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Rabbi Zweig: Bo: Using The Past |
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Written by Rabbi Yochanan Zweig
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 The Al-mighty entreated the Jewish people to ask the Egyptians for their valuables (Exodus 11:2). The implication is that the Jews needed coaxing. Why? Furthermore, if the Jews didn't want these riches
why was G-d still bound by his promise to Abraham, that they would leave the land of their oppression with vast possessions (Genesis 15:14)?
The Rosh HaYeshiva, Rav Yochanan Zweig would like to offer the following answer. G-d had to make a request because the Jews may not have wanted any reminder of their difficult past. In fact, if the Jews would have refused, G-d would have been released, as it were, from his promise.
Nevertheless, G-d wanted them to accept these riches to teach them that they should not deny their past. Rather, the proper response to difficult past events - no matter how horrendous - is to accept them and then turn them into positive experiences.
This answers another difficult question. Why is Passover called Chag Hamatzos (the Festival of Matzos)? Matzos represent our enslavement, not freedom. The reason is that we don't celebrate our freedom by forgetting our past. We do so by specifically remembering our past enslavement in order to grow from it. We remember what slavery taught us & use it for the positive.
In truth, the years of enslavement constituted the critical experience which facilitated our acceptance of the Torah at Sinai. We learned obedience, serving another, not thinking only about ourselves - the indispensable components necessary to become servants of the Al-mighty. That is why G-d wanted us to have these riches. They would serve as a constant reminder of that past experience, so necessary for our future growth. Thus, it is entirely appropriate that the Torah uses the name Chag Hamatzos to depict Passover.
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