Achron shel Pesach 2025, with a lot of help from my friends.

This was my drasha from achron shel Pesach 2025. It is a synthesis of insights from Rav Dr Nachum Stone, Rav Chaim Brown, and Rav Avraham Bukspan.  Thank you.

Shemos 11:2

דבר נא באזני העם וישאלו איש מאת רעהו ואשה מאת רעותה כלי כסף וכלי זהב

Rashi

דבר נא. אֵין נָא אֶלָּא לְשׁוֹן בַּקָּשָׁה, בְּבַקָּשָׁה מִמְּךָ הַזְהִירֵם עַל כָּךְ, שֶׁלֹּא יֹאמַר אוֹתוֹ צַדִּיק אַבְרָהָם "וַעֲבָדוּם וְעִנּוּ אוֹתָם" (בראשית ט"ו), קִיֵּם בָּהֶם, "וְאַחֲרֵי כֵן יֵצְאוּ בִּרְכֻשׁ גָּדוֹל" (שם), לֹא קִיֵּם בָּהֶם:

The explanation of what Rashi means is very well known. Of course the Ribono shel Olam would fulfill His promise. But the fulfillment was intended to be the great treasure of Mattan Torah. The problem was that when it came to the warning of Avdus and Inui, Hashem fulfilled it literally. But when it comes to the promise of treasure, Hashem fulfills it with metaphorical treasure? Of course the Torah is incomparably greater than any worldly treasure, but for some people this would be hard to bear. Either both should be literal or both metaphorical, with avdus through the opposite of אין לך בן חורין אלא מי שעוסק בתורה, the avdus to the yetzer hara, and inui through some other means, like עִנָּה בַדֶּרֶךְ כֹּחִי. 

But there is another Rashi that says something different.

14:5

ויגד למלך מצרים כי ברח העם ויהפך לבב פרעה ועבדיו אל העם ויאמרו מה זאת עשינו כי שלחנו את ישראל מעבדנו

Rashi

ויהפך. נֶהְפַּךְ מִמַּה שֶּׁהָיָה, שֶׁהֲרֵי אָמַר לָהֶם "קוּמוּ צְּאוּ מִתּוֹךְ עַמִּי" (שמות י"ב), וְנֶהְפַּךְ לֵב עֲבָדָיו, שֶׁהֲרֵי לְשֶׁעָבַר הָיוּ אוֹמְרִים לוֹ "עַד מָתַי יִהְיֶה זֶה לָנוּ לְמוֹקֵשׁ" (שמות י'), וְעַכְשָׁיו נֶהֶפְכוּ לִרְדֹף אַחֲרֵיהֶם בִּשְׁבִיל מָמוֹנָם שֶׁהִשְׁאִילוּם: 

This is an entirely different reason than Rashi had said earlier.

Rashi here is saying that the reason the common Mitzri madly pursued the Jews, despite all the makkos and terror they knew resulted from oppressing the Jews is that they were filled with anger about all they had lent the Jews that they saw they were never getting back. In order to ensure that there would be a קריעת ים סיף with far greater damage to the Mitzrim and with far greater spoils of war, Hashem told Moshe to encourage the Jews to borrow from their neighbors. 

The "reason" Rashi had said earlier was like טעמי המצוות. It is an excellent reason for the tzivui, and it is true and good. But we can not really know the deeper purpose of a tzivui Hashem, which goes far beyond any taamei hamitzvos it says in the Torah.  There are wheels within wheels, and we are unwitting instruments of the invisible hand of the Ribono shel Olam. 

You have to realize that Kriyas Yam Suf was not just an additional miracle. 

The Magen Avraham holds that you can fulfil the mitzva of זכירת יציאת מצרים by talking about קריעת ים סוף. Most achronim, including the Gra and the Pri Megadim, argue. Zechiras yetzias mitzrayim is only the miracles that happened ביום ההוא, not a week later. But then why in the Hagaddah is so much weight given to krias yam suf? It says, oh, if in Mitzrayim there were X nissim, by קריעת ים סוף there were 10X. If Bizas Mitzrayim was X, ביזת הים was 100X. What is the point of belittling יציאת מצרים in favor of קריעת ים סוף? Why in Shachris and Maariv do we jump from יציאת מצרים to extensive praise for קריעת ים סוף?  There is no mitzva of zechiras קריעת ים סוף?  

The answer is that יציאת מצרים could be seen as the middas Emes of the RBSO, which obligated the kiyum of the promise. But the nissim of KYS and the Bizas Hayam, there was no reason for that. This could all have been avoided by not bumbling around in the desert. And Hashem had already given us great wealth from Mitzrayim. The reason Hashem did it this way was to show that YM was not merely a fulfillment of a pledge to our forefathers, it was a sign of a loving relationship of a father to his son. Hashem did קריעת ים סוףout of love, not duty. So this had to be set in motion davka at the moment of יציאת מצרים.

קריעת ים סוף is not part of sippur יציאת מצרים. But it is a גילוי of what יציאת מצרים meant. It was purely ahava and rachamim, not just kiyum of a bris.

Reb Nachum thought this would be a good match with Adam Smith's invisible hand. This led me to realize an interesting pshat in the halacha of לך לאות ולא לאחרים לאות. What's the pshat that the shel rosh should be prominently visible, but the shel yad should be covered? Because the יד חזקה of יציאת מצרים was open and great and a tremendous kiddush Hashem, but at the same time, the יד חזקה of יציאת מצרים was hidden from all. We had no idea of what the Ribono shel Olam was setting in motion, not in this world and certainly not in the עולמות עליונים as Reb Chaim Volozhiner says. The Yad Hashem is, for the most part, hidden.

This reminds us of the Ramban at the end of Bo (13:16)  Everything we see is the direct result of Hashem's involvement in this world, whether it looks like a tremendous neis or it looks like teva.

וּמִן הַנִּסִּים הַגְּדוֹלִים הַמְפֻרְסָמִים אָדָם מוֹדֶה בַּנִּסִּים הַנִּסְתָּרִים שֶׁהֵם יְסוֹד הַתּוֹרָה כֻּלָּהּ, שֶׁאֵין לָאָדָם חֵלֶק בְּתוֹרַת מֹשֶׁה רַבֵּינוּ עַד שֶׁנַּאֲמִין בְּכָל דְּבָרֵינוּ וּמִקְרֵינוּ שֶׁכֻּלָּם נִסִּים אֵין בָּהֶם טֶבַע וּמִנְהָגוֹ שֶׁל עוֹלָם, בֵּין בְּרַבִּים בֵּין בְּיָחִיד, אֶלָּא אִם יַעֲשֶׂה הַמִּצְוֹת יַצְלִיחֶנּוּ שְׂכָרוֹ, וְאִם יַעֲבֹר עֲלֵיהֶם יַכְרִיתֶנּוּ עָנְשׁוֹ, הַכֹּל בִּגְזֵרַת עֶלְיוֹן כַּאֲשֶׁר הִזְכַּרְתִּי כְּבָר (בראשית יז א, ולעיל ו ב). וְיִתְפַּרְסְמוּ הַנִּסִּים הַנִּסְתָּרִים בְּעִנְיָן הָרַבִּים כַּאֲשֶׁר יָבֹא בְּיִעוּדֵי הַתּוֹרָה בְּעִנְיַן הַבְּרָכוֹת וְהַקְּלָלוֹת, כְּמוֹ שֶׁאָמַר הַכָּתוּב (דברים כט כג-כד) "וְאָמְרוּ כָּל הַגּוֹיִם עַל מֶה עָשָׂה ה' כָּכָה לָאָרֶץ הַזֹּאת, וְאָמְרוּ עַל אֲשֶׁר עָזְבוּ אֶת בְּרִית ה' אֱלֹהֵי אֲבֹתָם", שֶׁיִּתְפַּרְסֵם הַדָּבָר לְכָל הָאֻמּוֹת שֶׁהוּא מֵאֵת ה' בְּעָנְשָׁם. וְאָמַר בַּקִּיּוּם "וְרָאוּ כָּל עַמֵּי הָאָרֶץ כִּי שֵׁם ה' נִקְרָא עָלֶיךָ וְיָרְאוּ מִמֶּךָּ".

This also explains the moments before the Krias Yam Suf. We were told to be silent: Hashem said מה תצעק, Moshe said השם ילחם לכם ואתם תחרישון. Hashem said, stop shouting. Moshe said, be quiet. The problem was that when we daven, we ask for specific things. The lesson is that the Ribono shel Olam has plans and intentions which will do not necessarily entail the immediate fulfillment of your myopic desires but which ultimately benefit you and all of Klal Yisrael. Just daven for kiddush Hashem, for rachamim, for erech apayim, for the opportunity to do mitzvos and maasim tovim. Don't hector the Ribono shel Olam with specifics.