One of the most surprising aspects of the Haggadah Shel Pesach is the apparent absence of Moshe Rabbeinu. He is mentioned only once, somewhat tangentially, when Rav Yosi Haglili quotes the posuk that Klal Yisroel believed in Hashem and His servant Moshe. It would certainly seem that Moshe, who took us out of Mitzrayim and is mentioned countless times in the Torah regarding this seminal event, should be acknowledged in the Haggadah for his pivotal role. Over the centuries, this omission has been discussed many times. Let us review some of the answers before we attempt any new approaches.

The Gra, in his commentary to the Haggadah, suggests that on Pesach night, when we reach the tenth of the makkos, we recite the famous words at the Seder, “It was I, not an angel…no other shliach (agent).” Moshe Rabbeinu did nothing on his own. He acted purely and completely as the great servant of Hashem that he was. Therefore, he is not mentioned in the Haggadah, which celebrates the fact that Hashem Himself took us out of Mitzrayim.

It is quoted in the name of Rav Moshe Soloveitchik that the source of this concept is rooted in a Medrash (Shir Hashirim Rabbah 3:1). The posuk (Shir Hashirim 3:1) states, “As I lay upon my bed in the night of my desert travail, I sought Him Whom my soul loves. I sought Him but I found Him not…” The Medrash explicates that “the night” refers to the night of Egypt. “I sought him” refers to Moshe Rabbeinu. In other words, according to Chazal, it was not Hashem Whom we were seeking. It was Moshe Rabbeinu. However, he was behind the scenes and not actively visible, so as not to interfere with our total focus upon the actions of our Father in Heaven, Who was redeeming us miraculously and personally.

This Medrash a bit later (3:4) adds that “the posuk (3:4) adds that ‘I found Him Whom my soul loves…until I brought His Presence to the Tabernacle of my mother and to the chamber of the one who conceived me.’” The Medrash once again states that “the one whom my soul loves” is Moshe Rabbeinu. “The house of my mother” is Har Sinai” and “the chamber” is the Ohel Moed. If we understand the Medrash to be referring to Moshe Rabbeinu’s absence from the Haggadah and the formal sippur Yetzias Mitzrayim, then what does it mean that we found Moshe? Perhaps we can suggest that there are two stages to our awareness during the exodus. Initially, we are unaware of Moshe Rabbeinu because Hashem wanted to establish His intimate relationship with Klal Yisroel, His nation and children. However, after we have established this affinity in our hearts, we realize that for the privilege of having merited this connection, it is Moshe Rabbeinu whom we must thank for his mesirus nefesh and extraordinary leadership. Therefore, at the moment that we are imagining ourselves back in Mitzrayim (k’ilu hu yotza miMitzrayim), we must glorify not only the presence of the Shechinah. After we have fully realized that incredible moment, we are allowed and even mandated to remember Moshe Rabbeinu as we soon declared at the Yam Suf, “We believed in Hashem and Moshe His servant” (Shemos 14:31).

This process is mirrored also in the Medrash Tehillim (107), where Yeshayahu Hanovi is quoted as saying, “Then the redeemed of Hashem will return and come to Tzion with song” (Yeshayahu 35:10). The Medrash again elucidates, “The redeemed of Hashem, not the redeemed of Eliyahu, nor the redeemed of the Melech HaMoshiach, but only the redeemed of Hashem.” Here, too, the Medrash reminds us that although we have many wonderful human redeemers, we must keep in mind that it is ultimately Hashem Who is saving us.

Interestingly, the Chofetz Chaim (quoted in HaSeder Ha’aruch 2:3) attributes Moshe’s absence to his own will. Since he was such a humble person (Bamidbar 12:3) and “Hashem does the will of those who fear Him” (Tehillim 145:19), Hashem ordained that he should not be mentioned and thus allow Klal Yisroel to enjoy the moment of Hashem’s exclusive presence in our lives. As always, Moshe Rabbeinu did everything for our benefit. He was abnegating his own role, colossal though it was, so that we could focus on the primary and eternal relationship between ourselves and Hashem.

The current Belzer Rebbe’s father, Rav Mordechai Rokeach, rov of Bilgorai, offers another answer that in fact enhances the Chofetz Chaim’s explanation. He notes that there are two ways in which Hashem brings us geulah and yeshuah. One is called isarusa dele’eila, which means that when we are found unworthy, Hashem takes it upon Himself to save us despite our deficiencies. The second is when we have uplifted ourselves to the point where we deserve Divine intervention. This is called isarusa delesata. At the time of Pesach, as is well known, we, as a nation, were immersed in the forty-ninth level of defilement. Hashem reached down and lifted us out of both our slavery and out of our poor spiritual level. On the other hand, Moshe Rabbeinu had elevated himself to the level of prophesy and other spiritual madreigos. He personally could have achieved Hashem’s help through isarusa delesata, but on the night of Pesach, we want to remember Hashem’s incredible kindness when He rescued us despite, not because of, what we deserved at the time. Thus, it would have been inappropriate to mention Moshe Rabbeinu prominently in the Haggadah, so that we would better appreciate the full complement of what Hashem did for us.

Additionally, along this vein, we all know that Moshe Rabbeinu initially did not wish to accept the Divine mandate to redeem Klal Yisroel, because this would diminish his older brother Aharon’s stature (see Rashi, Shemos 4:13). Rav Elazar Menachem Man Shach adds that this middah of not causing discomfort to someone is so powerful that it overrode Moshe Rabbeinu’s deep yearning to finally free Klal Yisroel from the misery and agony that Paroh was inflicting upon them. By, so to speak, staying out of the Haggadah, Moshe Rabbeinu continued this wonderful trait for all eternity. As the Chofetz Chaim and the rov of Bilgorai taught us, the instilling of proper middos is one of the prime traits of Klal Yisroel and we learned it from Moshe Rabbeinu at the very time of our creation as a people, as the Haggadah declares, “We became a nation [there in Egypt].”

We are now in a position to understand a surprising statement in the Rambam, when he speaks of the four sons in the Haggadah. He writes (Hilchos Chometz Umatzah 7:2) that “if the son is an adult and wise, [the father] should notify him of the miracles that occurred for us in Egypt, which were brought about through Moshe Rabbeinu, all in accordance with the intellectual capability of the son.” Many meforshim over the past eight centuries have found these words of the Rambam incongruous with all we have just learned about Moshe Rabbeinu’s apparent nonexistence in the Haggadah.

My rebbi, Rav Yitzchok Hutner (Maamorei Pachad Yitzchok, Pesach No. 29), answers in his usual profound way. He cites the Gemara (Brachos 33a) that a prerequisite to receiving rachmonus — compassion — is the trait of daas, having attained a certain level of wisdom. As we mentioned, Klal Yisroel at the time of Yetzias Mitzrayim was lacking in their development of this crucial ability to appreciate and understand what was happening to us. Moshe Rabbeinu became our surrogate in this matter. In the rosh yeshiva’s words, “Moshe hu daadom shel Yisroel.”  We can now appreciate the powerful forces that were at work in the geulah from Mitzrayim. On the one hand, we were unworthy of salvation, so Hashem had to release us without our full participation in the process. Moshe Rabbeinu didn’t want to intrude upon this new relationship which Klal Yisroel was enjoying, so he not only didn’t take credit, but made sure that he wasn’t even mentioned at all. Yet, it was his daas that substituted for our lack of this special wisdom. As it turned out, Moshe did give us the greatest gift of all, quietly and modestly: the present of himself and his greatness so that we could become great as well. For that,

on the night of Pesach, we must thank both our Father in Heaven and our rebbi and teacher forever, Moshe Rabbeinu.

I would like to end with a concept of emunas chachomim in our time. A woman in Belgium had hardening of the arteries and was considered in danger. Unfortunately, she was not a great candidate for surgery, but the physicians insisted that she must have an operation. The family approached the famed Rav Itzikel of Antwerp. He inquired about the woman’s middos and discovered that she was a great baalas chesed. The rebbe responded that such a woman is protected by her mitzvos and need not undergo surgery. Although the doctors declared that her rabbi was murdering her, she listened to the tzaddik. Not surprisingly, when the woman developed an infection that caused a high fever, the doctors warned the family that they had been right along. However, the infection and high fever opened her arteries and she went home healthier and more energetic than ever before. If we realize that we must believe in our gedolim as well as Hashem, we will achieve the partnership Klal Yisroel formed in Mitzrayim, which should G-d willing pave the way for the great geulah Micha (7:15) predicted long ago, “As in the days when you left Mitzrayim I will show you wonders.”

A chag kosher vesomeiach to all.