Perashat Messora 5776

Perashat Messora 5776

The Shabbat before Pesah is known as Shabbat HaGadol, or “The Great Sabbath.”    A number of reasons are given by our sages.  One reason is that it commemorates a ‘great’ miracle that took place on the Sabbath prior to the Exodus from Egypt.  There are two possibilities of what constituted this great miracle.  One opinion says that a civil war broke out among the Egyptians when their firstborn argued with their fellow countrymen to let the Hebrews go, lest they perish in the final plague.  During this conflict, Hebrew lives which could have been in jeopardy – were spared.

Another opinion says that this Sabbath commemorates the time when the Israelites set aside the lamb – the Egyptian Deity - to be used a few days later for the Passover sacrifice.  When asked by the Egyptians as to what they were doing, the Israelites answered that they were going to sacrifice this lamb to Hashem.  A ‘great’ miracle occurred, in which the Egyptians were helpless to do anything to prevent the Israelites from offering their own Deity as a sacrifice.

Yet, a third reason given is the connection to the special Haftara read on this Shabbat in many Jewish communities throughout the world on this Sabbath (though this is not the custom of the Aleppian community). This special Haftara is taken from the final chapter of the book of Malakhi, whose penultimate verse speaks about the coming of Eliyahu HaNavi who will herald, “the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord,” which we commonly understand to mean the arrival of Mashiah.  That this Haftara was chosen for this Shabbat in particular, is probably related to the hope that Eliyahu will come on Pesah night, the anniversary of our first redemption, in order to usher in the period of the final redemption.  This notion is also connected to a tradition observed in many Jewish communities – including some Sephardi communities (although, not in the Syrian community) to extend a ceremonious invitation to an invisible guest, the prophet Elijah, who is believed to attend each and every Seder worldwide and remain unseen.

The obvious question that comes to mind, is why invite Eliyahu HaNavi to the Seder?  Why wasn’t Moshe Rabbenu chosen to be the guest on Pesah?  Certainly Moshe had more to do with the Exodus from Egypt than the prophet Elijah, who lived centuries later!  Why then, was the seat of honor taken from Moshe and given to Eliyahu?  I’d like to suggest the following:  that Moshe is the hero of the past; he is identified with the redemption that was.  He played a central role in the quest to liberate our ancestors from slavery many years ago.  Eliyahu, however, is the hero of the future.  He is the symbol of the Ge’ula ha-atida – of the future and final redemption that is yet to come.  He is the one who was given the assignment of ushering in the Messianic era – and when all Israel unites on Pesah night in reciting the time hallowed prayer regarding the massa in which we express our fervent hope that, “This year we are slaves, next year we will be free; this year we are here; next year in the Land of Israel” – it is fitting that Eliyahu HaNavi be invited as our special guest.  

Why indeed, was Elijah the prophet selected to be the one who would announce the Messianic era?  Three incidents in his life point toward that answer.  

The first outstanding event in his career was his triumph over the Israelite followers of the idol, Ba’al.  When Elijah challenged these idolaters with the famous question, “How long will you hold between two opinions?  If the Lord is G-d, follow him; and if Ba’al – follow him  (I Kings 18:21), he devoted himself to prayer, beseeching G-d to demonstrate his greatness to the people.   The result of his effort was the acceptance of his prayers and sacrifice in a miraculous manner, with the people ultimately recognizing  Boreh Olam as the true G-d, as they declared “Hashem Hu HaElokim, Hashem Hu HaElokim.”   By doing so, he accomplished a Kiddush Hashem in the presence of many.  This was Eliyahu HaNavi – performing his ‘Avodat Hashem – his service and prayer, and guiding people on the true path!

Another incident in the life of Elijah is the story of King Ahab and Naboth.  The king coveted a vineyard that belonged to Naboth.  Ahab wanted to buy the vineyard, but Naboth pleaded with the king that the vineyard had been in his family for generations and he could not part with it.  Thereupon, the king hired a false witness who testified that they heard Naboth blaspheme G-d and curse Ahab.  As a result, Naboth was put to death and the king confiscated the vineyard for himself.  Suddenly, Elijah appeared before Ahab and castigated him with the immortal phrase, “Ha-rasahta v’egam yarashta?” – “Have you murdered and also inherited?”  - promising Ahab in the name of Hashem, that he would pay for his crimes.  These were strong words of moral courage to utter before a king, but Eliyahu did not demur.  The quest for justice, to do the right thing ‘al pi ha-Torah, in accordance with Torah - this too was the quality of Eliyahu HaNavi.  

Finally, there is a story of the widow, whose son suddenly became ill and died.  In her anguish, she cried to Elijah for help.  He said to the woman, “Give me your son.”  (I Kings 17:19) He then carried the dead child to an upper room and breathed his breath into the boy’s lungs – and the child came back to life.  Elijah took the child to his mother and said, “See, your son lives.”  (Ibid. 17:23)  Eliyahu demonstrated the quality of caring and kindness; performing an act of hesed and offering hope to his people.  

It was these three outstanding qualities:  serving Hashem through his  ‘Avodah in order to guide people along the true path, striking out on behalf of justice and morality in the ways of Torah, and performing acts of hesed which  demonstrated true care and compassion for his people, that earned Eliyahu HaNavi the honor and privilege to announce the coming of the Mashiah in the future.  By being selected for this role, he is indeed deserving of an invitation to the Seder, where we not only look to commemorate the events of the past, but look forward to the future redemption as well.

In his words in this Haftara, I believe that the prophet Malakhi is trying to send us a clear message as to how to prepare ourselves and be worthy of meriting the final redemption.  I believe that he is specifically evoking the character traits of Eliyahu in order to tell us that we – each and every one of us – needs to emulate these characteristics if we hope to be redeemed.  For these characteristics are in reality noneother than those of our Abot, Abraham – Hesed; Yisshak – Avodah; Ya’akob – Torah.  This, I believe, is the true message in the ultimate verse of this prophecy:  “And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers…”  Hashem loved the Abot, Abraham, Yisshak and Ya’akob.  The prophet is trying to tell us, that, we, their children, need to return to the path that they established for us; not only to bring about our own redemption, but also to complete the course-correction begun by our forefathers in order that the world continue in the way Boreh Olam intended it to be from its very creation, lest – in the words of the final verse, that Hashem will, “Come and smite the land with a curse.”  May we all use this Pesah season to improve ourselves in Hesed – Kindness,  Avodah – Prayer  and Torah, so that we may be blessed to see the final redemption speedily in the coming days.

Shabbat HaGadol Shalom, Mo’adim LeSimha and Tizku LeShanim Rabbot