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The True Miracle of Passover:
An Ethical Perspective Passover begins on the 15th of NISAN, the first month of the Jewish year (TISHRI, the month in which we celebrate Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur is the seventh month of the year - a bit strange I know but who said Jewish time had to make sense?). Although the names of the Jewish months are probably Babylonian in origin and thus not Hebrew words at all, rabbis throughout the ages have tried to ascribe meaning to them nonetheless. So, asks the Dynower rebbe, Zevi Elimelech Shapira (1785-1841), what is the Hebrew root of the word NISAN? The answer - NES. We know from Hanukah what a NES is - a miracle. And it's obvious which miracle we are commemorating this monthCthe miracle of our deliverance from the land of Egypt. But I want to share one more piece of Torah, taught to me by Rabbi Adam Mintz, that will deepen and personalize this miracle. The word NES is formed from two Hebrew letters, NUN and SAMECH. These are two very famous letters. Traditionally, we recite the Ashrei prayer (Psalm 145) three times daily. This particular Psalm is an alphabetical acrostic - the first verse begins with ALEPH, the second with BET, and so forth. However, one letter is missing - the NUN. The Talmud (Berachot 4b) asks about this missing NUN: "Rabbi Yohanan says: Why is there no NUN in the Ashrei prayer? Because [the verse about] the fall of Israel begins with it. For it is written (Amos 5:2): "Fallen (NAFLAH), not to rise again, is Maiden Israel." Thus, according to Rabbi Yohanan, the NUN is left out of the Ashrei prayer so as not to remind us of a Biblical verse that prophesies the downfall of Israel (God forbid!). However, the verse in Ashrei that follows what would be the NUN verse begins, of course, with our friend SAMECH (it is an alphabetical acrostic after all). And what is that verse? "God SUPPORTS (SOMECH) all the fallen (haNOFLEEM) and raises up all who are bowed down." The NUN verse about falling down is thus implied in the SAMECH verse that assures us that God will support the fallen. So what do we learn from all of these letters? The miracle, the NES, of Passover, can only be appreciated when we understand the connection between falling down (NEFILAH) and being lifted up again (SEMICHAH). This month of NISAN celebrates the great NES that we experience anew each year. We were once slaves and now, thank God, we are free. But freedom itself is no miracle. We have first to experience slavery to know what it is to be truly free. Perhaps this is why our Torah reminds us again and again: "You were strangers in the land of Egypt." This Passover, let us celebrate
and appreciate our freedom by dedicating ourselves to the unending
task of helping all humanity know this same miracle. Let all
know what it is to uplifted. Let us endeavor to help one another
stand up in dignity (KAVOD) and honor. Let us uplift one another
spiritually, emotionally, and intellectually. Then we all will
know the true meaning of NISAN and the true meaning of Passover.
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