1 Yeshiva University • The Benjamin and Rose Berger Torah To-Go Series• Nissan 5773 Richard M. Joel, President, Yeshiva University Rabbi Kenneth Brander, The David Mitzner Dean, Center for the Jewish Future Rabbi Joshua Flug, General Editor Rabbi Michael Dubitsky, Editor Andrea Kahn, Copy Editor Copyright © 2013 All rights reserved by Yeshiva University Yeshiva University Center for the Jewish Future 500 West 185th Street, Suite 413, New York, NY 10033 • [email protected] • 212.960.5263 This publication contains words of Torah. Please treat it with appropriate respect. For sponsorship opportunities, please contact Genene Kaye at 212.960.0137 or [email protected]. 2 Yeshiva University • The Benjamin and Rose Berger Torah To-Go Series• Nissan 5773 Table of Contents Pesach/Yom Haatzmaut 2013/5773 Rabbi Akiva’s Seder Table: An Introduction Rabbi Kenneth Brander . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 7 Reflections on Rav Soloveitchik zt"l Growing up in Boston An Interview with Rebbetzin Meira Davis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 11 Insights into Pesach On the Study of Haggadah: A Note on Arami Oved Avi and Biblical Intertextuality Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik zt"l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 15 Use of the Term Makom, Omnipresent, in the Haggadah Rabbi Yosef Adler . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 19 What Is Judaism? Rabbi Reuven Brand . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 21 Why Don’t We Recite Shehecheyanu on Sefiras ha-Omer Rabbi Menachem Genack . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 29 The Dual Aspect of the Four Cups: A Core Idea of Pesach from the Rav zt”l Rabbi Hershel Reichman . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 33 Charoses: Why Don’t we Recite a Beracha? Rabbi Hershel Schachter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 35 Insights from the Rav on the “Maggid” Section of the Haggadah Rabbi Michael Taubes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 38 Why We Shouldn’t Rush the Seder Meal Rabbi Netanel Wiederblank . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 50 Bringing the Classroom to the Seder Table From YUTeach, a project of YU's Institute for University-School Partnership . . . . . . . Page 58 3 Yeshiva University • The Benjamin and Rose Berger Torah To-Go Series• Nissan 5773 Insights into Yom Haatzmaut The Religious Zionism of Rav Soloveitchik zt’l: A Synthesis of Worlds Rabbi Dr. Aharon Rakeffet-Rothkoff . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 64 An Optimistic Zionist Rabbi Mordechai Torczyner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 71 Rav Soloveitchik on the Significance of the State of Israel Rabbi Reuven Ziegler . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 76 Afterword: Memorializing the Rav: Time and the Masorah Rabbi Dr. David Shatz . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 83 4 Yeshiva University • The Benjamin and Rose Berger Torah To-Go Series• Nissan 5773 5 Yeshiva University • The Benjamin and Rose Berger Torah To-Go Series• Nissan 5773 6 Yeshiva University • The Benjamin and Rose Berger Torah To-Go Series• Nissan 5773 Rabbi Akiva’s Seder Table: An Introduction 1 Rabbi Kenneth Brander The David Mitzner Dean, Yeshiva University's Center for the Jewish Future Rabban Gamliel and the elders were reclining [at the seder] in ויהש םינקזו לאילמג ןברב השעמ the house of Baitos the son of Zonin in Lod and they were דולב ןינוז ןב סותיב תיבב ןיבוסמ engaged in the halakhot of Passover all night until the call of the הלילה לכ חספה תוכלהב ןיקוסע ויהו .רבגה תורק דע rooster. בי:י םיחספ אתפסות Tosefta Pesachim 10:12 It is told of Rabbi Eliezer (lived in Lod, second generation Tanna), and יברו רזעילא יברב השעמ Rabbi Yehoshua (lived in Peki’in, second generation Tanna) and Rabbi ןב רזעלא יברו עשוהי Elazar the son of Azarya (lived in Yavneh/Tzipori, third generation 'רו אביקע 'רו הירזע ינבב ןיבוסמ ויהש ןופרט Tanna), and Rabbi Akiva (lived in Bnei Brak, third generation Tanna) and תאיציב ןירפסמ ויהו קרב Rabbi Tarfon (lived in Lod, teacher of Rabbi Akiva, third generation דע הלילה ותוא לכ םירצמ Tanna) were reclining at the seder service in B’nei Berak, and had spent the ורמאו םהידימלת ואבש whole night telling the story of the Exodus from Egypt, until their pupils came ןמז עיגה וניתובר םהל and said to them: “Our masters, it is time to recite the morning Shema!” .תירחש לש עמש תאירק Passover Haggadah חספ לש הדגה While there are several accounts of rabbinic Passover seder gatherings, the most famous of these is the account recorded in our Haggadah: the seder of Rabbi Eliezer, Rabbi Yehoshua, Rabbi Elazar the son of Azarya, Rabbi Akiva and Rabbi Tarfon. This account appears in the Haggadot of Geonim, such as R. Amram Gaon, and the Haggadot of Rishonim, including that of the Rambam (Hilchot Chametz u’Matza, Nusach Haggadah), Tosafot (Ketubot 105a, s.v. de-chashiv), and the Ritva. Several questions arise when analyzing this account: 1. Rabbi Akiva is one of the younger members of the rabbinic cohort present at the gathering, while Rabbi Eliezer and Rabbi Yehoshua are elder members. Rabbi Elazar the son of Azarya is the nasi (president of the high court and of the rabbinic community). Why does the seder take place in Rabbi Akiva’s hometown of B’nei Berak and not in a city where one of the more prominent members of the group resides? Normally, the student is expected to visit the                                                              I wish to thank Yeshiva University Presidential Fellows Daniel Elefant and Anosh Zaghi for their assistance with this introduction. 7 Yeshiva University • The Benjamin and Rose Berger Torah To-Go Series• Nissan 5773 teacher. It is not common for a teacher to visit a younger student. 2. Why do these particular Tannaim sit together around the seder table? Do they represent something unique or is this a random grouping of rabbinic figures? To answer these questions, we must first note that the Pesach Haggadah is divided into two parts. The first is the pre-meal section of the Haggadah, where we recite maggid and consume ritual foodstuff —matza, wine, maror and charoset—and the post-meal section of the Haggadah. The pre-meal section of the Haggadah focuses on the Jewish people’s servitude in and eventual redemption from Egypt. The post-meal section of the Haggadah focuses on the future redemption and destiny of our people and society. The Talmud states (Pesachim 116b) that we bifurcate the recitation of Hallel. In the maggid section of the Haggadah, we recite the first two psalms of Hallel. This is due to the fact that these psalms focus on the Egyptian saga. The third psalm and the remaining psalms of Hallel are recited in the post-meal section of the Haggadah as they focus on the Messianic era (Pesachim 118a). This division prompts disagreement between two of the rabbinic participants at the Passover seder we read about in our Haggadot, Rabbi Akiva and Rabbi Tarfon. Rabbi Tarfon contends (Pesachim 116b) that the concluding blessing for maggid should focus solely on the theme expressed in maggid and the pre-meal section of the Haggadah, namely the redemption from Egypt. Rabbi Tarfon’s version of this blessing reads, “Blessed are you Lord our God Who has redeemed us and redeemed our fathers from Egypt.” Rabbi Akiva disagrees. He refuses to allow this blessing to focus only on the redemption of the past. He insists that the blessing of maggid also contain language that focuses on the future: Rabbi Akiva states: [the blessing should also include] likewise O יקלאו וניקלא 'ה ןכ רמוא אביקע יבר Lord our God, God of our fathers, enable us to celebrate many םילגרלו םידעומל ונעיגי וניתובא other festivals and holy days which will come peacefully upon םולשל ונתארקל םיאבה םירחא ךתדובעב םיששו ךריע ןינבב םיחמש us; joyful in the rebuilding of Your city, and exalting in Your ... םיחספה ןמו םיחבזה ןמ םש לכאנו service: and may we eat there of the festive sacrifices … Blessed .לארשי לאג 'ה התא ךורב are thou our God who has redeemed Israel. :זטק םיחספ Pesachim 116b For Rabbi Akiva, it is never sufficient to focus on the past. We must always remember to look toward the future and its redemption. This difference in perspective also enlightens a later account about the remaining participants of this rabbinic cohort: Again it happened that [Rabban Gamliel, Rabbi Elazar the son of ןילוע ויה תחא םעפ בוש Azarya (in some manuscripts the person is Rabbi Eliezer), Rabbi רהל ועיגהש ןויכ םילשוריל Yehoshua and Rabbi Akiva] went up to Jerusalem. When they ןויכ םהידגב וערק םיפוצה לעוש ואר תיבה רהל ועיגהש reached Mt. Scopus, they tore their garments. When they reached the םישדקה ישדק תיבמ אציש Temple Mount, they saw a fox emerging from the place of the Holy of קחצמ ע"רו ןיכוב ןה וליחתה Holies. The others started weeping; Rabbi Akiva laughed. Said they קחצמ התא המ ינפמ ול ורמא to him: "Why are you laughing?" Said he to them: "Why are you םיכוב םתא המ ינפמ םהל רמא 8 Yeshiva University • The Benjamin and Rose Berger Torah To-Go Series• Nissan 5773 weeping?" Said they to him: "A place [so holy] that it is said of it, 'the רזהו וב בותכש םוקמ ול ורמא stranger that approaches it shall die’ (Bamidbar 1:51), and now םילעוש וישכעו תמוי ברקה foxes traverse it, and we shouldn't weep?" ןהל רמא הכבנ אלו וב וכלה הדיעאו ביתכד קחצמ ינא ךכל Said he to them: "That is why I laugh. For it is written, 'I shall have ןהכה הירוא תא םינמאנ םידע יל bear witness for Me faithful witnesses—Uriah the Priest and המ יכו והיכרבי ןב הירכז תאו Zechariah the son of Jeberechiah' (Yeshayahu 8:1). Now what is the הירוא הירכז לצא הירוא ןינע connection between Uriah and Zechariah? Uriah was [in the time of] שדקמב הירכזו ןושאר שדקמב the First Temple, and Zechariah was [in the time of] the Second ותאובנ בותכה הלת אלא ינש Temple! But the Torah makes Zachariah's prophecy dependent upon הירוא לש ותאובנב הירכז לש Uriah's prophecy. With Uriah, it is written: 'Therefore, because of ןויצ םכללגב ןכל ביתכ הירואב you, Zion shall be plowed as a field; [Jerusalem shall become heaps, ביתכ הירכזב ['וגו] שרחת הדש and the Temple Mount like the high places of a forest]' (Micha 3:12). תונקזו םינקז ובשי דוע With Zachariah it is written, 'Old men and women shall yet sit in the אלש דע םלשורי תובוחרב הירוא לש ותאובנ המייקתנ streets of Jerusalem' (Zechariah 8:4). As long as Uriah's prophecy םייקתת אלש ארייתמ יתייה had not been fulfilled, I feared that Zechariah's prophecy may not be וישכע הירכז לש ותאובנ fulfilled either. But now that Uriah's prophecy has been fulfilled, it is הירוא לש ותאובנ המייקתנש certain that Zechariah's prophecy will be fulfilled." With these words הירכז לש ותאובנש עודיב they replied to him: "Akiva, you have consoled us! Akiva, you have ול ורמא הזה ןושלב תמייקתמ consoled us!" :ונתמחינ אביקע ונתמחינ אביקע Makkot 24b :דכ תוכמ Rabbi Akiva’s focus is fixed on the future redemption, even in the most difficult and trying of times. It is not coincidental that these rabbinic figures gather around Rabbi Akiva’s seder table. They are individuals who were influenced by the weltanschauung of Rabbi Akiva. Rabbi Akiva has the courage to be an optimist and focus on the future even in the darkest of moments. Even when there is a bounty on his head by the Romans, even when he is martyred and the future of his people seems bleak, Rabbi Akiva knows that it is tenacity of spirit that guarantees the immortality of our people. It is significant that these personalities gather around Rabbi Akiva’s table to discuss the redemption during the darkness of night. They realize that it is Rabbi Akiva’s charismatic spirit that enables hope and paves the Jewish nation’s path toward the morning kriyat shema—a credo with God that is recited when there is clarity, when one can discern between the colors of covenantal tapestry, the blue and white fringes of the tallit (B’rachot 9b). It is the ability to discuss redemption during the darkness of the Hadriananic persecutions and the Bar Kochba revolt that enables students to live and thrive in the phenomenological framework of morning, a time at which the Jewish nation can be a people of destiny instead of a people of fate. It is in B’nei Berak, the city of Rabbi Akiva, the city in which we are told the descendants of our darkest enemies become sources of light, (for it is in the city of B’nei Berak that the descendants of Haman study Torah [Sanhedrin 96b]), that such a Passover seder must take place. How appropriate that we inaugurate the Benjamin and Rose Berger To-Go Series with an edition celebrating the holiday of Pesach. For the lives of Benjamin and Rose Berger represent 9 Yeshiva University • The Benjamin and Rose Berger Torah To-Go Series• Nissan 5773 the credo of Rabbi Akiva. The couple immigrated to America during difficult times yet recognized that the redemption and the immortality of our people is only guaranteed by Jews who are not willing to sacrifice their eternal heritage. Benjamin and Rose always saw the morning light, even in times of great peril and darkness. They sat at the seder table of Rabbi Akiva, and when the morning star arose in their lives, they created a home of kol dichfin yeitei v’yeichol (Let all who hunger come and eat). We are indebted to Rabbi Hy and Ann Arbesfeld, longtime supporters of RIETS and CJF, for continuing to support Torah education by establishing the Benjamin and Rose Berger Torah To-Go series. As we commemorate the twentieth Yahrtzeit of Moreinu V’Rabbeinu Harav Yosef Dov Halevi Soloveitchik zt”l, we are reminded of the fact that it was through his teachings and communal activity that spiritual daybreak rose for the North American Jewish community. It was his partnership with gedolim such as Rav Aharon Kotler that inspired the building of yeshivot around North America. It was his blend of Torah and philosophy that inspired a generation unsure if Torah had the sophistication to speak to a post-war generation of American Jews. The Rav spent his life training the next generation of pastors, pedagogues and poskim to ensure a bright future for our people. May we continue to learn from his Torah and integrate his gestalt in our personal and communal lives. May his memory always be a blessing. 10 Yeshiva University • The Benjamin and Rose Berger Torah To-Go Series• Nissan 5773