Pesach - Expressing Our Freedom Through Internalizing Mitzvos

Rabbi Zweig begins by addressing the apparent contradiction of the Pesach (פסח) Seder - we simultaneously celebrate our freedom while recounting the painful experience of slavery. He poses the fundamental question: what is the ultimate goal we're trying to accomplish on Pesach night, and what message should we convey to our children? The shiur centers on a passage from the Haggadah where Rabbi Elazar ben Azariah states, 'Behold, I am like seventy years old, and I wasn't able to merit to bring the proof that we're supposed to speak about the redemption of Egypt at nighttime.' Rabbi Zweig explains 'the rest of the story' - how Rabbi Elazar ben Azariah, though only eighteen years old, was appointed as Rosh Yeshiva when Rabbi Gamaliel was deposed for being too forceful in his leadership. When his wife protested that he was too young and lacked white hair, a miracle occurred and he developed eighteen rows of white hair, making him appear like a seventy-year-old.