Prepared for Publication on Matzav.com by Malkeal Yusupov
The alter Telsher Rav, Rav Yosef Leib Bloch zt”l, was the Rav of Telshe, one of the gedolim of Lithuanian Jewry, and the Rosh Yeshivah of Telshe Yeshivah. His son, Rav Eliyahu Meir Bloch, related that Rav Yosef Leib was once asked as follows. We want to impress our children, our young people, with Yetzias Mitzrayim and the emunah that is contained within it. Wouldn’t it have been a wonderful thing to put on a Passover show of the evening of the Seder? We could make a play and see for ourselves the suffering and plagues brought upon the Mitzriyim. What could have been better to teach us what we went through and what we have gained?
The alter Rav explained, “No, it’s a mistake. We cannot animate emunah.” When you see with your eye and listen with your ear, you remain with the impression of the human senses. It doesn’t go beyond that. At the Seder, we are engaged in listening to what the mesader haSeder is telling us. You give thought to these things and then you begin to live in another world.
You see it in your mind’s eye. You see the shibbud Mitzrayim. Chayav adam liros es atzmo ke’ilu hu atzmo yatz’ah miMitzrayim. Will you feel that from watching an animated show? The Torah tells us that we understand Yetzias Mitzrayim through depth of thought. We learn it through interpretation, from a father versed in Torah who passes it on to his family and children.
Not only were our ancestors brought forth from Egyptian bondage, but we were together with them. That takes the height of Torah living to begin to have an inkling of this emotion: “I went forth from Egyptian bondage.” No show, with the best of actors, can convey the depth of this lesson. Only Torah as interpreted for us by Chazal can invigorate us and give that exhilaration to actually feel that “I’m carrying that dough which could not become chometz in Mitzrayim.” I feel that I’m going through it only in such a manner. No animation will give you that.
When the Seder becomes an advertisement for Maxwell House coffee, an animation can also be a Seder. We are very, very far removed from what Hashem Yisborach would like for us to feel – not only on Pesach, but every day of life. Every minute of every twenty-four hours, we are far removed from the joy that the Torah places in every moment of life. What greater joy can there be for man when he feels, “I’m part of the Creator of the world. I’m part of Him. Not merely was I created by Him, but I remain a part of Him”? This is what we should begin to feel, at least on the Seder night. We dare not remain complacent. We must see to it that we are not removed from it.
How much of Torah is studied by us ourselves? How much of Torah is imparted by us to our children? What degree is our interest in imparting Torah to them? How much are we willing to sacrifice for Torah? We have funds for vacations and myriad secular activities. When it comes to educating, bringing up our children in Torah study and learning, there it becomes a problem. There are no funds. Why? You want the vacation? You will have a life that does not need vacation. Every moment of Torah life is the greatest of joy and exhilaration. Vacations are necessary, because you feel let down. If life is lived in an expression of Torah, then that, in itself, is the greatest vacation. The body must have rest once in a while, but that rest is, in itself, Torah.
We all must eat and drink. However, if it is for this reason, that, too, is Torah. There is nothing in life which is not an act of Torah living and observance. These are things that should bother us. We are not bothered, or so it seems. We are bothered by other problems. Some are bothered by the stock market, lost money in business, or bankruptcy. Very, very few people are bothered by the thought: “Is our life truly an expression of what Torah demands and wishes from us?” This is something that should be bothering all of us.
When one sits at the Seder table and is engaged, some will describe it as, “They say the Haggadah.” The Haggadah is not something to be “said.” The Haggadah is to be studied. Study together at home this great fact of emunah. Anochi Hashem Elokecha asher hotzeisicha mei’eretz Mitzrayim. That is what a Seder represents to one who is aware of what being a Jew really is. When we live by the Torah and study and teach Torah, it elevates the Jew, making him a totally different being. We are not just physical beings. We are spiritual in essence. That is the difference between Jews and others.
Anyone who does not feel this has the opportunity of so becoming if he is overwhelmed by the desire. Until the moment he decides to feel this, there are two different worlds and concepts. It is as though he is blind. But the question is not if he has eyes. The question is: What is the perspective through those eyes?
We live by a Torah perspective, colored with the life of a physical perspective. The Seder and the observance of the Yom Tov of Pesach will leave us with something of this recognizable truth. Chometz is not merely a concept in bread. Chazal said long ago, “Retzoneinu, Ribbono Shel Olam, we lift our eyes unto You and we say that it is our wish and deep desire la’asos retzonecha, to observe and perform Your desire.” So why don’t we do it?
The sour dough remains and stops us. We live through Pesach, when we are to keep away from chometz. We should begin thinking that it is not merely a difference in the nutrition and whether it is going to be sour bread or not. We are talking about sour soul. Let’s stop being sourpusses. Let’s stop that, my friends. Let us be rein. Geshmak, zeeseh Yidden, with that sweetness that only Torah has. Let us proceed into that world and empower ourselves to move into that concept and to live it.
Believe me; each and every one of us will be so enveloped with happiness that we will want to break out in dance. We haven’t yet reached that stage. We don’t feel that happiness of Torah living. Let us each remember these things. Let us lift up our souls, for that is the purpose of Pesach. To the extent that we do so, our entire life throughout the year will be blessed. Tatteh in Himmel, have rachmanus and send us Moshiach.
{Matzav.com}
Thank you for publishing this wonderful maamar.