Grateful To Be Here

Rabbi Yehoshu Greenwald was the Rav of Chust, Hungary, during the Holocaust. He prefaced his sefer, Chesed Yehoshua, with an essay that describes his experiences during the Holocaust. In that essay, he recalled the Drasha that he told his community during the last Pesach in Chust. He quoted the paragraph of Ha Lachma Anya, the opening section of Magid. There we declare: הָשַּׁתָּא הָכָא, לְשָׁנָה הַבָּאָה בְּאַרְעָא דְיִשְׂרָאֵל “Now we are here; next year in the land of Israel.” The Chuster Rav asked: What does the first clause of this sentence come to teach us? It seems extraneous and unnecessary. Of course we are here! Where else would we be? Rav Greenwald explained that the author of the Haggadah is teaching us to be grateful that we are here- wherever “here” may be. If the Jews of Chust are here celebrating Pesach even as millions of other European Jews had already been murdered or enslaved, then it means that Hashem is not done with us. We can be grateful that Hashem allowed us to be here. And we can be hopeful that just as we are here now, so too will we merit to reach the Promised Land. This year, on Pesach, there are lots of reasons to feel sad or anxious or vulnerable. However, the Seder experience is meant to overshadow these valid and reasonable feelings with feelings of purpose and hope. The fact that we are still here after all that we have endured (and by “we” I mean each of us individually, and the State of Israel, and the Jewish People) is reason to express gratitude to Hashem and to firmly believe that God still has good things in store for us. The Talmud in Shabbat (31a) quotes Rabba, who taught that after our lives are concluded, we will be asked in heaven, “Did you eagerly await the Redemption?” The Smak explains this to mean that we will be asked whether we remain committed to the notion that just as we were redeemed from Egypt, so too will we be redeemed in the future. In essence, the Talmud is saying that we will be asked whether we remain committed to the idea that if we are still here, then it means God must have a plan for us. The Tur (OC 417) writes in regard to Rosh Chodesh, that it was originally a minor holiday for everyone, but after the Chet HaEgel, it became primarily a holiday associated with Jewish women. Shemen HaTov writes that women throughout the early years of Klal Yisrael, in Egypt and at the Egel incident, were always encouraging the men to look forward to better days. Their positivity is emblematic of Rosh Chodesh, because even when it is dark out and the moon is small, we can have a positive outlook. Later in the Haggadah we read about the Rabbis’ Seder in Bnei Brak. Many commentators wonder why the Seder was convened at that location, since the rabbis were from different hometowns.  The Torah Temimah notes that Rabbi Akiva was from Bnei Brak. As we know from many Talmudic anecdotes, Rabbi Akiva stood for optimism. He was hopeful that at age 40 he could start learning Torah. He was hopeful that within the images of destruction on the Temple Mount, one could actually see the fulfillment of Divine promises of renewal. Due to the Roman persecution at that time these rabbis were despondent, so they went to Rabbi Akiva for chizuk and for a pep talk. This year, at the Seder, let us linger over the words, “Hashata Hacha”, even with all that there is to worry about. Let us be grateful that we are still here. Through that gratitude and that hope in the here and now, we will pave the way to our future of “Next year in the Land of Israel”.