HaChana for Pesach and Life

Transcription

1 HaChana for Pesach and Life R. Yaakov Bieler Yom Rishon shel Pesach, 5775 If I were to ask you what the key concept associated with Pesach in general and the Seder in particular, I am sure that all sorts of answers might be forthcoming. For some, special foods gastronomic Judaism, i.e., Matzot spread with butter and jelly, gefrischte Matzot, Matza balls, Charoset, Coca Cola with real cane sugar, etc. are key. For others, it s all about family. Pesach is Thanksgiving in the spring (or is Thanksgiving, Pesach in the fall?), marked by great meals partaken by many family members and friends. And then there are those for whom Pesach summons up past memories and recollections of past Yomim Tovim and the people who made those occasions so memorable. I think that I would emphasize the idea of HaChana (preparation) as the driving concept that informs so many aspects of Pesach. While for life in general and Judaism in particular, in order to do things right and well, preparation and practice are of the essence, I think that within Judaism, Pesach is where preparation is particularly key, in order to have a Kosher and meaningful Chag. Even before one engages in the strenuous activities that Pesach demands, one begins his Pesach preparations by acquainting himself with the rules governing the festival. Pesachim 6a- b As it was taught: Questions are asked and lectures are given on the laws of Passover for thirty days before Passover... What is the reason? Because lo! Moshe was standing on the First Passover and giving instructions about the Second Passover, as it is said, (BaMidbar 9:2) Moreover, let the children of Israel keep the Passover in its appointed season (the first Pesach); and it is written, (Ibid. 6) And there were certain men, who were unclean by the dead body of a man 1 (therefore needing to consume the Pesach sacrifice on the second Pesach). The practice of beginning to review the laws of Pesach is the first Halacha of Pesach codified in the Shulchan Aruch: Shulchan Aruch, Orech Chayim 429:1 One investigates the laws of Pesach thirty days prior to Pesach.. 1 One of the prerequisites for participating in the eating of the Pesach sacrifice was to be ritually pure BaMidbar 9: BaMidbar And the Lord 9:9-13 Spoke unto Moshe, saying: 10 Speak unto the children of Israel, saying: If any man of you 9 And the Lord Spoke unto Moshe, saying: 10 Speak unto the children of Israel, saying: If any man of you or of your generations shall be unclean by reason of a dead body, or be in a journey afar off, yet he shall keep the Passover unto the LORD; 11 In the second month on the fourteenth day at dusk they shall keep it; they shall eat it with unleavened bread and bitter herbs; 12 They shall leave none of it unto the morning, nor break a bone thereof; according to all the statute of the Passover they shall keep it. 13 But the man that is clean, and is not on a journey, and forbeareth to keep the Passover, that soul shall be cut off from his people; because he brought not the Offering of the Lord in its appointed season, that man shall bear his sin. 1

2 and there is discussion among the decisors whether this practice is unique to Pesach, or might it serve as a paradigm for preparing for all Jewish festivals: Mishna Berura #1 And there are those who say that the obligation of thirty days only pertains to Pesach because there are so many Halachot associated with it, e.g., the grinding of the flour, the baking of the Matzot, the Kashering of the vessels and utensils, the destruction of the Chametz, 2 for if these tasks are not performed according to their requirements prior to Pesach, there is no way to correct them during Pesach, which is not true regarding (the Halachic requirements) of other Yomim Tovim (e.g., a Sukka that collapses at the beginning of Sukkot could be reconstructed during Cholo Shel Moed; Shavuot does not have specific activities that require significant preparation, etc.). Consequently, for other Yomim Tovim, it would be sufficient to review their laws only a few days before the Chag While many of the Pesach issues that Mishna Berura mentions are no longer immediately relevant to the average observant Jew we not only don t grind our own grain, most purchase already- manufactured Matza; and rather than Kashering our year- round cutlery and Kiddush cups, we possess whole alternative sets of plates, knives and forks, etc. Furthermore, there is even less Pesach- related things to prepare and do for those who spend Pesach elsewhere than in their own homes. Yet everyone is required to remove Chametz from his home, car, office, drawers, shul cubbies, even coat pockets. And when one does makes Pesach at home, we know only too well that it will require literally weeks of preparation, not only of the Halachot, but also pure and simple extreme effort and hard work that must be undertaken in order to get ready. However much takeout one may be inclined to buy, and however many communal invitations that one might receive, there are pots and pans as well as dishes and utensils to switch over, menus to be created, specifically Kosher- LePesach ingredients to obtain, numerous courses of meals to prepare, massive tables to set, thinking ahead of time about what to say at the Seder, to plan and prepare: How are we going to keep all of the kids interested? How are we going to keep all of the adults interested? How are we going to keep ourselves interested? What can we do this year to make our Seder fresh and compelling? Just as in so many areas of our lives, the quantity and quality of our preparations will go far in determining how meaningful, satisfying and downright lively our Pesach holiday will prove to be. One can even break down the Seder itself to note how one part of it serves as Hachana (preparation) for what follows. One of the topics that R. Yosef Tzvi Rimon discusses, in the Halacha section, Kinor David, of his two- volume work on the Pesach Seder (p. 84), 3, is the practice of Yachatz, the breaking of the middle Matza, between Karpas and Maggid in the order of the Seder. 4 One approach that R. Rimon cites, views these four Seder elements, Rechatz, Kapas, Yachatz, and Maggid, as a single continuum and even unit, with the first three serving as preparations for the fourth, Maggid, the telling of the story of the Egyptian Exodus: 2 In the Shulchan Aruch, 42 (!) Simanim (#429-71) are devoted to the preparations for Pesach. 3 Mossad HaRav Kook, Yerushalayim, Kadesh U Rechatz, Karpas, Yachatz, Maggid 2

3 1) Rechatz to prepare for eating the Karpas, a vegetable that has become subject to ritual impurity due to its being dipped in liquid, 2) Karpas a preparation intended to pique the curiosity of the children so that they will ask questions and listen to answers, 3) Yachatz preparing to tell the story (Maggid) over broken Matzot, Lechem Oni 5 (bread of affliction) a name about which the Talmud engages in word play, interpreting Oni as a derivation not from the term for poverty and suffering, but rather LaAnot (to declare, proclaim), hence, Lechem SheOnim Alav Devarim Harbeh (bread over which we declare many things with respect to our leaving Egypt). But R. Rimon, in his commentary to the Haggada, Shirat Miriam (p. 111), 6 reminds us that there is also a psychological symbolic element in Yachatz itself that is a manifestation of a different sort of preparation and mindset: Yachatz is reminiscent of breaking and difficulty. It reminds us that we must believe that even breaking and destruction are part and parcel of the process of redemption. At times it is necessary to break in order to go forward, in order to build higher and taller. It is necessary to remember that already, at the time of hardship to look forward to redemption, to fully expect much better times, even if presently they may be concealed from us. Already at the moment of Yachatz, we secrete a portion that will serve as the Afikoman. Already at the time of breaking, when we are demonstrating how this is the bread of our affliction, we must understand that there is here a stage of the ongoing process of redemption, in preparation for the consumption of the Afikoman, of eating the bread of freedom. R. Rimon s interpretation of Yachatz parallels one of the central themes in the Haggada, discussed during Maggid, and perhaps for which Yachatz is a most appropriate preparation: Mishna Pesachim 10:4 One begins with degradation and finishes with praise RaMBaM, Commentary on the Mishna Matchil Be Genut that we recount how we all were, prior to the advent of Avraham, non- believers and worshippers of idols, and HaShem Chose us to be His Inheritance, and all of the things that happened to us while in Egypt, and afterwards, HaShem Redeemed us Tiferet Yisrael, #29-30 Matchil Be Genut the degradation of Israel, i.e., Avadim Hayinu (we were slaves ); MiTechila Ovdai Avoda Zora Hayu Avotainu (initially our ancestors were idolaters ) 5 Devarim 16:3 Thou shalt eat no leavened bread with it; seven days shalt thou eat unleavened bread therewith, even the Lechem Oni ; for in haste didst thou come forth out of the land of Egypt; that thou mayest remember the day when thou camest forth out of the land of Egypt all the days of thy life. 6 Mossad HaRav Kook, Yerushalayim,

4 U Mesayein BeShevach the praise of Israel, i.e., VeAchshav Korveinu HaMakom LeAvodato (and now HaShem has Brought us close so that we can perform His Service ) and in the end the Blessing of praise, Asher Ga alnu (Who Redeemed us ) I think that the symbolism of Yachatz that R. Rimon discusses in his Haggada, combined with the theme of talking about our very negative beginnings eventually leading to much better things for the Jewish people as well as each of us individually, can be viewed in one of two ways: On the one hand, a people and a person s life can be conceptualized linearly, i.e., a continuum of time and experience. We can ask ourselves whether we sense that everything is moving either towards greater organization and consistency, or towards entropy and increased disarray. But even if everything will get worse before becoming better, is it too much to hope that everything will in the end, sooner or later, be actually better? Furthermore, even if my own circumstance appears to be deteriorating, by not looking at my individual experience in isolation, but rather as part of the collective experience of the Jewish people in general, or my community or my family as a whole, perhaps I can then understand that truly moving ultimately forward in a positive direction is possible and even likely. Ideally our personal experiences should be understood to mirror in microcosm the history of Am Yisrael, particularly as recounted at the Pesach Seder in its varied Midrashim, rituals, prayers and even songs. But there is another perspective by which to view collective and personal history, i.e., cyclically. Rather than considering how everything constantly is moving from worse to better, whether or not we understand how that process is working, perhaps it is alternately true, and more easily believed, to explain how there are constant ups and downs in all that occurs. Although Kohelet, the most existential of biblical books, returns to the theme of circles and cycles repeatedly, 7 perhaps the idea is most starkly stated at the beginning of Chapter 3: Kohelet 3:2-8 2 A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted; 3 A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; 4 A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance; 5 A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; 6 A time to seek, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away; 7 A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak; 8 A time to love, and a time to hate; a time for war, and a time for peace. 7 E.g., Kohelet 1:4 One generation passeth away, and another generation cometh; and the earth abideth for ever. Ibid. 9 That which hath been is that which shall be, and that which hath been done is that which shall be done; and there is nothing new under the sun. Ibid. 5:14 As he came forth of his mother's womb, naked shall he go back as he came, and shall take nothing for his labor, which he may carry away in his hand. Ibid. 8:8 There is no man that hath power over the wind to retain the wind; neither hath he power over the day of death; and there is no discharge in war; neither shall wickedness deliver him that is given to it. 4

5 In addition to the symmetry that is suggested by these couplets, it is interesting to note that the order of each pair is not consistent. There are twosomes that go from the positive to the negative, e.g., A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted; and some that are presented as the opposite, i.e., from the negative to the positive: A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up. There is even one instance, v. 8, the final verse in this sequence, within which the two halves of the verse go in opposite directions: A time to love, and a time to hate; (positive to negative) a time for war, and a time for peace. (negative to positive). The imagery suggests a circle, beginning with something good, descending into aggression and hatred, only to ultimately recover to a better place. These thoughts generated by thinking about the role of Yachatz and the overall structure of Maggid, suggest that in so many things that we experience, there will be good times and bad times. The continuum of life has us constantly moving between the two poles, and the extent to which we can keep them in balance, or at least in perspective, seeing the big picture rather than obsessing over the smaller, more limited one, will reflect not only our respective grasps on reality, but also how happy and fulfilled each of us can be. Chag Sameach. 5