Torah Thoughts on Parshas Bo by Rabbi Dovid Dukelsky
"וְכָכָה תֹּאכְלוּ אֹתוֹ מָתְנֵיכֶם חֲגֻרִים נַעֲלֵיכֶם בְּרַגְלֵיכֶם וּמַקֶלְכֶם בְּיֶדְכֶם וַאֲכַלְתֶּם אֹתוֹ בְּחִפָּזוֹן פֶּסַח הוּא לַה' " שְׁמוֹת י"ב:י"א
“So shall you eat it: your loins girded, your shoes on your feet, and your staff in your hand; you shall eat it in haste – it is a Pesach-offering to God.” Shemos 12:11
In this week’s parashah, Bnei Yisrael are commanded to make a Korban Pesach and to eat it in haste (בְּחִפָּזוֹן). Rashi explains that the command to be rushed means with haste and speed. Why does this specific mitzvah require haste and speed – a requirement not found regarding any other mitzvah? Generally, the ideal is to perform a mitzvah with intent and understanding, which is much more difficult when one is acting with haste. At this moment, when Bnei Yisrael were starting the process of becoming Am Yisrael and entering into the service of Hashem, one would expect that they would be required to perform this mitzvah with more reflection and contemplation of the importance of the mitzvah and of this moment. Also, why is this requirement of haste and speed only found in connection with the mitzvah of Korban Pesach that is eaten in Egypt but not in connection the mitzvah of Korban Pesach that is eaten in future generations?
Rav Tzadok Hacohen, in Sefer Tzidkas HaTzadik, explains that when a person enters into avodas Hashem, as Bnei Yisrael did when they left Egypt, he must do so quickly, similar to the eating of the Korban Pesach in Egypt. The reason is that in order to cast off the earthly desires to which he is currently bound, a person must move with haste and speed to take advantage of the moment of inspiration to the service of Hashem that he feels. This is similar to what Bnei Yisrael did when they ate the Korban Pesach in Egypt while mired in the 49th level of spiritual impurity. They had to seize the moment and therefore had to move quickly. Once one has entered the service of Hashem, a person can then perform his mitzvos in a more deliberate fashion, similar to the Korban Pesach of future generations that did not require haste and speed.
Rabbi Dovid Dukelsky graduated from Fasman High School in 1976 and went on to learn in Yeshivat Sha'alvim in Israel, then to Beis HaMidrash LaTorah in Skokie, and Yeshiva Rabbi Chaim Berlin in Brooklyn, NY. He received a BA in mathematics from Northeastern Illinois University and has worked for many years in the field of software development. Dovid & his family live in Clifton, New Jersey.
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