“RABBI’S MUSINGS (&
AMUSINGS)”
Erev Shvi’i Shel Pesach
– Erev Shabbos Kodesh/Acharon Shel Pesach
20 Nissan 5778/April 5,
2018
In my youth, before I owned any seforim I loved siddurim and
machzorim, and was always excited by new ones. This was especially true as
Artscroll published its machzorim. [Today, we can hardly remember what the
world was like before Artscroll, but it was only a few decades ago when
Artscroll was an incredible novelty.]
The Artscroll Pesach machzor was published just prior to Pesach
1990, when I was in fifth grade. As my birthday is two days before Pesach, when
my Aunt Miriam asked me what I wanted for my birthday that year, I immediately
replied that I wanted the newly published machzor.
It was Chol Hamoed before we had the chance to go to Tuvias
(then the only Judaica store in Monsey). By then, the regular machzor was sold
out. The only thing in stock was the leather-bound machzor which was double the
price. Aunt Miriam saw how badly I wanted it, and agreed to buy it for me for
the combination of my birthday, afikomen, and the following Chanukah. I readily
agreed.
I hardly put down the machzor the entire rest of Pesach. I
took it with me on every Chol Hamoed trip, and would’ve taken it out of the car
had my parents not insisted that I leave it there.
It’s now almost thirty years later, but every time I take out
that machzor, I remember the gift from Aunt Mim and Uncle Yaakov. The machzor
doesn’t look anywhere as aesthetically beautiful as it did back then, but it
has a much deeper and more profound beauty for me in what it represents.
There is a well-known thought from Rav Levi Yitzchok of
Berditchev about why we refer to the holiday as Pesach, while the Torah refers
to it as Chag Hamatzos. Rav Levi Yitzchok explains that we refer to it as
Pesach to remind ourselves of the love Hashem felt for us when he passed over
our homes on the night of the exodus. Hashem refers to it as Chag Hamatzos as a
reminder of the love and uncompromised faith we demonstrated when we left Egypt
into the vast desert with our families.
Often after the Sedarim are over we feel that the highlight
of Pesach is over, and now we just have to coast through the remaining days
before we can return to our regular diet. The truth however, is that for
another six days we are celebrating Chag Hamatzos and partaking of matzah,
arousing and reminding ourselves of the eternal love story that was ignited at
the time of the exodus. Every time we hold up a piece of matzah, we are holding
a symbolic reminder of our unbreakable and unshakeable bond with Hashem.
The seventh day of Pesach is itself an incredible
celebration, and according to many commentaries is even greater than the first
day of Pesach. When we crossed the sea and our former oppressors were
obliterated, it was a testament to Hashem’s love for us. Until that point, the
nation may have wondered if the miracles they had witnessed in Egypt was more
to punish the Egyptians. But the unbridled revelation of the sea was au
unquestionable expression of Hashem’s love for His nation.
Megillas Shir Hashirim is read specifically on Pesach,
because it is the deepest expression of the intimate love between Hashem and
Klal Yisroel.
It is truly a week-long matzah celebration.
Last year towards the end of Chol Hamoed we were asking our
(then) three-year-old son Dovid what we wanted for lunch. He finally agreed to
have pizza. When Chani mentioned that she would get matzah to make him pizza,
he started yelling, “No more matzah! I don’t want any more matzah! I want real
pizza!”
Perhaps the taste of the matzah doesn’t excite us much by the
time the holiday is over. But the deep symbolism of what it represents should
excite us throughout the beautiful Yom Tov and beyond. To paraphrase Maxwell
House “Good to the last bite!”
Freilichen
Yom Tov & Chag Kasher V’sameiach
Shabbat
Shalom & Good Shabbos,
R’ Dani and Chani Staum