23 Mar MAGID

The Chida zt’l says that we should tell the following story at the Seder: A woman in Tzefas was once plagued by a dibuk. A spirit of a rasha had attached itself to her neshamah and was afflicting her. The Arizal sent Reb Chaim Vital to heal her.

When Reb Chaim Vital came into the room, the spirit immediately turned to the wall, explaining that he didn’t have permission to look at the Shechinah.

Reb Chaim Vital asked the spirit why he had permission to afflict this woman.

The spirit replied, “This woman woke up early in the morning, and she was striking flint stones to make fire, but she wasn’t succeeding. In frustration, she shouted, ‘Let it be for the Satan,’ and because of those words, I had permission to become a dibuk.”

Rav Chaim asked, “You were permitted to afflict her just because of that?” The spirit replied, “It is mainly because this woman is not the same inside as she appears on the outside. She doesn’t believe in yetzias Mitzrayim. At the Seder, when Yidden say Hallel and tell the story of yetzias Mitzrayim with happiness, she thinks it’s a joke. She thinks the miracles never occurred.” Rav Chaim asked the woman, “Do you believe that HaKadosh Baruch Hu took us out of Mitzrayim and split the sea for us?” “I believe. And if occasionally I have other thoughts, I regret them.” And she began to cry. After she said this, Reb Chaim Vital was able to banish the spirit from her.

This story teaches us that emunah has many levels. Sometimes we believe, but it is without clarity, without certainty. The month of Nisan, and especially during Pesach, and even more so, at the Seder, we should be thinking and talking about emunah, because these are days when we have a greater potential for attaining clarity in emunah.

The Lechovitzer zt’l said, יתנמאה†I believe in Hashem, יכ†רבדא†,because I speak about emunah (Tehillim 116:10). And the Baal HaTanya says that in a sefer Torah, the letter ׳ד†of דחא†is written large, and it looks like a large hammer. This is to hint that we must hammer into our heads the emunah of ׳ה†דחא†.We do this throughout the year, but there is a special benefit when we have these thoughts and discussions of emunah during Nisan, even more so on Pesach, and especially at the Seder, because each thought of emunah that is expressed at these times become deeply engraved into our heart and mind.

The Gemara (Shabbos 31.) makes an association between emunah and agriculture. Therefore, in the month Nisan, when agriculture is at its peak, and the crops are full-grown, our emunah can reach its’ heights, as well (see Hamak Davar Shemos 13:4). as that, ≠ולאגנ†ןסינב†לאגל– ןידיתע†ןסינבו†,say Chazal we were redeemed from Mitzrayim in Nisan, we will be redeemed from the present exile in Nisan. Rebbe Menachem Nochum of Boyan Tchernovitz zt’l explains that this is because our emunah is stronger in Nisan. And it is the increase in emunah that will bring our redemption. As Chazal (Yalkut Shimoni, Hosheia הנומאה†תוכזב†תוכזבו†םירצממ†וניתובא†ולאגנ†,say) ט״יקת†הנומאה†ןידיתע†לאגהל¨” In the merit of the emunah our forefathers were redeemed from Mitzrayim, and in the merit of emunah, we will be redeemed from the present galus.” So, every day of the year, one can hammer emunah into his mind by speaking and thinking about emunah. However, this is accomplished more easily in Nisan, which is the month of emunah, the month we will be redeemed. This is even more true when we sit by the Seder. The mitzvah of yetzias Mitzrayim is mesugal to implant emunah into our hearts.

The Sar Shalom of Belz zt’l once said to his grandson, Rebbe Yissachar Dov of Belz zt’l: “Eliyahu HaNavi attends the Seder of every Yid, and there are great tzaddikim who actually see him.” Then, the Sar Shalom raised his head to heaven and said, “But an even higher level is when one believes that Eliyahu comes to our Seder.”

After saying ,ךפש†ךתמח†the Noda BeYehudah would escort Eliyahu HaNavi z’l out of his house, and he would walk with him down the stairs, to the street. The Chidushei HaRim praised this immensely and said, “The Noda b’Yehuda didn’t actually see Eliyahu Hanavi. But he believed that he was there. And believing is even greater than giluy Eliyahu, actually seeing Eliyahu HaNavi.

The difference between a segulah and a refuah is that a refuah can be explained scientifically, whereas a segulah is a remedy that doesn’t have a logical explanation. If you use the segulah, you will be healed, but it can’t be explained why and how that happens. The Yesod HaAvodah zt’l says that the mitzvah of Sipur Yetzias Mitzrayim, to speak about the Exodus at the Seder, is a segulah for emunah. This means that it isn’t only logical – that by talking about yetzias Mitzrayim we will believe in Hashem more – it is also a segulah. Performing this mitzvah implants emunah on our hearts in ways that we can’t explain.

Some meforshim say that the mitzvah of תדגהו†ךנבל†isn’t only for the Seder. Whenever a child asks his father a question related to yetzias Mitzrayim –any day of the year, the father has the mitzvah ,תדגהו†ךנבל†to teach his son about yetzias Mitzrayim. But we want the children to ask questions related to yetzias Mitzrayim specifically at the Seder, as the ןיא†םאו†ודמלמ†ויבא†≠תעד, ,says) 4:10 Pesachim (Mishnah “If the child isn’t wise enough to ask questions, his father should teach him to ask questions,” because this night is mesugal for implanting emunah in their hearts. We want to have the opportunity to plant emunah in our children’s hearts, in ways that we can’t do all year long.

As the Ohev Yisrael writes, “The truth is that even if a child asks his father these questions other times during the year, the father must also answer him… Nevertheless, the holy Torah teaches us that throughout the year, even if you tell your son the story of yetzias Mitzrayim, the words will not settle on the child’s heart… The Haggadah teaches, The ‘≠יתרמא†אל†םיחנומ†רורמו†הצמ≠†שיש†העשב≠†אלא†ךינפל≠, time that I want you to speak about yetzias Mitzrayim is when you have matzah and marror before you.’ Because on the night of Pesach, when the mind is open, the light of wisdom is revealed, and emunah and bitachon hover over all Jewish people. At this time, when you will answer your son’s questions, and you will tell him the entire story, your words will certainly enter his ears, and he will truly believe in yetzias Mitzrayim. But the rest of the year, when there’s darkness in the world, the son isn’t able to properly accept his father’s words and to believe.” At the Seder we have the mitzvah of תדגהו†ךנבל, to tell our children the miracles of yetzias Mitzrayim. This is our annual opportunity for transmitting emunah to the next generation. Due to the holiness of the night and the holiness of the mitzvah, our words have a deep effect on the children’s neshamah.

Rebbe Yissacher Dov of Belz zt’l explained it this way: Hashem keeps the entire Torah (as Chazal tell us). This means He also keeps the mitzvah of .ךנבל†תדגהוHe tells His children the story of yetzias Mitzrayim. We are Hashem’s children. So as we are at the Seder, Hashem is teaching us emunah. This means, He opens our hearts so we can grasp the meaning of the wonderful miracles that occurred. And when Hashem is the teacher, our perception of what is being taught is one hundred percent accurate.

Rebbe Yissachar Dov based his lesson on the Tur (Orach Chaim 115), which explains the brachah of Shemonah Esrei, ¨ונבישה†וניבא†ךתרותל†“Return us, our Father, to Your Torah.” In most brachos, we don’t address Hashem as being ,וניבא†our Father. Why is this brachah different? The Tur explains that we are saying, “Hashem, You are our Father, and a father has a mitzvah to teach his children Torah. Therefore, Dear Father, open our hearts and teach us Torah.” Similarly, Reb Yissachar Dov of Belz said, Hashem is our Father, and we request that He teach us the story of yetzias Mitzrayim, until it is firmly placed and etched on our hearts.

Every year, at the Seder, Reb Yaakov Yosef Weiss z’l from Manchester would tell his family how he was saved from the Holocaust. This is his story: “I was in the camps with a friend, and I repeatedly spoke to him about emunah and bitachon. I encouraged him to trust that Hashem will save us, and we will be free. But it was hard for my friend to hear this. He was pessimistic, and he suspected that the worst would happen. “Then came the dreaded day, when the Germans told us that they are taking us to shower. We knew that this meant the gas chambers. My friend said to me, ‘What do you say now?’ “I told him, ‘Even now I trust in Hashem. ¨תעושת†׳ה†ףרהכ†ןיע†Hashem can save us in a moment.’ “

I was in the gas chamber, standing near the door. The evil Nazi tried to close the door, but it wouldn’t close. The Nazi wanted me to go further into the chamber so he could shut the door, but that was impossible. There were many people in the gas chamber, and there was no place to go. I’m heavy, so the Nazi chose to pull me out in order to close the door. That’s how my life was saved…”

When he told this story of his salvation each year at the Seder, he would add, “Do you want to know how I had this high level of bitachon? It is because at my father’s Sedarim, my father would speak a lot about emunah and bitachon, and his words were firmly implanted in my heart…”