It was the eve of the 14th of Nissan. where Rabbi Eliezer, the illustrious Tanna, was packing his bags. His family looked on with bittersweet smiles as he prepared for his journey to Beni Brak.
Awaiting him in Beni Brak was none other than Rabbi Akiva was Rabbi Akiva, the beacon of hope and positivity of the Jewish people in the aftermath of the destruction of the Second Beis HaMikdash.
Awaiting him in Beni Brak was none other than Rabbi Akiva was Rabbi Akiva, the beacon of hope and positivity of the Jewish people in the aftermath of the destruction of the Second Beis HaMikdash.
Although Pesach is no doubt a family-oriented holiday, (See Exodus 12,3;21) R’ Eliezer saw it more important to join R’ Akiva (at least for the First Days)
R’ Eliezer backed his caravan out of the driveway and took Yitzhak Rabin Highway northbound up to Beni Brak, officially commencing his much-anticipated journey to Bnei Brak.
A similar scene unfolded about 100 miles north of R’ Eliezer; with R’ Yehoshua. He would soon be making his way along the winding descent from the Galilean highlands, across the Somech Junction near Yochne'am, eventually merging onto Route 4 for the final stretch into Bnei Brak.
Across the countryside, Rabbi Tarfon and R’ Eliezer ben Azaria were also converging on, you guessed it, Bnei Brak.
Although they all began from different starting points, all of these great scholars were drawn by the same intellectual gravity and developed into one of the most celebrated gatherings in Jewish Passover tradition.
The Haggadah picks up the story with these 5 Rabbis as they convened on the night of the 15th, the Pesach Seder. The Haggadah relates:
ONCE, Rabbi Eliezer and Rabbi Yehoshua and Rabbi Elazar ben Azariah And Rabbi Akiva and Rabbi Tarfon reclined [for the seder] in Bnei Brak.
Now, as the Haggadah picks up from the night of the 15th, you may be thinking why I made a whole detailing of the preliminary travels. Was it simply a pedantic effort to create a backdrop of research of where these Tannaim lived? I wouldn’t put it past me, but Rav Moshe Zelig Alshanitzky, in his Haggadah Shel Peseach “Gefen Mimitzrayim”, says that these details play an important role and it is alluded to in the wording of the story itself.
The Haggadah makes a point to say that the Seder took place in the city of Bnei Brak. Why was this stressed?
Let’s continue with the story. The Haggadah continues:
And they told of the Exodus from Egypt all that night; until their students came in and said, "Teachers –the time for saying the Shema of the morning has come.”
The age-old panic. When’s the zman?! Did we miss it?! Is it time for it?!
Luckily their Krias Shema panic was quelled by their students who notified them that they were still in the time limit.
Now, it’s important to know the zmanim of the various places in Israel to further this vort.
Rav Alshanitzky posits that “perhaps” the zmanim between the places of R’ Yehoshua (Lod) and R’ Eliezer (Peki’in) had a significantly shorter night than R’ Akiva in Bnei Brak.
I decided to verify this.
I looked into the zmanim for Sunrise for these various locations, (Sunday, April 13, 2025 / ט״ו ניסן תשפ״ה ); my go to source: MyZmanim.
I decided to verify this.
I looked into the zmanim for Sunrise for these various locations, (Sunday, April 13, 2025 / ט״ו ניסן תשפ״ה ); my go to source: MyZmanim.
The facts check out (although it is a pretty minute difference)
However, why is this point important?
Perhaps we can say, the idea being put forth is that this time period after the destruction of the Beis HaMikdash, was a time of “darkness” for Klal Yisrael.
These five Tannaim saw it very important to get a proper perspective with R’ Akiva, the ever positive and Maamin (believer in Hashem) to give them the inner strength to be able to inculcate the ideas of how to manage the beginning of a long and hard galus that had just began.
Perhaps they went to his locale because the night was longer than their nights, to allude to this idea, and for them to learn how to keep the faith even in the longest of “nights.”
And perhaps, this was even the rationale for their controversial decision to leave their families, because if a person themselves doesn’t truly own and believe in an idea, it is near impossible to impart those same beliefs and teachings to the next generation. One’s wife and children (and students) learn from actions, not speeches.
A similar idea was put forth by Rav Neuberger, Assistant Rabbi of White Shul in the explanation of a confounding Shu”t HaRosh as to why there is no bracha on Sippur Yetzias Mitzrayim. The gist of the answer was that Sippur Yetzias Mitzrayim is really an outgrowth of the mitzvos of Matzah, Marror, and Pesach; it is furthering the explanation of the actions that a person is doing; the “saying” without the “doing” is of little value.
I heard another similar idea from Rav YY Jacobson, in explanation why we hide the Afikomen for the children to find. He explained that whatever a parent tries to “hide” from their children, be it their secrets of a double-life or anti-Jewish beliefs will eventually be “found out” by his children.
May we all have a chag kasher v’sameach and may this year be the year where we bring on the dawn of Moshaich!
Sources and Footnotes
מַעֲשֶׂה בְרַבִּי אֱלִיעֶזֶר וְרַבִּי יְהוֹשֻׁעַ וְרַבִּי אֶלְעָזָר בֶּן־עֲזַרְיָה וְרַבִּי עֲקִיבָא וְרַבִּי טַרְפוֹן שֶׁהָיוּ מְסֻבִּין בִּבְנֵי־בְרַק וְהָיוּ מְסַפְּרִים בִּיצִיאַת מִצְרַיִם כָּל־אוֹתוֹ הַלַּיְלָה, עַד שֶׁבָּאוּ תַלְמִידֵיהֶם וְאָמְרוּ לָהֶם רַבּוֹתֵינוּ הִגִּיעַ זְמַן קְרִיאַת שְׁמַע שֶׁל שַׁחֲרִית.
מַעֲשֶׁה ONCE,Rabbi Eliezer and Rabbi Yehoshua and Rabbi Elazar ben Azariaand Rabbi Akiva and Rabbi Tarfon reclined [for the seder] in Benei Brak. And they told of the Exodus from Egypt all that night;until their students came in and said,“Teachers –the time for saying the Shema of the morning has come.”
וַיִּקְרָ֥א מֹשֶׁ֛ה לְכׇל־זִקְנֵ֥י יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל וַיֹּ֣אמֶר אֲלֵהֶ֑ם מִֽשְׁכ֗וּ וּקְח֨וּ לָכֶ֥ם צֹ֛אן לְמִשְׁפְּחֹתֵיכֶ֖ם וְשַׁחֲט֥וּ הַפָּֽסַח׃
Moses then summoned all the elders of Israel and said to them, “Go, pick out lambs for your families, and slaughter the passover offering.
דַּבְּר֗וּ אֶֽל־כׇּל־עֲדַ֤ת יִשְׂרָאֵל֙ לֵאמֹ֔ר בֶּעָשֹׂ֖ר לַחֹ֣דֶשׁ הַזֶּ֑ה וְיִקְח֣וּ לָהֶ֗ם אִ֛ישׁ שֶׂ֥ה לְבֵית־אָבֹ֖ת שֶׂ֥ה לַבָּֽיִת׃
Speak to the community leadership of Israel and say that on the tenth of this month each of them shall take a lamb to a family, a lamb to a household.
(א)הלכות קריאת שמע וברכותיה. ובו ז סעיפים: זמן קריאת שמע של שחרית משיראה את חבירו הרגיל עמו קצת ברחוק ד' אמות ויכירנו ונמשך זמנה עד סוף ג' שעות שהוא רביע היום ומצוה מן המובחר לקרותה כוותיקים (פי' תלמידים. ורש"י פי' אנשים ענוים ומחבבים המצות) שהיו מכוונים לקרותה מעט קודם הנץ החמה (פי' יציאת החמה כמו הנצו הרמונים) כדי שיסיים ק"ש וברכותיה עם הנץ החמה ויסמוך לה התפלה מיד בהנץ החמה ומי שיוכל לכוין לעשות כן שכרו מרובה מאד: הגה שיעור הנץ החמה הוא כמו שיעור שעה אחת קודם שיעלה כל גוף השמש על הארץ (מיימוני פ"א):
(1) The time of reciting the morning Shema is from when one can see a slightly familiar friend at a distance of four amos and can recognize him. It continues until the end of three [halachic] hours, which is a fourth of the day[light]. The most ideal fulfillment of the mitzvah is to read it like the "vatikim" (students; and Rashi: people who are humble and love the commandments) who would prepare to recite it a little before the "budding of the sun" (the coming out of the sun like pomegranates bud) in order that one should finish the recitation of the Shema and its blessings with the budding of the sun and to adjoin the Prayer [Amidah] to it immediately to the budding of the sun. Whoever is able to prepare to do this, his reward will be very great. Gloss: The measurement of the budding of the sun is about one hour before the entire body [disk] of the sun has ascended above the land.
(ו) (ו) שהי' מכוונין - כי עיקר מצות תפילה לכתחילה הוא מעת התחלת הנץ מדכתיב יראוך עם שמש וכמו שנתבאר לקמן בסימן פ"ט ואם היו מתחילין לקרותה משיכיר את חבירו היה הרבה בין זה השיעור ובין הנץ והיה להם להתאחר אחר ק"ש ולהמתין עד שתנץ החמה ולא היו סומכין גאולה לתפלה לכן היו מכוונין לקרותה סמוך להנץ החמה ולגומרה עם הנץ:
