Rabbi Michael RosensweigSippur Yetziat Mitzrayim's Mikra Bikkurim as a Statement of Faith

Relating the events and significance of the exodus from Egypt (sippur Yetziat Mitzrayim) on the fifteenth of Nissan constitutes a complex mitzvah that entails multiple motifs and methods. The seder and the haggadah employ numerous overlapping devices to organize and project the different yet interconnected components that convey the totality of the experience and its importance. The four kosot, the various simanim of the seder, the two sections of hallel, the interplay between details of the story, Torah study, and the concrete performance of specific mitzvot (see Rambam Hilchos Chametz U'Matza chapters 7, 8 how they differ, and where they overlap, as well as Avudraham, and Kol Bo's comment on "ba'avoor zeh") contribute immeasurably to the inimitable sweep of this special evening. The Rambam (Hilchos Chametz U'Matza 7:1, 4, 8) thrice uses the expression "kol ha-marbeh harei zeh meshubach", employed by the haggadah only to laud additional sippur, to extol also a more comprehensive explication of the text of "arami oved avi", as well as to encourage the demonstrative haseibah expression of cherut (liberty), in addition to the more maximal engagement with the sippur component.

Given the central role of the story itself, and particularly the apparent requirement for detail and specificity (see the haggadah's extensive discussion of the makkot, and Rambam' repeated formulation- 7:1,3 "mah she'irah umah she'hayah"), it is striking that the haggadah does not cite extensively from the Torah's own narrative of the events of the exodus. With the exception of a few proof-texts, the parshiyot in Shemot that record the pivotal events that we reenact on the night of the seder are largely omitted as a text. It is equally intriguing that having largely bypassed the official texts and the contemporaneous record, the mitzvah of sippur instead focuses on explicating ("doresh") the sweeping retrospective assessment of the parshah of mikra bikkurim, beginning with "arami oved avi", in Devarim.

Indeed, the Rambam particularly accentuates the prominence of explicating the mikra bikkurim text. While the mishnah (116a) mentions the requirement to investigate and interpret "arami oved avi" after citing the imperative of "matchilin be-genut" and "mesayem be-shevach" (which the Talmud links to avadim hayinu and/or mitchilah etc.), the Rambam (7:4,8:3)understood and ruled that this exercise in Torah study and explication is itself a dimension of matchilin be-genut etc. Moreover, as noted, Rambam extends the assessment of "kol ha-marbeh meshubach" also to this intriguing component of the seder-sippur! In Sefer ha-Mitzvot (aseh 157,132 )(in contrast to Hilchos Chametz U'Matza 7:1) Rambam formulates sippur yetziat Mitzrayim and mikra bikkurim in ways that subtly yet unmistakably overlap. His common emphasis on shevach and hoda'ah certainly links the two themes. (See also Hilchos Chametz U'Matza 6:7, and Targum Yerushalmi, Devarim 26:3 and the Rambam's emphasis on "vehigadeta le-bincha" in #157, in contrast to chametz 7:1.) It is noteworthy that Rambam utilizes language in his discussion of mikra bikkurim (#132) that evokes the role of this parshah on the seder night ("lesaper", "umatchil be-Yaakov u-mesayem be-avodat Mitzrayim", "min haparshah kulah"...)[See also Ramban, Sefer ha-Mitzvot, hashmatat esin # 15. He compares the roles of mikra bikkurim, sippur yetziat Mitzrayim, and birkat ha-Torah! See also Sefer ha-Mitzvot of R' Saadiah Gaon on mikra bikkurim. He argues that bikkurim might have a status of korban tzibur like korban Pesach because both were brought be-kenufya! I hope to elaborate these themes elsewhere.]

Upon further reflection, the decision to deemphasize the text of the parshiyot in Shemot is consistent with the fundamental character of sippur yetziat Mitzrayim. This singular mitzvah was not intended as a passive keriat ha-Torah, but as a dynamic, multifaceted and even individualistic-personal rendering of the exodus experience. Notwithstanding and also because of the importance of structure (seder), comprehensiveness, and specificity in the relating of this pivotal chapter in Klal Yisrael's history, it was equally important that the story be told and even reenacted, rather than be read. The aspiration "lirot atzmo ke-ilu yatza mi-Mitzrayim", which the Rambam also significantly expanded (7:6), precludes a single voice or a fixed text. The educational imperative ("baruch she-natan Torah le-amo Yisrael baruch hu") and the ambition to touch and impact a wide range of ages, backgrounds and temperaments,-keneged arba'ah banim dibrah Torah (and Hilchos Chametz U'Matza 7:2) - demanded multi-media, as previously noted, dialogue, and a flexible voice ("kefi zakut leshono" - Sefer ha-Mitzvot #157), and more. It is important to be comprehensive and specific in sippur yetziat Mitzrayim, but equally to avoid textual regimentation or rigidity.

At the same time, the parshah of mikra bikkurim enhances the sippur yetziat Mitzrayim precisely because it motivates us to explicate and analyze the text (doresh), thereby to penetrate the spiritual challenges, accomplishments and religious trajectory of Klal Yisrael. Precisely because of the distance and perspective it afforded, it escapes the limitations of a more passive keriah. Moreover, mikra bikkurim, proclaimed in Eretz Yisrael at a time of agricultural triumph, provides broad national and religious perspective for what could have been conceived as a very narrow, personal and natural celebration. The capacity to evaluate bikkurim in light of Klal Yisrael's extraordinary odyssey, especially accentuating the role of the exodus as a powerful source of emunah and hodaah, established this text, and especially its further midrashic analysis, as the ideal centerpiece of sipur yetziat Mitzrayim. Mikra bikkurim unequivocally underscores that the praise and thanksgiving triggered by yetziat Mitzrayim was not a superficial and narrow response, that would have been absolutely disconnected and irrelevant to an institution like bikkurim, but a profound recognition of the pervasive, transformational character of this event, and especially its status as a cornerstone of faith. The explication of parshat "arami oved avi", combined with the detailed rendering of the story, and the concrete implementation of mitzvot maasiyot on this singular evening indeed facilitates the hallel of "halelu avdei Hashem".

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