Pesach - Ha Lachma Anya - This Is The Bread of Chesed

2:08 That's our first question. The second question is: There's something very strange about Halach Ma'aneh. In that it appears to be an invitation. All who are hungry, let them come and eat. All who are needy, let them come and join us for the Passover Seder. But it's a strange type of invitation because Usually, an invitation like this would happen when we're already in shul. And there's people there that don't have a Pesach seder Right? But here, we're already home. The doors are closed. The windows are closed. There's no tradition that we go out into the streets and call out halach ma'anyah. So it's an invitation, but it sounds like it's an invitation. It's like a fake invitation. It's like when you send somebody a wedding invitation. But you don't really want them to come. You just want to get the gift. Here it's like we have an invitation, but are we really inviting anybody? It's strange.

3:02 A third question, which I know might sound like a strange question, but it is a good question, as we'll soon see. Let's say it was an invitation for a second. Let's say we did have this thing of going out into the streets and calling out anybody who needs to come join us. Would we have enough matzah? Would we have enough food to share with them? So it's a really strange type of invitation. Anyone who's hungry, let them come and eat. I know Jewish mothers prepare a tremendous amount of food for the Pesach Seder. There's always leftovers. But really, it's an invitation to anyone. It sounds a little exaggerated. It must be that on some level we believe that we would have enough for everybody. How is that possible? Also, there's a strange question here. It says, "Halach Ma'anyo." This is the bread of affliction that our forefathers ate.

3:52 Is that really true? Is it the same bread? It's not the same bread. In fact, there's an alternative tradition that's cited in the Magen Avram that we shouldn't say halach ma'anya, but we should say ke halach ma'anya. This bread is what our forefathers ate in the land of Egypt. But of course, it's not the same bread. And yet, the tradition that's brought down in the Shulchan Aruch is to say halach ma'anya. This is the bread, as if it's the same bread. It's not the same bread. So why do we say halach ma'anya? Also, there's a strange phrase here. I've been translating it for you specifically. Kol bitzerch yesei v'yifsaḥ. Anybody who's needy Let them come in. What does yifsaḥ mean? Let them join us for the carbon Pesach. Let them join us for Pesach. Let us join us for the Pesach Seder. It's like anyone who's hungry, let them come and eat. That we understand.

4:49 Anyone who's needy, let them come in. What with us? What are they missing? What are we providing for them? It's an ambiguous type of phrase. What does Yiftsach mean? And the last question, which I think is also a very relevant question We begin by saying this is the bread of affliction that our forefathers ate in the land of Egypt. Anyone who's hungry, let them come and eat. Anyone who's needy, let them come and join us for the Pesach Seder. Then we completely transition to a topic that doesn't seem to be relevant at all right now at this point in the seder. Certainly not relevant to what we just said, which is now we are here. Next year may we be in the land of Israel. Now we are slaves. Next year may we be free men. What does that have to do with the invitation that we just gave? How does one lead to the other? It appears that these are two totally distinct statements that we just kind of mushed together.

5:46 How do we end up that way? We need to find out what was the transition between the invitation to others and somehow that leading to an ultimate state of redemption. So those are the six questions. To review them very quickly: Number one, Halachmanya is written in Aramaic. Number two, it seems to be an invitation. The doors are already closed. Number three, would we have enough food if everybody did come? Number four, it's not the same bread. Why do we say halach mania? It appears that that's the same bread. What's the meaning of kol ditzrech yese ve yisach? Anyone who's needy, let them come and what? What does that word yisach mean? And finally, what's the connection between the first half of anyone who's needy, anyone who's hungry, and l'shana haba ba'araynu Israel next year when we have this redemptive experience?

6:38 I want to start off this year by sharing with you a part from the Labavitcher Rebbe, as somebody mentioned just a moment ago. It's the Labavitcher Rebbe's birthday today, so in the world of Chabad, this is a very auspicious time, and it's appropriate to quote from the Rebbe on his birthday. The Rebbe's vision of a birthday was that it's a celebration of the mission for which you were created, and therefore it's an opportunity to take stock of what you're doing with your life. That was the Rebbe's vision of what a birthday was. It was actually a serious occasion, not an occasion for partying. Although there was a celebratory aspect to it, because you're celebrating the fact that you were given a mission, it's also a very serious time. And as I think the Rebbe would have said, no more appropriate celebration of a person's life than sharing over a stichel taira from them. So I want to share a stichel taira with you. You have it in your Maor Makomos, the first pasuk.

7:31 This, in order to understand this, I want to go back all the way back. To Yosef HaTzaddik being thrown into the pit. I know that sounds a little bit irrelevant right now, but let's look at what happened. We all know the story that the brothers were going to kill Yosef HaTzaddik, and Reuven convinced them, 'Don't kill him, throw him into a pit.' Reuven's intention was to come back and rescue Yosef HaTzaddik. Let's look what the pasuk says. The pasuk tells us "Vayoshev Reuven alabar." Reuven returns to the pit. And Yosef is no longer in the pit because where is Yosef gone? He's been sold. Very good. He's been sold as a slave down to Egypt. And so he tore his garments like he was in mourning. But there's something very interesting about this pasuk, something that Rashi picks up on. Reuven returned to the pit.

8:33 The obvious question then is Where was he He was at the pit. Yosef was thrown in the pit. He left to go somewhere, and now the Torah tells us he returned to the pit. Where was he that he returned to the pit? Take a look in Rashi. Rashi tells us a very interesting thing. He was busy with his sackcloth and fasting. He was doing tshuva. Why? Alshel Bilbel Yitzwe Aviv. He was doing tshuva for the avera that he did when he moved his father's bed. What is that story? When did Ruvain move his father's bed? I know you all know this, but let's remind ourselves. When Rachli Menu died, the Gemara in Shabbos explains that the Gemara in Shabbos 55b says that when Rachli Menu died, Yaakov moved his tent. I'm sorry. Moved his bed from Rachel's tent to Bilha's tent. Reuven was very upset by this. He said, "It's one thing that my mother Leah was slighted, and the bed was in Rachel's tent."

9:46 But just because Rachel's maidservant was Bilha, now Yaakov Avinu lives in her tent. That's not fair to my mother. That's not right. He was upset on his mother's behalf. So what did he do? He took his father's bed and moved it from Bilah's tent into Leah's tent. Now it's many, many years later, decades later. Yosef Atadik is thrown into a pit And what does Reuven do? Reuven goes and he says, "It's an appropriate time for me to do tshuva for the avera that I did 20 years earlier when I moved my father's bed." Says the Lubavitcher Rebbe, the most powerful mussar I've ever heard in my entire life. How does galus begin? We know that when galus really starts. Galus started when Yosef Hatzadik went down to Mitzrayim. That's the whole story. Yosef went down to Mitzrayim. Then the brothers came down to Mitzrayim, searching for Yosef Hatzadik because there was a famine in the land, so they had the opportunity to go to Mitzrayim. And then the entire family came down to Mitzrayim, and then eventually were enslaved in Mitzrayim, and then eventually went free.

10:53 But what was the first domino of going down to the land of Egypt? The first domino of going down to the land of Egypt was when Yosef Hazadik was sold by his brothers down to Mitzrayim. Says the Rebbe as follows: This mussar is wild. Gullus Mitzrayim begins when a Jew cares more about his own frumkeit than he does about his brother who's languishing in a pit. That is the single most intense, sharpest mussar I've ever heard in my entire life. Gullus Mitzrayim, which incorporates all other exiles that will ever happen, because we were taken out 190 years early. Those 190 years of Gullus Mitzrayim that we didn't get to play themselves out over the next four exiles that Klal Yisrael experiences. We're in the final moments of the last exile, but all exiles are an expression of the exile of Mitzrayim, and the exile of Mitzrayim begins. Why? How?

11:59 Because a Jew cared more about their own frumkeit than they did about their brother who was languishing in a pit. That is an unbelievable mussar. We have to care about our brothers and sisters that are languishing in the pits. What's the rectification for this? Take a look. Let's go to Moshe Rabenu. Moshe Rabenu is going grew up in the house of Paro. And he reveals himself as Moshe Rabenu in a very specific pasuk. Take a look at the pasuk over here. It's in your Mar Mekomos. I think it's number two. And it came to pass in those days. And Moshe Rabenu grew up. And he goes out to his brothers, meaning Moshe Rabbeinu. Even though he was growing up in the house of Paro, what did he know about himself? He knew that he was a Jew. After all, who nursed him? His mother nursed him. Even after Moshe Rabbeinu was put on the river and rescued by the daughter of Paro, who ended up now working it out. Miriam Hanavia was there. Miriam said, "Oh, it's a Jewish baby. That's why he won't nurse from you. Don't worry, I can get him a Jewish nursemaid."

13:18 Moshe Rabbeinu, even though he grew up in the house of Paro, was well aware that he was a Jew. This is a pivotal moment in the narrative of Moshe Rabbeinu. Up until now, who is he? He's an Egyptian prince. He grows up, and what does he do? Vayetze El Echav. He leaves the house. Imagine in the drama of the story. If this was a film, if this was cinematic, there would be very powerful music. You can imagine as he leaves the house, whoa! He's going out, and he's joining his brothers. And what does he do? He looks at their burdens. And he saw an Egyptian man striking a Jewish man. And of course, what do we know? What does he do? He kills the Egyptian. And ultimately, Paro finds out the very next day that he killed the Egyptian, and Moshe Rabbeinu flees and he goes to Midyan.

14:18 There's a basic question over here that we have to address. Imagine you're Paro for a second. And do you know? You don't have to imagine it. Really, don't worry. That was a very seminary response. I don't want to imagine I'm Paro. Just for a second, put yourself in the head of Paro. And you've decreed that all Jewish male babies should be killed Yeah? And now your daughter comes home And she says, "Look what I found in the river." Now, if you're Paro, where do you assume that baby came from? Jewish. I would assume that it was a Jewish baby. After all, an Egyptian who was very safe would probably not put their baby in a basket and float them down the river. So now what happens? Your daughter comes home and she says, "Guess what, Dad? I found a baby. If you're Paro and you're afraid that this boy is going to grow up and be the redeemer of Chalysrael and unthron you, if it was me" I would have murdered the baby.

15:27 Not Mordechai Bird. If I was Paro I would murder the baby. Again, we are two for two on seminary responses tonight. If it was me, I would have murdered the baby, just like I murdered every other Jewish baby boy. And yet Paro doesn't do that at all. What does Paro do? He says, "come, let him live here." Why does Paro do that? Why would Paro ever agree? Again, if you're such an extremist that you're willing to kill every Jewish male baby boy, why allow this one to live? So there's a theory, and the theory goes like this: If you're going to raise Moshe Rabbeinu A tzaddik A redeemer of Klal Yisrael, a Mashiach. You know what house he grew up in? He grows up in the house of Amram and Yochaveh. He grows up in the house of tzaddikim. You don't raise Moshe Rabbeinu in the house of Paro.

16:26 So you know what Paro was thinking? Perhaps Paro said as follows: if a kid's gonna grow up in the Jewish community I've got to kill him. That kid is a threat. But if he grows up in my house He's not a threat because he's growing up in the house of Hitler, Yirmashel. He's growing up in the house of Russia. He's not going to be somebody who has empathy for Klal Yisrael. And yet, what do we see happened? Exactly the opposite. Moshe Rabbeinu somehow develops this empathy. We'll speak about that in a moment. But it's not only that. Paro's plan is even more insidious than that. Take a look at Rashi. What does it mean, Vayigdal Moshe? What does it mean that Moshe Rabbeinu grew up? So Rashi explains as follows: Does the Torah not already tell us that the child grew up? So what is the Torah adding by saying Moshe grew up? Amar of Yehuda beRevi Loi Harish in the Koma The Hasheni leGedula. Moshe Rabbeinu grew up in two ways: one physically But more importantly, he grew into his own greatness.

17:37 Sheminohu Paro al Besa Because up until that time Paro had appointed him over the head of his house. What exactly does that mean? That Rashi is very cryptic. What does it mean that Moshe Rabbeinu was appointed over the head of Paro? Most people just assume that. What does it mean? He was a prince. But it's not true. Something far more insidious is at play over here. Take a look at the very next Mar Mekel. You should be familiar with this. It's one of the Asaras Adbrus. Anochi Hashem Elokecha, I am the Lord your God. Asherot Eitzicha, my eres Mitzrayim, who took you out of the land of Egypt. Mi base avadim. What does mi base avadim mean? Rashi explains mi base paro, shehiysem avadim lo. To be taken out of base avadim means to be taken out of base paro. What did Rashi just tell us a second ago? What was Moshe Rabbeinu appointed over? Base Paro. You know what Base Paro is code word for?

18:44 Moshe Rabbeinu was in charge of the Jewish slaves. Wild twist to the story. Probably most of us, when we were growing up, didn't know that. The Nazis had Jewish capos. They appointed Jews to rule over the other Jews. Who was the ultimate ruler over the slaves in Egypt? It was Moshe. So this is pretty wild. Moshe Rabbeinu, Paro's plan wasn't just he's going to grow up in my house, surrounded by idols, surrounded by this terrible avirah of destruction of Mitzrayim, dominance, control, power. It's even worse than that. He said he's not going to let the slaves go if he's in charge of the slaves. Imagine being Moshe Rabbeinu. On the one hand, you're a Jew And your parents are Yocheven and Amram, the leaders of Klal Yisrael, and your sister is Miriam Hanavia, your brother is Arna Cohen. And yet you're also Egyptian. That conflict of cultural identity Very powerful, no?

19:54 And not only the conflict But in a certain way, you're held responsible for the slavery of your own people. That is a crazy way to grow up. Now this pasuk takes on new meaning. Moshe Rabbeinu grows up, and what does he do? He has this responsibility. You're in charge of the slaves, and what does he do? Vayetzay el Echov. Moshe Rabbeinu leaves his comfort zone. Doesn't think about himself. What does he think about? Not only does he go out. Vayar b'sevlosam. What is it? Vayar b'sevlosam. Take a look at the next Rashi on your Mar Mikomos. Nasan einav velibo lios meitzer aleim. He looked at their burdens. He directed his eyes and his heart to be distressed over them. You know what that's called, girls? Empathy. It's very hard to look. I know it sounds like a funny thing. It's very hard to look. I've noticed this when I'm walking in the streets of New York City.

20:56 But when I'm walking in the streets of Los Angeles, which is more often. There's homeless on the streets of Los Angeles. There's homeless on the streets of New York City. When we walk by the homeless, what do we do? We don't look, right? In fact, we almost pretend like they're not there because it's deeply uncomfortable to look at. Looking is very hard. If you really look, you know what you're going to see: real pain People that are really suffering. Not only does Moshe Rabbeinu look, what does he do? He says, "Nasam ainav v'leibo." Not only does he look at it He feels it. He feels their burden, he feels their pain. And he sees an Egyptian striking a Jew. Girls, was that the first time that an Egyptian had ever struck a Jew? Of course not. These people were tortured for hundreds of years. It's not like Moshe Rabbeinu was born yesterday. He had seen it before.

21:50 Except what? Now he saw it completely differently. You're hitting my brother. My brother is in pain. And so Moshe Rabbeinu kills the Mitzri. Now it's a very strange thing. Is the penalty for killing an Egyptian the death penalty? Especially if you're the prince? Why was Moshe Rabbeinu concerned that Pharaoh would kill him? Usually, if a person in a position of power kills someone lower than them, it's not good. It's not the death penalty, especially in those days. If a prince kills a soldier, that happened. Why was Moshe Rabenu so sure that Pharaoh was going to kill him, and why did Pharaoh want to kill him? Because Paro just saw the chink in the armor. Remember, what was Paro's whole plan? You don't grow up to be the Mashiach of Klal Yisrael if you're growing up in my house. You don't grow up to be the Mashiach of Klal Yisrael if you're the kapo overseeing all the Jewish slaves.

22:46 But as soon as Moshe Rabenu saw himself as a giver to Klal Yisrael, as a brother of those people that were suffering Paro said, "Now he's a danger. Now he's a threat. Now I have to kill him. I'm not killing him because he deserves the death penalty for killing an Egyptian." I'm killing him because now I see what Moshe Rabbeinu has the capacity to become. The Mashiach of Chal Yisrael. In other words, if we're putting these two ideas together, Gullus Mitzrayim begins when a Jew focuses internally and not on his brother who's in a place. When does Gullus Mitzrayim begin to end? When a Jew stops focusing on himself Stops focusing on what he has, all the riches, all the power that he has growing up in the house of Paro And starts to deeply pay attention to the pain of his brother. So we see that there's an unbelievable symmetry to this story.

23:45 The entire story of every exile that we ever went through is really about what in its core. Are you paying attention to yourself? Or are you paying attention to another? Are you selfish? Or are you a balchesed? That's what every single exile is about. And of course, the ultimate redemption, as we'll soon see, will only come when When we stop being selfish When we stop being self-absorbed When we're able to give our eyes and our hearts over to the people right next to us on the bus. In seminary, walking on the streets Can we pay attention to the suffering that's happening in Klal Yisrael and be balei chesed? That is the story of how we are ultimately redeemed. With this in mind, I want to share with you the most incredible vort on halach ma'anyu. There's a kolbo And the kolbo says as follows: We know what's the order of the seder, kaddish or chats, carpas, yachats. What does yachats mean?

24:55 You all know the song. Yachats means breaking the middle matzah, right? The Kolbo says you have to break that middle matzah so that when we say halach ma'anya We're saying it on a broken piece of matzah. Why? Why is it important for us to say halach ma'anya on a broken piece of matzah? So he explains as follows. We know that we had matzah and not chametz because we left Egypt in a hurry. We all know the story. We were running out of Egypt. They didn't have time to bake their bread. We all know it baked on their backs. That's how they got matzah. So that's why it wasn't chametz. The Torah says something very interesting. The Torah tells us it's lechem oni, it's the bread of the impoverished, because they left in a hurry. Not exactly. The reason why they didn't have chametz is because they left in a hurry. What does it mean that they had this lechem oni, this poor man's bread?

25:59 Because they left in a hurry? The Kolbo says as follows And this is unbelievable. Never knew this. When they were leaving in a hurry Not everybody had food. Not everybody had time to even make matzah. Not everybody had what they needed. Some people did. So imagine some people—they're walking along and they have their beautiful full matzah. They have a shalim. And some people didn't have anything. You know what the Kolbo says they did? They took their beautiful shalimim They broke them. And they gave them out to those that didn't have. That is the real story the Kolbo says of what happened when we left Egypt. So the Kolbo says as follows: This is unbelievable. It was worthwhile to stay in Israel for Pesach just to hear this vart. Halach Ma'anya is a recreation of what happened all the way back in time when we were leaving Mitzrayim. Just like back then, they were given broken pieces of matzah to those who don't have.

27:11 So too we come along in the very beginning of the seder. It's not a real invitation. Remember, everybody already has their Pesach seder. What are we doing? We're reminding ourselves of the Chesed that those Jews did when they were leaving Mitzrayim. Because remember, if we go into Mitzrayim because we're selfish, we go out with Chesed. Now this is even more powerful when you consider what's the best way to do a mitzvah. The best way to do the mitzvah of matzah is with a sholim when you have a full piece. That's why you'll see when you go to your Pesach Seder. Everybody gets their box of matzah. Of course, it was jumbled along the way. Everybody's like, "I hope we have three sholimim in here." So you can imagine these Jews—they were leaving the tribe. It was the very first Seder they were ever going to have. This guy's holding up this beautiful matzah, this mitzvah and amukar. He's got this incredible sholim. He goes, 'Yeah, I could do the mitzvah the best way possible.' But then he won't be able to do the mitzvah at all.

28:09 So I can break my matzah I'll still be yotzei the mitzvah But so will he. So Reuven, remember in the beginning we said Reuven was thinking about his own avodas Hashem and not about his brother who was languishing in a pit. What are these Jews thinking about? Not about their own avodas Hashem. How can I help everybody do their avodas Hashem, even if it means that my mitzvah is on a little bit of a lower level? Sometimes doing a mitzvah on a lower level is actually doing what Hashem wants, because the goal is not just to do the mitzvah; the goal is to fulfill the ratzon Hashem. So now we understand what it means. Called dikhvin, anyone who is hungry, let them come and eat, exactly like they did back then. Called ditzrich, the Kolbo and the Ritva explain, means there were people that they were in such a rush, they were needy because they didn't have matzah. They didn't have dalid kosos.

29:04 They didn't have charoses. They didn't have carpas. So you know what we said to them? I know you guys were in a rush. You were just trying to get out of Dodge. Don't worry. I have daled kosos for you. I have charoses for you. I have carpas for you. Come. You'll join my seder. Our seder begins with the expression that redemption cannot happen alone. Redemption is only something that happens when I'm paying attention to the needs of another. The Shvile Pinchas says an unbelievable var. We know it says Lech Teichacharay BaMidbar Beres Lozarua. Famous line: Zacharti Lach Chesed Neurayach. Hashem says, "I remember the Chesed that you did when you were young." Rashi explains, "What's the great Chesed? The Chesed is that we had Emuna in Hashem that even though we left into the Midbar with no food, we trusted in Hashem that Hashem would provide for us."

30:00 Asks the Shvile Pinchas, then it shouldn't have been zacharti loch chesed neorayich. What should it have been? Zacharti loch emunas neorayich. Hashem should remember the faith that we had in Him. What does it mean zacharti loch chesed neorayich? That Hashem remembers the chesed that we did when we were younger? Says the Shvile Pinchas, what was the chesed? You know what the chesed was? We had such emunah in Hashem. We said Hashem will prepare for us anything we need. Hashem will give us what we need. So in the meantime, I have and you need here. Take from me. What does Hashem remember about us? He remembers the chesed that we did when we were leaving Mitzrayim. And there's an unbelievable Tana devei Eliyahu. The Tana devei Eliyahu says those that left Mitzrayim had only one mitzvah, but that one mitzvah that they had was more pleasurable to Hakadosh Baruch Hu than any of the other mitzvot. What was the one mitzvah? The Tana devei Eliyahu says they made a bris, they made a covenant with each other that they would do chesed for each other.

30:59 Where was the chesed? What chesed? You know what the chesed is? It's the chesed of this kolbo that we've been discussing, the chesed that a Jew looks at another Jew and says, "Do you need something? I got your back." It's a very beautiful minug. Do you girls know about the minug called maoschetan? Yeah. You ever hear about this? Maoschetan means that we give out money to the poor before Pesach to make sure that everybody has what they need. If you take a look in the Rama. The Rama says that the original tradition was not to give out money. They would purchase the chitin, they would purchase the wheat, and then they would divide it up and give that out to the poor people. So there's an obvious question: Why not just give them money? Why do you have to purchase the chitin and then divide up the chitin and give it out? The answer is now it makes sense based on this Kolbo.

31:46 Because it was recreating what we had by the original Yusiets Mitzrayim, where we gave out our matzah. So too, it's not just about giving money. Today we give money, but the original custom was literally to give out matzah to make sure that everybody got what they need. Here's a very cool one. I love this. You girls, can you hold a little bit of chassidus, a little bit something deeper? Up until now, it's been pretty good, but now let's go deep. There's an unbelievable thing here. The Torah says that every yontif is connected to one of the avos. So Pesach is connected to Avram Avinu, as we'll see in a moment. Shavuos is connected to Yitzchak, and Sukkot is connected to Yaakov. But let's talk about Pesach just for a second. Why is Pesach connected to Avram Avinu? Take a look in your Mara Makomos here, Bereshis chapter fifteen, verses thirteen and fourteen.

32:44 I'm sorry. Before that, Bereshis chapter eighteen, verse six. The angels came to visit. Avraham avinu, you girls know the story. Look what the pasuk tells us. Avraham avinu ran to the tent and he said to Sarah "Vayomer Mari Go fast Go fast. By the way, that's going to be important. Go fast. Shalosh sim kemach solis lushi vaasi ugos. Go take three saw of meal and fine flour." Need and make cakes. You know what Rashi says? What were these ugos? Matza. This day that Avram Avinu was visited by those malachim was Pesach. Pretty cool connection, and that's why the Torah says that Avram Avinu is connected to Pesach because Avram Avinu baked matza and gave it to his guests. Why would Avram Avinu make matza? Yitzhia Samsrayim wasn't going to happen for a long time. The answer is Mitzrayim. That story of Yitzchak's Mitzrayim may not happen for hundreds of years, but it was already in the power of that day. Every day contains power, so the fifteenth of Nissan was always going to be the date on which we left. So even before it actually happened, Avram Avinu was tapped into the power of that day, and therefore Avram Avinu, what did he do? He said, "Make it quickly" Because how do you make bread quick? Why do you make bread quickly? Because it's matzah. If it stays in the oven too long, what's going to happen?

34:17 The whole thing has to happen fast. Just like it would by Yosef Mitzrayim. This is not the only connection between Avram Avinu and Pesach. If you take a look at the next Mar Malkum, it says, 'Vayomer laAvram Yado Adeda Kigeri Ezarecha BeErets Lola Hem.' Hashem says in the Bris Bein Abesarim to Avram Avinu, know that your children will be strangers in a strange land, vaAvdon veInu Osem Arba Me'oshana, and they're going to be enslaved and they're going to be oppressed for four hundred years there. The gamas ad goyim eshar yavdu dana nochi, and those goyim that do enslave them dana nochi. I'm going to give retribution. I'm going to give Rashi says the esar makos to them. The acharei chayin yetsu baruchos gadol, and eventually they're going to leave with great wealth. The Perkei the Rebbe Lazar says, guess what night it was when Avram Avinu heard this prophecy from Hashem. It was the night of Pesach.

35:10 So another connection between Avraham Avinu and Pesach. The Mechilta quotes from Rav Lazar ben Azaria, who says that Klal Yisrael was redeemed in the S'chus of Avraham Avinu, which makes sense because Avraham Avinu is the entire story of Pesach. There's an unbelievable Ramban. That's another important point. The Ramban says, "Maysa avos simin lebanim." Whatever happens to the parents eventually happens to the children. Girls, you know Avram Avinu went down to Mitzrayim also. You must know this because this year, after Shav, I always know that you girls have the parsha review. What's it called? Parsha prep. Parsha prep, yeah. So you're probably familiar with the story now that Avram Avinu went down to Mitzrayim. And when Avram Avinu went down to Mitzrayim, why did he go? Because there was a famine in the land. Where else do we hear a story of Jews going down to Mitzrayim because there was a famine in the land? Isn't that why Yaakov sent the Shvatim down to Mitzrayim? And not only that, when Avram Avinu went down to Mitzrayim, Paro took

36:11 He took. Sorry, Meno, very good. And the next time around, Paro says, "Kill all the boys. I'm gonna take all the girls." The Ramban says, for unchaste purposes, not for good things. So again, we see that what happened to Avram Avinu happened to Klal Yisrael later on. And finally, just like when Avram Avinu was there, what did Hashem do to Paro? He punished Paro, and Avram Avinu ends up leaving with great wealth. What happens at the end of the story? Hakadosh Baruch Hu punishes the Mitzrim, and Klal Yisrael leaves with great wealth. So we see another connection between Avram Avinu and Pesach, because literally the same story happens twice in the Torah. First, it happens to Avram Avinu, and then only afterwards, many years later, in the story of the Sea of Mitzrim, do we see the story again. This is the coolest one. There's an unbelievable Yalkut Shimoni.

37:01 The Yalkut Shimoni says, "In what merit did Klal Yisrael end up going into the land of Canaan?" The Yalkut says an unbelievable thing: in the merit of the fact that Avram Avinu and Sarah had Yitzchak when they were 190 years old. What's the connection? The Yalkut explains. Kenaan in gematria is 190. 190 is the gematria of Ketz. What does Ketz mean? Ketz Yihyame means the end of days. So do the math. How many years did we leave Mitzrayim early? We were meant to be there for 400 years. How long did we end up staying? 210. So we left 190 years early, which is the gematria of 190 The ages of Avram and Sarah when they had Yitzchak And ultimately what brings us into the land of Israel into Canaan is the s'kos of Avram and Sarah that they waited 190 years to have children, and the gematria of Canaan is 190. The Arizal says "Ha Lachma Anya" can also be read as "Hey Lachma Anya." Anybody here know of a famous "Hey" in the Torah? The letter "Hey."

38:20 You should know it, and especially in the context of what we're talking about, what was Avraham Avinu's original name? Avram, and then Avram gets a hey. So hey lach ma'anya, which hey is could it be referring to? It could be referring to the hey of Avraham Avinu, whose midah was chesed. Avraham Avinu was the ultimate bal chesed. And therefore we begin the seder with halach ma'anya. A reference to Avram Avinu, the hay of Avram Avinu, which he gets because he's the ultimate balchesed, which is what ultimately takes us out of Mitzrayim, as we expressed. Avram Avinu is the s'chus for which we end up leaving Egypt. This is very cool because we know that the Zohar points out that the letters chametz and matzah are very similar. There's a mem and tzadik in both, except in the Zohar that points out for chametz we have a ches.

39:13 And for matzah, we have a hay. Which hay do we get by matzah? The hay that we get by matzah is the hay of Avram Avinu. That's what makes it a special type of bread. It's a bread of chesed. One last point Very cool. When Avkadosh Baruch Hu introduces himself to Avram Avinu, he says, "Vayomer Hashem Avram lechol chameir tzcham elat cham bezavicha el aratz asher eka." Look at the next pasuk. It's on your Mar Makomos. The esechol legay gadol, and I will make you a great nation. And you'll be blessed. And I'll make your name great. And you will be a blessing. Let's take a look at Rashi. I quoted the Rashi over here. Rashi says "I will make you into a great nation." When you're dominating Shemonah Esrei, what do you say? But at the end of the bracha, what do you say?

40:10 Not magen Avraham Yitzchak and Yaakov. So the first part is Gai Gadol. That's Avram. Va'Avarechacha, and I will bless you. Zeshah Omar Melokai Yitzchak. That's in the merit of Yitzchak. Va'Agadla Shemecha, and I will make your name great. Zeshah Omar Melokai Yaakov. So Ya'chol you, Ya'chol you, Chayshven Bekulay. Therefore, you might have thought that the Chasimah Bracha, the end of the bracha should be Baruch Hashem again. Avram, Yitzchak, and Yaakov. The Torah comes along and tells us Talmud Lomar, the Hei Beracha be Chachosmen, the Lo Bahem. You Avram Avinu will be the end of the Bracha, and not Yitzchak and Yaakov. You know why? Yitzchak is great; he's the Midas Hadin. Yaakov is great; he's the Midah of Rachamim, which is a combination of Chesed and Din. But ultimately, the Chasimah Bracha. What makes Klal Yisrael leave Mitzrayim? It's your Chesed, Avram Avinu. Yitzchak has a place and Yaakov has a place, but ultimately it's Avram Avinu's pure, unadulterated chesed that is the s'chus for which we leave Mitzrayim, and that's indeed what Rav Yonoson Aybishut says that the ultimate geula comes in the s'chus, not of Yitzchak and not of Yaakov, but of Avram Avinu.

41:26 Now we can understand an unbelievable minig that we have. It's not a minig; it's brought down in Alach. The Magen Avram says in the name of the Maril. We all know this. What happens by Yachatz? Every family has their traditions. My father made a great seder when I was growing up. My dad led a great seder, so he would take the matzah and he would go like, he wanted to keep the kids entertained, so he would go karate chop, and he would like, like the action figures, press the thing and it has that chopping motion, right? So what do we do? We take the yachatz, right? We take that piece and the smaller piece we keep, right? And that's the piece that we say over the story of the Hagadah. What happens to the larger piece, right? Your dad puts it away in a bag. It's in the and then he hides it, and it's like all the kids looking to see when he's getting that becomes the Afikoman.

42:15 So an unbelievable thing now. Why do we put away the larger piece? According to the approach that we've been taking, the entire story of Yosef Mitzrayim is about Chesed. When we broke our pieces. Remember all the way back in Mitzrayim when we broke our pieces? Obviously, not all pieces were the same. Which piece did we keep for ourselves? The smaller. We must have kept the smaller piece for ourselves. And we gave the bigger piece away, which ultimately is the piece that becomes the Afikoman. And this why the pasuk we know says, "Kimeitz Chameirit Mitzrayim Arenu Niflows." The way that we were redeemed in Mitzrayim will be the way that we are one day redeemed. Just like we were redeemed from Chesed back then, so too will we. We will be redeemed from Chesed right now. This is the way that Klal Yisroel will be redeemed. It's not an accident that throughout our history And especially in recent history, what keeps happening to Klal Yisroel. We keep being attacked, and what is our opportunity? Any time we're attacked.

43:19 We have the opportunity to do chesed. If we do chesed, perhaps we wouldn't need to be attacked. But the only way that we will ultimately be redeemed is if we get on the board of chesed train. If you've come so far with me, let's go a little further. Remember, one of the questions we asked is why halach ma'anyah was said in Aramaic? I'm going to stop the sheir just for a moment, even though rabbin is going to get very upset at me for saying this. But I'm going to stop the sheir. The whole sheir is about chesed. I just want to say one thing: it's not obvious to have a rabbin who's such a balas chesed that she says the seminar is staying open. Anybody who wants to be here can be here. We'll provide for everybody. We're talking about chesed. The rabbin who just walked in is living chesed. I'm giving a sheir on it. The rabbin is living. Isn't it amazing?

44:13 Isn't it amazing how many girls come erev Pesach to come and learn Torah? We have so much nachas from these girls, Rebbe. So let's finish up. We're running a little bit late. Why Aramaic? Why is Halach Maania said in Aramaic? So there's an amazing Ritva and an amazing Avudraham over here. They say a very strange thing. They say we say it in Aramaic because we don't want to make the Malachim jealous. The Gemara tells us a very strange, interesting Gemara. The Gemara in Shabbos 12b. Tells us that Rabbi Bar Rabbanah said that when Rabbi Lazer would visit sick people Some people knew Lashon Hakodesh. If they knew Lashon Hakodesh, he would wish them to get well in Lashon Hakodesh. But if they only understood Aramaic, then he would wish them to get well in Aramaic. And the Gemara asks, but what do you mean? The Malachim don't speak Aramaic. The Malachim take our tefillos up to Shamayim. How can the Malachim take our tefillos up to Shamayim if they don't understand Aramaic?

45:12 So the Gemara answers it's different because Hashem Himself is present in the room when there's a sick person, so you don't need a Malach to bring it up. But one thing that comes out from this Gemara is that a Malach doesn't speak Aramaic. There's actually only one Malach that does speak Aramaic. He's also referenced in the Hagada. The Sutan, the Malach Hamaves, speaks Aramaic. You notice Arami Oved Avi An Armenian who obviously, if he was an Armenian, spoke Aramaic. Meaning a reference to Lavan, Oved Avi. Yaakov Avinu was a servant by Lavan. So Lavan is the Malacham Avi. Lavan is the Satan. That's why he does speak Aramaic. But every other Malach doesn't speak Aramaic. They only speak Lashon Hakodesh. Why is this important to know? The Gemara in Yuma 75b tells us what food do the Malachim eat? Such a strange question. The Gemara answers: the Malachim eat man.

46:11 The malachim eat man. So the malachim would be jealous here in the beginning of the seder. Why are we not eating man? Remember earlier in the beginning of the year, way back in the beginning of the year, we asked a question. Kol dikhven yesev yechal, kol ditzrich yesev yisaf. Anybody who needs, come, I've got your back. I can feed all of you. How can we feed everybody? No Jewish mother has made that much food. There's only one type of food that doesn't run out. What's the food that doesn't run out? Man doesn't run out. So the Ritz and the Abu Draham say right here in the beginning of the seder, the Malachim are going to be very jealous because our matzah, it's not matzah. Our matzah is man, and the Malachim are going to be jealous because they're going to go, hey, that's our food. You're eating our food. So in the very beginning, we say it in Aramaic because we don't want to make the Malachim jealous. We're highlighting, hey. We have this man. One obvious question: When did matzah become man? How did that happen? How did matzah become man?

47:18 So the Gemara in Kiddushin thirty-eight a tells us an unbelievable thing: the cakes, the matzahs that they brought out of Mitzrayim Tasted like man. So the original matzah was really what? Was really man? Tell me, girls, how do we access the original matzah? The original matzah was broken up and given out to those who didn't need it, who didn't have it. So we gave them what they needed. How do we make our matzah into mun? By saying, 'Anyone who's hungry, come. I'll share my matzah with you.' What does our matzah become? Our matzah becomes mun And therefore we can confidently say, 'Anybody who is hungry, let him come and eat,' because the act of chesed. Turns our matzah into halach ma'anya, not kih halach ma'anya, but the actual matzah that they ate was the very same matzah that we eat on that night, and since that matzah was man, and therefore there was enough for everybody, so our matzah is man, and therefore there will be enough for everybody.

48:24 Let's finish with this, an unbelievable verse from the Shlah. Last line in the Maromakomos. Pasuk in Shmos chapter eight verse nineteen. I will make a redemption between my people and your people. The sign will come about tomorrow. The Rabbeinu Bechaya says an unbelievable thing. Look at the word pedus. You see it, girls? How is pedus spelled? It's spelled without a vav. How is pedus meant to be spelled? With a vav, like you see in Tehillim. It says pedus shalach liamo. What's the difference? Why over here is there not a vav, and in the end there is a vav? The answer is as follows: Girls, as we said earlier in the She'er, was the ultimate redemption by Mitzrayim? We were still 190 years short. So all of the four exiles that come after Mitzrayim are really being mashlim; they're really completing the original exile that we had in Mitzrayim.

49:23 What does a vav mean? What does the word vav mean in Loshn L'Kodesh? Or like joining together, this and this. So when Moshe Rabbeinu was taking them out of Egypt, the Rabbeinu Bechaya points out what's missing: the letter vav. Because even though there was great chesed that was happening there, there was not the ultimate expression of chesed necessary to bring Mashiach and to have the ultimate geula. The pasuk in Tilling says, 'Pidus with a vav, Shalach laamo, I will send to your nation.' Why? Because ultimately, in order to bring about a redemption, there needs to be a vav. There needs to be a connection. How do we create the ultimate geula by saying ha lach ma'anya? The more chesed, the more redemption. Girls, do you remember the final question? What was the connection between ha lach ma'anya and l'shana haba ba'arid Yisrael? What does redemption have to do with chesed? Now the answer is obvious.

50:29 Only through Chesed, only through the letter Vav, only through joining together, can we actually bring Mashiach. In fact, one last piece of Kabbalah. I know you girls are very Kabbalistic. One last piece of Kabbalah. When we break the middle matzah, the AriZal says the middle matzah It's like a Hey. The circle, he says, it's like a Hey. When you break it, it becomes a Dalid and a Vav. That's what a Hey is. You break the hay as a dalid, and a vav. When you break the matzah, you're separating the dalid from the vav. How do we put back the together that matzah? You've got to rejoin the vav with the dalid. Dalid means like from a loshan of like dalim berechim, those who are needy, those who are poor, right? Those who don't have. When you put the vav back with the dalid, right? When you connect to those who don't have, that restores the hay, which is the final hay of Hashem's name. That brings Hashem into this world of Ahaya Bayomahu Yia Hashem Echad Ushmol Echad, and will be in the times of Mashiach. That not only will God be one, but His name will be one.

51:35 There will be a restoration of that Hey. The restoration of that Hey only happens when we do Chesed for each other. The beginning of Galus, Yosef is in the pit. Reuven is off doing tshuva for an avir that he had done twenty years earlier. Moshe Rabbeinu, Klal Yisrael sharing their bread, which was the man. And ultimately, us saying halach ma'aniya this seder, because Hashem will bring about the ultimate keulah shleima. May we be zochah. You girls are going to be here in Eretz Yisrael. It's going to be amazing. Mashiach is going to come on the night of this seder, and you're really going to be here. And all the girls who went back to America, they're going to have to get on a plane. Chaval for them. We're already here, girls. Have kasher, be simech, wishing everyone a zis and pesach. Thank you.