In the last Siman of the Haggadah Nirtzah we say in the piyut ואמרתם זבח פסח in which we enumerate all the events that happened on Pesach in Jewish History. With these episodes that occurred on Pesach we overcame our enemies and were saved. One of these events is the destruction of the city of Sodom mentioned in Parsha Vayeirah. Sodom was destroyed and Lot was saved on Pesach. What is the significance and parallel between Pesach and the destruction of Sodom and Lot being saved?
Two events that seem to follow each other are Avraham's circumcision and the destruction of the city Sodom. The sefarim explain that when Avraham made the Bris with Hashem and removed his foreskin, it came the time to destroy Sodom. A foreskin covers over the aiver of procreation. When it is removed by the Mohel, the tip of the aiver is revealed and stays that way. The sefarim explain that just like there is a foreskin over man who is in the category of nefesh, so too there is a foreskin in makom – on earth in particular in Eretz Yisrael which is the source of earth אבן שתיה. In Eretz Yisrael, Sodom was the spiritual covering over Eretz Yisrael. The word ערלה which means foreskin contains the letter רע לה . It is evil and must be removed. After Avraham's removing from himself his orlah, it activated the removal of Sodom a city which promoted evil which was the orlah of Eretz Yisrael.
Chazal say on Mitzrayim that it too was called ערלה in Shir Hashirim Rabba 2,29
הנצנים נראו בארץ הנצוחות נראו בארץ איזה זה זה משה ואהרן שנא' (שם י"ב) ויאמר ה' אל משה ואל אהרן בארץ מצרים לאמר עת הזמיר הגיע, הגיע זמנן של ישראל להגאל, הגיע זמנה של ערלה שתזמר, הגיע זמן של מצרים שיזמרו, הגיע זמן עבודת כוכבים שלהן שתעקר שנא' (שם) ובכל אלהי מצרים אעשה שפטים
The time has come to cut off, the time for Yisrael to be cut off from Mitzrayim, the time has come to cut off the ערלה , it is time for Mitzrayim to be cut off and their idols to be uprooted. We see that Mitzrayim was in itself an ערלה. A person who fathers a child looks at himself as a creator. But who is the creator that created him. As we go back to the first man who fathered him? Pharaoh said he is G-d who created the Nile. Yet every morning in private he would relieve himself in the Nile so it won't be discovered that he is an imposter.
We who recognize with absolute clarity that Hashem "fathered" the universe from nothingness, are willing to sacrifice our lives in order to upkeep this Bris.(Gittin 57b .(כי עליך הורגנו כל היום As we circumcise our own children we are declaring beyond any shadow of a doubt, the power and ability to create the world the way we know it is revealed to us and that Hashem brought all existence into being. This was not a fly by night bris but one על בריתך שחתמת בבשרינו that is branded on our flesh.
However, those who remain with an orlah such as the gentiles, the remaining foreskin represents a never ending ignorance of the unknown. Until today it still is a hidden mystery and unfortunately will always remain so, if one belongs to the convenient club of followers of science who trace creation back to thousands of millions years ago. Relying on such a process, one can rebuild an entire dinosaur skeleton from a three foot bone, as long as he possesses a vivid and hallucinated imagination. After all who's going to prove you wrong? Only another phantasmagoric!
When Yosef knew that his family is coming down to Mitzrayim to live there he had all the Egyptians circumcised. He hoped that it might arouse a consciousness to recognize Hashem as the sole creator and purify the air in Mitzrayim as much that was possible.
Pesach was the time that the Egyptian Empire with all its power and glory which was like an orlah in the world, was cut off and destroyed by Hashem who demonstrated "hands down" that He was the sole creator of everything. That is why an uncircumcised Yid was forbidden to eat the Korban Pesach. The killing of the first born of Mitzrayim and saving the first born of Yisrael demonstrated Hashem's all powerful abilities as the sole creator of the universe.
A second parallel between Pesach and Sodom is that Lot was saved from Sodom by Avraham his uncle. Chazal say that Lot and Avraham had the same facial features. They explain that in Lot was the seed of Moshiach that was inside of Lot as the Medrash says מצאתי את דוד עבדי היכן מצאתיו? בסדום (Tehillim 89 21). As the Megillah Rus tells us that Rus the Moavite was the great grandmother of Dovid Hamelech. The Torah describes that Moav was born from Lot's younger daughter. Lot looked like Avraham not becasuse of Lot but because of the nishmas Dovid that was being carried by Lot. Avraham was the beginning of Am Yisrael and Dovid will bring the geulah for the end of Am Yisrael. Full circle means that the end and final geula touches the beginning. Dovid and Avraham had to cross pathways at one time or another.
Avraham risked his life to save Lot who was captured by the Four Kings which the Medrash compares them to the Four Exiles. Avraham's intention in this encounter was to make war against the four future galiyos of Klal Yisrael .מעשה אבות סימן לבנים He had to ensure that the neshamah of Dovid Hamelech will remain wholesome and not get lost until Moshiach will come and bring the final geulah.
Just like Moshiach was in a Lot, in a city of evil destined to be destroyed, so too Am Yisrael were in Mitzrayim as an embryo in its mother's womb in a country also about to be destroyed. Avraham saved Lot and preserved the neshama of Dovid. On Pesach Hashem Himself took out Am Yisrael who the Baal Shem Tov told us that each member possess a spark of Moshiach in them. It is not a coincidence that Lot was baking matzos when Avraham came to save him and protect Dovid Hamelech. Chazal say בניסן נגאלו ובניסן עתידין ליגאל . It wasn't the religiosity of Lot we find him on Pesach eating matzos in the evil city about to be destroyed. Rather it was the Dovid Hamelech inside of him who was pushing to do so. Dovid was feeling the geula when it came to Pesach, for from him comes Moshiach who will play the major role in that time of עתידין ליגאל. Dovid refers to himself as poor and needy (Tehillim 86),תהלה לדוד הטה ה' אזנך ענני כי עני ואביון אני . Dovid had a bittul to Hashem. Matzah is called לחם עוני poor man's bread. Dovid Hamelech will herald in the era
לא רעב ללחם ולא צמא למים כי אם לשמוע את דברי ה'. At the end we will all be likeלחם עוני מצות even though Hashem's lights of chachma will not cease to flow into us. !אדרבא
Motzaei Shabbos is the night of the Seder. It is also time for Melavah Malka. The Seudah of Melava Malka corresponds to Dovid Hamelech. The sefarim say סדם is the acronym סעודת דוד מלכא . In Shulchan Aruch siman תפ we open up the door to recite שפוך חמתך על הגויים because tonight is ליל שמורים and with this merit of our emunah, Hashem will bring Mashiach. Pesach night we have the emunah that Aliyahu Hanavi comes to our house (besides .(כוס אליהו In the seuda of Melava Malka we also sing a piyut of Aliyahu Hanavi who is also the malach habris at every Milah. ברוך ה' at tonight's Seder we are super charged with extra revelations of geulah as we mentioned in this mamar. Take advantage of such a Seder and make sure that YOU are supercharged as well.
Gut Shabbos Chag Kosher Vesameah, A Gutten Seder