English translation — בא ג

A.

Regarding the mitzvah of telling the Exodus on Passover night,

the Rambam says¹

: "It is a positive commandment from the Torah to relate the miracles and wonders that were done for our forefathers in Egypt on the night of the fifteenth of Nissan, as it is stated²

Remember this day on which you went out of Egypt, as it is stated³

Remember the Sabbath day".

The commentators of the Rambam ask: a)

What does the Rambam mean by "as it is stated 'Remember the Sabbath day'" — what is not sufficient in the command "Remember this day",

that we learn from the comparison with "Remember the Sabbath day"?

And b)

If one must come to the comparison with remembering by Shabbat — where is the source for this⁴?

2.

In Sefer HaMitzvot⁵

the Rambam brings: "And the language⁶

of the Mekhilta⁷

from the general principle that it is said, 'When your son asks you'⁸,

one might think, if your son asks you, you tell him, etc.? The Torah says, 'And you shall tell your son'⁹

even though he does not ask you,

I have only when he has a son,

between himself and himself, between himself and others, from where? The Torah says, 'And Moses said to the people, Remember this day'",

and the Rambam adds, "meaning that he commanded to remember it, as it is said, 'Remember the Sabbath day'"¹⁰

— 4.

5.

That from the verse "Remember this day on which you went out of Egypt" one learns,

that the mitzvah of remembering the Exodus from Egypt also applies "between himself and himself" — even when there is no son who asks¹¹

— and upon this the Rambam adds as proof,

"meaning, etc., as it is said, 'Remember the Sabbath day'",

that just as the obligation to remember the Sabbath day is

(also)

between himself and himself,

so too regarding "Remember this day".

According to this, it is seemingly implied,

that this is also his intention in Sefer HaYad in that which he compares the commandment of "Remember this day" to "Remember the day of Shabbat"

(that he is obligated also between himself and himself),

as it is seemingly also implied from the continuation of the language: "And from where [that it is] on the night of the fifteenth? The verse states 'And you shall tell your son on that day, saying, "Because of this..."' etc. are placed before you.

<b>And even</b>

<b>Though he has no son</b>,

even sages"¹².

Which simply means,

that the source for the law "And even though he has no son" is from the previously cited verse "Remember this day",

where "son" and the like are not mentioned.

3.

It is however difficult to say that this is the

(entire)

reason that the Rambam adds "as it is said 'Remember the day of Shabbat',"

because from the language of the verse itself "Remember this day on which you went out of Egypt"

(and as above,

that since it does not mention "son" and even not "others")

it is understood,

that the obligation of remembrance is also between himself and himself; and as we see this in the Mechilta itself,

that there the verse "Remember the day of Shabbat" is not brought.

Granted, in Sefer HaMitzvos,

one can still understand why the Rambam comes to the remembrance of Shabbat — since the lesson of the remembrance of the Exodus from "Remember etc." comes as an addition — but the beginning

(and main)

of the lesson is there

(and in the Mechilta that he brings)

from

("When your son asks you" and)

"And you shall tell your son"¹³,

he therefore needs to ensure that the verse "Remember this day" means a remembrance that is not connected with

(When your son asks you and)

telling your son,

but rather like by the remembrance of Shabbat,

that also between himself and himself there is the obligation of the mitzvah of remembering the Exodus;

But in Sefer HaYad,

where the study of the verse "Remember this day" is the sole source for the obligation of the telling of the Exodus from Egypt — from where would we learn that the verse means at night

(specifically)

and he would therefore need to bring a proof from the remembrance of Shabbat that this also means "between him and himself"?

4.

The Maggid Mishneh brings the language of the aforementioned Mekhilta and then concludes: And the Rambam of blessed memory wrote in his Sefer HaMitzvot that He commanded its remembrance at its time

("Remember this day" meaning that He commanded to remember it)

as it says "Remember the day of Shabbat."

End of his words.

Based on this, one can say that this is also the explanation in the aforementioned halacha in the Book of the Hand: The Rambam derives from the verse "Remember this day on which you went out of Egypt" that there is a specific positive commandment to tell about the Exodus from Egypt on that day when it occurred

(In addition to the obligation of remembering the Exodus from Egypt that applies all year*¹³

which we learn¹⁴

from "so that you remember the day of your going out of the land of Egypt all the days of your life"¹⁵),

and on this he brings the proof¹⁶

"as it is said 'Remember the Sabbath day'",

where there the remembrance is on that day itself¹⁷.

"And from where [do we derive] that on the night of the fifteenth" —

Because¹⁹

From the study of "Remember this day on which you went out of Egypt" mentioned above, one could say that the commandment is immediately upon the onset of the festival²⁰

Or²¹

Even from before the day²²,

Therefore he continues and brings the verse "And you shall tell your son on that day, saying: Because of this, at a time when matzah and bitter herbs are placed before you,"

That the obligation of the Haggadah is "on the night of the fifteenth".

This, however, is not sufficient,

Because according to this,

is apparently from the word "to sanctify it"²³

which stands after "Remember the day of Shabbat"²⁴

— is if

(only)

That would have been here the intention of the Rambam, he would certainly also have had to copy²⁵

the word "לקדשו"²⁶

is

— is]

not understood:

If for learning <b>the </b>special positive commandment — the Rambam did not need to bring at all the teaching "שנאמר זכור את היום הזה אשר יצאתם ממצרים"

(and therefore need to add the proof "כמו שנאמר זכור את יום השבת")

— the verse from which one learns the obligation at the time of the night of the fifteenth of Nisan he brings immediately afterwards "והגדת לבנך <b>ביום ההוא </b>לאמר <b>בעבור זה</b>"?

5.

And it seems to say that the source of the words of the Rambam is from Shemot Rabbah²⁷

in our parshah

(as other commentators²⁸

say),

where there they compare the remembrance of Yetziat Mitzrayim to the remembrance of Shabbat,

and this is its language: Warn Israel, just as I created the world and said to them, to Israel, to remember the day of Shabbat, a remembrance of the work of creation, as it is said, "Remember the day of Shabbat,"

so should they remember the miracles that I did for you in Egypt and remember the day you left from there, as it is said, "Remember this day that you went out from Egypt."

One must, however, understand: The book HaYad is indeed a book whose subject is <b>halachot</b> and not merely copying the teachings of our Sages — what is the <b>halacha</b> in the narrative?

Which Yetzias Mitzrayim does one learn from the above comparison?

The explanation of this*²⁸

: In the halacha regarding remembering Yetzias Mitzrayim, the intention of the Rambam is to explain,

the change in the content of the obligation of the mitzvah of remembering Yetzias Mitzrayim on the night of the fifteenth of Nissan relative to its obligation throughout the entire year:

The addition in the commandment on the night of the fifteenth of Nissan is not

in that throughout the year the commandment is "&lt;b&gt;to mention &lt;/b&gt;the Exodus from Egypt"&lt;sup&gt;29&lt;/sup&gt;

(a mere mention suffices)

and on the fifteenth of Nissan the commandment is "&lt;b&gt;to relate&lt;/b&gt;"&lt;sup&gt;30&lt;/sup&gt;

— at length etc.&lt;sup&gt;31&lt;/sup&gt;,

rather there is a difference in the content and essence of the commandment — the mention:

Throughout the days of the year it is sufficient "to mention &lt;b&gt;the Exodus &lt;/b&gt;from Egypt" — the mention that Jews came out from

(bondage)

Egypt; but on the night of Passover the commandment is

(not only — the Exodus from Egypt,

(only)

but)

"to relate &lt;b&gt;the miracles and wonders &lt;/b&gt;etc." — the miracles and wonders that the Almighty did in taking out Jews from Egypt.

And this is learned from the comparison to “Remember the Sabbath day”: in the verse “Remember this day on which you went out of Egypt” it is not explicit and emphasized that in the remembrance

(night of)

Passover must be the “to tell of miracles and wonders etc.”; therefore the Rambam warns,

that the “remember” here is “like it is said ‘Remember the Sabbath day’”,

which the remembrance of Shabbat is a memorial to the act of creation

(and as it is written

in continuation to “Remember the Sabbath day” “for six days did the Lord make etc.”),

and as the language

of the aforementioned midrash: “Just as ..

to remember the Sabbath day a memorial to the act of creation ..

so they would remember the miracles etc.”

6.

On a deeper level it can be said,

that the comparison to “Remember the Sabbath day” is not only a source for the obligation “to tell of miracles and wonders etc.”,

but also an introduction to the subsequent laws in this chapter.

And with an introduction of the words of the Rambam at the beginning of Hilchos Shabbos: "Resting on the seventh from work is a positive commandment, as it is said&lt;sup&gt;34&lt;/sup&gt;

And on the seventh day you shall rest, and whoever does work on it has nullified a positive commandment and transgressed a negative commandment, etc."

D.

H.

That by Shabbos there are two matters — also a matter of negation,

negative commandment

(prohibition of work)

; also a matter of obligation,

positive commandment

(to rest).

From that which the Rambam begins Hilchos Shabbos with the &lt;b&gt;positive commandment&lt;/b&gt;

(even though that &lt;b&gt;most&lt;/b&gt; of them, almost all of the laws of Shabbos are in the matter of its negative commandment — in the details of the labors,

the 39 primary categories of labor and their derivatives, etc.)

it is understood,

that the &lt;b&gt;essence&lt;/b&gt; of keeping Shabbos is not the matter

the absence and negation of work,

but the positive aspect — "the rest is made, not the cessation of work"³⁵.

that in this there is a practical difference also in halacha

(as the Rogatchover explains this³⁶).

7.

And it may be said,

that these two matters — the negative aspect and the positive aspect of Shabbos — come from the two portions and verses that stand by Shabbos:

a)

In the Work of Creation — "And He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had made, and God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, for on it He rested from all His work"

— that which on that day there was the resting and cessation of work.

b)

At the Giving of the Torah — in continuation of "Remember the Sabbath day" "for

Six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is in them, and He rested on the seventh day; therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and sanctified it" — the distinction of Shabbat is not

with that which then the Work of Creation ended,

the "

(Six days)

the Lord made",

"And He rested ..

from all His work",

(furthermore)

because — "And He rested on the seventh day"

And in accordance with this is also the function of "Remember the day of Shabbat,"

the remembrance of Shabbat³⁹

: its definition and essence is the positive aspect of Shabbat — not

but

(only)

to mention

That which the day is different from other days⁴⁰

by that it is exempt from work,

(only)

but

(also)

with that which it has in itself a positive aspect — "and He rested on the seventh day,"

and as our Rabbis of blessed memory said⁴¹

that "the world was lacking rest; Shabbat came, rest came"⁴².

And this expresses itself in the remembrance of Shabbos,

And in the language of the Rambam⁴³

: Remember it, a remembrance of praise and sanctification.

Ch.

And based on this, one can say that this is also the intention of the Rambam with the comparison of the remembrance of Yetzias Mitzrayim to the remembrance of Shabbos,

that also in this the narrative of Yetzias Mitzrayim the main thing is — the matter of the <b>obligatory </b>aspect of it.

And the explanation of this: At the Exodus from Egypt, two things were revealed among the Children of Israel⁴⁴

: a)

nullification and departure from the servitude and domain of Egypt; b)

that which they became free men

(in their own domain).

And as an example, as this is regarding the departure and release of every slave: a)

the nullification of the servitude from the master,

he is removed from his domain and ownership,

b)

that which he acquires himself as a free man⁴⁵.

that the two matters are per-

formed at two separate times,

and in the language of the Rambam⁴⁶

: "From Rosh Hashanah until Yom Kippur, slaves were not sent away to their homes, nor were they enslaved to their masters ..

since Yom Kippur arrived, the court blew the shofar, the slaves were sent away to their homes"].

And this is what the Rambam explains and innovates,

that just as

(remembrance of)

Shabbat is primarily not

(so)

the negative aspect of it

(the absence of work),

but the positive aspect of it

(rest)

— so too the obligation of the story of the Exodus from Egypt is not

(so)

in the negation,

the departure of the children of Israel from slavery and the domain of Pharaoh,

but primarily in the positive aspect — their becoming free people.

And as the Rambam emphasizes this immediately in the second law,

that even in the story of the Exodus from Egypt in the most lowly and simple manner — namely,

as one tells it to a son "young or foolish" — that at the time that "one says to him, 'My son, we were all slaves like this maidservant or like this slave in Egypt,'"

he concludes not &lt;b&gt;in brief &lt;/b&gt;

(as would be more fitting,

seemingly,

in the statement to a "young or foolish" one)

that "and on this night we went out from there" and the like,

but — "and on this night the Holy One, blessed be He, redeemed us and brought us out to freedom,"

which explains and emphasizes

(not only the departure from Egypt redeemed us,

but)

that the Almighty&lt;sup&gt;47&lt;/sup&gt;

made us free people.

And from this it emerges,

as the Rambam continues⁴⁸,

that "a person is obligated to show himself as if he himself just now left the bondage of Egypt" in a manner that "as if you yourself were a slave <b>and went out to freedom and were redeemed</b>" — one became free — "and therefore when a person dines on this night ..

<b>reclining in the manner of freedom</b>",

the conduct of this night must be like a free person — "in the manner of freedom"⁴⁹.

9.

And it may be said that also this the Rambam derives from the aforementioned midrash — from the conclusion of the language of the midrash "

(Remember this day on which you went out from Egypt)

why? Because with a strong hand the Lord brought you out from Egypt":

That which one had to arrive at the "Chozek Yad" — a special action from Above

(the miracles and wonders etc.)

at the Exodus from Egypt,

is not

(so)

because of the negation,

the going out from the bondage of Egypt — for the decree was indeed from the outset "And they will serve them and afflict them four hundred years"⁵⁰,

and as soon as the "four hundred years" ended, Jews &lt;b&gt;automatically &lt;/b&gt;should have gone out from

(bondage)

Egypt — rather because of the positive matter,

to make Jews into free people,

a distinct nation — free people.

As long as

one is a nation

(which is forever,

an eternal nation)

one is free⁵¹.

And as the Rambam emphasizes in the continuation of the chapter⁵²,

that what "one must ..

conclude with praise",

is that which "one concludes with the true religion that the Omnipresent has drawn us near to Him and separated us from the nations⁵³

and drawn us near to His unity⁵⁴,

and similarly ..

concludes <b>with the miracles and wonders that were done for us and our chosenness</b>"⁵⁵.

10.

Already spoken many times⁵⁶,

that when one learns one subject from another,

although that superficially the lesson is only a <b>proof</b> for <b>us</b>

(in order that <b>we</b> should know the subject we need to separate it

learning from a second subject),

nevertheless, from the side of the perfection of the Torah

(and consequently — the utmost precision in all its details),

one must accept that in the inwardness of the matters⁵⁷

is the subject the teacher

(not only determines and teaches the manner of the thing being taught,

but he is also)

the reason or the cause of the subject being taught

(itself,

or at least of its drawing down and revelation to us).

In our case, one sees this in a revealed manner⁵⁸.

And as is known⁵⁹

that in the words of the Rambam in his books there are matters of the inwardness of the Torah,

they are, however, there not in a revealed way,

but in a hidden manner and by way of a hint⁶⁰.

It is⁶¹

explained in Chassidus that the two above-mentioned matters in Shabbos — the cessation from work

(for on it He rested from all His work)

and the positive cessation and rest

(and He rested on the seventh day)

— are two levels in Shabbos: Shabbos of the night

(and in the Shabbos meals —

the first),

and Shabbos of the day

(the second meal)

The general concept of Shabbos is "and you shall call Shabbos a delight"⁶²,

The concept of delight — and in this pleasure there are two levels: the pleasure from that which he is <b>resting from his work</b>,

i.e.

(as this is by way of example in man below)

that his faculties,

which are drawn and contracted into the action and work,

return to their source in the soul,

and from this he has pleasure.

But <b>this</b> pleasure is still connected with work,

it comes to him from his labor,

and also a particular pleasure,

connected with the

(rest from the)

particular action.

Above this is the pleasure that is connected with rest in essence

(which comes after the pleasure from resting from work),

when then the essence of pleasure is revealed which is higher than having a connection with the particular actions of the work,

and — work in general.

What these are the two levels "Zachor" and "Shamor"⁶³

: Shamor is "to the feminine" which this is related to Shabbat of the night; and in general in Elokus this is the level of Ohr HaMemaleh Kol Almin,

which has a connection to the world — which during the six weekdays the light is drawn and contracted as it were into the world,

and on the night of Shabbat

(at the cessation from work)

is "the garment is nullified",

it shines in revelation.

And "Zachor" is "to the masculine" the level of

Yoma d'Shabbos — the revelation of the Ohr HaSovev Kol Almin,

which is higher than division and enclothing in action and work — complete rest.

And therefore one finds that of all the festivals, only Pesach is explicitly called "Shabbos"⁶⁴.

Because the miracles and wonders completely above nature at the redemption from Egypt are connected with the

(higher)

level of Shabbos.

And this is explained in the Rambam that the “to recount &lt;b&gt;the miracles and wonders &lt;/b&gt;that were done for our forefathers in Egypt ..

as it is said ‘Remember this day’” is “like it is said ‘Remember the Sabbath day’.”

That is,

that the positive aspect of “to recount &lt;b&gt;the miracles and wonders&lt;/b&gt;" of the Exodus from Egypt &lt;b&gt;derives &lt;/b&gt;from “Remember the Sabbath day” — from the positive aspect of Sabbath and rest in its own right,

which, being a level that is entirely above the world, comes down into the world in a manner of miracle &lt;b&gt;and wonder &lt;/b&gt;

(not miracles clothed in nature).

And from this very thing came the complete freedom of the Jews in a manner,

that from then on they can no longer be slaves&lt;sup&gt;65&lt;/sup&gt;

Because the redemption derives from the aspect of Shabbat,

the world of freedom⁶⁶,

and from this Jews were elevated above the boundaries and limits of the order of the chain of descent⁶⁷,

And the perfection in this will be in the future redemption speedily, literally,

which will be a <b>true</b> freedom and redemption <b>and perfection</b> in a revealed way,

and also miracles and wonders in a revealed way,

"As in the days of your exodus from the land of Egypt I will show him <b>wonders</b>"⁶⁸,

and especially on the day that is entirely <b>Shabbat</b>

&lt;b&gt;and rest &lt;/b&gt;for eternal life⁶⁹.

(From the talk of the holy Shabbat of Parashat [year] 5740)