The Last Day of Passover: The Bottom Line (Ii)
PASSOVER PASSOVER
THE LAST DAY OF PASSOVER:
THE BOTTOM LINE (II)
The Eighth Day or the Last Day?
“The bottom line” is an expression that was likely borrowed from Talmudic law. When a contract was written it was necessary to repeat its most salient features in the bottom line, so that one would not be confused by all the legalese in the text of the contract. The bottom line encapsulated all that was important in the contract.
Passover also has a bottom line. The eighth day of Passover is referred to, not as the eighth day of Passover but as “Acharon shel Pesach, the last day of Passover.”
One difference between the two ways of characterizing this day—either as the “eighth day” or the “last day”—is that as the eighth day it is a day distinct from the other seven PASSOVER days, possessing its own independent character. The designation of the eighth day as the last day of Passover, by contrast, implies that it is the day that rounds off and serves as the “bottom line” of all the preceding days.
There are spiritual implications to this designation. But first a brief understanding of the spiritual nature of a Holiday is in order.
A Holiday in Jewish mystical tradition is not simply a day that is set aside to commemorate an important historical event. It is a day in which the veil that eclipses G- d’s light from the world is removed. During a Holiday, a person is capable of experiencing far more spirituality than during any other time.
Beyond the spiritual energy of the Holiday itself, every Mitzvah associated with the Festival that we perform generates additional G-dly light.
The significance of the “last day of Passover” then is that all the multifaceted spiritual dimensions of the first seven days of Passover PASSOVER are reintroduced on the last day of the Holiday. In a certain sense, then, when one properly observes the last day of Passover it is as if one has observed all the preceding seven days.
Lost and Found
The significance of the last day of Passover can also be appreciated by way of an analogy.
When the Jews were in the desert they traveled in formation. There were four camps (each consisting of three tribes), the last of which was the Camp of Dan. Our sages inform us that the Camp of Dan had a special task. They were obligated to retrieve anything that might have been left behind by any of the other tribes who traveled ahead of them.
Dan’s “lost and found” responsibilities extended beyond returning lost objects to their rightful owners. The return of lost goods can be understood on two levels. In addition to the simple and literal meaning of returning a lost object to its rightful owner, PASSOVER there were spiritual losses that can and must be returned to their owners. By virtue of the Camp of Dan’s placement at the end of all the other camps, they were charged with the responsibility of replenishing the spiritual losses of the Jewish People.
The last day of Passover is thus not just a continuation of the Holiday, but it is the day that enables us to retrieve any of Passover’s spiritual resources that we may have left untapped. On this day, we have the ability to recover any and all opportunities lost during the first seven days of Passover.
Last Word on Redemption
What is so unique about the last day of Passover? What gives it is special power?
The first seven days of Passover deal with the exodus from Egypt. On the first day we celebrate the Exodus itself, when the Jews actually left Egypt. The Jewish people then traveled through the desert for seven days until Pharaoh’s army caught up with them at the Sea of Reeds and G-d saved them by PASSOVER splitting the Sea. The seventh day, therefore, celebrates the great miracle of the splitting of the Sea (as is reflected in the Torah reading for that day).
The last day of Passover is dedicated to the future Redemption from the exile in which we are presently situated. This can be seen from the prophetic reading of this day, where a vivid description of the Messianic Age and Moshiach are given.
Furthermore, the Ba’al Shem Tov instituted the eating of a special meal at the end of Passover, known as Moshiach’s meal. In recent years it has become customary to drink four cups of wine at this meal as well.
The message of the last day of Passover is simple: We all say to G-d on this day: “It is true; You took us out of Egypt, but is that the last word on Redemption? Are we truly free people now? Don’t we say at the very beginning of the Haggadah “this year we are slaves but next year we will be free? Doesn’t the Haggadah tell us that, just like Pharaoh, people rise up in every generation to try to destroy us, G-d forbid? It is time for You, PASSOVER dear G-d, to complete the long journey of the Exodus, to put an end to all exile and suffering, by ushering in the Messianic Era.”
The last day of Passover is about completing the process of liberation; it is about finality.
Last Day of Passover and the End of Days
We can now appreciate why the last day of Passover has the capacity to makeup for any lost Passover experiences. Inasmuch as the last day of Passover is a reflection of the Messianic Age of perfection, it shares one major characteristic with the Messianic Age.
Conventional thought views the Messianic Age as a time when we will be rewarded for the good we have done.
Chassidic thought, basing itself on the Talmud and other classical Torah sources, understands the Messianic Age as being far more than a reward. In the Messianic Era we will be able to experience all of the spiritual energies that have been generated throughout history.
PASSOVER
Every Mitzvah that every human being has ever performed leaves a permanent mark on the world. Galut/exile conditions, however, prevent us from feeling the intense light that has been introduced into the world. In the Messianic Age, all of these energies will become manifest for all to appreciate. In effect, the Messianic Age will reintroduce all of the G-dly light of the past and thereby validate all that we’ve done in the past.
We can now appreciate why the Last Day of Passover can reintroduce the holiness of all the preceding days of Passover. Just as the Days of Moshiach, known Biblically as the “End of Days” will bring validation and perfection to the preceding age of exile, similarly, the last day of Passover—in which we get a preview of the Messianic Age— enhances all the preceding seven days and all the spiritual energies they possess.
From the book Light from the Future: Last Days of Passover by Rabbi Heschel Greenberg, published by the Jewish Discovery Center.
