Page 23 - RMBA Upper School Haggadah 2018
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economic prosperity should be used to help the Rohingya people just as God’s power was used
to save us. The message of Pesach should not stop at the Myanmar situa on, but should stand
as a beacon for worldwide philanthropy.
ְו ָהיוּ,ַמ ֲﬠ ֶשׂה ְבּ ַר ִבּי ֱא ִלי ֶﬠ ֶזר ְו ַר ִבּי ְיהוֹ ֻש ַﬠ ְו ַר ִבּי ֶא ְל ָﬠ ָזר ֶבּן ֲﬠ ַז ְר ָיה ְו ַר ְבּי ֲﬠ ִקי ָבא ְו ַר ִבּי ַט ְרפוֹן ֶש ָהיוּ ְמ ֻס ִבּין ִבּ ְב ֵני ְב ַרק
ִה ִגּי ַﬠ ְז ַמן ְק ִרי ַאת ְשׁ ַמע ֶשׁל, ַרבּוֹ ֵתינוּ:ְמ ַס ְפּ ִרים ִבּי ִצי ַאת ִמ ְצ ַר ִים ָכּל אוֹתוֹ ַה ַלּ ְי ָלה ַﬠד ֶשׁ ָבּאוּ ַת ְל ִמי ֵדי ֶהם ְו ָא ְמרוּ ָל ֶהם
ַשׁ ֲח ִרית.
It once happened that Rabbis Eliezer, Yehoshua, Elazar ben Azaryah, Akiva and Tarfon were
reclining at the seder table in Bnei Brak. They spent the whole night discussing the Exodus until
their students came and said to them: "Rabbis, it is time for us to recite the Shema.
The Power Of The Shema - Sapir Tessler (11th Grade)
The mitzvah of learning Torah is equal to any other mitzvah [“Talmud Torah k’neged kulam”].
Learning should only be interrupted if there is an emergency. Taking the aforemen oned into
account, why did the students interrupt the studying of the Rabbis to tell them it was me to
recite the morning Shema, especially considering one is permi ed to recite the morning Shema
up to three hours a er sunrise?
A er considering this ques on, it seems there is a blatant discrepancy amid the mitzvah of
reminiscing the Exodus tale and the recita on of the morning Shema. However, there is a simple
explana on: as soon as it’s morning, there is no longer the obliga on of recalling the story of
Exodus.
One purpose of reci ng the Shema is to remember the Exodus. However, doing this in the
morning, the me of hope, is a lot easier than doing it at night, a me of fear.
Following the destruc on of the Temple, when the Roman’s power was at its peak, the most
pres gious Rabbis gathered at the home of Rabbi Akiva. With fear for their future they studied
day and night, not differen a ng between the two. It was only the youth who were able to
sustain a sense of hope and they were the only ones able to do what we interpreted as rudely
interrup ng the righteous and informing them of the arrival of the daybreak. Pesach is a holiday
that focuses on the children and the youth. We are only able to fully redeem with this hope, the
hope of our children.
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