בס”ד
Rabbi Meir Sendor
The Gemara Pesachim (85b-86a) describes the Pesach Seder as it was observed in Jerusalem in the time of the Second Temple, including its stirring climactic conclusion. All Israel would file through the Temple in designated groups of family and friends with their Pesach Sacrifices, the Korban Pesach and Hagigah offerings, which were processed by the Kohanim. The residents of Jerusalem would open their homes to their fellow citizens coming from all over the country, since everyone’s Pesach Seder needed to take place within the city walls. Each group would take their Pesach offerings and foods to one of these homes. There, in a room on the ground floor, they would drink wine, discuss the story of coming out of Mitzrayim together, eat matzah and maror and portions of the fire-roasted sacrifices, and finish the meal with everyone getting another small piece of the Korban Pesach to end with that taste, the taste of redemption. When each group finished, to make room for the next group, they would ascend to the rooftop of the home – most homes had flat rooftop patios, as they do in the Old City to this day. There they would see thousands of other groups, all gathering on the rooftops of Jerusalem, and all across the city, together, they would sing Hallel. As the Gemara describes it, and Rabbi Shmuel Eliezer haLevi Edels explains, their voices would “burst forth from the rooftops” in joyful song together and ascend to the Heavens. It was an experience of ecstatic unity. All Israel together, all across the rooftops of Jerusalem, under the starry, moonlit sky, through the night, embracing each other and embraced by Heaven in songs of grateful thanksgiving.
In a recent visit to Israel, one of our members, Chayala, expressing her own thankfulness for HaShem’s Hesed, His lovingkindess, explained that the key verse of Hallel, ” הודו לשם כי טוב, כי לעולם חסדו – Give thanks to HaShem for He is good, for His loving-kindness is eternal (Ps. 118:1), — expresses being embraced by HaShem’s love across all time. We recognize His goodness from our past experience, collective and personal; we are confident in His ongoing love for the eternal future; so we thank Him now in song. A beautiful reading! This is the real inner spirit of Pesach – the eternal God-gifted redemption we enjoy together, embraced in mutual respect, support and love, embraced by HaShem across all space and all time. This is the joyful sense of solidarity that beats deep in every heart of Israel, that we need to remind each other to feel together, to help us through these challenging times. May we come to experience this ecstatic unity together, in unity with all Israel, and in unity, ultimately, with all humanity.
Chag Sameach!
