VISION VIGILANCE:
PARSHAT BO
Shira Smiles shiur
5780/2020
Adapted by Channie
Koplowitz Stein
What
an awesome night it was, the night Bnei Yisroel left Mitzrayim. They were so
rushed that they couldn’t even wait for the dough to rise so they would have
proper bread to eat. The Torah validates the awesomeness of this night
preceding the actual exodus. The Torah says: “Leil shimurim/It
was a night of anticipation, of watching for Hashem to take them out of the
land of Egypt, this was the night for Hashem, shimurim/protection/watching/anticipation
for all the Children of Israel for all their generations.”
Why
does the Torah repeat shimurim two times? What exactly does shimurim
mean? In fact, Rashi interprets the word differently in each case, giving rise
to Artscrolls’ differing translations (above). And, if haste was so important,
why wait and anticipate instead of immediately taking us out of Egypt?
The
Ramban notes that each shimur is presented in a different context. In
the first half of our verse, Hashem is guarding or anticipating. In the latter
part of the verse, it is Bnei Yisroel who must guard and anticipate this night
for all generations. Rav Yerucham Levovitz in Daas Torah reconciles this
dilemma by explaining that this night of Pesach is the night Hashem protects us
from destructive forces around us. But we earn that protection through the
mitzvoth that we do, and this night specifically, through the mitzvoth of the
night. How do we keep that protection in place in our generation? Sefer
Haminhagim lists some of the customs in place. Many people do not lock
their doors on this night, or at least don’t use all the locks and bolts.
Additionally, people go to bed limiting their recitation of Shema to
only the first paragraphs. We rest confident that the energy of that first
Pesach night protects us as long as we continue observing the mitzvoth of the
Seder night.
As
part of the Seder liturgy, we thank Hashem for shomer/keeping
(observing)/guarding/ anticipating His promise, the one He made to Avraham
Avinu in the Covenant Between the Halves. There Hashem told Avraham about the
future enslavement and that He would take us out of Egypt with great wealth. We
thank Hashem not only for keeping the promise, which would be worded as Hashem
kiyaim, but also for guarding and anticipating the time to fulfill the
promise. When Hashem is anticipating the fulfillment of the promise, we take
comfort in knowing that even if the redemption from our current exile has not
yet come, Hashem is thinking about us, writes Rabbi Ezrachi. In fact, Hashem is
guarding the promise to ensure that circumstances don’t arise that would
prevent the fulfillment of the promise, as might happen when human beings make
promises but circumstances change. Hashem arranges the circumstances to fit the
result He wants. The promise itself is a kindness, for Hashem will work on ways
to make fulfilling the promise possible.
Rabbi
Yerucham Levovitz z”l extracts a lesson for us. We make promises often from a
sense of obligation. If circumstances prevent our fulfilling that promise, we
may greet it with a sense of relief. Not so Hashem. His promise is not an
obligation, but a desire to do chesed/kindness to us out of His love for us. He
is waiting and watching for the moment He can fulfill that promise. We should try
to emulate Hashem in this manner. We should eagerly anticipate the moment when
we can fulfill the promise we may make to another. [When we anticipate our
wedding, for example, we eagerly count down to the day when the promise of the
engagement will be fulfilled. CKS] If we approach every one of our
responsibilities not as an obligation, but as a means of emulating Hashem in
doing chesed, the task, whether childcare, earning a living as a doctor,
or cooking, becomes so much more meaningful. As the Seforno explains, Hashem
does not want to afflict us, although it is sometimes necessary. Therefore,
Hashem calculates the “end” to the exact moment of salvation, eagerly
anticipating the time of chesed. As Rav Levovitz z”l explains, even when
Hashem is involved in our affliction, He is already waiting to do chesed. Even
during the time of our affliction, Hashem is longing for the moment we will
change and merit His chesed again. Rabbi Wolbe z”l adds, Hashem was
counting the days until He could redeem us. In fact, as soon as the moment of
redemption arrived Hashem could not wait even for the dough to rise, so strong
was His desire to do this chesed, writes Rabbi Levovitz z”l.
This
is a night destined for miracles and is the root of miracles throughout our
history, from Avraham Avinu defeating the four kings who had captured Lot, to
Yaakov receiving his father’s blessing, to Esther appealing to Achashuerosh to
save her people from Haman ,writes Rabbi Mandelbaum. Hashem waits for this
night as an auspicious night to redeem us. But the night is also a time for us
to seek to fulfill our obligations in the promise. We must also wait and
anticipate and have faith in the salvation. A person must believe that Hashem
will take care of him, just as a farmer believes that his seeds will grow even
when he does not see them sprouting for a long time.
It
is in this context of growing life that Rabbi Tatz in Living Inspired
discusses truth and faith. Truth, visual, empirical, is a natural
characteristic of man, while unseen and unprovable faith is the general domain
of woman. Without faith, how could she go through pregnancy believing that the
seed she carries would mature within her and the baby would be born. Throughout
our history, it is the merit of women of faith that has sustained us and
brought about our salvation. It was a young girl who convinced her father to
remarry her mother, thus initiating the birth of Moshe who took us out of
Egypt. It was Esther who risked her life in approaching Achashuerosh to save
her people. And faith must become the truth that animates our lives and will
bring our final redemption.
Our
faith, however, is based on the truth of experience. Just as Hashem redeemed us
once, so will He redeem us again, and again with great wealth. While we have
faith that Moshiach can come any day, there is a fifty-fifty chance that he
will come in Nissan, in the anniversary month of our first redemption, writes
Rabbi Pruzansky in his Haggadah. Therefore, in this month we should be on high
alert in our anticipation.
Malbim,
notes that there are two possible paths to our future redemption, the
miraculous and the natural. Rabbi Yehoshua, advocating a miraculous future
redemption, believes this redemption will occur in Nissan as did our earlier
miraculous redemption. If we are worthy, this will indeed be the case. However,
if we are not worthy, Hashem may bring the redemption in Tishrei with hidden
miracles that appear natural, like the natural laws Hashem set in place in
Tishrei. This is the opinion of Rabbi Yehoshua. Hashem wants to redeem us on
“this night”, but it depends on our awaiting it and working towards being
worthy. Hashem will always help us, but we must make ourselves open vessels to
receive the blessing of redemption, adds Rabbi Wolbe z”l. Our job is to create the
atmosphere of anticipation of the leil shimurim all year with a
heightened awareness during the month of Nissan, adds Rabbi Gifter z”l After
all, one of the questions we will be asked when our souls return to heaven is
not, “Did you believe in the redemption,” but, “Did you anticipate /hope for
the redemption?”
On
this point, the Netivot Shalom, citing the Rambam, has some very strong
words. Anyone who doesn’t believe and doesn’t await and anticipate the coming
of Moshiach is a non believer. If you believe that Hashem created the world,
you must believe that Hashem did not envision His world as one in this chaotic
and depressing state. You must hope and await a world in the perfected state
Hashem wanted it to be. The world as it is now may seem lovely. We have
wonderful food and a generally comfortable environments. But it is like the
catering hall with everything prepared, except that the bride is missing,
writes Rabbi Frand, quoting Rav Schwab z”l Our world is now still without
Moshiach, and we don’t even realize what we are missing.
Our
strong belief in Moshiach will bring him. We can actualize the belief by
planning for his arrival, writes Rabbi Silberg in Sichot Hitchazkut.
Just as you prepare for other anticipated situations, so you should prepare for
Moshiach’s arrival at any moment. Rebbetzin Smiles suggests giving your
children cell phones and planning a family meeting spot so you can greet his
arrival or be ready to board a plane to Israel. [With Hashem’s help I’m sure
Nefesh B’Nefesh can handle the crush.] Planning for Moshiach’s arrival should
not be strange to us. We have emergency plans for when we anticipate giving
birth, for example. We have a go-to bag and babysitting arrangements in place.
Do you have a go-to bag to leave with Moshiach at a moment’s notice?
The
longing for the redemption on this night trains us to long for redemption the
rest of the year, both personal and national redemption, writes Rabbi Sternbach
in Taam Vodaat. Just as our belief and faith brought the redemption in
Egypt, so will our faith and personal desire bring the redemption in this
generation. It is this point that brings the Baal HaRokeach to suggest that we
leave our doors unlocked on the night of Pesach so we don’t waste time
unlocking them when Eliyahu comes to herald the arrival of Moshiach. As we
anticipate his arrival, we anticipate our personal salvation from our own mitzrayim/tight
spaces and constraining situations as well.
What
we must also remember is that the redemption from Egypt was not just a redemption
from physical slavery, but also the enslavement of our minds and spirit to the
impurities of Egypt, writes Rav Moshe Igvi in Chochmat Hamatzpun.
Similarly, we need to try to separate ourselves at least a little from the
physicality and materialism that surrounds us. The first mitzvah Hashem gave us
after leaving Mitzrayim was the mitzvah of sanctifying the new moon. With this
mitzvah Hashem was teaching us the value of time and our ability to sanctify
it. We must learn the spiritual value of our time. Time to focus on the
mitzvoth as we do them, on our brachot as we recite them. Our time was
not our own in Egypt. This is a value we can work on, a redemption of our time.
This
night of Pesach is a night of intense closeness to Hakodosh Boruch Hu, reminds
us Rabbi Biederman. All the gates of mercy are open, and we can pray for all
our needs, personal and national. And it is also a night to redeem ourselves.
In this generation, we must prepare ourselves to receive. We must believe, and
we will make it happen IY”H.