Pesach 2022

1The term “Shmirah” or “To Guard” appears several times in chapter 12 of the Exodus story:

2“And you shall guard it (the Pesach lamb) until the fourteenth day of this month” (Ex 12:6)

3“And you shall guard the Matzot for on this day I have taken out your hosts from Egypt. And you shall guard this day for generations an everlasting decree.” (ibid :17)

4“And you shall guard this matter for a decree for you and your children for all time.” (ibid :24)

5“And it shall be when you come to the land which God will give you as he has spoken and you shall guard this service.” (ibid :25)

6“It is a night of guarding “Leyl Shimurim” for God to take them out of the land of Egypt. It is this night, before God, a guarded night for all of the Children of Israel for their generations.” (ibid 12:42)

7The Ohr Hachayim suggests that the night of the 15th of Nisan at night is special, because of the five miracles that happened on that night. 1\ Abraham launched his attack against the four powerful kings on that night; “And he divided against them at night” 2\ The Exodus began at night; “And it came to pass in the middle of the night.” 3\ Sancherev was destroyed at night; “And it happened on that night”. 4\ In Megilat Esther; “On that night the king’s sleep was disturbed”. 5\ On behalf of the future redemption which will occur on that night; “A guarded night for all of the Children of Israel for their generations”. The Ohr Hachayim then relates each section of the Pasuk of Leil Shimurim to each redemption.

8The Midrash Rabbah on that Pasuk also attributes several historical positive events to the fifteenth of Nisan; the escape from the fire by Michael Tzephania and Aazarah, Daniel’e escape in the lion’s den and others.

9According to the Midrash and the Ohr Hachayim this fifteenth of Nisan night is a night designated and guarded for good things. It would be the polar opposite of the ninth of Av which is famously assigned a day of tragedy.

10Rashi wrote, Leyl Shimurim was a night where God watched and hoped to be able to fulfill his promise of redemption.

11“And it came to pass at the end of 30 years and of four hundred years. And it came to pass on that very day, and all of God’s Army left Egypt” (ibid :41)

12This teaches that once the time arrives God does not hold back the redemption even for the blink of an eye. On the fifteenth of Nisan the angels notified Abraham of the upcoming birth of Isaac. The birth occurred on the fifteenth of Nisan, and the covenant of the pairs also took place on the fifteenth of Nisan. (Rashi ibid).

13The Pasuk (verse 42) associates our own guardedness with God’s guarding. Following Rashi’s direction we can understand the special nature of Pesach night as a night of guarding. Just as God is exacting in His approach to redemption so must we act in executing our obligations. The Pascal Lamb has a series of intricate and exacting rules associated with its sacrifice and consumption. Shmurah Matzoh comes to our seder table following an exacting and careful process which must be carefully guarded. The seder service is carefully laid out as to which sction is read first and which second etc. The care we devote to being “Shomrei Mitzvot” is reflective of God’s own care in execution perfect judgments. On Pesach night more than any other night we pray and hope for the redemption. We pray that just as we are exacting in our care of the Mitzvot so G0d should remember us and redeem us as he has promised.

14Dedicated to the memory of Joel Shulman A’H