No Pain No Gain

From the bishvilay hamoad of the Mir.  

Harav Hagaon Yosef Elefant Shlita

We find in the Haggadah the idea of מתחיל בגנות ומסיים בשבח, and there’s a machlokes in the Gemara what the גנות is — מתחילה עובדי עבודה זרה היו אבותינו, or עבדים היינו?

The Maharal, in his peirush on the Haggadah, explains that the concept of מתחיל בגנות ומסיים בשבח is rooted in the idea that nothing in Olam Hazeh starts off perfect. In Olam Hazeh, every process of growth, or any process at all, begins with something lacking, with a challenge. And a person grows and shteigs from it. In Olam Hazeh there’s no such thing as something that starts off complete; the whole purpose of our existence in this world is to meet up with challenges and grow from them. The concept of מתחיל בגנות ומסיים בשבח, then, is really a description and a characteristic of anything good that happens in this world.

The Maharal goes on to explain that there are two types of challenges: ruchniyus challenges and gashmiyus challenges. Ruchniyus challenges can cause a person to be shaky spiritually, while gashmiyus challenges involve physical difficulties. The challenge of מתחילה עובדי עבודה זרה is a ruchniyus challenge, while the challenge of עבדים היינו is a gashmiyus challenge.

There was no machlokes in the Gemara whether either of the examples is considered גנות; everyone agrees that עבדים היינו and מתחילה עובדי עבודה זרה are גנות. The question is only, which one do we start with? These are different types of challenges that people have in life, and the fact that there’s a challenge is not a b’dieved — it’s lechatchilah. There is no other way to grow than to start with challenges. That’s the concept of מתחיל בגנות ומסיים בשבח.

Perhaps we can suggest that these two types of challenges are reflected in the two damim of Yetzias Mitzrayim: dam Pesach and dam milah.  The blood of the Korban Pesach corresponded to emunah. Regarding the words משכו וקחו לכם, Rashi comments: משכו ידיכם מעבודה זרה.  Dam milah, on the other hand, lifts a person above the enslavement and lowliness of his body. The Maharal (Gur Aryeh) says that milah is a stamp on a person’s body that he’s an eved Hashem and not an eved to other forces.

So perhaps the two damim of Korban Pesach and milah symbolize the different challenges that a person has: dam Pesach corresponds to מתחילה עובדי עבודה זרה, while dam milah corresponds to עבדים היינו, in which a person is an eved to his middos. This is not a hashkafah challenge, like מתחילה עובדי עבודה זרה, but rather the challenge of being stuck in avdus — in whichever form that takes. Dam milah frees a person from being enslaved to all outside forces and allows him to channel his kochos into being an oved Hashem. That’s the idea of מתחיל בגנות ומסיים בשבח.

This outlook at the process of Yetzias Mitzrayim provides an additional dimension in understanding and appreciating the concept of seeing ourselves as though we left Mitzrayim. The Seder is not just a description of the nissim or hashgachah pratis, but is also reenactment of the process of the growth in which Klal Yisrael went from being avdei Pharaoh to being avdei Hashem.

The Chasam Sofer, in his derashos, explains that the idea of seeing ourselves as though we left Mitzrayim involves reliving the entire process — not just the יצא part of כאילו יצא ממצרים, but also the מתחילה of מתחיל בגנות. There are many aspects to the Seder, but besides the aspect of sippur Yetzias Mitzrayim and recounting the nissim, it’s also a process of growth. The Gaon notes that the Torah mentions Yetzias Mitzrayim 50 times, with each mention corresponding to another step out of the 49 shaarei tumah. Each year, we relive this process of growth, beginning with the challenges and culminating in וּבְנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל יֹצְאִים בְּיָד רָמָה, when Klal Yisrael goes out uplifted, ready to be a מַמְלֶכֶת כֹּהֲנִים וְגוֹי קָדוֹשׁ, despite the challenges and because of the challenges.

The Maharal (Gevuras Hashem ch. 4, and elsewhere) discusses the idea of וְכַאֲשֶׁר יְעַנּוּ אֹתוֹ כֵּן יִרְבֶּה וְכֵן יִפְרֹץ, meaning that the more Klal Yisrael is oppressed, the more they shteig and grow, both physically and spiritually. In the context of this discussion, the Maharal cites Chazal’s teaching that Mitzrayim was the worst place in civilization: it was the site of the worst tumah and decadence. Chazal describe the Egyptians as chamorim, which come from the lashon of chomer, meaning materialism and gashmiyus, as the Egyptians were completely mired in physicality. In fact, regarding the passuk of כְּמַעֲשֵׂה אֶרֶץ מִצְרַיִם אֲשֶׁר יְשַׁבְתֶּם בָּהּ, Chazal teach that what caused Mitzrayim to be so steeped in tumah is the fact that Klal Yisrael needed to be there: אֲשֶׁר יְשַׁבְתֶּם בָּהּ.

Why did Klal Yisrael’s residing in Mitzrayim require that Mitzrayim drop to such a low level?  The Maharal gives an answer that is very relevant to our current situation. He explains that any time an opposing force attacks someone or something, that opposing force forces its target to fight back and bring out its kochos in order to offset the attack and vanquish the attacker. And the stronger the attack, the more “antibodies” — to borrow a contemporary term — the organism produces.

A person can’t shteig mei’atzmo, says the Maharal; a person can shteig only from confrontation, when there’s a force that acts as a counterforce. Hakadosh Baruch Hu created the world in such a way that when a person is under attack he produces antibodies, which provide the kochos that he needs to fight off that attack of the opposing, confrontational force.

The Ran (Nedarim 49) says that a person who was sick and became healed will come out much stronger than before, since his body had to react to the sickness and fight it off. This is the idea behind vaccines, which mimic the immune system’s response to an attack. The concept of antibodies enabling a body to stem the attack of an opposing force exists beyond the biological realm, as the Maharal teaches that when a person is attacked he has the ability to climb to higher levels as a reaction to that attack, producing spiritual “antibodies.”

This, says the Maharal, is the meaning of וְכַאֲשֶׁר יְעַנּוּ אֹתוֹ כֵּן יִרְבֶּה וְכֵן יִפְרֹץ — the more Mitzrayim persecuted the Yidden and opposed them with their koach hatumah, with their koach of being mired in decadence and materialism, the more Klal Yisrael shteiged and produced “antibodies.” Consequently, Klal Yisrael emerged from Mitzrayim stronger and better, with an enhanced antibody system as a reaction to the tumah and chomer of Mitzrayim.

We can now understand why Chazal say that Mitzrayim had to be on such a low level because אֲשֶׁר יְשַׁבְתֶּם בָּהּ — Klal Yisrael needed to be there, to fulfill Hashem’s promise to Avraham Avinu of גֵר יִהְיֶה זַרְעֲךָ. The purpose of Klal Yisrael’s stay in the jungle that was Mitzrayim was for them to develop these antibodies to fight off any level of ruchniyus’dike attack. Klal Yisrael had to be in a place where there was the maximum attack — the maximum “virus” called Mitzrayim — in order to bring out the most powerful antibodies in Klal Yisrael, says the Maharal.

The passuk says: וּבְנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל יֹצְאִים בְּיָד רָמָה, and Rashi explains that they emerged with great strength. Rav Wolbe writes that Klal Yisrael came out of Mitzrayim strong, healthy, and powerful, precisely because of כַאֲשֶׁר יְעַנּוּ אֹתוֹ כֵּן יִרְבֶּה וְכֵן יִפְרֹץ. We appreciate the opposition and the challenge!

This idea sheds new light on the concept of מתחיל בגנות ומסיים בשבח. The גנות itself is what gives birth to the שבח, spurring the production of the antibodies that lead to our shteiging. So we’re never afraid of a challenge, and we have dam milah and dam Pesach through which we draw kochos and emunah and cheirus.