Brochas Daf Yud Beis amud
beis
At the conclusion of the daf we find the famous exegesis
of Ben Zoma quoted at the beginning of the Pesach Hagadah. The posuk says: “That you may remember the
day when you come out of Egypt, all the days of your life.” From the words, “the days of your life” we
derive the requirement to mention the Exodus during the days; from the extra
word “all” we derive the requirement to mention the Exodus by night. The Chachomim’s interpretation of “the days of
your life” is an obligation to mention the Exodus in our own era, with the
superfluous “all” including a requirement to mention it even in the Messianic
era.
The Maharal uses this passage to explain the basis of
Midrashic exegesis. “The words ‘all the
days of your life” are completely superfluous and had they been omitted the
meaning of this verse would not have been affected in any way. According to the Midrashic perspective such
superfluous words are intended to broaden the meaning of the verse (making it
more inclusive,) so that it applies not only to the issue at hand (in this
case, commemorating the Exodus on Pesach night) but also to the most closely
associated issue, the requirement to commemorate the Exodus every day.
Thus the Rabbis all agree, firstly, that the words ‘all
the days of your life’ attribute a wider meaning, associating it with the daily
mitzvah to commemorate the Exodus; after all, the Pesach sacrifice as well as
the requirement to mention the Exodus, fulfil the same joint purpose to
commemorate the Exodus and instil it in our memories. Secondly, they agree that
the universal word ‘all’ within the phrase ‘all the days of your life’ is also
superfluous. It is, so to speak, a
superfluous word, within a superfluous phrase (and therefore itself subject to
elucidation).
For R. Elazar, the superfluous universal word ‘all’
indicates that we must interpret the word ‘day’ more widely, so that it
includes day and night. By contrast, the Rabbis see the entire phrase as an
organic whole, and therefore apply the superfluous word to the entire verse:
Israel must commemorate the Exodus ‘all of Israel’s days’ i.e. both in the
current era and subsequent to the coming of Messiah, when even greater miracles
will have been done for us.
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