Ki Savo begins with a discussion about the laws of Bikkurim, the mitzvah of bringing the first fruits to Jerusalem. Many years ago when a person brought Bikkurim to the Beis HaMikdash (Temple), he would recite a declaration recorded in the beginning of this week’s parsha. Our Sages felt four of the lines of this declaration were so important, they decided to include it in the Pesach Seder. Actually, a good portion of the Maggid part of the Seder is these four lines and explanations given on them. Year after year, I have always had a problem with one of the explanations given in the Haggadah, but now finally think I have an answer. It states that we descended to Egypt and resided there and became a nation: great, mighty and numerous. (Devarim 26:5). The Haggadah brings a verse in Yechezkel (16:7) to prove we were “numerous”: I made you as numerous as the grass of the field. This explanation always bothered me because normally, the Jews are compared to sand or the stars; why suddenly are we compared to grass?

I once saw an answer that stated just as one piece of grass does not cover a field, one Jew cannot accomplish everything by himself or herself. Thousands and thousands of blades of grass are needed to cover a small field, so too all of the Jews must work together to accomplish our goals on this planet. This is why we are compared to grass!

This is a beautiful thought, but I do not think it totally answers my question. The same can be said about sand. One grain of sand does not cover a beach; millions of pieces of sand are needed to accomplish anything. So why does the Hagaddah need to mention we are compared to grass?

I think, in my humble opinion, the answer lies in a characteristic grass has that cannot be found in sand nor stars. It is that grass is constantly growing. Every Sunday, many home-owners go to their shed and take out their lawn mowers to trim the grass. Grass might not grow quickly, but it is constantly getting higher. This is why we are compared to grass – it has two very important qualities for us to constantly remember: one blade of grass has no power and grass is continuously growing.

The above quoted verse in Devarim is talking about when the Jewish people became a nation. The Haggadah is telling us the secret that made us such a great nation: we are like grass.

Good Shabbos!
-yes
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