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This article was constructed with the help of either writings, lectures or shiurim of Rabbi’s Yissachar frand, Berel Wein, Tzvi Patinski, Yossi Bilius and Dr. Abba Goldman
  Imagine being served bagels and lox for breakfast, every morning, for the last 3000 years. That is the custom menu for a brit milah (circumcision) and what Eliyahu Hanavi has been subjected to as he predictably appears as the honored guest, with the front row seat. Every nuance of the ceremony automatically is recognized by him; any cookie or bagel tasted by him can easily be linked to the caterer. He’s an expert on all aspects of the brit milah ceremony. Though, he would probably welcome something a little different after all these years. Eliyahu was a prophet and a wonder-worker in the northern kingdom of Israel during the reign of Achav (9th century BC). We know that at every Brit (Circumcision) there is an area set aside as the “Chair of Eliyahu” right where the actual circumcision takes place. Eliyahu is, as it were, the distinguished guest who appears at every Brit Milah.
Why is Eliyahu at every brit? Why is Eliyahu Ha’navi such a central figure at a brit milah? After all, this is a mitzvah associated with Avraham Avinu, as demonstrated by the blessing we recite–“To bring [the child] into the brit /covenant of Avraham Avinu”!
Furthermore, better late than never, we open the door for Eliyahu towards the end of the Pesach seder and pour an extra cup of wine dedicating it to him. Is there a common bond between the Pesach seder invite and Eliyahu attending every brit?
This week’s parsha begins as a continuation of the incident at the end of last week’s. We read how Pinchas was enraged with the actions of Zimri ben Salul, who challenged Moshe’s authority by taking a non-Jewish woman into the tent, in front of the entire nation to have an illicit relationship. Pinchas was so furious with the audacity of Zimri that after receiving permission from Moshe, he entered the tent and speared the two sinners to death. His brazen act of zealousness was praised by G-d and he was rewarded greatly.
The courageous act that Pinchas performed was one of zealotry. It’s defending G-d’s honor!! It’s an act of tremendous love towards G-d par excellence. Is he a role model for others to follow? Are we to learn how to be a zealot from his actions? Is there a course, perhaps a home study edition on how to be a zealot?
Apparently, it seems like the Talmud and Jewish traditions are of the opinion that only Pinchas’s act of zealotry is to be admired. All other acts of unilateral zealotry in Jewish society in later generations are to be shunned. The prophet Eliyahu, who in Jewish tradition is identified somehow with Pinchas, is chastised by Heaven to moderate his zealotry and despair regarding the acknowledged evils of Jewish behavior in his time.
Our history seems to support this view. Shimon and Levy, number three and four from the twelve tribes, though heroes to their brothers, were reprimanded by their father Yaakov for wiping out the city of Shechem for allowing the rape of their sister Dina. It seems from the last will and testaments of Yaakov, which was disclosed in parshat V`yechi, that it’s not quite a popular idea to be a zealot.
According to Jewish tradition Pinchas was, in fact, Eliyahu Hanavi. Eliyahu Hanavi is one of the most fascinating people in Tanach and Rabbinic literature. Ironically, he appears in our Rabbinic literature as an old cute grandfather type, who is a beloved guest at our every holiday and life cycle event. We even sing a song about him after Havdalah (end of Shabbat).
 However, this is far removed from the persona of Eliyahu in much of Tanach. We find a very interesting comment from our Sages pertaining to the famous showdown with Eliyahu and king Achav and Queen Izevel’s false prophets at Mount Carmel [Melachim I Chapter 18]. Eliyahu challenged the false prophets of Baal to bring down a fire from Heaven to accept their offerings. They were unable to do this. However, Eliyahu succeeded in bringing down a fire from Heaven to accept his own offering. All the people fell on their faces, prostrated themselves, and declared “Hashem, He is G-d.” This is the famous proclamation that reverberates throughout our synagogues at the conclusion of Yom Kippur.This story is told in the Haftorah of Parshas Ki Tisa. The Haftorah ends with those words: “Hashem hu haElokim.” However, that is not how the story ends in Tanach. The narration in the book of Melachim continues “Eliyahu said to them, ‘Seize the prophets of Baal! Let none of them escape!’ So they seized them. Eliyahu took them down to the Kishon Brook and slaughtered them there.” [Melachim 1 18:40] The wicked Queen Izevel heard what Eliyahu did to her prophets and sent a message pledging to do the exact same thing to him that he did to the prophets of Baal. Eliyahu is forced to flee to the desert where he sees a vision of G-d on Har Horeb (Har Sinai). In a series of questions, G-d first asks Eliyahu what he is doing there.
Eliyahu indicts the Israelites for their wicked deeds. He gets down on his own people!! The honor of G-d overrides the compassion of the Jewish people. Was he right? G-d then proceeds to show him a vision of Wind, Thunder, and Fire in which G-d is in none of these, followed by a soft still voice in which HE appears. As the Malbim explains, G-d is trying to communicate to Eliyahu through this vision that the proper approach of a prophet towards his people should not be one of harsh rebuke and stinging indictment but rather to pull them with cords of love and soft words.
G-d’s persuasion, however, is gone unnoticed. Eliyahu is a zealot and will not change this about himself. The honor of G d has been defiled!!
 Eliyahu seems to hardly be the cute old smiley little grandfather that he is depicted in rabbinic literature. Based on this portrayal, it’s doubtful that we would want to invite him to our Brit Milah or Seder. G-d’s question to Eliyahu implied some measure of criticism. G-d chastised Eliyahu for not talking properly about His people. “Do not say about My People ‘they have not kept Your Covenant!’ Do not talk that way about Jews! You should have said, “They are Your children, descendants of Avraham, Yitzchak, and Yaakov.”
There was never a more ‘for the sake of Heaven’ zealot in the history of the world than Eliyahu the prophet. He is the paragon of the proper form of zealotry. G-d rewarded him for it. But even that zealot was less than perfect because at the same time that he defended the Honor of G-d, he was too harsh in his attitude toward the Jewish people. The Jews had to be admonished, true, but he was just a little too strong. He should not have said “They have forsaken Your Covenant (Brit).”
We are told that Eliyahu the prophet attends every circumcision (Bris) of Jewish babies. Part of the ritual is to reserve a chair for Eliyahu. The reason why he must attend every Brit is a decree from G-d. Eliyahu must attend every Bris in order to recognize that he was wrong. The nation of Yisrael does keep the Covenant (Brit)!
This is the difficulty of being a zealot. Balancing Kavod Shamayim-love and honor of G-d with love of one’s fellow Jewish brothers can be challenging to say the least. We have experienced how individuals for the love of G-d believe they have a license to trample other Jews. This is a common stumbling block of being a zealot. One tends to overlook that perhaps, their actions are not so pure and possibly motivated by self-interest.
Interestingly, Eliyahu is mentioned in Tanach one more time. Eliyahu makes one last crucial appearance in Tanach in the last chapter of the Prophets.
“Behold I will send for you Eliyahu the prophet before comes the Day of the Lord, the Great and Awesome Day. And he will turn the hearts of the fathers to the sons and the hearts of the sons to the fathers lest I come and destroy the land totally”. What this statement seems to imply is the answer to our introductory questions.
SEDER NIGHT AND THE CUP OF ELIYAHU
 Let’s explain: Concerning the Cup of Eliyahu that we pour on the Seder night, it has a strong basis because the reason for preparing the Chair of Eliyahu at the time of the Milah and giving Eliyahu the nickname the Malach HaBrit-angel of the covenant is because… the mouth who indicted Israel stating that they forsook the Brit is the very mouth who will give testimony in support of Israel and become their defense attorney when he sees that they are keeping the Brit.
A famous Midrash which states that since Eliyahu was the prosecutor against the Children of Israel accusing them of forsaking the Brit, his Tikkun for all eternity is that he will attend every Brit Milah and be able to testify forever that in fact the Jewish people have not forsaken the Brit. He will testify that through all generations even in times of great persecution and personal sacrifice, the Jews have kept the Brit.
We see here the clear connection between the Chair of Eliyahu and the Cup of Eliyahu since the mitzvah of Milah and the mitzvah of Pesach are interconnected. A male cannot perform a Karban Pesach unless he has a Brit Milah. Zealotry is such a dangerous trait that even the noble Pinchas-Eliyahu can overdo it, by uttering just a single word that is too strong. This demonstrates how delicate and careful one must be when wielding the sword of zealotry. |
Tag Archive for seder night
Our Honored guest Eliyahu Hanavi
Based on this, we have reason to establish the custom of Israel on the night of Pesach to prepare a cup of wine and a place at the table where we fulfill the Pesach [for Eliyahu]. Because one of the laws [of the Karban Pesach] is that an uncircumcised male cannot eat it. And on the first night that they fulfilled this mitzvah of eating the Pesach sacrifice, they first needed to fulfill the mitzvah of Brit Milah as it says in Yechezkel (16: 6) and I saw them steeped in blood [and I said, through your blood shall you live, through your blood shall you live]. Our rabbis teach us [that this double reference to blood] refers to the blood of the Milah and the Pesach. [The first two mitzvot the Children of Israel fulfilled prior to the Exodus from Egypt.]Pesach power of speech-the Jewish voice
Rabbi’s Ilan Feder, Dr Abba Goldman and Rabbi Akiva Tatz all helped in consructing this article
Malcolm Hoenlein, Executive Vice Chairman, of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations and Rabbi and Dr. Akiva Tatz inspirational speaker
HAKOL KOL YAACOV- The voice is the voice of Yaacov (our forefather) The voice is what defines our essence as a nation and also our individuality. Speech is our power. Perhaps this is the reason the holiday is called PEH-SACH-the mouth that tells. Most important theme of the seder night is just that; it is to discuss the experience with this most powerful tool we have, our mouth.
We read in the Haggadah V’YASEM L’GOY GADOL- I will make you into a large nation. We know us Jews were never a threatening number in any time in our history. The commentaries expound on the words METZEYUANIM SHAM-they stood out like a large nation. How did the Israelites stand out?
There were four distinct traits which stood out in our ancestors when they were slaves in Egypt. 1) They didn’t change their mother tongue 2) They didn’t intermarry 3) They didn’t change their names; Schwartz, Borochoff and Hakimi were still prominent. Lastly they did not speak bad about their fellow comrade. (No Lashon Harah). This is what defined them as the Israelites. This is what the Egyptians and the world looked at and said ” Hey, their different then us!!”.
There is question many ask. We can understand the first three that are on the list. In essence, it makes sense. The Egyptians dressed in jeans and a t-shirt while the Jews wore the black hat and the tzitzit; that’s a clear distinction. The same goes with different language and last names. However how does not speaking bad about their fellow Jew stand out? It really doesn’t seem one can make a distinction about one not speaking bad about someone or not. What did the Egyptians notice that made them feel different? There are two examples given that have to be presented for us to shed some light and see what defined a Jew in Egypt.
Growing up in TV America one is aware of the many detective shows that have been spawned over the years. So in a sense we can relate to the Orchat Tzadikim example of a chacham and a friend walking by a certain street where a crime took place and there was a corpse lying with a bullet hole in his head and his mouth wide open. The chacham asked the friend “What did you notice about the victim”?. The friend replied back “The bloody spot in the dead person’s temple”. The Chacham then said “You failed to make a positive observation; the deceased had nice teeth”.
Let’s give another example and then perhaps we’ll be able to understand what the Egyptians saw in us in the last defining category. Rabbi Faider of the Chaffetz Chaim Yeshiva high school wanted to test his student’s observational skills. One day each student received a color picture of a tree in a garden. On the tree was a paper bag. He then asked the students what they noticed about the picture. Almost all said the paper bag. Only a few mentioned the beautiful garden.
Granted by not speaking bad about a person one refrains from negativity. The flip side of not speaking bad is that it makes a person look positive. That positive energy is more pronounced as one furthers himself more and more from being negative and critical about people. This is what the Egyptians noticed that was different. The Jews were very positive. Speech is powerful and it can be lethal. It can be used to build empires in this world leading to rewards for eternity. One can also build with speech an evil empire and destroy himself and others that cross his path. For this reason the tongue has two coverings, the teeth and cheeks. This is to protect it from being too spontaneous and to hopefully cause us to be more thoughtful before we speak.
Why is the seder night so powerful?
On the seder night one can basically ask and receive a favorable response more so than on any night. The reason is G-d had mercy on the Jews that night even though we didn’t deserve it. It says USHMA TZA’AKATAM-he heard our screams and he had mercy.
Speech is a gift given to humans that thereby differentiates them from other species. It connects the heavens (spiritual) to earth (physical). In essence this is how we communicate with G-d. Anyone who understands the laws of prayer is aware that without verbalization our prayers are not as potent. Speech connects the world of thought to world of action. We then have to ask a basic question – If speech is essential for prayer to reach the eavens, how then did G-d just,hear our screams and respond? Didn’t we say verbalization is required? We see how clever Pharoah and the Egyptians were. They worked the poor Jews to exhaustion till they couldn’t think and express themselves. This was done by design. They knew the power of the Jew is through his mouth and they planned to stifle that weapon.
Now we see what a merciful night the seder is. Even without the speech, without the bridge between heaven and earth, G-d still listened and released us from bondage. However, today is our chance to correct, or perhaps one should say, fill the void, of not having speech that night. On the seder night we use our speech as a vehicle that transcends our prayers, our love, our commitment to G-d. We use the seder as a platform to accomplish the power of speech. The fifth step of the haggadah “Maggid-to tell over” so we can V’HEGADEDA L’BINCHA-tell our children. We arouse our children’s curiosity and encourage them to ask questions. Any child would automatically ask question after they recite the MA NISHTANA. How many fathers have come to me and asked me “What do I answer my son when he recites the 4 questions? This night is a night where everything is open for disscussion. Apparently the section following the MAH NISHTANA is the response by the patriach of the family, answering the child.
Even the Matzah hints and arouses conversations. One definition of MATZA SHONIMBO means matzah that is answered to. The Haggadah gives strict instructions “if one does not utter these three words PESACH, MATZAH, MARROR, he does not fulfill the commandment of eating at the seder. That’s a pretty powerful statement. If you’re into the gift of gab, the seder is the place to be.
Some things one can not say in words
Sometimes its very hard to describe an experience. We, many times, say “I guess you just had to be there”.As a matter of fact, the chassidim, on their special occasions, would sing a tune for about 20 minutes and it would be so deep, profound and meaningful; funny thing is it had no words. In the concluding games of the 1986 Baseball World Series (game 6, the Mets won in game 7) Vince Scully, the announcer, did something unusual but smart. After the climatic hit, he did not say a word. For 10 minutes we saw images of celebration. He then came back on the air and said “words can not describe what you just saw”.
Rabbi Simcha Siesal waited 25 years to share a profound Torah idea. He was concerned if he would have spoke about it to soon he would lose it. A thought enters our inner being and becomes part of you. If one, however speaks to soon he will risk losing the true meaning of the thought. So we see speech has its limits, its finite.
When I think of the power of speech that many of our brethren possess, I think of the late 70’s and early 80’s solidarity rallies in midtown Manhattan for Soviet Jewry. It was quite impressive hearing some of those eloquent and fire and brimstone speakers using their freedom of speech and screaming “let my people go”. Ironically, I didn’t think of it then, but I ended up marrying a nice girl from the Soviet Union. This was freedom of speech at its best.At Madison Square Garden many years ago, where the Siyum Hashas -the celebration of finishing a 7 year cycle in the Talmud- was it was quite impressive hearing some of our Torah giants address and inspire the audience. An orator can give a lasting and impactful impression.
A few profound statements in history that come to mInd as I’m pressured to finish this article:
“My father bit you like a snake, I’m going to bite you like a scorpion” – King Rechavam making a negative impression as the new king of Israel
“Ask not what the country can do for you but what you can do for this country” – President John F. Kennedy
” Give me Liberty or give me death” is a quotation attributed to Patrick Henry from a speech he made to the Virginia Convention in 1775 which made a strong impact on Americans
The pain that the Jews experienced in Egypt was indescribable and could not be put in words. Although words, speech is an easier way of communicating with G-d, a good scream now and then can go a long way. Perhaps the Egyptians underestimated that capability. Or perhaps G-d loves the Jewish nation so much that every so often on a good day or night he shows his love owever we express ourselves. Well guess what – one of those good nights happens to be the seder night. Let’s communicate talk, scream, ask questions, make statements, cry, laugh, sing, bless and enjoy the freedom of expression, the freedom and gift of speech as long as it’s expressed in a positive way….then we’ll be positive.