Shabbos Chol Hamoed- Shir Ha Shirim
When did the love between Hashem and bnei yisroel begin? what started it all?
Pesach translated literally means "skipping over" and not "passover" as it has been translated.
whats the difference between "skip over" and pass over"? We can see this from the following medrish:
" קול דודי הנה- זה בא מדלג על-ההרים מקפץ על גבות"
"The voice of my beloved, here it comes skipping over the mountains, jumping over the hills."(Shir HaShirim 2:8)
When Moshe came to bnei yisroel and said, "This month you will be redeemed," they said to him, "How can we leave when all of Mitzryim is filled with our idol-worship?" Moshe answered, "Since Hashem desires to redeem you, He will not look at your idol worship. Rather, He is skipping over the mountains."They said to him, "How can we be redeemed when only 210 years have passed out of the 400 years of the decree of slavery?" He said, "Since Hashem desires to redeem you He will not look at your calculations. Rather, He is skipping over the mountains." (Midrash Shir Hashirim Raba 2)
On this night, the natural order of things was reversed. Instead of beni yisroel calling out to Hashem to redeem them, Hashem came to them at a time when they were least prepared, when they were at their lowest spiritual low,the 49th level of Tuma when they were completely undeserving of a nes.( Hashem is skipping over the mountains, He is rushing to get us out of Mitzryim He loves us so much that He just wants to be with us, no taking His time, He is skipping getting there as fast as He could.- nice additional thought on this pasuk)
But here is when Hashem tells Moshe Rabeinu;
"Israel is my firstborn." (Exodus 4:22)
God, our Father, relates to us as His children. A father doesn't wait for his children to deserve to be saved from the lion's den.
this is the basis of "the jewish people","the chosen nation". "am yisroel", the loving unconditional relationship between Hashem and His people. Hashem skipped over our deeds, like a person in love who overlooks his beloved's faults. Hashem knows we did wrong but he loves us unconditionally no matter what we are His nation and He is our king, we are His children and He is our loving father, we are His wife and He is our beloved husband. The loving relationship will always be there no matter what (and this is the perfect place to add in my favorite pasuk in all of tanach-
"...אני ישנה ולבי ער קול דודי דופק פתחי לי אחותי רעותי יונתי תמתי"
"I am asleep but my heart is awake, the sound of my beloved is knocking, please open for me my sister, my beloved, my dove, my perfect one..."
We are asleep we are not serving Hashem whole heartedly the way we should, we aren't all the way there we don't give it 100%, we are doing the actions without always feeling it. But it is never too late no matter how low we fall Hashem is always there waiting for us, Hashem send us all kinds of signs and wake up calls "HASHEM IS KNOCKING" but it is up to us to let Him in and "OPEN THE DOOR". Hashem is always there waiting for us calling us by special names(sister, beloved, dove. perfect one) Hashem is our beloved and is waiting for us to come back to him.
Pesach is the first chag in the jewish calendar. Hashem initiates the relationship,one-sided and unconditional at first . His love gives us the security and the strength we need to respond na'aseh v'nishma at Har Sinai.
This explains why we read the "Shir HaShirim" on pesach- the ultimate love story, better than any novel or romance movie It also explains one reason for the name Pesach.
Pesach is to remind us that Hashem "skipped over" the Jewish homes during makot bechoros. But in the Torah, the name PESACH isn't mentioned, rather, Hashem calls it the "chag hamatzot", to remember our willingness to leave Mitzryim in such a hurry, putting aside our concerns about our dough and instead trusting in Hashem.
this is a fundemental point in relationships. Each person chooses to remember the sacrafices and good deeds of the other;
Beni Yisroel call the chag PESACH because of Hashem's loving act of saving our first born sons by "skipping over" our houses
Hashem calls the holiday "chag hamatzot" for beni yisroel's trust and emunah in Hashem to leave Mitzryim without normal bread.
Pesach is the time for love and connection to Hashem this is when Hashem shows himself to beni yisroel taking them out of Mitzryim with an out stretched arm.
Hashem is our beloved and always will be
Have an amazing yontiff
chag kasher v'sameach!
love,
Eliana
