's supposed to eat it whole, it's supposed to be eaten in one house, it's supposed to be a one-year-old lamb, it's supposed to have no broken bones, it's supposed to be roasted because when fire makes meat come together, come together in a harder way as opposed to water where it fragments the meat if it's cooked in water. And it's supposed to be a lamb because the lamb, according to the rabbinical teachings, a lamb, the whole body feels the pain of each limb. And so there's this concept of oneness going on. There says the Maharal of Prague this is talking about the oneness relationship and connection and unique connection that the Jewish people have with Hashem. The Zohar refers to matzah as machil d'meheimnusa. Ochel shel emunah. Faith food. Why is that? Says the Bnei Yissachar, one of the great Chassidic masters. If you think about it matzah comes out the way it went in. Matzah is designed and made in a certain shape, that's ultimately the final product. However, if you're talking about dough, ultimately rises on its own giving the impression that as if there's some other power, some other force that is at play here. Matzah is showing you very clearly the way the whoever designed it, that this is how they designed it. This is one of the This is a connection to what we're doing here on Passover. The Zohar refers to matzah as machil d'meheimnusa. Ochel shel emunah. Faith food. Meaning to say that the way it was designed by the designer is the way the product looks at the end of the process. This is very different than chametz. Our dough rises as if something else has an impact on it, as if there's some other power besides the maker of that bread. The Egyptians used to worship the astrological system. They used to look at the astrological system as a power independent of Hashem. And the the strongest time of that system is in the first month and in particular the middle of the month when the moon is in its fullest. This is the time that we are in on Seder night. And we find that the symbol of that first astrological sign is a sheep's head. Interestingly enough, the Jewish people are coming along on that same night and they go ahead and do the Paschal lamb, which is to basically make the statement that here is the system that you believe to be an independent power. You're treating it as if it's a god. We are going to go ahead and sacrifice that to our god. Making the statement that really yes, there's a a system called astrology. Yes, there's a system called nature. But ultimately it's Hashem running the show over that system. It's Hashem running the show over nature. Many people's favorite time of the Passover Seder is the part of Korach when we take that matzah maror sandwich and we go ahead and we eat it. Interestingly enough, there are some verses that we say there that talk about that talk about the Paschal lamb and the sandwich that was made. But interestingly enough, we find that the verses that are used are not talking about that first path the Passover. It's talking Those are verses that have to do with pass Pesach Sheni, the second Passover. This is the Pascal lamb of Passover. There is a makeup opportunity. It's own unique mitzvah. We shouldn't even call it a makeup that a person can have on Pesach Sheni a month later. So says says the Belzer Rebbe, the reason we're using these verses about second Passover about Passover Sheni second Pascal lamb opportunity is because we're saying that right now in the Seder because right now we don't have Pascal lamb. But already right now we're saying we're hoping for that Pesach Sheni opportunity. We're hoping that within the next 30 days the Beit Hamikdash will be built and God willing we will have an opportunity to have Pascal lamb within 30 days from now. In Hallel we quote the pasuk Ani avdecha ben amasecha. We say to Hashem, I am your servant the son of your maidservant. Meaning to say I am born into this. This is our heritage. And says the Ropshitzer Rebbe that this is a time to speak with our family about our story. How our unique family was involved in doing this for generations upon generations. And this instills within them this concept of a sense of identity, a sense of belonging, a sense of being a link in the chain to further the education. Because what education is all about isn't just Torah and mitzvot and halakha and what to do and how to do it, but our whole tzfisa, our whole perception, the lens from which we're viewing life. What do we view as valuable? What do I view as me? What do I view as the journey I'm supposed to be going on in life? And so we see ourselves in the context of a chain going all the way back to the times of Moshe Rabbeinu himself.