Page 6 - RMBA Upper School Haggadah 2018

Don’t Pass Over This Dvar Torah - Dina Kirshner (12th Grade)
We all know this holiday has many names, most commonly known as Pesach and Passover.
Other names include Chag Hamatzot, Zman Charautanu and Chag HaAviv. What is the real
meaning behind the many names of Passover?
Tradi onally, we learn at a very a young age that Passover refers to God passing over the homes
of the Jewish people, and sparing the first-born Jewish sons. It is obvious that this holiday could
be called the spring holiday (Chag HaAviv) since it takes place during the spring me. However,
there is actually another older, less commonly known defini on of Pesach, meaning to have “to
have compassion for.” Rav Saadia Gaon explains according to Kabbalah that the meaning of
“Pesach” through the word verachem, is to have mercy, and “zevach pesach” as “zevach
chamlah,” the sacrifice of mercy. Similarly, the Hebrew grammarian Ibn Janach, in his Sefer
HaShorashim, understands the word Pesach as “to derive from mercy or grace.”
So what do mercy, grace, and compassion have to do with the Passover? I believe that in order
to unlock the true beauty and meaning behind the Pesach story, you must observe it with
compassion to others, act mercifully when poten al strife arises, and prac ce Bein Adam
LeChaveiro with grace. Hashem wants us to use these a ributes and imply them through the
seder and holiday. In order to fully understand the significance of this holiday, a large part of the
answer is behind the meaning of the name itself.

The Seder Plate – ‫קערת הסדר‬

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