Save
Copy
Add to Collection
Export to Google Docs
ShareI have always loved studying Torah. But over the years, as I have added the study of history and philosophy in depth, I find it more and more difficult to believe in the traditional version of the Exodus. I simply can’t accept a story with plagues and miracles, splitting of seas and manna falling from heaven as historical.
I still feel connected to God, as well as to Torah and the mitzvot (I am observant) and I would like to have a spiritual Seder Night. How can I recite the haggada and talk about a story that I don’t believe actually happened, in a meaningful way? (As my kids get older, this will become an even more pressing question.)
http://thetorah.com/seder-without-history/
Rabbi Herzl Hefter
“And here the son asks…”:
The Importance of Asking the Right Questions
The mitzvah of recalling the story of the exodus is fulfilled in the form of questions and answers. Asking the right questions, therefore, is essential in order to access the significance of the story.
The question, “Did the exodus really happen?” is the wrong question because it misunderstands what type of book the Torah is. The Zohar will help us here.
Rabbi Shimon said: “Woe to the person who says that the Torah comes to give instructions and tell descriptive stories and simple tales. … Every word in the Torah reflects higher wisdom and higher secrets… The narratives of the Torah are only the outer clothing of the Torah. Whoever thinks that this outer clothing is, in fact, the Torah and there is nothing underneath the clothing is spiritually backward and has no portion in the World to Come…[1] (Zohar, Bemidbar, Behaalotecha, p. 148b)
The Zohar is saying that the superficial meanings of the narratives are not the point of the Torah. To be sure, the Zohar is not taking a stand on the historicity of the Torah. In all likelihood the author of the Zohar never thought of the question, having lived long before the modern notion of history as recording factual events in a literal way became prevalent. In any case, the Zohar asserts in the strongest terms that the significance of the narrative does not lie in its superficial meaning but rather in the underlying spiritual message.
The Zohar’s general approach to the Torah is rooted in the view of the sages of the Talmud regarding the story of the exodus in particular. The verses which the sages chose as the basis of the Haggadah are from Devarim (Deuteronomy) 26: 5-9, where the Torah recounts thetelling of the story, rather than the verses from Shemot (Exodus)which recount the story directly. This indicates that the essential significance of the story is not its historicity but rather how it is remembered, interpreted and communicated.
http://thetorah.com/seder-without-history/exodus-story-is-an-outer-garment/
(ד) מזגו לו כוס שני, וכאן הבן שואל אביו. ואם אין דעת בבן, אביו מלמדו: מה נשתנה הלילה הזה מכל הלילות, שבכל הלילות אנו אוכלין חמץ ומצה, הלילה הזה כלו מצה. שבכל הלילות אנו אוכלין שאר ירקות, הלילה הזה מרור. שבכל הלילות אנו אוכלין בשר צלי שלוק ומבשל, הלילה הזה כלו צלי. שבכל הלילות אנו מטבילין פעם אחת, הלילה הזה שתי פעמים. ולפי דעתו של בן אביו מלמדו. מתחיל בגנות ומסים בשבח, ודורש מארמי אובד אבי (דברים כו, ה), עד שיגמור כל הפרשה כלה.
(4) They pour a second cup [of wine] for him. And here the son questions his father. And if the son has insufficient understanding [to question], his father teaches him [to ask]: Why is this night different from all [other] nights? On all [other] nights, we eat leavened and unleavened bread, [but] on this night, [we eat] only unleavened bread. On all [other] nights, we eat all kinds of vegetables, [but] on this night, [we eat only] bitter herbs. On all [other] nights, we eat meat roasted, stewed or boiled, [but] on this night, [we eat] only roasted [meat]. On all [other] nights, we dip [vegetables] once, [but] on this night, we dip [vegetables] twice. And according to the son's intelligence, his father instructs him. He begins [answering the questions] with [the account of Israel’s] shame and concludes with [Israel’s] glory, and expounds from “My father was a wandering Aramean” until he completes the whole passage.
Page 66
"Go out and learn" is the official invitation to Jewish study, to the rabbinic symposium which we are encouraged to join this evening. Recapitulating phrase by phrase the story of migration recited on the previous page, we add rabbinic elaborations (Midrash).
Some families read every word, some skip to the Ten Plagues p. 78, and others choose just one phrase and one theme to trigger their own discussions about one of these themes:
Assimilation and Identity p.69
Birth and Genocide p.71
Oppression and Resistance p.73
Women and Liberation p.75
צֵא וּלְמַד מַה בִּקֵּשׁ לָבָן הָאֲרַמִּי לַעֲשׂוֹת לְיַעֲקֹב אָבִינוּ: שֶׁפַּרְעֹה לֹא גָזַר אֶלָּא עַל הַזְּכָרִים, וְלָבָן בִּקֵּשׁ לַעֲקֹר אֶת-הַכֹּל. שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: אֲרַמִּי אֹבֵד אָבִי, וַיֵּרֶד מִצְרַיְמָה וַיָּגָר שָׁם בִּמְתֵי מְעָט, וַיְהִי שָׁם לְגוֹי גָּדוֹל, עָצוּם וָרָב.
וַיֵּרֶד מִצְרַיְמָה - אָנוּס עַל פִּי הַדִּבּוּר.
וַיָּגָר שָׁם. מְלַמֵּד שֶׁלֹא יָרַד יַעֲקֹב אָבִינוּ לְהִשְׁתַּקֵּעַ בְּמִצְרַיִם אֶלָּא לָגוּר שָׁם, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: וַיֹּאמְרוּ אֶל-פַּרְעֹה, לָגוּר בָּאָרֶץ בָּאנוּ, כִּי אֵין מִרְעֶה לַצֹּאן אֲשֶׁר לַעֲבָדֶיךָ, כִּי כָבֵד הָרָעָב בְּאֶרֶץ כְּנָעַן. וְעַתָּה יֵשְׁבוּ-נָא עֲבָדֶיךָ בְּאֶרֶץ גֹּשֶן.
בִּמְתֵי מְעָט. כְּמָה שֶּׁנֶּאֱמַר: בְּשִׁבְעִים נֶפֶשׁ יָרְדוּ אֲבוֹתֶיךָ מִצְרָיְמָה, וְעַתָּה שָׂמְךָ ה' אֱלֹהֶיךָ כְּכוֹכְבֵי הַשָּׁמַיִם לָרֹב.
וַיְהִי שָׁם לְגוֹי. מְלַמֵד שֶׁהָיוּ יִשְׂרָאֵל מְצֻיָּנִים שָׁם. גָּדוֹל עָצוּם - כְּמָה שֶּׁנֶּאֱמַר: וּבְנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל פָּרוּ וַיִּשְׁרְצוּ וַיִּרְבּוּ וַיַּעַצְמוּ בִּמְאֹד מְאֹד, וַתִּמָּלֵא הָאָרֶץ אֹתָם.
וַיָּרֵעוּ אֹתָנוּ הַמִּצְרִים וַיְעַנּוּנוּ, וַיִתְּנוּ עָלֵינוּ עֲבֹדָה קָשָׁה.
וַיָּרֵעוּ אֹתָנוּ הַמִּצְרִים - כְּמָה שֶּׁנֶּאֱמַר: הָבָה נִתְחַכְּמָה לוֹ פֶּן יִרְבֶּה, וְהָיָה כִּי תִקְרֶאנָה מִלְחָמָה וְנוֹסַף גַּם הוּא עַל שֹׂנְאֵינוּ וְנִלְחַם-בָּנוּ, וְעָלָה מִן-הָאָרֶץ.
וַיְעַנּוּנוּ. כְּמָה שֶּׁנֶּאֱמַר: וַיָּשִׂימוּ עָלָיו שָׂרֵי מִסִּים לְמַעַן עַנֹּתוֹ בְּסִבְלֹתָם. וַיִּבֶן עָרֵי מִסְכְּנוֹת לְפַרְעֹה. אֶת-פִּתֹם וְאֶת-רַעַמְסֵס.
וַיִתְּנוּ עָלֵינוּ עֲבֹדָה קָשָׁה. כְּמָה שֶֹׁנֶּאֱמַר: וַיַּעֲבִדוּ מִצְרַיִם אֶת-בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל בְּפָרֶךְ.
וַנִּצְעַק אֶל-ה' אֱלֹהֵי אֲבֹתֵינוּ, וַיִּשְׁמַע ה' אֶת-קֹלֵנוּ, וַיַּרְא אֶת-עָנְיֵנוּ וְאֶת עֲמָלֵנוּ וְאֶת לַחֲצֵנוּ.
וַנִּצְעַק אֶל-ה' אֱלֹהֵי אֲבֹתֵינוּ - כְּמָה שֶּׁנֶּאֱמַר: וַיְהִי בַיָּמִים הָרַבִּים הָהֵם וַיָּמָת מֶלֶךְ מִצְרַיִם, וַיֵּאָנְחוּ בְנֵי-יִשְׂרָאֵל מִ-הָעֲבוֹדָה וַיִּזְעָקוּ, וַתַּעַל שַׁוְעָתָם אֶל-הָאֱלֹהִים מִן הָעֲבֹדָה.
וַיִּשְׁמַע ה' אֶת קלֵנוּ. כְּמָה שֶּׁנֶּאֱמַר: וַיִּשְׁמַע אֱלֹהִים אֶת-נַאֲקָתָם, וַיִּזְכֹּר אֱלֹהִים אֶת-בְּרִיתוֹ אֶת-אַבְרָהָם, אֶת-יִצְחָק וְאֶת-יַעֲקֹב.
וַיַּרְא אֶת-עָנְיֵנוּ. זוֹ פְּרִישׁוּת דֶּרֶךְ אֶרֶץ, כְּמָה שֶּׁנֶּאֱמַר: וַיַּרְא אֱלֹהִים אֶת בְּנֵי-יִשְׂרָאֵל וַיֵּדַע אֱלֹהִים.
Go out and learn what what Lavan the Aramean sought to do to Ya'akov, our father; since Pharaoh only decreed [the death sentence] on the males but Lavan sought to uproot the whole [people]. As it is stated (Deuteronomy 26:5), "An Aramean was destroying my father and he went down to Egypt, and he resided there with a small number and he became there a nation, great, powerful and numerous."
"And he went down to Egypt" - helpless on account of the word [in which God told Avraham that his descendants would have to go into exile].
"And he resided there" - [this] teaches that Ya'akov, our father, didn't go down to settle in Egypt, but rather [only] to reside there, as it is stated (Genesis 47:4), "And they said to Pharaoh, to reside in the land have we come, since there is not enough pasture for your servant's flocks, since the the famine is heavy in the land of Canaan, and now please grant that your servants should dwell in the land of Goshen."
"As a small number" - as it is stated (Deuteronomy 10:22), "With seventy souls did your ancestors come down to Egypt, and now the Lord your God has made you as numerous as the stars of the sky."
"And he became there a nation" - [this] teaches that Israel [became] distinguishable] there. "Great, powerful" - as it is stated (Exodus 1:7), "And the children of Israel multiplied and swarmed and grew numerous and strong, most exceedingly and the land became full of them."
"And the Egyptians did bad to us and afflicted us and put upon us hard work" (Deuteronomy 26:6).
"And the Egyptians did bad to us" - as it is stated (Exodus 1:10), "Let us be wise towards him, lest he multiply and it will be that when war is called, he too will join with our enemies and fight against us and go up from the land."
"And afflicted us" - as is is stated (Exodus 1:11); "And they placed upon him leaders over the work-tax in order to afflict them with their burdens, and they built storage cities, Pitom and Ra'amses."
"And put upon us hard work" - as it is stated (Exodus 1:11), "And they enslaved the children of Israel with breaking work."
"And we we yelled out to the Lord, the God of our ancestors, and the Lord heard our voice, and He saw our affliction, and our toil and our duress" (Deuteronomy 26:7).
"And we yelled out to the Lord, the God of our ancestors" - as it is stated (Exodus 1:23); "And it was in those great days that the king of Egypt died and the Children of Israel sighed from the work and yelled out, and their supplication went up to God from the work."
"And the Lord heard our voice" - as it is stated (Exodus 1:24); "And God heard their groans and God remembered his covenant with Avraham and with Yitschak and with Ya'akov."
"And He saw our affliction" - this [refers to] the separation from the way of the world, as it is stated (Exodus 1:25); "And God saw the Children of Israel and God knew."
Commentary from "The New American Haggadah," edited by Jonathan Safran Foer
pages 52-53
Playground - God, who supposedly knows everything, needs to be reminded of a promise He made with our ancestors. This is disconcerting - a word which here means "cause for much argument among rabbis and peasants alike" - but not surprising. All of us have forgotten about promises we have made, even promises that are very important to us, and are still very important to the people to whom we've promised them. These people may be wailing right this very minute, hoping that we remember whatever it is that we promised. Perhaps we promised to help them with something, but then the task was so dull that we put it aside. Perhaps we promised to be kind to them, but then we became interested in other people instead. Or perhaps we simply promised to keep thinking about them, but we have forgotten about these people until this very moment, because it is so much more interesting to think about ourselves and our own problems. It is entirely possible that God, too, would rather think of Himself, and His own problems. When we suspect this to be the case, Jewish tradition encourages us to wail, often in Hebrew. But we might also stop wailing for a moment and listen instead. We might think of promises we have made and have not kept, or promises we ought to have made but didn't, and while we're thinking of this, we might hear the wailing of others, some of whom may be trapped under the floors of this very room.
House of Study - The most theologically shocking moment in Exodus is not when God appears in the burning bush, or splits the Sea of Reeds, or even when He gives the Ten Commandments at Sinai. It is when God remembers his covenant with Israel. How can a God who was so close at hand in Genesis that he spoke directly to Abraham, overheard Sarah laughing and wrestled with Jacob "face to face," be so far away when their descendants are enslaved in Egypt? The "Peshat," or plain sense, of Exodus suggests and answer that is both simple and horrifying: God, who spent the better part of Genesis cultivating the people of Israel, has, by only the second chapter of Exodus, forgotten that they are His nation and, therefore, his responsibility. Here, stripped bare, lies the theological root of one of the deepest fears in the collective Jewish psyche, the fear of forgetting and being forgotten. And yet, according to the Haggadah, there is a remedy for God's amnesia: Israel's voice, our voice. Just as, later in Exodus, Moses commands Israel to "remember this day on which you departed from Egypt, from the house of bondage, for with a strong hand God removed you from here," so, too, if we want a relationship with God, we must remind him, with wails if necessary, to remember his covenant with us. But what would those wails look like today? And how would we know if God heard them?