The Promise of Geulah
The Beis HaLevi explains the geulah from
Mitzrayim according to the opinion in Chazal that
Hashem cut short the afflictions of our captivity and
redeemed us before the complete end of golus
Mitzrayim. Hashem had originally promised Avrohom Ovinu
(Bereishis 15:13 and 14), "That your offspring will be
sojourners in a land that is not theirs and they will be
enslaved and oppressed for four hundred years. And also, I
will judge the nation that will enslave them, and afterwards
they shall come out with great wealth."
However, because of the awful plunge of Klal Yisroel
into the tumah of Mitzrayim, the prescribed
time of four hundred years was cut short.
As the Beis HaLevi puts it, "The Egyptians, through their
enslavement of Klal Yisroel, caused them to sin
against their will — until they also sank into the sins
and defilement of Egypt. If they had spent any more time in
Egypt they would have been so completely engulfed by
tumah that no trace of the kedushoh that they
inherited from their forefathers Avrohom, Yitzchok and Yaakov
would have remained in their hearts . . . Consequently, there
would be no possibility of fulfilling the promise made to
Avrohom Ovinu. `That your offspring will be sojourners . .
.and afterwards they shall come out with great wealth.' For
the primary intention of the promise was to redeem the
offspring of Avrohom Ovinu . . . Therefore the geulah
was speeded up while their hearts still retained a trace of
the kedushoh that they had inherited from their
forefathers . . . "
The Beis HaLevi, based on the Mechilta in Parshas
Bo, explains that the effectiveness of the geulah
depended on Klal Yisroel. Our redemption from Egypt
could have been the sole ultimate geulah, for
HaKodosh Boruch Hu said, "If they will do
teshuvoh, I will redeem them for [all] generations. If
not, I will redeem them for [a fixed amount of] years."
Had we done teshuvoh and cleansed ourselves from the
tumah of golus Mitzrayim, Hashem would have
redeemed us with a lasting and perfect geulah. Failing
to repent caused severe consequences. "Since they did not do
teshuvoh and the end of the four hundred year was not
completed, this required that they be in another golus
to complete the remaining time."
Temporarily we were free from the Egyptian bondage, but a
continuation of golus still awaited us at the hands
of Babylon, Media, Greece and Edom.
Therefore, in reference to Leil HaSeder, the Beis
HaLevi concludes, "We should fortify our hearts with
bitochon for our redemption. One should not lose hope
because of the length and hardship of this final golus
— since the main promise has yet to be fulfilled. All
the promises [of Hashem to Avrohom Ovinu] were in reference
to the coming of Moshiach and have not yet been
completely fulfilled."
Thus, the night of Pesach is a yearly wellspring of hope: a
renewal of faith in the ongoing process of redemption even
amidst the turmoil of our present golus.
A Night of Hope
The Chofetz Chaim zt"l (Chofetz Chaim on the Torah,
Parshas Behar) encourages us never to give up hope from
expecting the geulah to come in our generation. We may
despair, chas vesholom, by thinking that if Hashem did
not bring the redemption in previous, more righteous
generations, then who are we to expect that because of our
efforts Hashem will bring the geulah for us?
We should never give up hope. In fact, the geulah
could more easily come for us because, according to the
Chofetz Chaim, the situation of Klal Yisroel in
golus is similar to that of a Jew who was sold into
slavery to a non- Jew. The Torah commands us to make special
efforts to redeem such a Jew. Therefore, the Torah prescribes
that he can buy his release from slavery before the
conclusion of his servitude. The pesukim in
Vayikra (25:48-52) call for a calculation to be made
deducting from the sale price the number of years worked and
only having to pay for remaining years of slavery. This will
be the redemption price. In this way, the slave can have hope
of gaining his freedom.
The Chofetz Chaim explains that since "golus is a
result of our transgressions . . . and each golus has
its extent determined from its start, that is, how much
Klal Yisroel shall suffer, in order that through their
afflictions their sins will be forgiven. The first
golus . . . four hundred years, the golus of
Bovel of seventy years . . . Likewise, then definitely
in this last golus there is a fixed time to reckon the
suffering because of the sins that were transgressed."
Therefore, in order to bring the geulah at the
beginning of golus, a great amount of merit must
offset the great amount of unpaid time originally allocated.
Likewise, if the geulah were to come after half of the
time had gone by, Klal Yisroel would have to bring at
least half of the merits that would "pay" for half of the
time of golus that was still decreed.
Our golus, just like the servitude of the slave, has
an end. Therefore, it is possible for us, especially us, to
gather enough merits to "pay" our way out of golus.
Hence, the Chofetz Chaim concludes, "One should not wonder
how is it possible that the end [of golus] could
happen in our days — something the many generations
that came before us were not privileged to — even
though they were much more righteous. Not so! For earlier,
they needed to bring so many more merits in order to remove
their debt of the remaining years of the golus and
this certainly was not so much in their power to pay back.
However, Klal Yisroel has suffered many great
hardships over the great amount of time that it has been
scattered to the four corners of the earth. Through this, we
have definitely been cleansed of many of our transgressions
and so, we are able to hope for the geulah —
that it should come in the near future."
The Purpose of Golus
In the Haggodoh Leil Shimurim, the baal Oruch
HaShulchan asks the following question: When Hashem
promised Avrohom Ovinu that his offspring would be strangers
in a land not theirs and also be oppressed for four hundred
years, "Why did HaKodosh Boruch Hu distress our elder
forefather with news like this; that his offspring would have
many afflictions?"
The answer given is, "What was said was not distressing. It
was good news. Since Avrohom Ovinu knew that people have many
flaws, and so he was wondering how his offspring could reach
perfection . . ." Therefore, Hashem revealed to Avrohom Ovinu
that through golus and its hardships Klal
Yisroel would be worthy of receiving the Torah and coming
to Eretz Yisroel.
Clearly, the purpose of golus is to correct our flaws
and cleanse us of our imperfections. The suffering we
experience in golus has a double benefit: first, as a
cleansing for our sins, and second, as a means of bringing
the geulah closer.
There is however a condition: that we accept everything with
joy. For, as Rabbi Yehoshua Ben Levi teaches us, "Anyone who
accepts happily the suffering that Hashem brings upon him
brings salvation to the world" (Taanis 8a).
How can we learn to be happy over suffering, and how can this
bring salvation to the world?
The Midrash Tanchuma (Parshas Yisro 16) provides an
answer when it says, "A person must be happy with suffering
more than with that which is good. For even if a person will
have goodness all his days, the sins that he has will not be
erased." Thus, golus and its suffering, as difficult
as they are to accept cheerfully, have a positive purpose.
On this point, the Chossid Yaavetz zt"l, who lived
through the tortuous ordeals and upheavals of the Spanish
Inquisition and Expulsion, makes a remarkable statement in
his commentary on Ovos.
In the fifth perek, Chossid Yaavetz writes about the
positive purpose of the afflictions that Klal Yisroel
suffers in golus. "HaKodosh Boruch Hu wishes to
show our [Klal Yisroel's] great merits to all [the
nations] in order to be privileged and [thus] acquire life in
Olom Habbo." However, there is one condition, as the
Chossid Yaavetz surprisingly continues, "On the condition
that golus is accepted with a cheerful
countenance."
The Power of the Haggodoh
The Haggodoh guides us through the many mitzvos of the
Seder. It directs our retelling of Hashem's miraculous
intervention in history and nature for the sake of Klal
Yisroel in order to keep His promise to Avrohom Ovinu.
More than a historical account, the Haggodoh of
Leil HaSeder is an essential part of the ongoing
process of redemption that brings our ultimate geulah
speedily closer.
We mention the numerous maalos tovos that Hashem did
for us at the time of our geulah from
Mitzrayim. The miraculous Ten Plagues, the Splitting of
the Sea and how Hashem sustained us for forty years in the
Wilderness. Hashem also gave us Shabbos, brought us to Har
Sinai, and gave us His Torah HaKedoshoh and much more.
Each time we say dayeinu — enough! — we
proclaim that each one of these many maalos tovos
would have been sufficient single-handedly for Klal
Yisroel to be indebted to Hashem Yisborach
forever.
The list we sing continues until we thank Hashem for giving
us Eretz Yisroel and finally we thank Him for the
Beis Habechiroh — the Beis Hamikdosh.
Then, almost in the same breath, we repeat the list and start
all over again, until we finish with mentioning Hashem's
ultimate chesed, the building of the Beis
Habechiroh! However, there is an additional comment
referring to the reason why Hashem gave us the Beis
Habechiroh: in order to atone for all our
transgressions.
This is a moment to think about what we have lost and, even
more importantly, what we will have again. The Vilna Gaon
said about the loss of the Beis Hamikdosh: "Even
though HaKodosh Boruch Hu accepts teshuvoh, the
transgression is not erased . . . for the power of
korbonos was such that no trace of sin would remain at
all" (Shir HaShirim 1:16).
Leil HaSeder is peerless in its power to hasten the
geulah. There is hope even for the wicked son who,
with his jaded question, "Moh ho'avodoh hazos lochem?"
remains aloof and separate. In spite of his indifference, is
he truly rebellious and therefore lost forever?
The sefer Be'er Moshe (Shemos 12:26) explains that in
spite of our harsh reply: "Had he been there [in Egypt] he
would not have been redeemed" — that was only then. In
our time, concerning the geulah we pray and hope for,
he too can be redeemed! In Egypt, he would have sunk into the
tumah beyond hope.
However after our first redemption, Klal Yisroel has
since accepted the Torah, and the kedushoh of Torah is
so powerful that even the ben horosho can be
zoche to geulah.
The Haggodoh's many references to Chazal bring
Torah Shebe'al Peh into almost every Jewish home. Jews
who would never know where to find a Mishna, gemora or
a Midrash, and never think to open their covers, never
think to understand and explore Chazal are, on Leil
HaSeder, immersed in the words of Chazal.
HaRav Elchonon Wasserman zt"l, at the very end of his
essay Ikvesso DeMoshicho, cites the posuk in
Yeshayohu (59:20), "A redeemer shall come to
Tzion and to those of Yaakov who repent from
rebellious sin." This means that Hashem expects us to do a
minimal amount of teshuvoh in order to be zoche
to our final redemption.
Rav Elchonon continues, "If only they will repent of their
defiance against Hashem and not be rebellious, then they will
be privileged to be redeemed . . . [Therefore even] a very
lowly generation, as long as they will not be rebellious,
will be privileged to see the solace of Tzion and
Yerushalayim."
On Leil HaSeder, very few are truly rebellious. This
is the power of the Haggodoh — the power of
Torah Shebe'al Peh.
No other night has so many of Klal Yisroel doing so
many mitzvos, learning so much Torah and singing so many
praises to Hashem Yisborach; praises to our Creator
for keeping His promise to Avrohom Ovinu. A promise, which
the Beis HaLevi taught us "has yet to be fulfilled." On no
other night do we have a right to expect that our long-
awaited geulah can come for us and, as the Chofetz
Chaim taught us, because of us.
