Sacred Fire by Kalonymus Kalmish Shapira

Author:Kalonymus Kalmish Shapira
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Jason Aronson, Inc.
Published: 2002-11-07T16:00:00+00:00

“It is this that has stood by our fathers and us. For there has not just been one who rose against us to annihilate us, but in every generation they still rise against us to annihilate us. And the Holy Blessed One rescues us from their hands.” (From the Passover Haggadah.)

A well-known question asked by the commentators on this text is: To what does the author of the Haggadah refer when saying, “It is this that has stood by our fathers?” What is “this,” and how has it stood by us? A simple explanation might be that “this” refers to our experience of history, to the fact that the Holy Blessed One rescues us, and that he rescues us not only before we fall into the hands of our enemies but even after we have already fallen into their hands. It is this historical fact—that even when it appears certain to us that we are already in their hands, God forbid, He will yet rescue us—that has stood by us, giving us hope and encouragement.

Another explanation might be as follows. Isaac said, “The voice is Jacob’s voice, and the hands are the hands of Esau.” (Genesis 27:22) The Midrash Rabbah (Eikha, intro. 2) interprets this verse to mean: “So long as the voice of Jacob continues trilling with the sounds of Torah in synagogues and study houses, the hands of Esau will have no mastery.” When we see Esau’s hands in control, we must assume it has come about because we were not sufficiently diligent in our Torah studies and did not teach our children properly. How, then, will we be rescued? “It is this that has stood by our fathers and us . . . The Holy Blessed One rescues us from their hands.” He rescues us even when Esau’s hands are in control, so that in the future Jacob’s voice may be heard trilling in synagogues and study houses. This explains the connection between this paragraph and the one immediately following; “The Holy Blessed One rescues us from their hands” is followed by “Go and learn . . .” So, from now on, go and learn Torah.

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