Celebrating Jewish survival on Pesach
Oct 7 and its aftermath has awakened us to the harsh reality of the ever-lurking forces of evil that seek the annihilation of the Jewish people (and the Western free democratic societies).
The rabbis captured this sentiment in the Passover Haggadah liturgy with the famous words “And this is what kept our fathers and what keeps us surviving. For, not just one alone has risen against us to destroy us, but in every generation they rise against us to destroy us, and the Holy One Blessed Be He saves us from their hands.”
This Piyut (liturgical poem) appears as far back as the 8th Century. By then 7 centuries had passed since the destruction of the second Temple and exile of the Jewish people from their land. By the second century after the second Jewish-Roman war some 1 million Jews had been killed or sent away as slaves. Jewish life did not get any better in the next few centuries with continued roman persecution and restrictions to Jewish life. And from the 4th century onwards with Christianity dominating the Roman world antisemitism transformed into a religious hatred of the Jew. So, we can understand how this passage made its way into the Haggadah.
Vehi Sheamdah comes just after the paragraph that summarises God’s promise or covenant to Abraham (known as the Covenant between the parts recounted in Genesis) . Vehi Sheamdah thus begins with “And this is what kept …”, referring back to God’s promise we have just previously mentioned. We lift our cup of wine at this point of the Haggadah and cover the Matzah. Wine symbolises freedom and our joyous celebration of it whereas at this stage of the Seder night Matza is the bread of affliction. We are stating our unequivocal faith in God’s promise that we will ultimately survive as a nation. No matter how difficult the circumstances we lift our cup and live in the moment acknowledging the miracle of Jewish existence.
However, some commentators explain Vehi Sheamdah as a self-contained unit. From this perspective the question must asked; what is the meaning of the initial phrase “And it is this that kept etc”. To what is this referring to exactly? To use Mark Twain’s famous phrase “What is the secret of his immortality?” Is it just God’s promise to Abraham that keeps us going from generation to generation or is there another factor in the mysterious formula of Jewish survival
In Hebrew “And it is this“ is one Hebrew word “Vehi” spelt Vav Hei Yud Aleph. Each letter in Hebrew is known to have a numerical value by which we can uncover deeper aspects of meaning of a word or phrase. Vav is 6 referring to the 6 orders of the Mishna. This is the repository of wisdom that makes up the basic structure of our oral tradition or law. Hei is 5 which corresponds to the 5 books of the written Torah. Yud 10 symbolises the 10 commandments and Aleph one refers to our faith in One God who powers all of creation and simultaneously transcends it.
From this perspective , the Vehi Sheamdah passage teaches us that the secret to Jewish survival lies not just in God’s promise but in the Jewish people faithfully living and passing on their faith and traditions from generation to generation.
The phrase “In every generation they rise against us …” has a counterpoint in the Haggadah a little later in the Maggid section. The rabbis added the Mishna “In every generation a person is obligated to see himself as if he came out of Egypt”.
I think the use of the same phrase is no coincidence. Perceiving ourselves as personally leaving Egypt has profound consequences to our psyche. It transforms our Judaism from a quaint set of ritual traditions to an intimate relationship with God who we are indebted to for His redemption. When we see ourselves as part of the unfolding Divine drama whose mission is to light up the world with Godliness and act as Divine Ambassadors embodying the truths of the Torah- of righteousness, compassion, and justice- then we are living with “Vehi” (6-5-10-1) as our guiding motto. And this is what keeps us from generation to generation.
The suffering undergone by Jews past and present is inexplicable and beyond any human mind to conceive or comprehend but that does not stop us celebrating with wonder at our unique identity and mission.
Let us lift our cups this Seder night and celebrate the birth of the Jewish people. Each year at Seder we have the opportunity of our own rebirth and spiritual renewal. Each of us can find one letter of Vehi to focus on and develop so that this coming year will be one of not only Jewish survival but thriving spiritually living our lives with the ultimate joy, ecstatic in Gods presence every moment of every day.
Wishing you Chag Kosher Pesach Sameach
A happy and Kosher Pesach
Rabbi Danny Bergson
07917 548 386