מצות סיפור יציאת מצרים כדי להרגיש כאילו הוא יצא ממצרים
The הגדה states that “even
if we were all wise,” we’d still have to discuss the story of יצאית מצרים. One might look at this line with bewilderment
and question, what would have ever made me think that wise people do not have
to discuss the story of the exodus? Are they not Jews with the Biblical
obligation of סיפור יציאת מצרים?
Perhaps one might have thought that wise people only have the daily
obligation of זכירת יציאת מצרים, but since the תורה says והגדת לבנך
and והיה כי ישאלך בנך,
perhaps the obligation on פסח night is just to teach people who do not
know the story of the Exodus. For this
reason the author of the הגדה says
אפילו כולנו
חכמים, כולנו נבונים
to teach us that even those who know every detail of the story must spend the
night engrossed in the details of the story.
A proof to this comes from the הגדה itself, when רבי אליעזר
and the other Rabbis were up all night, they were alone, as it says עד שבאו תלמידים,
until the students came in, implying they had not been there previously.
It is still possible to ask why are
wise people obligated if they already know the story in full detail?
The answer to this question, which is found
in the גמרא, can really
teach us the whole point of the סדר.
The גמרא
in פסחים דף קטז:
says, “בכל דור חייב אדם לראות את עצמו כאלו הוא יצא ממצרים,” “In every generation, everyone must see
himself as if he had gone out of Egypt.”
This means that the main mitzvah of פסח is for man to understand the concept of
reward and punishment. As the רמב''ן says in the end of פרשת בא, “כי מתברר שיש לעולם מנהיג ומשגיח, ויענש למצרים על
זדון לבם, והטיב לעמו ישראל בעבור ששבו אליו, ושמרו משמרתו, וזעקו אליו, והיה דבר
שהיה לפני כמה שנים, שתעשה עליו רושם ההתפעלות הזאת שראוי להתפעל מזה."
So חז''ל gave us a way to
feel this by painting a picture, our own picture of what it would be like if I
were to be a slave. Then how would it
feel to be freed, what would I be thinking about? I would ponder the greatness
of the One who freed me. This is the way
to fulfill the מצוה.
Not by actually feeling as If I left, which is only possible for the great
Rabbis of the generation. But for me,
the average Jew, my obligation is to bring the miracles of יציאת מצרים
as close to me as possible through painting my own individualized
painting. This point is echoed in the
writings of the רמב''ם where he uncharacteristically deviates
from the exact language of the גמרא and writes “בכל דור ודור חייב אדם להראות את עצמו
וכו'.” The
גמרא had said לראות, to see.
The רמב''ם
is saying להראות,
which means to do actions which will make us think and feel that we have gone
from slavery to freedom. These actions
are the מצוות הלילה
- מצה, מרור, סיפור י''מ,
and even reclining is done to help develop this feeling inside of us. To feel
as if right now it is happening to us and by feeling this it should be מחזק us in our קבלת עבודת ה’.
The הגדה furthers this point by saying:
וכל המרבה לספר ביציאת מצרים הרי זה משובח"” that “the more one tells about the
exodus, the more he is praiseworthy.” Most
מפרשים explain the word
משובח to mean he is
praised, but רב ירוחם
the משגיח מישבת מיר
explains it in a completely different manner.
משובח comes from the לשון משביח,
that anyone who is מרבה ביציאת מצרים he himself is actually uplifted. This is because he has a clear picture in his
mind and he reviews the details of the Exodus and this brings him to a הרגשת הלב that he has
become a new and improved person.
Finally, once we have achieved this
new level, we recognize what we must do next. “לפיכך אנחנו חייבים להודות ולהלל,” this helps us
really feel the words of thanks to ה'. It
is no longer just an abstract statement of seeing yourself come out of Egypt.
It is now a growth experience of feeling the presence of ה' by doing the actions that help us paint a
picture as if we actually are leaving Egypt at this very moment. May we all be זוכה to grow to such
a level so that we can show ה'
that we not only feel as if we left Egypt, but are also prepared to leave this גלות and return to
our home in ירושלים.
