Why the Rush?

Rabbi Elie Starr
Chaver Kollel

"מצה זו...שלא הספיק בצקם של אבותינו להחמיץ עד שנגלה עליהם מלך מלכי המלכים הקב"ה וגאלם"

This matzah is eaten because the dough of our forefathers did not have time to rise before Hashem, the King of kings, revealed Himself and redeemed them. (from the Haggadah)

In his sefer מתנת חיים---, HaRav Matyisyahu Solomon asks two questions on this pasuk. First, granted that the story was that their dough did not have enough time to rise at the time of יציאת מצרים, but why did the Torah designate that זכירת יציאת מצרים should be specifically through this מעשה? Secondly, why does the בעל הגדה use this language עד שנגלה עליהם מלך מלכי המלכים הקב"ה , a language not found elsewhere by the 10 מכות, to describe this moment?

The מתנת חיים brings an amazing p’shat from the מהר"ל in גור אריה פרשת ראה. The מהר"ל explains that HaShem wanted to take us out of מצרים in a way that would make it crystal clear that it was His יד החזקה taking us out, and no one would be able to say that we left of our own accord without assistance. If, however, the world would see that פרעה, the king of the most powerful nation, מצרים, is hurrying בני ישרא-ל to leave before their dough even had time to rise into bread even though בני ישרא-ל wanted to wait longer to allow the bread to bake, that would be testament that it was clearly only the hand of HaShem that took them out.

We see that even though בני ישרא-ל wanted to leave מצרים, at that moment, however, בני ישרא-ל wanted more time to bake their dough into bread, and הקב"ה arranged that specifically at that time פרעה and מצרים would drive בני ישרא-ל out and everyone would recognize that it was the Yad HaShem that took us out. And the מהר"ל in גור אריה פרשת בא explains why it was necessary to add the words “עד שנגלה עליהם מלך מלכי המלכים הקב"ה וגאלם" as opposed to just saying that “we eat the matza to remember that the מצריים drove us out and there wasn’t enough time for the dough to rise,” because the בעל הגדה wants to stress that הקב"ה wanted to redeem us specifically in this way to show that it was He who revealed Himself at that moment and redeemed us.

Now it is also very understandable why the Torah wants us to remember the Geulah through the mitzvah of matzah. Because the fact that the dough didn’t have time to rise wasn’t just a small detail of the story but rather it played a major role in demonstrating that the Geulah happened only through HKB”H and that we were not a contributor.

Based on the Maharal, the מתנת חיים explains one more difficulty in the wording of the Haggadah. Why wouldn’t it have been enough to say עד שנגלה עליהם הקב"ה? Why the additional מלך מלכי המלכים? He answers that Pharaoh wanted בני ישרא-ל to leave immediately, at night. Moshe and Aharon told Pharaoh that בני ישרא-ל would not leave like bandits in the middle of the night, and they would leave by day. The next day however, the בני ישרא-ל did not actually want to leave at the precise moment that they left. As the Maharal explains, they wanted more time for their dough to rise. So, essentially none of the parties involved wanted Yetzias Mitrayim to happen at the moment that it actually occurred. Pharaoh and Mitrazyim wanted it to be earlier, and בני ישרא-ל wanted it to be a little later! In the end, however, עצת השם היא תקום - Hashem’s will was done. It took place at the precise moment that only HKB”H wanted it to, showing that all the other powers, even kings, are powerless in controlling the outcome against HaShem’s desires. This is a fulfillment of the pasuk in Mishlei (21:20) מים לב מלך ביד השם- The heart of a king is like water in the hand of Hashem. Therefore, at the time of the גאולה HaShem is described uniquely as מלך מלכי המלכים.