Vision Vigilance
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.