In full disclosure, R' Mansour did not say this vort this week, it actually was his shiur on Parshas Tazria - HaChodesh which I listened to two Fridays ago while driving to work and then again on Sunday. The shiur had some wonderful insights on the Hagaddah and I very much wanted to blog it this week in advance of the Seder. Same rules as usual apply, although I have not attempted to summarize the entire shiur, I have tried to reproduce these vorts to the best of my ability. Any perceived inconsistency is the result of my efforts to transcribe the shiur and should not be attributed to R' Mansour.
R' Mansour noted that at the seder there are two washings, but one is called Urchatz and the other Rachtza. He wondered why the two washings are given different names. He gave some credence to the rhyming factor (in the Kadesh Urchatz song) and explicitly said that he was not belittling this. But he wanted to say a deeper explanation which he also tied into the Charoses.
R' Mansour observed that the only Vav in the names of the Seder is Urchatz. Why not just called it Rachatz? He quoted R' Shlomo Zalman Auerbach who writes that Rachtza is a reminder, but Urchatz is a command. He explained that all year long we wash our hands for bread, so there was no reason to direct us to wash. But since we don't wash for vegetable dipping all year long, there needs to be a specific direction to wash the Urchatz.
R' Mansour also quoted R' Yosef Chaim Sonnenfeld, who explains that according to the Magen Avraham the second washing (Rachtza) may not be necessary as if a person kept his hands ritually clean after Urchatz there would not need to be a washing before the Matza.
R' Mansour next quoted the Gemara in Pesachim 115b in which R' Chisda made a derash - if one washed his hands for the first dipping, he should still wash his hands for the second dipping. But this is not the time that we wash again! Tosafos explains that the second washing is for the Matza, but why not explicitly say so in the Gemara?
R' Mansour next quoted another Gemara in Pesachim which says that the mitzva of Charoses is to remember the Tapuach. R' Mansour remarked that the gemara then gives a recipe for making it which includes Tapuach. Rashi ties this to the Pasuk in Shir HaShirim "Tachas HaTapuach Orrarticha" which refers to a miracle which took place in Egypt. There, the Jewish women conceived and gave birth. The Gemara in Sotah explains that the Jews were enslaved in Egypt for centuries. The men gave up and thought they would be there forever. However, the ladies had tremendous bitachon that the Jews would leave one day and they said - there is no point to leaving if there is no nation to leave Egypt. They went and convinced their husbands to procreate out in the Tapuach fields and to give birth there - six at a time (based on Shemos 1:7 and its six languages of growth). The ladies then said to Hashem - we did what you asked, now its up to You. The Gemara explains that the ground then opened up and swallowed the babies - VaTimalei Ha'Aretz Osum. Hashem sent down angels with nutrition and they fed the children and they grew and eventually came out of the ground and came home.
This is why we eat the Charoses - to remember the valiant acts of these women under the Tapuach.
R' Mansour also noted that the women were rewarded for these acts when the Mishkan was dedicated as it states in Shemos 38:8 that the Kiyor was made as a copper basin. albeit without specifications for its size. The Kiyor came from the mirrors of the Tzovos. The meforshim explain that there was a legion of women who wanted to donate for the Mishkan and that they indicated that they wanted to donate their mirrors. This was initially rejected by Moshe who thought the mirrors were an artifice of vanity. Rashi explains that the women used the mirrors to make sure they were presentable and Moshe was disgusted by this. Hashem said to Moshe - accept them, because the mirrors belong in the Mishkan and they are more dear to Me than all the other donations. Hashem explained that through these mirrors, many Tzivos were born in Egypt. R' Mansour noted that it states many times that Hashem said that he took his Tzivos out of Egypt.
R' Mansour quoted R' Samson Refael Hirsch who notes that it states B'Maros and not M'Maros. If it was M'Maros it would mean that they melted down what was donated and then raw material was made into the device. But B'Maros means that the actual mirror was beaten and transformed - and this was why there were no specifics for the dimensions.
R' Mansour then returned to the Rashi and explained that the mirrors were used by the women who look beautiful and entice their husbands and they would both look in the mirrors together and this would draw them together. Because of the mirrors they came close and then the babies were born under the Tapuach.
But why were the mirrors specifically used for the Kiyor? R' Mansour noted that the Kiyor was also used in the Sotah process. The woman is placed in front of the Kiyor as if to say - your grandmother looked in a mirror to entice their husbands and you used the mirror to entice another man.
R' Mansour also quoted the Chida who notes that the Jews left Egypt early (after only 210 years instead of 400) because they did extra work and hastened the geulah. The word Kiyor is also turned around as RiKu - Hashem (26) appeared after 210 years because of these mirrors.
R' Mansour then asked - why were the children called Tzovos? He looked for the first time that Tzava is mentioned in the Chumash - in the Vayechulu (Bereishis 2:1) where it states "V'chul Tzva'am." R' Mansour quoted R' Samson Refael Hirsch who states that not every gathering of multitudes means war, only if the group follows the command of one - then it is a Tzava. Thus here, the Tzvaos are the children who all loyally followed Hashem and when they got to Har Sinai they said Na'aseh V'nishma. These children got their character of following the direction from their mothers who said - there is a command for Pru U'rvu, notwithstanding the marror we are suffering.
R' Mansour next quoted the Ba'al HaTurim who notes that there is another Maros as well - Bereishis 45:2 - where Hashem came to Ya'akov in a vision - B'Maros HaLilah. In this vision, Hashem says to Ya'akov, don't be afraid to go down to Egypt. Ya'akov was concerned about the tumah of Egypt and its potential impact on his family. And Hashem says - don't worry, they will be a great nation there. But what was the vision? Ya'akov saw Moshe building the Mishkan and the women were bringing their mirrors and Hashem commanded Moshe to take the mirrors. Ya'akov saw that the mirrors were responsible for propagating the Jewish people as the women used them to entice their husbands and that as a result there would be loyal Jewish nation which would leave in great numbers.
When Ya'akov saw this he said - we can't rely on the men, but the women will cause the creation of a great Jewish nation.
(R' Mansour also said that the gematria of Tzivos and Tapuach are the same, but asked others to check him).
R' Mansour next quoted a sefer called Shemesh HaMagen which is a commentary on R' Shimson Mastropoli's letter. I have not fully written all that he said about the sefer, but he mentioned that there is a great power on the 14th of Nissan to fight the Yetzer Hara and that this comes from Mordechai's actions in warning to Esther (4:14) don't be quiet B'Es HaZos -at this specific time. Why? Because the Jews will be making a bitul and getting rid of their Chametz and it is time of great response from Hashem when fighting Amalek.
R' Mansour also quoted R' Hutner who explained that the Milchama B'Amalek M'Dor Dor (Shemos 17:16) - means that Amalek tries to get in the way of transmission of the mesorah M'Dor Dor - he does not want more Jewish children following our tradition.
R' Mansour said that when we burn the Chametz we get rid of Amalek's philosophy and we come to the seder where the kids ask the question and then answer them as well as the father sits there listening to the Torah of their children (and loving it -Ed.).
When do we start dealing with the children? At Karpas, when there is already a change from the regular meal. Right before Karpas everyone goes to the sink - and we say - if it wasn't for the Jewish women, there would not be a Jewish nation. We call this Urchatz. And later according to the Gemara we go back to the sink before we dip the Marror in Charosetz. There was bitterness in Egypt, but the Tapuach sweetened it. Thus both washings are due to the great contributions of the Jewish women.
Ya'akov saw those Maros Tzovos and he was satisfied that because of the Jewish women there would be a nation to leave Egypt.
R' Mansour closed the vort by stating that Dor Dor appears twice in the Hagaddah - B'Chul Dor V'Dor they stand against us as a hint to Amalek, but we also say B'Chul Dor V'Dor we must feel like we are leaving Egypt and seeing that we are part of the Tzvos.
R' Mansour next quoted the Ba'al HaTurim who notes that there is another Maros as well - Bereishis 45:2 - where Hashem came to Ya'akov in a vision - B'Maros HaLilah. In this vision, Hashem says to Ya'akov, don't be afraid to go down to Egypt. Ya'akov was concerned about the tumah of Egypt and its potential impact on his family. And Hashem says - don't worry, they will be a great nation there. But what was the vision? Ya'akov saw Moshe building the Mishkan and the women were bringing their mirrors and Hashem commanded Moshe to take the mirrors. Ya'akov saw that the mirrors were responsible for propagating the Jewish people as the women used them to entice their husbands and that as a result there would be loyal Jewish nation which would leave in great numbers.
When Ya'akov saw this he said - we can't rely on the men, but the women will cause the creation of a great Jewish nation.
(R' Mansour also said that the gematria of Tzivos and Tapuach are the same, but asked others to check him).
R' Mansour next quoted a sefer called Shemesh HaMagen which is a commentary on R' Shimson Mastropoli's letter. I have not fully written all that he said about the sefer, but he mentioned that there is a great power on the 14th of Nissan to fight the Yetzer Hara and that this comes from Mordechai's actions in warning to Esther (4:14) don't be quiet B'Es HaZos -at this specific time. Why? Because the Jews will be making a bitul and getting rid of their Chametz and it is time of great response from Hashem when fighting Amalek.
R' Mansour also quoted R' Hutner who explained that the Milchama B'Amalek M'Dor Dor (Shemos 17:16) - means that Amalek tries to get in the way of transmission of the mesorah M'Dor Dor - he does not want more Jewish children following our tradition.
R' Mansour said that when we burn the Chametz we get rid of Amalek's philosophy and we come to the seder where the kids ask the question and then answer them as well as the father sits there listening to the Torah of their children (and loving it -Ed.).
When do we start dealing with the children? At Karpas, when there is already a change from the regular meal. Right before Karpas everyone goes to the sink - and we say - if it wasn't for the Jewish women, there would not be a Jewish nation. We call this Urchatz. And later according to the Gemara we go back to the sink before we dip the Marror in Charosetz. There was bitterness in Egypt, but the Tapuach sweetened it. Thus both washings are due to the great contributions of the Jewish women.
Ya'akov saw those Maros Tzovos and he was satisfied that because of the Jewish women there would be a nation to leave Egypt.
R' Mansour closed the vort by stating that Dor Dor appears twice in the Hagaddah - B'Chul Dor V'Dor they stand against us as a hint to Amalek, but we also say B'Chul Dor V'Dor we must feel like we are leaving Egypt and seeing that we are part of the Tzvos.
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