the other half

 

For children, many aspects of seder night are memorable.  They get to stay up way past their bed time and drink an endless amount of sugary grape juice. But, what sticks out the most is the mad dash for the afikomen at the end. Aside from the thrill of a chase, the winner reaps the reward of a prize. For the adults also, the afikomen (which used to be the sweet korban pesach as opposed to another piece of matzah) is supposed to have a lasting effect as it is the last thing we put in our mouths on Seder night. 

            What is the idea behind breaking a piece of matzah, hiding it, and then finding it again? Why not keep the matzah intact in the first place and avoid the problem of finding it? The idea behind this is central to understanding what the night is all about. 

            What propels the hagaddah forward is the question.  We have four central questions at the beginning and four sons who are characterized by their question s or lack thereof.  The word for question in Hebrew is שאל, she’al. Literally, the root of the word means ‘that there is not.’ In other words, a question is a revelation that there is something I lack and I seek to fill it. That is the first challenge of the night- realize that we are not complete and need to seek something better. 

            There are two fundamental ways in which a human being lacks.  People seek a life of pleasure both physical and spiritual, and people want a life that leaves a lasting impact. When the wise son asks about the different types of mitzvahs, the Torah answers[1]that the reason why we have all of these mitzvahs is for a good life physically and spiritually and for a moral, meaningful life. 

            The hagaddah answers differently to the wise son’s question. He says, teach him about the afikomen. Why? Because it represents finding completeness through a good and meaningful life. And that is the taste we need to keep in our mouth at the end of the night- the taste of growth from incompletion to completion. That is why we were freed from Egypt. We were freed in order to grow and to realize that is the ultimate freedom and the ultimate pleasure.

---

[1] Devarim 6:20-26

Worse than a carcass

 

There is a certain irony that Jews are called people of the book.  Although we spend hours immersed in them, and it is the only object that is venerated on any level outside of G-d; yet, what we strive for is not in the book.  There is a level of knowledge that no book can teach, a sensitivity that is beyond words.  And if we don’t have that sensitivity, then even if we know the entire book cover to cover the Rabbis say, ‘we are worse than a carcass’. [1]

                From where do the Rabbis know this? It says that G-d called out to Moses lovingly to invite him in to the newly minted tabernacle.   The language of calling always implies endearment and Rashi tells us that before every teaching that Moses received from G-d, there was an initial call to Moses to come in.[2]  The message is clear- the preamble to the Torah is the relationship.  All the teachings are there to strengthen the initial bond.  

                But the Rabbis notice something else. Why was Moses standing outside the Mishkan in the first place? For seven days he had the tent erected and taken down. [3] On the seventh day, however, the tabernacle was left standing. Once it was left standing, Moses no longer entered the tent until G-d called him.  Why not? There was no prohibition to enter, no mitzvah to wait for an invitation. In other words, nothing in the book told him that he had to stay out.  Rather, he had sensitivity that now that this tent housed G-d presence, it would be unrefined to show up uninvited.  And it wasn’t a logical calculation either, but an intuition of the soul.

                Many people can read books and retain knowledge. But one who  does so without letting that knowledge increases the sensitivity in his soul is worse than a carcass.  Why?  Because it looks like he is alive and full of wisdom, but inside there is no real awareness, no real internalization that is developed.  But why is it ‘worse’ than a carcass and not equal to one?  Because a carcass can at least be elevated for some other purpose, while this person has already shown that he cannot be elevated. With all the wisdom in the world he has not changed.   As we enter Seder night, we have to realize that G-d didn’t take us out of Egypt. Rather, it always says in the Torah, G-d ‘lifted us’ out of Egypt. The whole goal is be lifted up, see higher levels of sensitivity. Without that in mind, all the Torah in the world can’t help you.

---

[1] Vayikra Rabbah 1:1

[2] Why does the first verse need to tell us that he called out to Moses and then spoke to him- just tell us he spoke to him?

[3] See Rav Wolbe Pirkei Kinyan Daas Chapter 2