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Orchard of Delights
Taking a step backwards, we might ask what induced this feeling
of unity among the people? A credible answer may be that their
recent prophetic experience during the crossing of the Reed Sea and
especially during the singing of the Song of the Sea (see “Music and
Prophecy” above), inculcated a sense of oneness and unity among
the people, of their being “as one person with one heart.”
Another factor could be the battle with Amalek, the last episode
related in the Torah before the Jewish people arrived at Mount Sinai.
Only by attaining a high level of determination, unity, and a sense of
purpose could the children of Israel have defeated an enemy whose
very purpose is the destruction of the Jewish people. Time after time
in recent Jewish history we have seen the people of Israel, despite
their many differences and disputes, come together “as one person
with one heart” to defeat enemies bent on their destruction.
Both the experience at the Reed Sea and the battle with Amalek
transformed the people, endowing them with a feeling of unity and a
sense of purpose. This consciousness was translated into their arrival
at Sinai “as one person with one heart” and consequently led to
the awesome and unique historical experience of the Giving of the
Torah.
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(Exodus 13:8). The message this last verse teaches is that if for some
reason the child fails to ask (either due to his or her youth or because
of a lack of natural inquisitiveness), the adult need not wait to be
prompted, he or she should initiate the conversation.
In instructing the adult to speak to this child, the Haggadah uses
the somewhat unusual formulation, “You open [for] him.” Since the
Hebrew word used for “you” (at) here takes the feminine form, many
commentators point out the crucial role women play in children’s
education, in general, and in young children’s education, in particular.
The loving warmth accompanying a mother’s transmission of
fundamental Torah ideals to her child creates a lasting bond between
that child and Jewish tradition and values.
Our Rabbis glean another deep insight from the fact that the word
“you,” in Hebrew, contains two letters, an alef and a tav, the first and
last letters of the Hebrew alphabet. From the Haggadah’s usage of
the word “you,” which includes in a sense all the letters from alef to
tav, we may infer that when a child first begins to learn the Hebrew
letters, if presented properly, they have the power to “open up” the
child’s consciousness. There is a beautiful custom that emphasizes
this idea. When young children first begin to learn the Hebrew
letters, they are given cookies in the shape of the letters dipped in
honey to eat. As they learn each letter, they are presented with the
appropriate cookie; this truly leaves a sweet and lasting impression.
An even deeper insight about how the Hebrew letters should be
taught to young children – who at such an age are “open books,”
ready and willing to absorb and integrate new ideas – can be garnered
from this allusion to the entire Hebrew alphabet. As discussed a
number of times in this book, the Hebrew letters are infinite channels
of Divine wisdom and energy that are manifest at every level of
reality (“Blessed is the One Who Spoke”; “The Paradoxical Nature
of Names, the Hebrew Letters, and the Mitzvot”). They are truly the
building blocks of the universe.
Although the Hebrew letters are profound beyond description there
are relatively simple models to teach their vast applicability. I had
the great privilege of assisting Rabbi Yitzchak Ginsburgh in writing
the now classic book The Hebrew Letters, wherein the properties of
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