The difference between a dog and a wolf: Hakaras hatov in the Haggadah
A few months ago, I wrote about the paramount importance of hakaras hatov in Yetziyas
Mitrayim http://kallahmagazine.blogspot.com/2019/01/why-hakaras-hatov-is-paramount.html. It is because of that attribute, I said, that our leader in the event, Moshe, had to have the highest standard for himself in reflecting appreciation even to inanimate objects.
This past Monday, I attended Rav Goldwicht's shir on the Haggadah, and hakaras hatov was one of his major themes. Later in the week, when I saw someone ask why in Dayenu do we include thanks for having passed through dry land when crossing the sea, it occurred to me that this fit perfectly with that overarching theme. We take the time to recognize each and every act of chesed from Hakodesh Baruch Hu, and don't say any is too small to merit a mention.
I also realized that the thanks for the amenities on the trip out of Egypt fit well with another point that Rav Goldwicht made about the event being one that commenced not with the enslavement of the people in general but with the enslavement of Yosef when he was sold by his brothers. Rashi cited the Midrash there (Bereishis 37:25) that the Arab caravans usually carried foul-smelling cargo like tar, but the one Yosef was taken into carried pleasant-smelling spices. Even when on the way down to slavery, any act of kindness is to observed and appreciated, and we should not forget to the same when redeemed.
Another interesting point Rav Goldwicht made was on the famous incident in which the four greatest rabbis of the generation were so involved in their recounting the events of Pesach that night in Bnei Brak that their students had to come and tell them to stop because " higia zman kriyas shma shel Shacharis" it was time for morning prayers. How does one know when that is without clocks and Myzmanim.org? There are a few views in Brachos 9b One of them is that the key is enough light to distinguish between similar-looking animalsL.
תניא רבי מאיר אומר משיכיר בין זאב לכלב רבי ענו
Rabbi Meir says that the day begins when one can distinguish between two similar animals, e.g., a wolf and a dog
That is distinguishing between the kelev [dog] who is kulo lev [all heart] and the wolf who is devoid of the domesticated dog's hakaras hatov. After going through the depths of the central story of our becoming a free people, they had come to internalize this great level of hakaras hatov that will now be carried over into the daily service. We engage in zecher yetzias Mitrayim on a daily basis during kriyas shma both in the morning and the evening. But the night of Pesach is when we delve into sipur yetzias Mitrayim, going into greater depth to infuse into the daily remembrance.
I'd like to add one note I found on distinguishing between the dog and the wolf. It's an expression that exists in other cultures and languages, as I found here: https://www.pri.org/stories/2018-08-03/time-day-when-i-used-think-dog-could-turn-wolf: "There’s an evocative French expression that refers to dusk — entre chien et loup, or 'between dog and wolf.'”The writer of the blog did some of his own investigations, consulting, Jean Pruvost, a linguist who has studied the expression. "He says it comes from a Latin phrase, intra hora vespertina inter canem et lupum, that dates back to at least the 7th century. And it refers to the time when the daylight dims and you could mistake a dog for a wolf."
He adds a further note that fits well with the Hebrew word for evening, erev, which connotes a mix:
"There is a threat in ‘entre chien et loup,’” Pruvost says. “It implies something unsettling — when you can’t distinguish what is tame from what is wild. The wolf conveys something frightening and nightmarish. He represents the night, while the dog represents the day.”
On Pesach, we went out in what was described as etzem hayom the strength of the day. Bo, 12: 41
וַיְהִ֗י מִקֵּץ֙ שְׁלשִׁ֣ים שָׁנָ֔ה וְאַרְבַּ֥ע מֵא֖וֹת שָׁנָ֑ה וַיְהִ֗י בְּעֶ֨צֶם֙ הַיּ֣וֹם הַזֶּ֔ה יָֽצְא֛וּ It was a time that had the equivalent brightness of broad daylight because it was the time of great spiritual revelation and clarity. We have that idea of clear vision again, in the Midrashic observation of the awesome revelation that occurred on the seventh day of Pesach at the splitting of the sea:
Mekhilta quotes Rebbe Eliezer, “a maidservant saw at the sea what Yeshayah nd Yechezkel did not see.” Even the lowliest person had a greater, clearer view of Hashem's presence in the world than the prophets who recounted Ma'aseh Merkava! This is the breaking light that makes everything clear in which we rise about the moral murkiness that normally clouds our vision. That is the essence of Pesach in which even the night was like the day.
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This past Monday, I attended Rav Goldwicht's shir on the Haggadah, and hakaras hatov was one of his major themes. Later in the week, when I saw someone ask why in Dayenu do we include thanks for having passed through dry land when crossing the sea, it occurred to me that this fit perfectly with that overarching theme. We take the time to recognize each and every act of chesed from Hakodesh Baruch Hu, and don't say any is too small to merit a mention.
I also realized that the thanks for the amenities on the trip out of Egypt fit well with another point that Rav Goldwicht made about the event being one that commenced not with the enslavement of the people in general but with the enslavement of Yosef when he was sold by his brothers. Rashi cited the Midrash there (Bereishis 37:25) that the Arab caravans usually carried foul-smelling cargo like tar, but the one Yosef was taken into carried pleasant-smelling spices. Even when on the way down to slavery, any act of kindness is to observed and appreciated, and we should not forget to the same when redeemed.
Another interesting point Rav Goldwicht made was on the famous incident in which the four greatest rabbis of the generation were so involved in their recounting the events of Pesach that night in Bnei Brak that their students had to come and tell them to stop because " higia zman kriyas shma shel Shacharis" it was time for morning prayers. How does one know when that is without clocks and Myzmanim.org? There are a few views in Brachos 9b One of them is that the key is enough light to distinguish between similar-looking animalsL.
תניא רבי מאיר אומר משיכיר בין זאב לכלב רבי ענו
Rabbi Meir says that the day begins when one can distinguish between two similar animals, e.g., a wolf and a dog
That is distinguishing between the kelev [dog] who is kulo lev [all heart] and the wolf who is devoid of the domesticated dog's hakaras hatov. After going through the depths of the central story of our becoming a free people, they had come to internalize this great level of hakaras hatov that will now be carried over into the daily service. We engage in zecher yetzias Mitrayim on a daily basis during kriyas shma both in the morning and the evening. But the night of Pesach is when we delve into sipur yetzias Mitrayim, going into greater depth to infuse into the daily remembrance.
I'd like to add one note I found on distinguishing between the dog and the wolf. It's an expression that exists in other cultures and languages, as I found here: https://www.pri.org/stories/2018-08-03/time-day-when-i-used-think-dog-could-turn-wolf: "There’s an evocative French expression that refers to dusk — entre chien et loup, or 'between dog and wolf.'”The writer of the blog did some of his own investigations, consulting, Jean Pruvost, a linguist who has studied the expression. "He says it comes from a Latin phrase, intra hora vespertina inter canem et lupum, that dates back to at least the 7th century. And it refers to the time when the daylight dims and you could mistake a dog for a wolf."
He adds a further note that fits well with the Hebrew word for evening, erev, which connotes a mix:
"There is a threat in ‘entre chien et loup,’” Pruvost says. “It implies something unsettling — when you can’t distinguish what is tame from what is wild. The wolf conveys something frightening and nightmarish. He represents the night, while the dog represents the day.”
On Pesach, we went out in what was described as etzem hayom the strength of the day. Bo, 12: 41
וַיְהִ֗י מִקֵּץ֙ שְׁלשִׁ֣ים שָׁנָ֔ה וְאַרְבַּ֥ע מֵא֖וֹת שָׁנָ֑ה וַיְהִ֗י בְּעֶ֨צֶם֙ הַיּ֣וֹם הַזֶּ֔ה יָֽצְא֛וּ It was a time that had the equivalent brightness of broad daylight because it was the time of great spiritual revelation and clarity. We have that idea of clear vision again, in the Midrashic observation of the awesome revelation that occurred on the seventh day of Pesach at the splitting of the sea:
Mekhilta quotes Rebbe Eliezer, “a maidservant saw at the sea what Yeshayah nd Yechezkel did not see.” Even the lowliest person had a greater, clearer view of Hashem's presence in the world than the prophets who recounted Ma'aseh Merkava! This is the breaking light that makes everything clear in which we rise about the moral murkiness that normally clouds our vision. That is the essence of Pesach in which even the night was like the day.
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