Pesach as the first of the Three Festivals
Pesach is the first of the Sholosh Regolim, Three Festivals. The three are: Pesach, Shavuous and Sukkos. They parallel the three Avos: Avrohom Yitzchok and Yakov. Pesach parallels Avrohom being a time of tremendous chesed, kindness. Shavuous parallels Yitzchok, as the Torah comes as a Din, with guidelines. Sukkos parallels Yakov being a time representing the future when the Emess, truth, will be revealed. Like Avrohom was the start of the Jewish Nation, earning him the title of “Ovinu”, our father, so too Pesach is the time of the start and birth of the Jewish Nation.
Pesach as the time of freedom
Each of the three festivals are called differently in the tefillous, with Pesach being called Chag Cheiruseinu, time of our freedom. Pesach is the time when the Jews left Mitzrayim from slavery, led by Moshe Rabbeinu. This was a physical deliverance. However, the real freedom referenced here is spiritual. It was a time of clear miraculous and therefore we have so many mitzvos that are zecher letzias Mitzrayim, remembering the exodus.
Chag HaMatzois
This festival is known as Pesach and yet we call it Chag HaMatzois in davening as well as when it is referenced in the Torah. Why this difference? The Kedushas Levi answers that by the leaving of Mitzrayim the Jews became the chosen nation of Hashem and this relationship can be compared to that of man and wife. (This is one reason why we read Shir Hashirim during Pesach that describes the great love between husband and wife.) In a true love relationship, each party always thinks of the other. The Jews remember what Hashem did do them by calling it “Pesach” after the jumping and leaping over the houses to not kill the Jews. Hashem remembers what the Jew do – the eating of the matzois.
Pesach the most kept Yom Tuv
A study of the number of Jews who keep the three festivals will show that overwhelmingly Pesach comes first! Why should this be so? The answer is that Pesach is the start and birth of the Jewish Nation while the other festivals are later development stages. Shavuous can be likened to the Bar Mitzva when the child accepts the obligation of the Torah and Mitzvos. Sukkos is the stage of the Chasuna, the canopy and special house of man and wife reflecting the special closeness between Hashem and the Jews. When Jews G-d forbid start the assimilation process and start cutting off their connection it starts with the later stages and slowly goes back to the first stages. Hence, Pesach is the last stage to being cut since it is the birth stage. This is why Pesach is kept most out of the three festivals.
Pesach Questions:
- Why do we read read Shir Hashirim on Pesach?
- What are the different names for Pesach and what lies behind them?
- What is it called יציאת מצרים that literally means the going out of (the peopl of) Mitzrayim – it should be יציאת ישראל או יציאה ממצרים?