Passover תרס”ג 8
פסח נק’ על שם הדילוג דכ’ מדלג על ההרים.
“Passover is called by the name of ‘skipping,’ as it is written: ‘leaping upon the mountains.’”
The Sefat Emet explains that the essence of Pesach is the divine ‘leap’—a transcendent movement beyond the normal order—hinted at in the verse describing God as ‘leaping upon the mountains.’
ולא כתיב דולג.
“And it is not written ‘dolég.’”
The Torah does not use the simpler form of the verb. This signals that the movement is not natural or gradual but miraculous and from above.
רק שזה הדילוג עשה רשימה גם בנפשות בנ”י.
“Rather, this leap made an imprint even upon the souls of the children of Israel.”
The divine leap left a lasting spiritual mark on Israel, shaping their inner capacity for sudden ascent.
כמ”ש משכני אחריך נרוצה.
“As it is written: ‘Draw me—after You we will run.’”
Israel’s ability to ‘run after God’ without preparation stems from this original imprint of divine transcendence.
שגם הם נמשכו אחריו שלא בהדרגה.
“For they too were drawn after Him not by stages.”
The people’s spiritual movement was immediate, not step‑by‑step, mirroring the divine leap.
והכל הי’ בכח הדילוג שלמעלה.
“And all of this was through the power of the leap from above.”
The source of Israel’s sudden elevation is entirely from the higher divine action.
לכן כ’ מדלג. פועל יוצא.
“Therefore it says ‘medalég’—a transitive verb.”
The use of the transitive form indicates that God actively causes the leap and transmits its effect to Israel.
ויו”ט הזה מסייע לכל איש ישראל להתמשך אחר הקב”ה שלא בהדרגה לאחוז בדרכי האבות.
“And this festival helps every Jew to be drawn after the Holy One not gradually, to grasp the ways of the Patriarchs.”
Pesaḥ annually renews this capacity for sudden spiritual ascent, empowering each person to attach themselves to the ancestral path immediately.
כמ”ש תפסו אומנות אבותם.
“As it is said: They took hold of the craft of their ancestors.”
Israel inherits the spiritual tools of the Patriarchs and can seize them without long preparation because of the Pesaḥ power.
וזהו עיקר הגאולה כמ”ש והשיב לב אבות על בנים כו’.
“And this is the essence of redemption, as it is written: ‘He shall restore the hearts of the fathers to the children…’”
Redemption means the restoration of the ancestral path within the hearts of the children, made possible through the divine leap initiated at Pesaḥ.
Summary: The Sefat Emet teaches that Pesaḥ embodies a divine ‘leap’ that transcends gradual progression. This leap imprints itself upon Israel, enabling sudden spiritual ascent and connection to the ways of the Patriarchs—an annual renewal that is central to the meaning of redemption.
