So what’s on your to-do list for the next few days? Shopping, Cleaning, Cooking, Packing? All of the above? As we rapidly approach Pesach, we are all very busy getting ready with the practicals. Yet it’s worthwhile to take some time out to think about why we are really doing all of this and the important lessons that we can take away from Pesach.
There’s a beautiful story told about Rav Avigdor Miller zt”l who was on one of his routine walks in the streets of Brooklyn, and along the way he bumped into his daughter. He remarked to her that it’s so funny to see her now because he was just thanking Hashem over the fact that she’s married. She looked at him inquisitively and said, “Huh?! I’ve been married for over 40 years already!” Rav Miller replied, “I know, and I’ve been thanking Hashem every single day for over 40 years over the fact that you’re married.” Rav Avigdor Miller understood what it means to have hakarat hatov. He noticed when Hakadosh Baruch Hu provided us with a gift, recognized it so deeply and had a constant feeling of thanks towards Hashem.
Rav Yerucham Levovitz comments that people often think that Pesach, the Seder, and Yetzias Mitzrayim are all about building our Emunah. While of course our Emunah growth in our faith that Hashem runs and maintains the world is the central theme of the Yom Tov, the message we must take is really much deeper. If Pesach is only about Emunah, then why is it that the Rambam instructs us that we are obligated to view ourselves as if we actually left Mitzrayim? Every Jew has to literally envision themselves having gone through bitter slavery, witnessing ten miraculous plagues and experiencing crossing the Yam Suf with all the earth shattering Nissim that occurred.
Why must we actually re-enact this and put ourselves in our ancestors position, truly reliving the experience for ourselves? If we are only looking to grow in our Emunah, our belief that Hashem exists and runs the world, then we should just be obligated to study what happened back then. We should just learn about the many Nissim that took place in those times, so that intellectually we know what happened to our ancestors. Why must we actually envision ourselves as experiencing the slavery and the miracles of Mitzrayim, picturing and imagining that I was physically there?
Rav Yerucham answers with a powerful thought. He says that when you recognize and feel that you yourself actually witnessed all the water, even the fruit juice, turning to blood, and every Egyptian firstborn dying at the exact same moment, as well as experiencing physically walking through a sea that split just for you, then you develop within yourself a very real feeling of Hakaras Hatov to Hashem. If you can bring yourself to feel that you actually went through this, and you yourself witnessed the great miracles performed, then in turn you will sense how much you owe the Ribbono Shel Olam for this great gift. Pesach is not only about Emunah, the belief that Hashem created and runs the world. It is also about taking that feeling to the next level, accepting upon ourselves to come closer to Hashem through a deeper performance of the Mitzvos throughout the year. That is accomplished by understanding and feeling how much he really does for us. When you constantly think about the incredible good that Hashem has given you, one begins to feel “wow, now I really need to give back to the Ribono Shel Olam.”
The Sifsei Chaim writes that the feeling of Hakaras Hatov is built into the fabric of every single person. The more that we recognize what Hashem has done for us and the more that we focus on the details of those gifts the more that we naturally will want to give back to him. That’s what we’re doing on the Seder night, and that’s what we’re looking to accomplish throughout Pesach. We spend time discussing all the nuances of what happened in Mitzrayim, all the miraculous occurrences that we witnessed, the specific detail with which Hakadosh Baruch Hu crafted all of the makos and the yam suf, and that leads us to say, “Wow! Hakadosh Baruch Hu did all of that for me, now it’s my time to give back.” This Pesach let’s try to tap into the powerful force of Hakaras Hatov. Let us think about all that Hashem did for us then, and continues to do for us now, and b’ezrat Hashem we will feel a renewed sense of inspiration in our Torah and Mitzvos throughout the year.
