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By Rabbi Shloimie Lindenbaum
אם על תודה יקריבנו (פרק ז פסוק יב)
One of the sacrifices that we are taught about in this Parsha is the קרבן תודה- the thanksgiving offering. This was offered when one experienced a considerable salvation, such as leaving jail or being healed from a dire illness. Along with the animal sacrifice, the person also brought 40 loaves. 30 of them were matzoh and 10 of them were chometz. R’ Shimon Schwab explains that matzoh represents large miracles, such as us leaving Egypt. Chometz, however, represents the daily miracles which we benefit from while hardly even noticing them. Our heart pumping, our digestive systems working, the sun shining, warming, and the trees providing oxygen for us to breathe. All of these and countless more daily occurrences are truly miraculous, although they have become so ordinary. When one brings the קרבן תודה they are thanking for the great miracle but also reminding themselves of the constant miracles that Hashem does for us. A man in Bnei Brak offered some cake and lchaim after Shacharis one morning to his minyan, explaining that he was hit by a car the day before and suffered just a few slight bruises. In gratitude he was making a “kiddush” with everyone else. The next day, again, he brought cake and a lchaim. This time he explained, “I have been crossing that road at the same spot daily for twenty years and yesterday was the first time that I was ever struck by a car- imagine, twenty years and nothing has ever happened to me! That is at least as big of a miracle!” We are always to remember the daily miracles as much as the extraordinary ones.
והיא שעמדה לאבותינו ולנו (הגדה של פסח)
On Seder night we describe how Hashem promised Avraham that his children would descend to exile, but they would be brought out. We then go on to say “And this is what has stood for our forefathers and us…in every generation they stand up against us to destroy us and Hashem saves us from their hands.” The commentaries ask, how does the promise made to Avraham last for all the generations- seemingly that was a one time promise about Egypt? The בעל מעשה השם answers that “this” is not referring to the promise made to Avraham, rather it is referring to the following words in the paragraph. The fact that in every generation Hashem saves us from them- that is what stands for us. He explains that if every time we were oppressed, Hashem would just destroy our enemies, we could think that they had sinned and done wrong, and therefore Hashem destroyed them. Their destruction would not necessarily indicate Hashem’s relationship with us. That is not the case, however, rather in every generation Hashem “saves us”- meaning they are still around, but Hashem saves us from their evil intentions. That proves to us that Hashem still loves us, even in this incredibly long exile, Hashem brings salvation to us out of His pure love for us, regardless of our enemy’s sins. It is this reminder that has “stood for us” in our exile- this encouragement that Hashem is still here for us and is still doing good for us, is what allows to hold our heads up high and keep on marching towards the Final Redemption. לשנה הבאה בירושלים!!
