Daf Yomi, Marriage Counseling, Psychotherapy, Rabbi Simcha Feuerman, Torah and Psychology
Our Gemara on this amud continues a discussion about whether one can derive qualities and properties from one situation to another if the source situation does not have the same possibilities. For example, there was no maaser sheni (second tithe) at the time of the Exodus. Therefore, if there is a scriptural comparison between the qualities of the Paschal sacrifice executed at the time of the Exodus and the annual holiday Paschal sacrifice, is it fair to also say:
“Just as the Paschal offering stated with regard to Egypt was brought only from non-sacred property, as there was no second tithe in Egypt, so too the Paschal offering stated with regard to the obligation throughout the generations may be brought only from non-sacred property.”
If we learn all properties from the source, even properties that were not possible, we can argue the Pesach sacrifice of Egypt did not come from maaser sheni, and so too the annual Pesach sacrifice. However, one also could argue that since maaser sheni did not exist at that time, it is not a valid property, and we cannot say whether or not it would apply for the Pesach of generations. In other words, it is not necessarily a scriptural source, because the practical circumstances may have dictated the situation and not ritual requirements. This is a matter of dispute between Rabbi Akiva and Rabbi Eliezer.
On a deeper level, we can relate this to another aspect of Pesach of the Exodus versus the Pesach of generations. Everyone is familiar with the story in the Haggadah about the sages, Rabbi Eliezer and company, who were up all Seder night relating the story of the Exodus. The Abravanel (Zevach Pesach 110) notes that, in effect, the sages were duplicating the Exodus experience, because the Jews of that time were up all night—first with the Paschal sacrifice, and then, after the plague of the firstborn, being driven out abruptly by Pharaoh in the middle of the night. Abravanel says since it is a mitzvah “to imagine as if he himself is leaving Egypt” (Mishna Pesachim 10:5), he also re-enacts being up all night.
We might ask on the Abravanel, based on our Gemara according to Rabbi Eliezer (who was part of the group who stayed up), how can we learn that we should stay up all night from the experience at the Exodus? After all, they had to stay up all night because of the realities of being driven out of Egypt then and there. That is not necessarily a scriptural source, because the circumstances may have dictated the situation and not ritual requirements. The answer may be that the idea of being required to imagine as if you are going through the Exodus yourself is powerful enough to project onto every detail. If one is to feel that he is leaving Egypt, then the sense of being “forced” to stay up all night is no different than other rituals we do on that night, such as leaning or eating unleavened bread.
While we are on the topic of derashos and looking at them from a psychological light, there is another famous dispute regarding scriptural derivation. It is known as Don Minah (Chulin 120b). If one has a scriptural source using a verbal analogy (gezeira shava), after deducing case B from case A, all of the characteristics of case A are applied to case B. Or do we say, infer from it and then leave it in its place? That is to say, after the main provision of case A is applied to case B, case B is recognized as having its own character and specific rules that apply to it. Based on these two possibilities, here is a thought regarding the obligation “to imagine as if he himself is leaving Egypt.” Are we to imagine that we are in Egypt, escaping the bondage there as if we were enslaved? Or do we imagine that we are experiencing the Exodus with all its power and providence, but to free us from our present-day bondage? Or perhaps both.
(The following is based on and adapted from ideas found in Notes by Rabbi Yehoshua Hartman on Gevurot Hashem 65:245.)
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Translations Courtesy of Sefaria, except when, sometimes, I disagree with the translation
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Rabbi Simcha Feuerman, Rabbi Simcha Feuerman, LCSW-R, LMFT, DHL is a psychotherapist who works with high conflict couples and families. He can be reached via email at simchafeuerman@gmail.com