Jews arent victims - Shevi'i Shel Pesach

4/18/25

One of my earliest Passover memories is from the evening of the seventh night of Pesach, which we celebrate tonight.

Following dinner, after everyone else had gone to sleep, my father would stay awake studying Torah until dawn. A scholar who’s written twelve books on Jewish thought and mysticism, he cherished the quiet night alone in study.

As a little kid watching along, I used to try to do the same. I’d grab a book and read for a few minutes before quickly dozing off on the couch, unable to finish the page.

Spending the seventh night of Passover studying Torah is a custom in some communities, similar to the more well-known custom of tikkun leil, when we stay up and learn on the eve of Shavuot.

It’s easy to understand why one might stay awake studying on Shavuot eve. Shavuot commemorates the moment when the Jews received the Torah at Sinai, so naturally, we celebrate by spending time with the gift we were given.

But Passover is a holiday of the Exodus, of freedom, celebrating our liberation from Egypt and the birth of the Jewish people as a free nation. Why would we mark an evening of freedom by staying awake to study Torah?

The truth is, however, that in this custom lies the brilliance of Judaism and the essence of Passover.

When the Jews left Egypt, their identity was that they were a free, emancipated people. But that’s where their identity ended. They had not yet reimagined themselves or formed an identity of their own.

The Jews were, therefore, in essence, still chained to their captors. In Egypt, their identity was that of slaves, and now, their identity was that they were no longer slaves.

Both in slavery and in freedom, their story was about the Egyptians. They had no identity of their own. They were not yet fully liberated.

Our freedom, therefore, did not culminate when we left Egypt. Our freedom culminated a few weeks after the Exodus, when we received the Torah at Sinai.

And so, we celebrate Passover, the festival of our liberation, by spending the night immersed in Torah study—moving quickly beyond the first, critical but superficial stage of freedom, and immediately embracing the new identity we received: the gift of Torah.

This custom encapsulates the core message of Judaism. Sometimes, it feels like we spend so much time talking about fighting antisemitism, Holocaust education, or the world’s hate and bias against Israel, that these struggles take on a life of their own and almost become our entire Jewish identity.

But the lesson of the seventh night of Passover is never to let our haters define us—not their hate, nor our survival from it. They cannot become our life story.

Our identity is not surviving the Holocaust, nor is it fighting antisemitism. Our identity is one of learning, community, and a love of G-d, a love of our people, and a love of Israel.

And that’s why tonight I’ll be up until dawn studying Torah. Or, more likely, dozing off on the couch after an hour or two.