And whoever elaborates on the story is praised
And whoever elaborates on the story is praised…
Whoever tells at length about the leaving from Egypt, increases his own praise, because the more one recognizes and appreciates the great miracles performed on his behalf, the more his own worth becomes apparent.
It once happened that….
A ship transported many merchants to a distant land to sell their wares. The ship’s passengers included all sorts of merchants, each with his own merchandise: flour, fabrics, art objects, and precious stones.
Out at sea, a pirate vessel approached the ship. The pirates commanded the ship’s captain to veer from his course and follow their vessel, as a captive ship.
Fear descended upon all the ship’s passengers, for the pirates were infamous for their cruelty.
The fearless captain immediately gathered his crew together and told them how to behave at this difficult time. The sailors obeyed his orders. Some climbed up the main mast and stretched out the sails. Some stood on the deck, swords and boarding hooks in hand, and some descended to the belly of the ship and from there, fired cannons at the pirates’ ship.
When the pirates saw the captain’s and sailors’ courage and heard the sound of cannons exploding, they turned around and hastily sailed away.
Although surely all of the merchants felt great happiness, this was not felt equally by each and every one of them. The relief of a merchant whose sacks of flour have been saved cannot be compared to the rejoicing of one whose precious jewels have been saved.
And even without knowing which merchant possessed the most valuable cargo, one could guess it by seeing which merchant most abundantly expressed his relief that the ship had been saved. The more elaborate the merchant’s appreciation of the rescue, the more valuable his wares.
So too it is as the haggadah says, “and whoever elaborates on the story is praised.” When a person elaborately recounts the story of the leaving from Egypt, he reveals true faith and, “makes a joyful sound unto the L-rd.
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