In this week’s Parsha, we read about the first seven מכות that פרעה and מצרים were afflicted with.
Right before this process was to begin, Hashem’s speaks to משה רבינו and repeats His promise to release כלל ישראל from servitude. As the פסוק says:
לכן אמור לבני ישראל…והוצאתי אתכם מתחת סבלות מצרים והצלתי אתכם מעבודתם וגאלתי אתכם בזרוע נטויה.
At the סדר on פסח each year, we commemorate the חירות we were granted at יציאת מצרים, through the מצוות of the night. At the begining of the סדר we declare
הא לחמא עניא די אכלו אבהתנא בארעא דמצרים
To commemorate the slavery and rejoice in our freedom.
And yet, we continue and say
השתא עבדי לשנה הבאה בני חורין
The obvious question then is, if we are still עבדים, why are we celebrating יציאת מצרים, after all השתא עבדי, we are still enslaved?
The answer to this question lays in the continuation of the פסוקים at the begining of the פרשה:
ולקחתי אתכם לי לעם והייתי לכם לאלוקים
In addition to redeeming us from the עבדות מצרים, Hashem promises us that He will take us to Him as a nation. This promise came to fruition seven weeks after יציאת מצרים, when we received the תורה on הר סיני.
Once the promise of ולקחתי אתכם לי לעם was fullfilled, כלל ישראל is forever free, as we have הקב”ה and the תורה with us at all times. And that bond is eternal and forever, no matter what dire physical situation כלל ישראל may be at throughout the long גלות. Hashem will always be there at our side and if we connect with Him through the תורה, we will always remain בני חורין, even when enslaved in a physical גלות. And it’s that חירות that we celebrate each year at the סדר.
We’ll conclude with a story highlighting the greatness one can reach when attaching himself to the תורה:
In November of 1991, the Rosh Yeshiva, Harav Shmuel Kamenitzky שליט”א received a phone call from a former תלמיד who at the time was learning in Kollel in Mexico City. The תלמיד explained that a man from the community in Mexico City had learned about a medical conference set to take place the following May in Philadelphia, home city of Harav Kaminetzky. The focus of the conference would be on treating a medical condition that the child of this individual suffered from. Knowing that his friend the Yungerman had learned in Philadelphia, he asked him to call the Rosh Yeshiva to inquire if the conference is credible and it’s worth it for him to attend, to learn about treatment options for his child.
The Rosh Yeshiva replied that, indeed, he knows about the conference, and he recommends that the fellow attend it. 7 months later, in May, the Yungerman receives a call from the Rosh Yeshiva.
“Did your friend travel to Philadelphia for the conference? ” He responded in the affirmative, that the man and his wife had indeed traveled to the conference. “Do you know where he’s staying while here?” To that he answered in the negative.
The remaining part of the story was told to the Yungerman by his friend upon his return home to Mexico City.
” We received a phone call in our hotel from the Rosh Yeshiva. He had tracked us down by calling every single hotel in town until locating us. The Rosh Yeshiva invited us to his home for Shabbos. We accepted the invite and spent an unforgettable Shabbos at the Kaminetzky home. On Motzay Shabbos as we were walking to our rental car to drive back to the hospital, I turned to the Rosh Yeshiva and asked:
” Aren’t you going to ask me for a donation to the Yeshiva?”
A look of surprise spread on Rav Shmuel’s face, and he responded ” why would I do that?” I knew that fellow Yidden were strangers to town and needed a place to stay, that is why I invited you. Nothing at all to do with any donations.”
Concludes the guest, ” I said I still want to give a donation. The Rosh Yeshiva replied,
” Right now, you may feel obligated to give after being hosted by us. Instead, travel back home, and in a few weeks, if you still would like to donate, you can do so. But for now, there is no reason to give us anything.”
Such is the greatness of those who are truly connected to Hashem and the תורה,and that is why, no matter the circumstances, we will always remain true בני חורין.
In the
Weekly Parsha Shiur 