Based on an essay by Rabbi Pinchas Stolper (1931–2022) who credits Rabbi Mordechai Schechter (1995–2023), both are disciples of the Rosh Yeshiva of Yeshiva Rabbi Chaim Berlin Rav Yitzchok Hutner (1906–1980). From "Living Beyond Time: The Mystery and Meaning of the Jewish Festivals" by Rabbi Pinchas Stolper (Shaar Press, 2003. Part VIII, 56).
Presented by Rabbi Yitschak Rudomin
Note: Rabbi Pinchas Stolper was a great Jewish Orthodox American community leader, first as the the head of NCSY (the Orthodox Union's Jewish youth outreach arm) and then as the top CEO and Executive Vice President of the Orthodox Union itself for many years. He was also a prolific author of books about Judaism mainly based on the thought system of his major teacher Rav Yitzchok Hutner. Rabbi Mordechai Schechter was the last Mashgiach Ruchani (spiritual supervisor) at Yeshiva Rabbi Chaim Berlin having passed away at a relatively young age of 68 and he was the son of the Rosh Yeshiva of Yeshiva Rabbi Chaim Berlin Rav Aaron Schechter (1928–2023). In the following essay Rabbi Stolper bases himself on a lecture he heard from Rabbi Mordechai Schechter:
Great Torah scholars do not see a difference between the way the Torah presents events and truly great historical events recorded by general history, often described in the Torah itself. While many secular scholars reject the Torah as a "primary source" — Torah scholars and Torah Judaism find such a position ridiculous because they accept the Torah as "Torat Emet" (Torah of truth) and as the holy words of God Himself. True Torah scholars scoff at the condescending attitude of secular scholarship that denies the validity of the Torah as a primary source for historical information, especially when it comes to information about what really happened in ancient and Biblical times.
True Torah scholars and Torah-believing Jews accept as a historical fact the enslavement of the Children of Israel by ancient Egypt and that their miraculous Exodus from slavery in Egypt took place as described in the Torah. On top of this, since that time over 3,300 years ago the Children of Israel, also known as the Jewish People, have celebrated festivals commemorating the Exodus from Egypt such as Pesach (Passover), the subsequent giving of the Torah by God to the Children of Israel at Mount Sinai on Shavuot (Pentecost), and the miraculous preservation of the Children of Israel after the Exodus by God in the wilderness (Midbar) for forty years on Sukkot (Tabernacles).
The Exodus of the Children of Israel from ancient Egypt began on what became the first night of Passover when, as instructed by God in the Torah, Jews celebrate the traditional Passover Seder that is also regarded as a great turning point in world history commemorating the time when an entire nation won its freedom from slavery and bondage from ancient Egypt, the greatest empire of those times.
The beginning of that epoch and period in time was one of the most significant points in world history and is summarized in two crucial sentences (verses) in the Torah in Exodus 12:41-42: "At the end of 430 years, all of God's forces (the Children of Israel) left Egypt in broad daylight. This was a night of vigil (Leil Shimurim) for God in anticipation of the Exodus from Egypt. This night remains for Israel a Godly vigil (Shimurim) for all generations."
In the last verse the word "Shimurim" - "vigil" is mentioned twice in connection with God: לֵיל שִׁמֻּרִים הוּא לַיהוָה, לְהוֹצִיאָם מֵאֶרֶץ מִצְרָיִם: הוּא-הַלַּיְלָה הַזֶּה לַיהוָה, שִׁמֻּרִים לְכָל-בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל לְדֹרֹתָם
Why is the word "Shimurim" - שִׁמֻּרִים - "vigil" mentioned twice in the same verse?
The first time "Shimurim" - "vigil" is mentioned in Exodus 12:42: Meaning "Anticipation"
"This was a night of vigil (Shimurim) for God in anticipation of the Exodus from Egypt" - לֵיל שִׁמֻּרִים הוּא לַיהוָה, לְהוֹצִיאָם מֵאֶרֶץ מִצְרָיִם How does the famous rabbinic commentator RASHI, Rabbi Shlomo Yitzchaki (1040–1105), whose commentaries are crucial to understanding the basic meanings of verses in the Torah and Talmud, interpret the significance of the first time the word "(Leil) Shimurim" - "(night of) vigil" is used in this verse in the Torah? He states that it was a night of anticipation. When you hold a "vigil" for something you are anticipating it. The first night of Passover was to be a night that would transform the world for all time by unleashing universal forces that had been in readiness since the beginning of time when the world was first created by God at the time of Creation.
Until the moment of the onset of Passover on its first night the religions of the nations of the world were much the same in that they all worshipped false gods such as idols that were somehow also intertwined with the forces of physical nature. However, now, on the first night of Passover, there was to emerge an entirely new nation, the Am Yisrael (Nation of Israel) that would recognize God who was the true Master and Creator of the whole world, of both history and nature. This new Nation of Israel was destined to comprehend the purpose of Creation with God as its true Creator and unleash pure and holy spiritual forces that would bring God's Creation to its intended fruition. This also created the potential of choice for mankind to choose between false gods of idolatry and the manifestation of the true God of Creation, nature and history.
The first Passover night was a night of promise designated from the time of Abraham as the night destined for the redemption of the Children of Israel. Until this night, the Children of Israel were enslaved by the ancient Egyptians and had no freedom. The potential of the Children of Israel/the Jewish Nation to bring forth innovative spiritual and holy forces into the world was frozen. However from now on, from the time of the first night of Passover the People of Israel would create new and vibrant realities in the world, goals for the Jewish People that would be worth living and dying for.
When the verse says הוּא-הַלַּיְלָה הַזֶּה לַיהוָה - "this was a night (of vigil) for God" it harks back to when God had once said to Abram "Know for sure that your descendants will be foreigners in a land that is not theirs for 400 years. They will be enslaved and oppressed. But I (God) will finally bring judgment against the nation who enslaves them, and they will then leave with great wealth." (Genesis 15:13-14). RASHI explains that Passover night is the night on which God said to Abraham on this night I will liberate your children, the Children of Israel from the bonds of slavery in ancient Egypt. On this night the potential for the Children of Israel to accomplish God's mission in the world for which God created this world will be released.
The second time "Shimurim" - "vigil" is mentioned in Exodus 12:42: Meaning "Preservation"
"This night remains for the the Children of Israel a Godly vigil for all generations" - הוּא-הַלַּיְלָה הַזֶּה לַיהוָה, שִׁמֻּרִים לְכָל-בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל לְדֹרֹתָם RASHI explains that the second time "vigil" - שִׁמֻּרִים - "Shimurim" is used in the verse it has an alternative meaning. It also means preservation. The Nation of Israel is to be preserved and defended from those who would attack it. God was saying that He would not permit the destroyer/s to succeed because the forces of redemption and creativity that give life value and purpose must be preserved and protected.
The People of Israel are the creative life-giving force of the entire universe. Through association with the Nation of Israel newly born on Passover and soon to receive the Torah at Mount Sinai, the Jewish People are transformed into a dynamic and creative entity.
With the conclusion of the verse: "through all generations" - לְדֹרֹתָם - "Ledorosam" the lesson is taught that in each generation, foreign nations and hostile civilizations will attempt to destroy the positive presence and force of the Children of Israel/the Jewish People in the world. As it says in the Passover Haggadah: "And it is this that has stood for our ancestors and for us, since it is not only one person or nation that has stood against us to destroy us, but rather in each generation, they stand against us to destroy us, but the Holy One Blessed Be He, rescues us from their hand" -
וְהִיא שֶׁעָמְדָה לַאֲבוֹתֵינוּ וְלָנוּ. שֶׁלֹּא אֶחָד בִּלְבָד עָמַד עָלֵינוּ לְכַלּוֹתֵנוּ, אֶלָּא שֶׁבְּכָל דּוֹר וָדוֹר עוֹמְדִים עָלֵינוּ לְכַלוֹתֵנוּ,וְהַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא מַצִּילֵנוּ מִיָּדָם
In each generation the Jewish People will have to fight for their survival and preservation as a nation and for the survival, preservation and ascendancy of the Torah. The struggle against those who reject the Exodus of the Children of Israel from the clutches and enslavement of ancient Egypt, and that also reject the power of God who liberated the Israelites from their affliction at the hands of the ancient Egyptians, is ongoing in every generation until our own times. The Jewish people will always fight and resist those who reject the uniqueness of Israel's birth and those who reject Israel's striving for the absolute truth that will continue until the end of time.
In the End of Days, Israel will prevail and transform all of civilization. On that day the Lord will be King over all the Earth.
Rabbi Yitschak Rudominwas born to Holocaust survivor parents in Israel, grew up in South Africa, and lives in Brooklyn, NY. He is an alumnus of Yeshiva Rabbi Chaim Berlin and of Teachers College–Columbia University. He heads the Jewish Professionals Institute dedicated to Jewish Adult Education and Outreach – Kiruv Rechokim. He was the Director of the Belzer Chasidim's Sinai Heritage Center of Manhattan 1988–1995, a Trustee of AJOP 1994–1997 and founder of American Friends of South African Jewish Education 1995–2015. From 2017–2024 he was a docent and tour guide at The Museum of Jewish Heritage – A Living Memorial to the Holocaust in Downtown Manhattan, New York.
He is the author of The Second World War and Jewish Education in America: The Fall and Rise of Orthodoxy.
Contact Rabbi Yitschak Rudomin at izakrudomin@gmail.com
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