The Leap of Love
Everyone knows that Passover commemorates the miraculous Exodus of
the Jews from Egypt. After 210 years of servitude, an entire people leave in astounding
record time, faster than it takes dough to leaven into bread. We celebrate this event with
a festive meal and ceremony called the Seder, during which we recite the Haggadahthe
telling of this wondrous historical episode.
The Exodus from Egypt is not just another milestone in the history of the Jewish people.
In fact, every holiday is actually a memorial to the Exodus. Even Rosh Hashana and Shabbat
are referred to as a Zechar LYitziat Mitzraim, a remembrance of the
Exodus from Egypt, although they have no apparent connection to the Exodus.
In addition, every Jew is obligated to see himself as if he personally had left Egypt and
to recount it every day, which is fulfilled by reciting the third paragraph of the Shema.
Thus, the Exodus is the seminal event of the Jewish calendar and of daily Jewish
The first of the Ten Commandments is: I am YHVH your G- d who took you out of Egypt,
out of the house of bondage. The Zohar (Vol 2, pg. 38) remarks: This is the
foundation and the root of Torah, all the commandments, and the complete faith of
Nothing could be stranger than the name of the holiday: Passover. Wouldnt the
Holiday of Freedom or the Exodus be more appropriate? With a straight
face, we are told that it is so named because G-d passed over the houses of the Jews when
He caused the death of the first born of the Egyptians during the tenth plague. We get the
very disturbing image of G-d hopping and skipping over the Jews homes. This image is
also found in the
Song of Songs, which is read on Passover: Behold the voice of my Beloved comes
skipping over mountains, hopping over valleys.
Indeed, it is emphasized that it was G-d Himself who was skipping. The Jerusalem Talmud
[Sanhedrin 2:5] establishes that G-d came to redeem Israel. He did not send an
agent, an angel, rather He Himself. On the verse in Exodus 12:1, I will
perform judgmentI am YHVH, Rashi comments: I Myself and not an
Couldnt G-d have simply decreed the death of the first- born without all this
skipping and personal
involvement? It is common knowledge that the Jews had sunk to the 49th level of
impurity. G-d saved them just before they fell to the last level, the fiftieth, at which
point redemption would have been impossible. In other words, the Jews were actually
unworthy of redemption. So why were they redeemed?
A careful reading of the text (Exodus 6) shows that the predominant message of the Exodus
is the revelation of the profound truth of I am YHVH. (See verses 6:2, 6, 7,
8) We know that each Divine name indicates a different encounter with G-d, revealing
different attributes and perspectives of the Divine truth.
The name Elokim is G-d revealed as the Creator of nature, borders, rules, principles,
regulations. This is the name that appears throughout the creation story. In addition,
this is the name of G-d revealed as a judge, committed to laws, order, justice,
consequences, cause and effect. This is the G-d who responds measure for measure to the
choices and deeds of humans. G-d as Elokim cannot save the Jews, because they dont
However, G-d as perceived in Judaism is not only an Elokim. He is also revealed as YHVH.
This is G-d the compassionate. He is not only a creator, a ruler, and a judge, but also a
sustainer, One who extends and shares His being with us, perpetuating our existence at
every moment. We are not independent from YHVH. Rather we are unified with Him as the rays
of the sun are to the sun or the thought is to the thinker. YHVH is G-d the Father, and we
are His children. Elokim is committed to the laws of nature, the limitations of time and
YHVH, however, is beyond nature, the miracle worker, the G-d who, in the name of Love,
transcends time and space.
G-d as Elokim cannot do anything for the Jews in Egypt. No slave had ever succeeded in
escaping Pharaoh's captivity. Even time and space were against the possibility of
mobilizing an entire nation of three million people to leave Egypt in less time than it
takes for bread to rise. To mobilize my own family to leave the house takes longer than
that. But the greatest miracle of the Exodus is that even though the Jews were
undeserving, they were saved. G-d not only suspended the laws of nature, He also suspended
the laws of justice.
This is G-d as YHVH. The Jewish belief is that the essential name of G-d is YHVH, and that
the essential attribute of G-d is love and compassion. This is the lesson of the Exodus.
This is why we must remind ourselves of it every day.
The name Elokim is actually only an aspect of the name YHVH, and ultimately subordinate to
that attribute. This is one of the understandings of the Shema: that YHVH is Elokim while
remaining YHVH. In other words, the attribute of justice is actually an aspect of the full
meaning of love.
Such is the way of all parenthood: out of love for my child I establish for her rules and
regulations. I create a world of consistent forces that she can learn to handle. Her deeds
incur real consequences. I judge her, reward her and punish her, all for the sake of
allowing her to grow into her own identity. However, since judgment is a function of love
and thereby subordinate to it, there may be times when my child may be undeserving, yet I
will still be compassionate towards her. I may pass over my attribute of
judgment in the name of compassion, in
order to save my child.
This then is the meaning of the verse in the Song of Songs, Behold the voice of my
beloved comes skipping over the mountains, hopping over the valleys. Nothing can
stand in the way of Gods love for His people. No obstacle of nature is too great.
His love transcends all barriers.
This is the inner dynamic of Passover. G-d, in order to pass over the homes of the Jews,
passed over his attribute of judgment in the name of love. The Zohar (Vol. 3, pg. 99)
teaches: Even though G-d loves justice, His love for His children overcame His love
for His justice.
Why did G-d not send an angel? Because He could not send an angel. Angels are bound to the
laws of nature. Rabbeinu Bachya explains that had G-d sent an angel to perform the plague
of the firstborn, then even the Jews would have been killed, for they too were culpable.
Therefore, G-d Himself, YHVH, executed the plague.
One more vital point needs elucidation: Why did G-d require the Jews to sacrifice the
Pascal lamb and smear its blood on their door-posts, so that G-d would pass over their
houses? Did G-d really need this sign to identify Jewish homes?
I believe that there really is one obstacle that can stand in the way of G-ds love.
G-d can love us, but He cant make us believe that he loves us. A poignant passage in
Isaiah portrays this impasse. The Prophet is defending the people, claiming that they are
sinning because G-d is not present for them. G-d responds [Isaiah 65:1]: I was ready
to be sought by those who did not ask for Me. I was ready to be found by those who did not
seek Me. I
said Here I am, here I am.
G-d may pour upon us all His love, but it is up to us to acknowledge and accept it. We
have to make some overture, some sign, which is what smearing the blood on the door- posts
was all about. G-d did not need an identifying sign, but we had to identify ourselves as
What does it take for people to acknowledge the miracles of our own day? Thirty-nine scud
missiles fell on the city of Tel Aviv, and only one man was killed. I remember hearing the
previous Minister of Defense interviewed on the radio, saying with an air of reluctance,
This would have to be called a miracle. Once I was walking in the countryside
and I saw a tubular, V-shaped object hovering in mid-air, about ten meters above the
ground. I looked at it for two hours, trying to figure out what it was. At one point, a
guy came walking past me. I pointed to the object. He saw it, too. Truly
remarkable, he said, and went right on walking.
Perhaps this is why we have to open the door for Eliyahu. Certainly he could enter without
our opening the door. However, nobody would really notice him.
G-d says to the Jews, Nothing can stand in the way of My love for you, except
you. Passover is the time to experience and acknowledge G-ds love for you.
Thats why it is the foundation of all the holidays, of all of Judaism. Without the
acknowledgment that G-d loves you enough to redeem you even when youre not worthy,
you have no inkling of G-ds relationship with you. Thats why we read the great
love poem, the Song of Songs, on Passover. Thats why we spend hours reciting the
Hagaddah, like an enamored lover describing every minute detail of how her beloved
proposed to her. The more we acknowledge G-ds love, the more love we will