"All the Days of Your Life": How to Live in Geulah Even Before It Arrives | Pesach

00:00 Today we’ll talk about a passage in the Pesach Haggadah that is closely connected to these days—the great days in which we prepare for Pesach and, at the same time, for the complete Geulah. For each of us, these days connect the great days of the Exodus from Egypt with the days of the complete Geulah, as it says: “As in the days of your going out from the land of Egypt, I will show him wonders.” In other words, the wonders of the Geulah that we are seeing now will be like the days of the Exodus from Egypt. The prophet connects the two redemptions. There is also a passage in the Pesach Haggadah that brings them together. Today we’ll try to understand it and, of course, take from it something we can learn in our service of Hashem during these great days. This is what we say in the Pesach Haggadah: “It happened that Rabbi Eliezer, Rabbi Yehoshua, Rabbi Elazar ben Azaryah, Rabbi Akiva, and Rabbi Tarfon were reclining in Bnei Brak and telling the story of the Exodus from Egypt all that night, until their students came and said to them: ‘Our teachers, the time has arrived for the morning Shema.’” The Haggadah then says: “Rabbi Elazar ben Azaryah said…” According to many commentators, this was a continuation of the same story. That night, when the great sages, the great Tannaim, sat in Bnei Brak and told the story of the Exodus all night, the episode involving Rabbi Elazar ben Azaryah also took place. Indeed, some versions of the Haggadah, including the Rambam’s, read: “Rabbi Elazar ben Azaryah said to them.” In other words, at that gathering Rabbi Elazar ben Azaryah said to them: “I am like seventy years old, yet I did not merit to establish that the Exodus from Egypt be mentioned at night until Ben Zoma expounded…” He then gives the interpretation showing where this was learned from: “‘The days of your life’—the days; ‘all the days of

02:21 your life’—the nights.” And he concludes: “The Sages say: ‘The days of your life’—this world; ‘all the days of your life’—to include the days of Moshiach.” So in this story we see the connection between the two redemptions, the Exodus from Egypt and the Geulah of Moshiach. On the one hand, the passage speaks about the obligation, the mitzvah, to tell the story of the Exodus on Pesach night, as they did that night. It also deals with mentioning the Exodus every day and every night, which is what Rabbi Elazar ben Azaryah and his colleagues discussed. What is the law about mentioning the Exodus from Egypt at night? That means every night of the year. This brings us to the halachic discussion in the Shulchan Aruch about our mentioning it at night as well, during the evening Shema. We also recite the passage of tzitzis. Although tzitzis is not a Torah obligation at night, we still read the passage of tzitzis then in order to mention the Exodus from Egypt. At the end of that passage we say, “I am Hashem your G-d, Who brought you out of the land of Egypt.” The reason is what we learn here: “‘The days of your life’—the days; ‘all the days of your life’—to include the nights.” Through Rabbi Elazar ben Azaryah’s efforts, the Exodus would be mentioned at night as well. Then the end of the Mishnah says that the Sages hold it will be mentioned not only now, but even in the days of Moshiach—“to include the days of Moshiach.” There are several interesting points in this story worth considering. First, why does it give all these names? Why tell us exactly which Tannaim they were? It could simply have said, “It happened that some Tannaim,” or “some sages,” were sitting together. Why mention each name, and why in this order? Why tell us it was in Bnei Brak? What does the fact that it

04:32 was in Bnei Brak tell us? And why continue by saying that they told the story of the Exodus from Egypt all that night, until the students came and said, “Our teachers, the time has arrived for the morning Shema”? What message does this story convey? Then Rabbi Elazar ben Azaryah comes along and wants to establish that the Exodus from Egypt be mentioned at night. How are the two passages connected, if, as we said, they took place on the same night? What happened that night that led Rabbi Elazar ben Azaryah to say, “I am like seventy years old,” and to seek to establish the mention of the Exodus not only by day but also by night? When we look at the sources, we know there is a story behind this—the well-known account in the Gemara, in the fourth chapter of Berachos, which gives its details. What actually happened that night? What is the story behind Rabbi Elazar ben Azaryah’s words, “I am like seventy years old”? The Gemara relates that there was a major dispute at the time. As a result, Rabban Gamliel was removed from his position as Nasi, and Rabbi Elazar ben Azaryah was chosen to be Nasi of the Jewish people. This was shortly after the destruction of the Beis Hamikdash, in the very first period following the destruction. Rabban Gamliel, a descendant of Hillel, was the Nasi of the Jewish people at the time. Because of what happened, he was removed and Rabbi Elazar ben Azaryah was appointed in his place. Rabbi Elazar ben Azaryah was very young. The Gemara says he was only eighteen, but he had the ability for the role. He was exceptionally capable and came from a distinguished lineage: he was a descendant of Ezra the Scribe. They chose him to be Nasi, even though he was so

06:34 young. That night, as the Gemara relates, white hairs grew in his beard, and that is why he said, “I am like seventy years old.” What was he trying to accomplish? What did he want to establish? That the Shema be recited at night as well. Why was mentioning the Exodus from Egypt at night the first matter Rabbi Elazar ben Azaryah sought to address upon becoming Nasi? He cites Ben Zoma, who reveals the Torah source for speaking about the Exodus at night as well. Then comes the conclusion: the Sages say it applies not only now, but also in the days of Moshiach. There is a whole halachic discussion here. The Tosafos Yom Tov and other leading commentators and halachic authorities discuss whether the Sages disagree with Rabbi Elazar ben Azaryah or agree with him. The conclusion that emerges from the halachic works is that, ultimately, everyone agrees on the essential point. As a matter of halachah, all rule that we mention the Exodus from Egypt both by day and by night. The entire disagreement between the Sages and Ben Zoma is only about the verse: whether this is learned from that verse or not. The Sages add that the Exodus will be mentioned not only by day and by night, but even in the days of Moshiach. And here the big question arises: Why, in fact, would we mention the Exodus from Egypt in the days of Moshiach? The Exodus was certainly a wondrous, great, and important Geulah. Now, while we are in exile, reflecting on the Exodus gives us strength, vitality, and joy. We know that just as there was an Exodus from Egypt, so too will we soon merit the complete Geulah. So remembering the Exodus is of the utmost importance. But when we are already in the days of Moshiach, when there will be wonders

08:40 Far greater than the wonders of the Exodus from Egypt. As the Zohar says, the wonders of the days of Moshiach will be beyond comparison with the wonders of the Exodus. We can understand this from various verses in Tanach, and also from the fact that the redemption from Egypt was not a complete Geulah. Afterward, we went back into exile. The future Geulah, by contrast, will be a Geulah after which there will be no exile. So what is the point? Why is it so important to mention the Exodus from Egypt when we are already in the era of Moshiach? Of course, there are many explanations and wonderful interpretations of all these questions. Today we will focus on one point, at least, that connects all the explanations. It is especially important in our time, because its message gives us tremendous strength right now, amid the miracles and wonders we are witnessing. In every heart beats the great hope that we will finally merit it. We are seeing the miracles and wonders of the Geulah as Hakadosh Boruch Hu brings all our enemies down before us. This is the beginning, and with Hashem’s help, may we merit, in these very days, to see the complete Geulah. As our Sages tell us, just as our ancestors were redeemed in Nissan, so too we are destined to be redeemed in Nissan. We are eagerly anticipating, praying, hoping, and trusting that, with Hashem’s help, it will happen this very year. So this story has a wonderful message for us, particularly in these special days. We will now discuss a particular explanation that begins with the Rebbe’s sichos—with the explanations the Rebbe wrote on the Pesach Haggadah. Eighty years ago, in 5706, a very special Pesach Haggadah was published, with wonderful explanations and commentary by the Rebbe. We will bring a few points from there, as well as from the explanations we merited to hear from the Rebbe over the years, through 5752, the last year in which we merited to hear

10:51 wonderful and distinctive teachings about the era we are now entering and living in—the days of Moshiach. First, the Rebbe made an interesting point. Why does the Mishnah here, in the Haggadah, mention these particular names? Because from them we can learn what we say here: that every Jew has a mitzvah to tell the story of the Exodus from Egypt. We learn this from the five names that appear here. A person might think that only descendants of people who were there need to tell the story of the Exodus. But take kohanim and Levi’im, for example. It is known that the tribe of Levi was not enslaved in Egypt. Pharaoh even allowed them to study Torah, so they did not experience the full weight of the enslavement. There are also converts, whose ancestors did not go through the exile in Egypt, so perhaps they too are exempt. This is what we learn here. If we look at the names of the Tannaim mentioned, Rabbi Eliezer ben Horkenus, according to the Midrashim, was a direct descendant of Moshe Rabbeinu. That means he was from the tribe of Levi. Rabbi Yehoshua ben Chananya, too, the Gemara says, was from the tribe of Levi; he was one of the gatekeepers. This is brought in the Gemara in connection with Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi. Rabbi Elazar ben Azarya was a descendant of Ezra the Scribe, ten generations later, so he was a kohen. None of these men, then, experienced the enslavement in Egypt. Rabbi Akiva was also descended from converts. As is known, Rabbi Akiva ben Yosef was the son of converts. And Rabbi Tarfon, too, is said to have been a kohen. So the whole group consisted of kohanim, Levi’im, and descendants of converts. Perhaps, according to halachah, they would have been exempt. This is what the Haggadah wants to tell us, following what we said earlier in the Haggadah: “Even if we are all wise, all discerning,

12:49 and all know the Torah, it is a mitzvah for us to tell the story of the Exodus from Egypt.” So even those whose ancestors were not in Egypt, or who did not experience Egypt’s enslavement, like the Tannaim we are studying here, nevertheless sat all that night and told the story of the Exodus. There is also a very interesting message in the order in which they are listed—how they sat. Why did they sit in that order? At first glance, the order of the Tannaim here needs explaining. It does not exactly follow the order of generations. So what determined the order in which the Tanna lists them? The Rebbe gives a wonderful explanation for this too. As we said, this story took place on the very day Rabbi Elazar ben Azarya was chosen—on the eve of Pesach when he was appointed Nasi. That also explains the order in which they sat. There is a halachah that when the Sages of Israel are seated at a table, the Nasi sits in the middle, with the more senior figures to his right and the less senior to his left. Since, as we said, Rabbi Elazar ben Azarya was the Nasi that night, he is in the middle. That is, he is listed third, with two before him and two after him. Rabbi Elazar ben Azarya is exactly in the middle because the Nasi sits in the middle. Rabbi Eliezer and Rabbi Yehoshua are to his right because they were older. Rabbi Elie—of course, Rabbi Elazar ben Azarya—Rabbi Eliezer ben Horkenus and Rabbi Yehoshua ben Chananya were from an older generation. They were students of Rabbi Yochanan ben Zakkai, as the Mishnah in Pirkei Avos also says. So they sat to the Nasi’s right, while Rabbi Akiva and Rabbi Tarfon, who were their students and were younger,

14:45 sat to his left. And why is Rabbi Akiva mentioned before Rabbi Tarfon, rather than Rabbi Tarfon before Rabbi Akiva? After all, in certain respects Rabbi Tarfon is considered Rabbi Akiva’s teacher. Nevertheless, he puts Rabbi Akiva before Rabbi Tarfon because this took place in Bnei Brak. That also explains why the Mishnah mentions Bnei Brak. As is known, Rabbi Akiva headed a yeshiva in Bnei Brak. Since this was where he lived, he is mentioned before Rabbi Tarfon out of respect for him. So there is a very precise order to how the Tanna lists them, reflecting exactly what happened here. What is the deeper meaning of their sitting together that night? Based on what we have discussed, we begin to understand that something remarkable was happening. We are talking about a very particular time: the beginning of the exile. As we said, only a few years had passed. The Jewish people were just beginning the long, terrible exile under Rome, the exile of Edom. The Beis Hamikdash had been destroyed only a few years earlier—just a few years. This was the first generation of the Sanhedrin that remained after the destruction of the Second Beis Hamikdash. Some of these Tannaim had even lived while the Beis Hamikdash still stood. As is known, Rabbi Eliezer ben Horkenus and Rabbi Yehoshua ben Chananya were Tannaim who had seen the Beis Hamikdash. So these Tannaim were sitting together at the beginning of the exile. Rabbi Elazar ben Azarya was chosen that night to be Nasi, making him one of the first Nesi’im of the Jewish people in an extremely difficult period, the period of Roman exile, the exile of Edom—an exile that would prove to be long and terrible, stretching on and on through generations

16:44 Generations. And they are there—the great Tannaim are at the beginning of this period. Then Rabbi Elazar ben Azaryah, the nasi, comes along. As the Rebbe discussed, what exactly is the role of a nasi? Nasi is related to the word for lifting up, for elevating. The role of the nasi is to elevate the Jewish people, to lift them above the darkness. How can Jews endure the terrible darkness we are entering, the terrible exile we are about to enter? Rabbi Elazar ben Azaryah, the nasi, sees with ruach hakodesh that an exceptionally difficult period is beginning. He wants to elevate the Jewish people so they can endure and hold on throughout the exile. What gives a Jew strength? The Exodus from Egypt. As the Maharal of Prague writes, the Exodus was not just a redemption for that time, for that moment. The redemption from Egypt implanted and engraved within the Jewish people the reality of an eternal, intrinsic freedom. The Maharal explains that at the moment of the Exodus, the Jewish people became a free people. In his very essence, a Jew is a free person. All the exiles that come afterward are external; they are not part of his essence. A Jew’s essence is that he is free, that he belongs to Hakadosh Boruch Hu. So all the nations of the world may try to rule over the Jewish people, take us and make us slaves, and we may wander through exile, living here and there in different countries. But we always remain, at our core, free. In his very essence, a Jew is a free person. That is what was brought about by the Exodus from Egypt. Reflecting on this also gives us the strength to hold on through every period of exile the Jewish people experience. That is why we mention the Exodus every day. It is not merely a remembrance of something in the historical past, but as

19:16 the Alter Rebbe explains to us in Tanya: “In every generation and on every single day, a person must see himself as if he left Egypt today.” In truth, we leave Egypt each and every day. There is an exodus from the inner exile, as Tanya explains in chapter 47: the Jew’s G-dly soul leaves the confinement of the body and the animal soul. This happens every day when we say Shema Yisroel. That is why, when we say Shema Yisroel, we also recite the verse about the Exodus from Egypt, both by day and by night. And this is what Rabbi Elazar ben Azaryah comes to tell us: not only during the days. Days symbolize light. There are periods of light, when things are clear and bright. In the time of the Beis Hamikdash, and even during exile, there were periods when the Jewish people lived with clarity. But there are also periods of darkness, of night, when we cannot see the light. On the contrary, they are periods of suffering and hardship. During this long exile of two thousand years, the Jewish people have gone through the most difficult and darkest experiences. And even at night we mention the Exodus from Egypt. This is how Rabbi Elazar ben Azaryah, the nasi, seeks to elevate the Jewish people: to reveal within them the power of redemption, the power to leave their constraints and limitations and their inner darkness. Not only during the days, but also at night. “All the days of your life”—to include the nights. That is why he brings Ben Zoma with him, of whom it was said that he was one of the four who entered the Pardes. He was a Jew for whom the reality of nature held no sway, and therefore he could give strength for this teaching of the verse. From it we draw the strength, even at night, to live, speak, and be in a state of redemption, of leaving Egypt. And this is also the deeper meaning of the account we recite: “They were telling of the Exodus from Egypt all that night.” The words “all that night” also allude to

21:21 the long night of exile—“all that night.” The long night of close to two thousand years of exile. So even throughout that long night, in every period, every circumstance, every country, and every way the Jewish people have lived during exile, a Jew can live with the Exodus from Egypt and tell of it. Chassidus says that the Hebrew word for “tell,” lesaper, is related to the word for sapphire. To tell is also to bring clarity and light, to bring light into the darkness of exile—to tell of the Exodus from Egypt, making it shine with the clarity of a sapphire. “Until their students came.” The sages, the tzaddikim, the nesi’im of every generation—Rabbi Elazar ben Azaryah in his generation, together with Rabbi Eliezer, Rabbi Akiva, Rabbi Yehoshua, and Rabbi Tarfon. And the same is true of all the leaders of the Jewish people in every generation. This is their role: they tell of the Exodus from Egypt, giving a Jew the strength to live with the Exodus throughout that entire night. “Until their students came”—the students who receive this strength from their teachers—to the point that they come and say, “The time has arrived to recite the morning Shema.” We feel the Geulah. We feel the morning Shema: morning, the light of day, the light of Geulah, the light of the day of Geulah, when “Hashem will be one and His name one.” “Hear, O Israel, Hashem is our G-d, Hashem is one.” As Rashi says, the One who is our G-d now will be acknowledged as one by the nations of the world as well. We already sense the G-dly revelation of the morning Shema as part of the Geulah. And with this, we can also understand the wonderful conclusion of this Mishnah. How does it end? “‘The days of your life’—this world; ‘all the days of your life’—to include the days of Moshiach.” The Rebbe gave a wonderful explanation of these words: “All the days of your life, to bring the days of Moshiach” means that a Jew is capable of living with more than the Exodus from Egypt. Even during exile, a Jew is capable of living with the days of Moshiach.

23:37 “All the days of your life, to bring the days of Moshiach.” One explanation is that already during exile, during “the days of your life”—today, now, in the present—you can bring in the days of Moshiach. A Jew can already bring the days of Moshiach into exile. Today, in these days when we already see the miracles of Geulah before our eyes, we can live with the days of Moshiach even now. This is what the Rebbe spoke about more than thirty years ago, at the farbrengen on Shabbos Parshas Shemos 5752. Explaining this Mishnah, the Rebbe said that we are now in a period when we are already entering the threshold of Geulah. We are entering the era of Geulah. The miracles and wonders we see, what is happening in the world—these are the miracles of Geulah. The Rebbe then quoted the Midrash, which we can see unfolding before our eyes today: the king of Persia comes and seeks to destroy the world, and the Jewish people are alarmed, frightened and afraid, and say, “Where shall we go?” And Hakadosh Boruch Hu tells them, “My children, do not be afraid. Everything I have done, I have done only for your sake. The time of your redemption has arrived.” The Geulah is at the threshold and is coming; this is the period we are in now. So what are we meant to do, especially in these days? “All the days of your life, to bring the days of Moshiach.” Today, a Jew has the strength not only to rise above nature and live as at the Exodus from Egypt, but to live already in the atmosphere of the days of Moshiach and the complete Geulah, when the world—every aspect of creation—will proclaim, “Hashem is one and His name one.” The Exodus from Egypt was only a beginning. It was a redemption given as a gift from Above, but the Jewish people were not yet ready, “for the people fled,” as the verse says. They had to flee Egypt because the world had not yet been refined. As the Alter Rebbe explains at length in Tanya, at the beginning of serving Hashem—the stage of the Exodus from Egypt, called iskafya in Chassidus—one must flee from evil and break the evil, but you

25:39 We still cannot transform evil into good. The world is not ready yet. But in the days of Moshiach, “the wolf will dwell with the lamb.” In the days of Moshiach, “I will transform the nations to speak a pure language, so that they will all call upon the name of Hashem and serve Him with one accord.” The world will be transformed into a world of Geulah, devoted to serving Hashem. This is what Chassidus calls ishapcha: not just iskafya, not just subduing evil by force and through struggle, but transforming the very nature of his animal soul—of our animal soul—so that it, too, begins to love Hashem and live with Hakadosh Boruch Hu. An inner Geulah, the Geulah of Moshiach, when “there is nothing besides Him” will shine through every part of our reality: our minds, the feelings in our hearts, our bodies and our whole being. And the entire world will proclaim, “Hashem is one and His name is one.” This is the message we read in the Pesach Haggadah, and with Hashem’s help, may we merit to see it with our own eyes this year: “All the days of your life”—to bring about the days of Moshiach. May we truly merit to bring the days of Moshiach into our lives and into the physical reality of the world. May we merit this year, as we say in the Haggadah, to “eat there of the sacrifices and the Pesach offerings,” and to sing a new song: “We will thank You with a new song for our Geulah and the redemption of our souls. Blessed are You, Hashem, Who redeemed Israel.” A kosher and joyous Pesach to all the Jewish people, and may there finally be peace in the Land, tranquility, and peace for Israel.