Pesach One Kid

By Rav Moshe Weinberger

Adapted for publication by Binyomin

Wolf

swimming in Pharaoh’s wine cup, it set a remarkable chain of events into motion. If the fly had not landed in Pharaoh’s cup, the butler would not have been imprisoned. If the butler had not been imprisoned, Yosef never would have interpreted his dream. If Yosef never interpreted the butler’s dream, he never would have told Pharaoh about Yosef’s ability to interpret dreams. If he never told Pharaoh about Yosef’s ability to interpret dreams, Yosef would never have been released from prison to interpret Pharaoh’s dream. If Yosef never interpreted Pharaoh’s dream, he never would have become viceroy. If Yosef never became viceroy, Egypt never would have been saved from the famine. If Egypt was not saved from the famine, Yosef’s brothers never would have heard that there was food in Egypt, and they never would have gone down to Egypt and eventually moved there. They never would have been enslaved and would not have required redemption. The Jewish people’s exile and redemption were root- ed in the decisions of that one fly!

When a Jew drinks the four cups at the Seder in remembrance of the four expressions of redemption, he may think that the entire redemption began when Moshe came to Pharaoh asking him to let the Jews go and Hashem’s providence in smiting Egypt with the Ten Plagues. Rashi, however, teaches us something much deeper. The foundation of our emunah is our statement, “I believe with perfect faith that the Creator, may His name be blessed, creates and rules all creatures and He alone did, does, and will do every act that is done.” As Hashem says repeatedly (see, e.g., Shmos 6:7), the purpose of the redemption was “And you shall know that I am Hashem your G-d.” The purpose of the Seder is therefore to internalize the knowledge that Hashem is G-d over every detail of creation and every event from the beginning of time until today, including the actions of even the smallest insect.

This knowledge is the meaning of “Echad Mi Yodea, Who Knows One.” We see how Hashem orchestrated every detail of our exile and redemption and with this knowledge we recognize that “I know One. G-d is One in Heaven and Earth.” This knowledge of Hashem’s mastery over every detail of Creation is the polar opposite of concept that “knowledge” was in exile in Egypt. That is why the song “Who knows One” is the conclusion of the Seder. The knowledge of Hashem’s oneness is the focal point of the Seder experience. After each number in the song, it always comes back to “G-d is one is in Heaven and Earth.” In history and in life, we move way beyond the number thirteen. It’s so easy to forget the way back to One. We say in the Haggadah that Lavan tried to uproot everything by switching Rochel and Leah. If Yaakov would have married Rochel, then Yosef would have been the firstborn and thereby, would have been entitled to a double portion of the inheritance and the brothers would not have had any reason to be jealous of him and they never would have set the events into motion which ultimately caused their descent into Egypt. But in the end, Lavan’s plan led not only to our exile, but also our redemption because Hashem engineers every detail of creation according to His plan.

Rav Areye Leib Tzintz, of Plotzk, zt”l, in his commentary on the Haggadah, Birkas Hashir, writes that the “Chad Gadya, One Kid,” is Yosef Hatzadik. The word g’di has the numerical value of 17, which was Yosef’s age when he was sold down into Egypt. In addition, Yosef’s brothers slaughtered a goat and dipped Yosef’s coat into its blood. He also explains that the line “that father bought for two zuzim,” applies to Yosef as well. Yaakov bought Yosef a Kesones Pasim, a many-colored coat, which the Gemara (Shabbos 10b) says cost two sela’im, the equivalent of two zuzim. He goes on to explain how the cat that ate the goat, the dog that bit the cat, etc. correspond to all of the various trials that Yosef endured until he was freed and became viceroy over Egypt. When we sing “Chad Gadya, One Kid,” we demonstrate our belief that Hashem orchestrated every detail of the events that ultimately led to our exile and redemption from Egypt.

In the Seder, we say, “Blessed are You Hashem, G-d of the world, who redeemed us and redeemed our forefathers from Egypt and brought us to this night to eat matzah and marror...” In that one blessing, thousands of years separate Hashem’s redemption of our forefathers and our own personal Seder nights. Yet with these words, we demonstrate our faith that throughout those thousands of years, Hashem has engineered every detail of every element of our exile and redemption. Hashem watches over every step and decrees the flight path of every fly. Through the Seder, we affirm our faith in Hashem’s providence over every detail of creation.

The message of the Seder is that we must know with certainty that everything that happens is part of Hashem’s plan. That is true not only for Yosef Hatzad- dik and our great-great-grandparents in Egypt. This is true even today. Only Hashem rules the world and nothing can change that.

One of the closest chassidim of the Sar Shalom of Belz, zy”a, was Reb Shmuel Kaminka. The Sar Shalom always greeted Reb Shmuel very warmly. One year on erev Pesach, Reb Shmuel came but the Sar Shalom looked despondent and barely he took a walk during the second Seder to hear how simple Jews made Seder. At one home, he heard a lesson told over by a simple Jew to his wife at their Seder on the words from the Haggadah: “And it is this that has stood for our forefathers and for us, for not only one has stood up against us to destroy us, but in every generation, they rise up against us to destroy us and the Holy One Blessed by He saves instead of a chof, which would mean “to pray for us” (see Shmos 33:11). He therefore explained that in each generation, the tzaddikim rise up to pray for us. For example, he said, the Sar Shalom of Belz davens for the Jewish people that they should be saved from all of their troubles. But, he explained, the Haggadah continues, “Hashem should save us from their hands,” from the tzaddikim. We pray that we should no longer need the prayers of the tzaddikim but that Hashem Himself should save us without the need for their intervention. That is what it means that we ask that we be saved from the hands of the tzaddikim. acknowledged Reb Shmuel’s arrival. Reb Shmuel learned from the other chassidim that the Sar Shalom was brokenhearted by the endless stream of Jews coming to him before yom tov with all of their problems, pain, and sorrow. The more who came to ask the Sar Shalom to daven for them, the sadder he became at the trouble faced by the Jewish people.

In order to cheer the Rebbe up, Reb Shmuel came over to him and told him the following story. He said that one year, us from them.” He told his wife that the meaning of the prayer is that the tzaddikim of each generation daven for the Jewish community but that Hashem should save us so that we no longer require their prayers. His wife asked him how he sees that in the Haggadah.

He explained to his wife that the Haggadah says, “In every generation, they rise up to pray for us.” Instead of translating l’chaloseinu as “to destroy us,” he read it as if it were spelled with a ches,

Hearing this story, the Sar Shalom smiled, thus enabling Reb Shmuel to cheer his Rebbe up a little bit. May all of us merit to internalize the deep message of Hashem’s providence in “Echad Mi Yodea, Who Knows One,” and “Chad Gadya, One Kid,” with the ultimate revelation of Hashem’s oneness and providence with the coming of Moshiach soon in our days.

Rav Moshe Weinberger, shlita, is the founding Morah d’Asrah of Congregation Aish Kodesh in Woodmere, NY, and serves as leader of the new mechina Emek HaMelech.