It’s erev erev Pesach and we know you’re busy – but never too busy for a #TuesdayTorahTutorsTidbit!
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After a long Maggid, we might be hungry and even looking forward to some delicious matza and then maror. But then – we eat it again, this time in a sandwich! Isn’t that a little much?
Why do we eat the Korech sandwich? The Gemara gives us a basic reason straight out: zecher lemikdash keHillel – in memory of the Temple, like Hillel.
Of course, that’s not all there is to the answer – we further read that Hillel made his sandwich because of the verse that says to eat the meat of the Pesach sacrifice “ON matza and bitter herbs” (Bamidbar 9:11). In the time of the Temple, when the Pesach sacrifice was still brought each year, Hillel made sure to eat its meat “on” the matza and maror – in a sandwich. (According to those who suggest matza then was soft, he would literally “wrap” it (the meaning of the word korech) – so it was basically a shawarma!)
So if the reason for the sandwich is a verse about the Pesach sacrifice, which is no longer brought today, why do we still do it?
That brings us back to the first line – “zecher leMikdash.” We do it in memory of the Temple.
In fact, lots of Jewish customs today have an element of remembering the Temple – such as the constant light in a synagogue, blessing the new month even though today we rely on a calendar, leaving a patch of wall unfinished when building a house, and more.
Rav Soloveitchik famously differentiates between two types of memorial among these practices: some customs recall the glory of the Temple, and others remember the destruction. Korech is placed in the former category, as a practice that focuses on the wonderful things we are missing rather than focusing on the fact that we are missing them.
Another custom that brings thoughts of the Temple to the forefront is the recitation of Tehillim 137 before Grace After Meals on a weekday, or of Tehillim 126 on Shabbos and holidays. Here too, we can differentiate between positive and negative slants: On a weekday, we accompany every meal with a chapter recalling the devastation of the Jews exiled to Babylonia after the first Temple was destroyed: “How can we sing the song of God on a foreign land?!” On Shabbos and holidays, we take a more uplifting perspective and look forward to the day we will return, after centuries of “planting in tears,” and finally “harvest in joy.”
It turns out that these positive and negative sides are related. The Gemara in Rosh Hashana (30a) seeks a biblical source for performing actions to commemorate the Temple and lights on Jeremiah 30:17, where the prophet states that Jerusalem will eventually be healed of her suffering, for “they called you an outcast, Zion, who has no one to seek her.” The Gemara infers from this verse that Jerusalem needs someone to seek out and care for her – through acts of commemoration.
The Chatam Sofer further infers that the “healing” of Zion will occur in the merit of our seeking and caring for her.
Even as we approach the festivities of Pesach, we recognize that there is a lot going on in this world of exile of ours. Even at the seder itself, there are highs and lows – remembering slavery, experiencing freedom, and recalling the glory days of our ultimate freedom, when the Temple stood and Hillel relished (no pun intended) the opportunity to fulfill the mitzva of the Pesach sacrifice exactly as commanded.
May our memorial sandwich, and all our mitzvot and prayers, bring our joyful harvest soon.
Wishing all of our students, teachers, and friends a joyous and peaceful Passover. And may we celebrate together next year in Jerusalem!
