Tuesday, April 16, 2024

Fw: [-aneinu] Pesach Message 5784




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From: "'Chicago Aneinu' via chicago-aneinu" <chicago-aneinu@googlegroups.com>
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Sent: Tue, Apr 16, 2024 at 11:25 PM
Subject: [chicago-aneinu] Pesach Message 5784


     Aneinu

PESACH MESSAGE

5784

FROM OUR RAV

HA'RAV HENOCH PLOTNIK

Undoubtedly, every family has its own favorite part of the Haggadah.

For some, it may be the Ma Nishtana, for others the beautiful singing of Hallel. There are also certain parts of the maggid that speak to different individuals in a unique way, such as V'hi She'amda which might resonate with a Holocaust survivor more than someone who grew up in the peace and quiet of America.


Unfortunately, some parts tend to get neglected as the hour gets late and the concern to make the appropriate z'man for eating matzah and afikomen creeps up faster than we would like. Maybe that too is a manifestation of hashgacha, to remind us of the "chipazon", the haste we were in when we left Mitzrayim. We recreate it with a haste of another sort, as we too want to catch the exact moments that are "mesugal" to relive the original exodus and re experience one of the greatest moments in our history.


One part of the Haggadah that barely receives any attention at all is the end of the ten makkos section, where we are told that there were many more plagues that struck the Egyptians by the Yam Suf, up to 250 !

Yet, unlike the ten makkos that we are familiar with, we are left to our imagination as far as to what they were. What then is the point of this information? If we are taught in various midrashim about the middah k'neged middah of the makkos we do know about, what are we to take from this mysterious part of the Haggadah? Surely it is not there just for historical and dramatic effect.


A thought occurred to me recently, in light of the difficult situation Klal Yisrael currently finds itself in, although it is really something we should be carrying around all the time. Sometimes it is blatantly obvious when the Hand of Hashem is saving us from harm as well as avenging our suffering from our enemies. Chazal point out how even at the Yam Suf, each Egyptian was treated tit for tat, based on the evil he inflicted on Klal Yisrael , in a unique and individual fashion. This, as well as the ten makkos, reinforces our belief in Hashgacha Pratis and Hashem's exact Providence over every single event and act of retribution.


There is however another message we should be receiving, and that is that there are so many instances of Hashem protecting us, that we do not even see. We do not even know what they are in the first place. We are not privy to all the "just missed" missiles or "almost direct hits" that are happening on a daily basis, even as we follow what we think is every move and every action of the current campaign.


It is well quoted in the name of the Brisker Rav what we say in Hallel "Hallelu es Hashem kol goyim...ki govar aleinu chasdo". The Rav said that the enemies have the greatest appreciation of Hashem's hashgacha over us, for only they know how many of their plans were thwarted without our ever knowing! They sing Hashem's praises more than anyone, for only they know the whole story.


Perhaps this was on purpose then, that the Haggadah wanted to keep all those extra makkos a secret. This is a lesson for all times, that there makkos that we know about,and makkos that we never even see, yet they are happening on a daily basis, a manifestation of the true Shomer Yisrael watching over us more than we will ever know.


And for that we must express our recognition and appreciation. There are hundreds of them, even if we will never know exactly what they are, or what could have been.


As we sit around our seder tables once again, let us focus not only on how "In every generation they rise up against us to destroy us", but at the same moment, a great appreciation for "And HKBH saves us from their hands".


May we see that ultimate salvation b'meheira b'yameinu.

Chag Kasher V'same'ach

Rabbi Henoch Plotnik 

aneinu | 204 Broadway, Lawrence, NY 11559

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