Shevi’i Shel Pesach[i]

Pesach is different from Succos. On Pesach, the first of the seven days of Pesach is a yom tov, and the last of the seven days of Pesach is a yom tov. On Succos, only the first of the seven days is a yom tov. The day after Succos is Shmini Atzeres, and that is a yom tov as well; however, the seventh day of Succos itself is not the yom tov, it is not ossur b’asiyas melachah. The seventh day of Pesach is a yom tov; however, it really is still part of Pesach. When one recites Kiddush on the seventh day of Pesach, one does not recite shehecheyanu; the two days are considered part of the same yom tov.

Why does Pesach have this special feature that it has two days of yom tov, the first and the last? The Sforno[ii] says that the answer is that the seventh day of Pesach is the day of Kriyas Yam Suf. The Sforno explains that the yom tov on the seventh day of Pesach is based on the miracles and events surrounding Kriyas Yam Suf. It is interesting, however, that the miracles of Kriyas Yam Suf did not generate an independent yom tov. Why don’t we say shehecheyanu on the seventh day of Pesach? Why don’t we have a separate yom tov based on Kriyas Yam Suf? The answer is quite clear. The meforshim explain that Kriyas Yam Suf is considered the culmination of Yetzias Mitzrayim. Pesach is the yom tov that celebrates Yetzias Mitzrayim, and Yetzias Mitzrayim was not complete until Kriyas Yam Suf. The Ohr HaChaim HaKadosh writes[iii] on the posuk “Vayosha Hashem bayom hahu,” on that day Hashem saved Am Yisrael, that only on that day, the seventh day, was there a full yeshua, but not earlier. Even though we had already left Mitzrayim, we were not secure until the Mitzrim were killed at Kriyas Yam Suf. Similarly, the Sforno writes[iv] that we only became complete b’nei chorin after the Mitzrim had been killed because until then we were like slaves who had run away from their master. Therefore, it fits beautifully. On the one hand, the seventh day of Pesach is special, we are celebrating a yom tov based on the miracles of Kriyas Yam Suf; however, it is not an independent yom tov because the miracles of the seventh day of Pesach are linked to the miracles of the first day of Pesach, Yetzias Mitzrayim. So, it is a separate day of yom tov, which is part of the same overall seven day yom tov of Pesach.[v]

We have discussed elsewhere the idea that matzah symbolizes the yetzer tov and chometz the yetzer hara. When one searches for the chometz on erev Pesach, one is rooting out the yetzer hara. If one connects that idea with this approach to shevi’i shel Pesach, then one can come to the following conclusion.[vi] The seventh day of Pesach should be the culmination of rooting out the chometz totally. For a whole week, I have been chometz-free, I am trying to get rid of the yetzer hara. My avodah of getting rid of the yetzer hara reaches its peak on the seventh day of Pesach.

Rav Karelenstein zt”l quotes, along these lines, from the Sfas Emes (Pesach 5638 and 5647). The Midrash writes[vii] that the seventh day of Pesach is like the “Shabbos of Pesach.” What does that mean? The Sfas Emes explains that just as Shabbos is the tachlis, the goal and the culmination of the six days of the week, so too, the seventh day of Pesach is the goal and the culmination of the other six days of Pesach. Just as one works and prepares for Shabbos during the six days of the week, so too one has to work and prepare for the seventh day of Pesach on the previous six days of Pesach.

This is a beautiful idea, and it provides us with a whole new angle on the seventh day of Pesach. When we are celebrating Kriyas Yam Suf and thinking about how we finally became totally free as a nation physically, at the same time we should be thinking about becoming totally free from the yetzer hara. This is the avodah of the seventh day of Pesach. We have to use it finally to achieve this level of being free, free to serve Hashem when we are in complete control of the yetzer hara. In Yahadus, true freedom means the freedom to serve Hashem, “ein lecha ben chorin elah mi she’osek b’Torah.” One who wants to be fully free has to try to conquer his yetzer hara. Therefore, the seventh day of Pesach has the special status of a day when one is trying to root out the yetzer hara completely.

We have discussed elsewhere that the seventh day of Pesach is called “atzeres.” One meaning of “atzeres” is to gather. The message is that on the last day of Pesach we absorb the message of the yom tov itself. The message of the yom tov is to uproot the yetzer hara. So on the seventh day, we have one day of yom tov to absorb and bring this message into our lives.

This is a beautiful, deep approach to the seventh day of Pesach, developed by Rav Karelenstein based on many of the earlier meforshim.

Chag Kasher v’Sameach,

B. Ginsburg

[i] This entire shiur is based on an essay by Rav Karelenstein zt”l, “Kuntres B’inyanei Nissan V’Chag HaPesach,” essay 8.

[ii] Devarim, 16:8.

[iii] Shemos, 14:1.

[iv] Shemos, 14:30.

[v] The Magen Avraham writes (67:1) that if one says the shiras hayam of Az Yashir, he is yotzei the mitzvah of zechiras Yetzias Mitzrayim. One has an obligation to mention Yetzias Mitzrayim by day and by night. What if someone for some reason did not say shema, but said Az Yashir? Was he yotzei the mitzvah? The Magen Avraham says yes. Many Acharonim, including the Chasam Sofer and Rabbi Akiva Eiger on the Shulchan Aruch, argue. These Acharonim maintain that one has to discuss Yetzias Mitzrayim itself, and Yetzias Mitzrayim happened on the first day,  not on the last day.

What is the explanation of the Magen Avraham? Rav Karelenstein quotes from his father the following idea. Kriyas Yam Suf, on the seventh day of Pesach, was, as we explained, the culmination of Yetzias Mitzrayim. Therefore, when one says shiras hayam, he is discussing Yetzias Mitzaryim. It is not the actual day of leaving Mitzrayim, but it is the culmination of Yetzias Mitzrayim. The original day of Yetzias Mitzrayim was not complete until Kriyas Yam Suf; therefore, one is yotzei the mitzvah of zechiras Yetzias Mitzrayim when he recites Az Yashir. This is a good explanation of the Magen Avraham, which fits with the general theme of the seventh day of Pesach.

It is interesting to think about the following question: What would the Magen Avraham’s view be regarding leil haseder? If one would only discuss Kriyas Yam Suf and not the other parts of Yetzias Mitzrayim, would one fulfill the mitzvah of sippur Yetzias Mitzrayim? Rav Karelenstein quotes Acharonim who assume that the answer is no.

[vi] Rav Karelenstein develops these ideas at length.

[vii] Shemos Rabbah at the end of Parshas Bo.