Rebbi Akiva Enters the Orchard to Write Haggadah Shel Pesach - An Approach Based on the Rashbatz

One of the most mysterious Gemaras in Shas, one of the most intriguing Gemaras, Maseches Chagigah Yud Daled Amud Beis, Tanu Rabbanan, Arba'ah Nichnasu LePardes, four of the all-time great Tana'im entered the Pardes. Rashi says that means they said a Shem and they were Alu LeRakia, they rose up to the heavens. Tosfos says through a Shem it was as if they uh rose up to the heavens. They were entering mystical realms to try to delve into the most sublime, rarefied areas of Torah. Who were these four sages? Ben Elohim, Ben Azai uBen Zoma, Acher, and Rabbi Akiva. Rabbi Akiva warned them, you're going to get to an area it's going to be closed in. It's going to look like light blue marble, don't say water water, God will not tolerate that. The Gemara tells us of the fate of these four Tana'im. Ben Azai hitsitz u'meis, Ben Azai gazed and he died. A love Hashem Yakar Be'einei Hashem Hamaves LaChasidav. Ben Zoma gazed u'nifg Rashi says he became mentally affected. A love Hashem Davash Motzei Acher DiYacha Pentes Bo VeHechesai. Acher was Kitzetz Ben Etiyas. Acher went off. He cut down the saplings. Rabbi Akiva Yatza BeShalom. A few questions. Why did they want to enter the Pardes? What was their motivation? What was their objective? But more importantly, this story is actually very relevant to Pesach and to the Haggadah because one of the great Rishonim, the Rashbatz, amazingly in his commentary to the Haggadah brings that the Dalet Banim is a reference to the Arba'ah Nichnasu LePardes. Ben Zoma, Ben Azai, Acher, and Rabbi Akiva. Ben Azai hitsitz u'meis, Ben Zoma hitsitz u'nifg, Acher Kitzetz Ben Etiyas, Rabbi Akiva Yatza BeShalom. Says the Rashba Ra the Rashbatz, Rabbi Akiva was the Chacham. The Chacham is connected Rabbi Akiva who's Yatza BeShalom. The Rasha is Elisha Ben Avuya Acher. The Tam was Ben Azai Shemeis BeSimsumai. And the Eino Yodea Lishol was Ben Zoma Shehitsitz u'nifg. What a astounding, incredible interpretation that the Dalet Banim refer to the Dalet SheNichnasu LePardes. The question though is what an amazing interpretation, but why mention it the night of the Seder? What does this have to do with Leil Pesach? There's a Gemara in Maseches Chagigah Daf Kuf Tes. The Gemara in Maseches Chagigah says that Rabbi Akiva would give Klayos u'Nagozim to children on Erev Pesach so that they would stay up and that they would ask the questions. The Gemara continues that Rabbi Akiva never would stop a learning session. He was never MeMa'ameid Beis HaMedrash except for on Erev Pesach. He would stop the learning so that the children should go to sleep so that they should be able to stay up for the Seder and ask the questions. It's so interesting that of all people Rabbi Akiva was the one most dedicated to ensure the recitation of the Haggadah. But in light of what we've been saying from Rav Chaim Palagi that Rabbi that Rabbi Akiva was the author of Haggadah Shel Pesach. So, who would be more interested, who would be more involved in ensuring and assuring the proper recitation of the Haggadah more than Rabbi Akiva, the author of the Haggadah? The reason Rabbi Akiva authored the Haggadah we suggested is because since Yetzi'as Mitzrayim was done with the Sha'ar Nun, with the 50th gate of wisdom, and only Rabbi Akiva had access to the Sha'ar Nun, therefore Rabbi Akiva was the most appropriate and worthy author of the Haggadah. After all, if the Haggadah is the handbook of Yetzi'as Mitzrayim, then no one more than Rabbi Akiva would have a a better appreciation and understanding of the process and the mechanism of Yetzi'as Mitzrayim than Rabbi Akiva, the one who is the only Tana, only individual in history, even Moshe Rabbeinu did not access the Sha'ar Nun. So, this would explain why Rabbi Akiva is the author of the Haggadah and why he was the one who would make sure the children would sleep on Erev Pesach to be able to stay up for the Seder. We also mentioned from Moshe Wolfson the 50 Sha'arim through which Hashem took us out of Mitzrayim are the 50 mentions of Yetzi'as Mitzrayim in the Chumash, and the 50th one being VaYotzei'einu Hashem MiMitzrayim, which is the the main pasuk that we darshan in the Haggadah from Parshas Ki Savo. So, friends, fast uh fasten your seatbelt. Is it possible that there was a specific time that Rabbi Akiva was Zocheh to the Sha'ar Nun? Be Dechilu u'Rechimu, is it possible to suggest that the reason Rabbi Akiva was Nichnas LePardes was to be able to access the Sha'ar Nun? In that case, in the Haggadah Shel Pesach Shvilei Pinchas, he explains the words of the Chida that the reason why the Haggadah mentions that the Tana'im gathered in Bnei Brak is they were involved in very lofty matters. The Chida says that the Tana'im in who gathered in Bnei Brak were involved in Talumois Chachma u'Tikunim Gedolim. Perhaps the Shvilei Pinchas suggests that they gathered in Bnei Brak to learn from Rabbi Akiva or get a little bit of a flavor for the Sha'ar Nun. After all, the Sha'ar Nun is the Koach with which Ribono Shel Olam took us out of Mitzrayim. So, who better than Rabbi Akiva would have an understanding of the Sha'ar Nun? In other words, a very important question that could be asked is why of all the Sedarim in history is the most celebrated, iconic Seder the one that took place in Bnei Brak by Rabbi Akiva? And the answer is because no other Seder in history gave more insight into the mechanism of Yetzi'as Mitzrayim than Rabbi Akiva's Seder because he had access to the Sha'ar Nun. Is it possible that he accessed the Sha'ar Nun when he when he was Nichnas LePardes? Could it be that the reason he was Nichnas LePardes was to access the Sha'ar Nun and Rabbi Akiva was successful and that's how he was able to record the Haggadah and edit the Haggadah and that's why the Chachamim gathered to his Seder? Because who more than Rabbi Akiva could explain the mechanism of Yetzi'as Mitzrayim? So, there's no wonder this is the most celebrated Seder in the history of the Jewish people. And that's why the Haggadah talks about the Dalet Banim because the Dalet SheNichnasu LePardes is not just an intriguing Aggadah to Gemara in Chagigah, it's the it's the backbone of the Haggadah. Do you know how we have a Haggadah? You know how we have a Haggadah Shel Pesach? We only have Haggadah Shel Pesach because Dalet Nichnasu LePardes. It's only because the Dalet Banim were Nichnasu LePardes. Yeah, overall it wasn't necessarily the greatest success story, but it was because Rabbi Akiva was Zocheh to the Sha'ar Nun. That's how we have the Haggadah. By the way, Rav Chaim Palagi says the the Haggadah is written in 50 chapters. There're 50 chapters in the Haggadah ending with Go'al Yisrael is the 50th beginning with Kol Dichvin, Kol 50. And therefore Kol HaMesaper BiYetzi'as Mitzrayim Harei Zeh Meshubach. By the way, the Pele Yoetz in his commentary on the Haggadah says they were Mesaprin, Mesaper Nun, they were counting the 50 times Yetzi'as Mitzrayim is mentioned in the Chumash. But according to this approach, we understand why it's so important to discuss the Dalet SheNichnasu LePardes because that's the backbone of the Haggadah. That's where Rabbi Akiva got the Sha'ar Nun from. Fasten your seatbelts. They entered the Pardes. Could we suggest it is well known from the Sefer Toras Chaim, Maseches Chullin Daf Tzadi Alef, that simply it says the Jewish people were in Mitzrayim 430 years, yet we know that from the birth of Miriam they were only in intense labor for 86 years. They only did 1/5 of the time. VaChamushim Alu Bnei Yisrael MiEretz Mitzrayim. That means there are another years that they still need to be in Mitzrayim. They left 344 years early. is four sets of 86. Toras Chaim says that's why we drink four Kosos. Kos is 86. Each Kos gets us out of one of the 86s we should be in Mitzrayim. But we really need to do another 400 344 years. Who took us out after three four 344 years early? Moshe. Moshe's Gematria 345. The Chida says the Remez is BeZeh Lecha Ha'Ois. The Chida in his Haggadah Simchas HaRegel, BeZeh Lecha Ha'Ois, Moshe Rabbeinu went up the 344, he's 345 now. Really, we should need to make up 344 years. And in fact, Chida teaches that whenever the nations of the world persecute us and make decrees against us, it's called Shnas shmad. Shmad 344. Because the shmad the gzeiros ki hi shama ti shama don is a way for us to be mashlim the missing 344 years. We're missing 344. Says the chida in the safer dvar machadim that really the way we get out of the 344 the four sets of 86 is by learning Torah. Eimlicha ben chorin ela misha osek betalmud Torah. Torah gets us out. Moshe Moshe 345. You know what Moshe gave us? He gave us pardes. Pshat, remez, drush, sod. Pardes is gematria 344. By learning pardes we're able to negate the 344 years we left early. Pshat, remez, drush, and sod. Pshat is not enough. You know, even though technically speaking the main fulfillment of sippur yetzias mitzrayim is by saying the narrative the the pshat. Yet the Beis Yisrael writes, it's called seder. Seder stands for sod, drush, and remez because that part is also critical cuz in order to get out of mitzrayim we left 344 years early. The only way we could fulfill that the only way we could be mashlim that is by learning pardes. Pardes is gematria 344. Says the chida that's why in the seder we say baruch hamakom baruch hu. Baruch shanasen Torah leYisrael. Baruch we say baruch four times. The rishonim write since we're about to darshan the Torah we have to make a birchas haTorah. We say baruch shanasen but we say baruch four times keneged pshat, remez, drush, and sod. The pardes gets us out of mitzrayim. Perhaps these four chachamim were nichnasu lepardes. They wanted to get the sha'ar nun. The sha'ar nun was the koach with which we left mitzrayim. But they had another kavana as well. The kavana as we know the ultimate level of the sha'ar nun brings the tikkun ha'acharon. Mashiach will be megaleh the sha'ar nun completely. So they wanted to bring the final rectification the final tikkun. But the final tikkun can't come until we exempt ourselves from the missing 344 years we're supposed to be in mitzrayim. So they went and they delved into the pardes cuz once the pardes is mastered then we never have to deal with the 344 missing years that we still have to be in mitzrayim. By being nichnas lepardes they wanted to bring the tikkun ha'acharon. They were trying to bring the final geulah. They were trying to bring mashiach. They were trying to negate the 344 missing years of mitzrayim. Perhaps that's why Ben Zoma who's one of the dalet shenichnasu lepardes we mention his opinion in the haggadah. What was his opinion? His opinion is we won't say and talk about yetzias mitzrayim when mashiach comes. Because Ben Zoma knows when mashiach comes the events of the geulah ha'asida will make yetzias mitzrayim pale in comparison. So Ben Zoma has the darshan koel not to bring not lehavdil mimas ha'mashiach but balaylos because he wants to ensure that the final redemption will be so grand we'll forget about yetzias mitzrayim. The dalet shenichnasu lepardes their objective was to try to work to negate the missing 344 years and bring the tikkun ha'acharon. So therefore they were nichnasu lepardes. Pardes is gematria 344. Amazingly the gemara says in chagiga tes vav amud beis at the end of the sugya that when Rabbi Akiva came out of the pardes beshalaim they said about him mashcheini acharecha narutza. Says the marsha really what the gemara is referring to is the end of that pasuk. Hevi'ani hamelech hadarah. The king brought me into his inner chambers. Rabbi Akiva was zoicheh to the sha'ar nun. Rabbi Akiva was zoicheh to the sha'ar nun. Maybe that's why we read shir hashirim at the end of the seder. You see yetzias mitzrayim was through the koach of the sha'ar nun. So now that we were toyem a little bit of the sha'ar nun we could learn shir hashirim. Perhaps Rabbi Akiva was the one who said lo hayah ha'olam kedai keyom shenitna shir hashirim shekol hashirim kodesh veshir hashirim kodesh kodashim. Shir hashirim is the sha'ar nun. Shir hashirim is a Therefore Rabbi Akiva when he was yatza beshalaim what did what did Hashem say about Rabbi Akiva? Mashcheini acharecha narutza hevi'ani hamelech hadarah. He was zoicheh to the highest plane of understanding Torah which is shir hashirim. Kol hashirim kodesh. Shir hashirim kodesh kodashim. Usually we say kodesh is the 49 levels and the kodesh kodashim is the 50th. The 50th level maybe that's the juxtaposition. The gemara Bava Basra says that the safer in kesuvim that comes before shir hashirim is koheles. Koheles ends sof davar hakol nishma elokim yera vesusav shmor kiza kol ha'adam kol 50. And through being the kol ha'adam the sha'ar nun Rabbi Akiva was zoicheh to teach kol hashirim kodesh shir hashirim kodesh kodashim and it segues into the next safer shir hashirim asher lishlomo. So this gives us amazing insight into why Rabbi Akiva was the one who of all the tanam ensured the children stayed up to say the haggadah. He's the author of the haggadah. How was he zoicheh to write the haggadah? Because he was the only one zoicheh to the sha'ar nun. How was he zoicheh to the sha'ar nun? Keneged dalet banim debrit Torah because nichnasu lepardes and all of these mystical and mysterious pieces fit together to give us tremendous insight into the beauty and the depth of Torah shebiksav vesheal peh in the haggadah shel Pesach. Wishing everyone chag kasher vesameach.