Eliyahu Hanavi, continued

 

Last week I mentioned that Eliyahu HaNavi serves as a connector between heaven and earth. He also serves as a connector in three other ways. First Eliyahu Hanavi serves as a connector between parents and children. In this week’s special Haftara for Shabbat HaGadol we read the last lines of the prophetic era, Malachi, in which he talks about Eliyahu Hanavi.

“V’Heishiv Lev Avot Al Banim, V’lev Banim Al Avotam”

One of the challenges of contemporary society is the disconnect that exists between generations, and especially between parents and children. Both sides feel marginalized and misunderstood. The result is that the next generations does not look back to the previous generations for the guidance and experience that they need, and the older generation does not teach the lessons or prepare for the future in the most effective manner. Since Eliyahu Hanavi has been on this Earth over many centuries, he is in a unique position to help bridge the gap that exists between the generations.

      One of the central themes of the Seder is to be like Eliyahu and create connections between parents and children.  Families get together and are forced to interact with each other. No separate rooms, no excusing yourself to go to the office (like parents often do) or to play video games (like children often do) or check their Facebook page (like everyone likes to do). We’re stuck with each other for a few hours- an extended period of time by today’s standards. The Seder is set up in a manner that encourages the different generations to talk to one another- to ask questions and to give their unique perspective. Children ask questions- but so do parents. Parents give answers- but children also share words of Torah. It’s a bi-directional relationship- just as the prophet tells us Eliyahu Hanavi will accomplish beyond the Seder night.

      Second, Eliyahu Hanavi connects questions with answers. In the Talmud, if an object or money is in doubt as to its rightful owner, one option employed is to be “munach at sheyavo Eliyahu”- leave it until Eliyahu Hanavi comes. Eliyahu will herald in the Messianic era, at which time he will answer our questions and resolve our uncertainties. Another expression employed by the Talmud in cases of doubt is “Teiku.” Literally this term means “let the matter stand, and remain unresolved.” However there is a tradition (quoted by Tosfot Yom Tov at the end of Mishnayot Ediyot) that Teiku is an acronym for “Tishbi yetaretz Kushiyot Va’abayot” – Eliyahu Hanavi (referred to as Tishbi in Melachim 1:17:1) will resolve difficulties and questions.” Asking and answering questions is a major component of the Seder.

      Some questions at the Seder have clear and immediate answers. For instance, the answer to the questions included in the Mah Nishtana is basically “Avadim Hayinu.” Some questions have no easy answer but the Passover story gives us hope and faith that one day there will be a satisfying answer. In Chasidic thought, the introductory question of Mah Nishtana Halayla Hazeh is understood as, “how do we make sense of the nights of Jewish history, the tragedies, the disappointments, and the uncertainties that we experience as individuals and as a nation?” The story of the Exodus serves as a guide for us. At the time, the Egyptian slavery was incomprehensibly brutal. Yet in retrospect, we can understand the importance of the slavery experience in shaping us into a nation. Slavery taught us to be sensitive and responsive to those who are vulnerable. Yetziat Mitzrayim is also the cornerstone of our relationship with and allegiance to Hashem.

      Eliyahu’s role of connecting difficult questions with their eventual answers, also teaches us that we must appreciate questions and answers as independent values and not necessarily dependent on one another. Sometimes, at the Seder and in life, we ask questions but we don’t receive satisfactory answers. Sometimes in life we appreciate the answer to a question that we never even asked. Eliyahu Hanavi reminds us that ultimately every question has an answer. But in the meantime, let us appreciate both questions and answers as independent values.

      The most popular and logical reason why we greet Eliyahu Hanavi at the end of the Seder is due to Eliyahu’s role in heralding the Ultimate Redemption.  In this way, Eliyahu serves in yet a third connecting role: He connects the reality of today with the promise of tomorrow. Even as we celebrate our initial salvation we appreciate that there is still work unfinished- there is a Messianic Age that has yet to arrive.

      Let us utilize the upcoming Pesach holiday to learn from Eliyahu Hanavi and strive to be connectors in our own right: connecting questions with answers, connecting parents with children, connecting the world that is with the world that can be. May our efforts to connect be met with success so that we may greet Eliyahu Hanavi speedily in our days.