2022/5782
There is a huge Yesod that ties into Pesach found in the Midrash Rabbah in Tazria. The second Pasuk of Tzaria says “Isha Ki Tazria VeYaledah Zachar … Ad Melot Yemei Tahorah,” “A woman when she conceives and gives birth to a male … until the completion of the days of purity” (VaYikra 12:2-4). The Midrash asks, why does the Pasuk have to say that the woman conceived as well as giving birth? Isn’t it obvious that the former is needed in order for the latter to be achieved?
There are many answers to this question that the Midrash brings down. One that really connects this to Pesach was a Mashal brought down by Rabi Levi. Says Rabi Levi that it is the usual practice of the world that if one was both shackled and confined in prison, with not a single person paying attention to them, to thank the benefactor that frees them. The same applies to the newborn child who is confined in the womb and is connected to the umbilical cord as if tied by ropes and chains and Hashem releases him and takes him out.
The Eitz Yosef says that the Midrash notices the wording of the Pasuk as discussing all the kindness which Hashem does for the child between conception and birth. Most people don’t remember to thank Hashem for the amazing acts of kindness He performs while the baby isn’t even born yet. Even we, who are aware of our obligation to thank Hashem for our own lives and for that of our children, often fail to think about how many miracles have already happened before a healthy child could enter this world. This is because we take for granted things that are part of the world’s natural order. We often think that Hashem put a system in place in which things just magically happen on their own, and that the things we gain from the system weren’t directly given by Hashem to the many people who gain benefit.
Our Midrash calls upon us to reject this type of thinking. Says the Bikurei Av that our Midrash is teaching us about the miracles a baby experiences before it is born because we are obligated to thank Hashem for each and every one of them.
From here, two questions arise. The Gemara in Berachot (7b) says that when Leah thanked Hashem after she had Yehudah, she was the first person to thank Hashem.How can this be true! Surely both the Avot and Imahot previously thanked Hashem!mAnother question arises from the Gemara in Shabbat (118b) which says that one who recites Hallel every day is “Harei Zeh Mechareif UMegadeif,” “like one who curses Hashem and is like a blasphemer”. Why would praising Hashem with a beautiful Hallel have such a harsh backlash?
The answer lies right in front of us. It is because we must realize that we benefit from Hashem’s kindness everyday and must voice our appreciation for that daily. The Midrash Rabbah notes elsewhere, in BeReishit Rabbah 14:9, that one must thank Hashem for each and every breath that we take. The fact that we all experience these daily miracles gives all of us the obligation to thank Hashem for each and every little thing he does for us.
One who recites Hallel daily thanking Hashem for the miraculous Exodus gives the impression that he doesn’t view the smaller things as a reason to praise Hashem. That type of belief is compared to blasphemy in the Gemara. The miracles that we experience everyday are no less than that of the extraordinary miracles that took place in Mitzrayim. Surely others have thanked Hashem before, but Leah was the first to thank Hashem for the ordinary. What others saw as nature, Leah saw as an extraordinary gift from Hashem.
In my humble opinion this all ties back to the original point of the Midrash. Over the course of Yetzi’at Mitzrayim we are in the midst of being born as a nation. There is so much that leads up to our birth as a nation. We can’t just focus on the big miracles. Pesach isn’t just about Yetzi’at Mitzrayim, it’s about redemption. Like the Pasuk in Tazria says, we shouldn't just thank Hashem for the birth, we should also thank him for the things that took place before we were born as a nation. Over the course of Pesach and on, let us all continue to have and look for things to thank Hashem for whether big or small.