SING A SONG

     I feel, personally, that the Yom Tov of Pesach is most inspirational - the seder, the family, the beautiful negunim and the many customs brought down from one generation to another.  As the Yom Tov came to a close, I began to reminisce about the beauty of this holiday experience and the impact it has on me from one year to another.  I echo the words of Warner Wolf   "Let's go to the video tape" so we can relive, for a few moments, the highlights of the Holiday.

     My mind at this moment is focused on two paragraphs of the Hagadah that relate the most important aspects of retelling the story of the Exodus;

      "בכל דור ודור חיב אדם לראות את עצמו כאילו הוא יצא ממצרים"

"In every generation one must look upon himself as he, personally, came out of Egypt."

    The idea being, that when one sees himself in the same Mazav as the other person he can better relate to the story . This experiental exercise, in being part of a historical experience, will have greater affect upon him and will then lead him to recite the next paragraph with greater feeling; 

    " לפיכך אנחנו חייבים להודות להלל לברך....."

"Therefore it is our duty to thank and praise in song and prayer and extol Hashem for all the miracles He performs for us."

    It is true that when we, personally, experience the miraculous intervention of Hashem we can  lift our voices in spontaneous  song and sing the Hallel, praising the Almighty G-D.

    This feeling must accompany us in a very concretized way as we move forward toward that magnificent Yom Tov of Shavout - a time of recognizing the Blessings of Hashem that we receive constantly. With that realization we need to raise our voices in song  of Hallel  and to move forward from our Galut to our full Geulah to bring about a שירה חדשה,  a new and a vibrant Song of Redemption and Peace, not only for the  land of Israel but for the entire world .

    Let us  begin to sing songs of beauty and inspiration, and let our voices sing the praises of Hashem for all the Chesed He bestows upon us and let us complain less and appreciate more all the Blessings of life.

    When we appreciate more - than I am confident we will receive more -bringing greater enhancement to our lives.

      We can extend the idea of חייב אדם לראות - those who receive Blessings from G-D must demonstrate their gratitude and appreciation for them.  In this way we will come to realize and feel the Hashraat Hashechina in our lives bringing about a more intimate encounter with Almighty G-D.

FAMILY

     As our entire family gathered together, at the Seder, to commemorate "Geulat Mitzrayim" a simple yet profound word came to mind in describing my emotions. That word is "Togetherness.".

     Pesach, more than any other Yom Tov, bespeaks the quality of the family as they gather together from near and far in a mood of loving unity and true fellowship.

       At the first Seder we were instructed "איש שה לבית״".  Each family was instructed to observe the ritual of the Seder "Together", likewise down through the ages the call has been for "Togetherness" as a close knit family unit. 

    Judaism has always emphasized that with "Togetherness" comes hope and strength . There Is no doubt that this act of "Togetherness", makes our Seder truly special.  This feeling is not to be left behind after the Seder - it is to be brought into our daily lives - not only with our immediate family, but to all members of the Jewish People . 

     Today, more than ever, the call goes out to everyone to exhibit greater concern and empathy for each other, realizing the true fulfillment of the ultimate act of "Jewish Togetherness."

    In the words of a Hassidic Philosopher, "There is no room for G-D in him who is full of himself". This is our message that we take with us from our Pesach Seder; to make every effort to maintain a dedicated "Togetherness" that will truly help to usher the time of Moshiach and our true Geulah Shlemah .

      

EXCITEMENT and ANTICIPATION

As we approach the Yom Tov of Pesach we can feel the excitement and the anticipation in the air. It is at this time that I remember vividly the words of our Rebbe, The Rav, Harav Soloveitchikזצ׳ל :  

                           איו קדושה בלי הכנה

          

    One can not truly achieve the ultimate Holiness without intense preparation .

There is no Holiday that can compare to Pesach when it comes to preparation and there is no doubt that the more preparation we do, the greater the feeling of Kedusha permeates our spiritual being.

    This may be the reason, that after all our preparation, we begin our Seder with קדש, the Sanctification of the Yom Tov, telling the world we are ready to live a life of קדושה, a life of freedom, a life of Torah and Yirat Shamayim.

     One of the main aspects of Holiness, is the Santification of Time to reflect upon our past history and how it must continuously motivate us to greater spiritual heights. This is the essence of the Mitzvah of Sipur Yeziat Mitzrayim, not only to tell the story of the Exodus but to actually relive that experience, by fulfilling all the Mitzvot at the Seder. Thereby, bringing the story into a state of reality. Critical for this fulfillment is the need for Retrospection. As the Rav suggests - to transport that glorious exodus from the distant past into a creative living experience in the present.

     The next important component in relating the story is Anticipation in our projection of our Aspirations into the future.

      Finally, when we retell the story of our Exodus using Retrospection and 

Anticipation -it will, ultimately, lead to a great sense of Appreciation and Hodaah and Hallel to Hashem for all His Beneficence and Brachot that He constantly bestows upon Klall Yisrael.

  "לפיכך אנחנו חייבים להודות    " It is therefore our duty to,thank, praise, laud, glorify, exalt, honor, bless, extol, and adore Him who performed for our fathers and for us all of these wonders".

    These words of the Passover Hagadah set the tone for the entire evening as we experience the Seder. Clearly we express our thanks to G-D, as we commemorate the greatest events of history, the exodus from Egypt which impressed itself indelibly upon the whole Jewish tradition.

    Pesach is a new way of looking at the world. It is seeing things not only as they are but what they can be. It tells us that in moments of deepest suffering there is still hope. In times of stress, there is still reason to hold fast to one's faith. It teaches us that the human spirit, when there is the sense of faith, can triumph even over subjugation and oppression. It provides us with a most important ingredient without which we could not live, " A promise for the future."

     The Abarbarnel said " The first Redemption is a testimony to the Redemption of the future". He saw the Passover of Egypt as the first in a process which constituted the testimony for the full Redemption of the Jewish people in the future.

     Reb Shlomo Carlbach said: " I do not know when the Redemption will happen, I do not know exactly how it will happen. It is true I may not have all the answers, but one thing I do know beyond a shadow of a doubt, is that the Mashiach will come." 

    Let us conclude the Seder with dancing and singing with our family and our friends convinced that this is the year that we will usher in the 

גאולה שלמה .

  חג כשר ושמח

   

REACHING OUT

    The  Hasidic sage Menachem Mendel , the Kotzke Rebbe, was troubled by the phrase in Shemot, which says that Pharaoh's daughter saw the basket in which Moshe was placed stuck in the rushes "ותשלח את אמתה ותקחה" - "She sent her maidservant to fetch it."

    Our Chachamim noted that the word אמתה is ambiguous. It can mean either her handmaid, the usual translation, or her arm. Our Sages say that the basket was beyond her reach, but a miracle happened and her arms were extended for that moment enabling her to rescue the child, Moshe.

    The Kotzke Rebbe asked why Pharaoh's daughter would even try this  rescue, knowing fair well that the basket was too far to reach?

    He answered, "When it comes to doing a Mitzvah, particularly the supreme Mitzvah of saving a life, it is not for us to make any calculations but rather we must try to do whatever we can, even if the odds seem to be against us.  We must have faith and hope that Hashem will do the rest."

   Miracles do happen and we may be able to achieve more than we ever thought possible.

                    As Chazal  says:לא עליך המלאכה לגמר ולא אתה בן חורין להבטל ממנה

"It is not your duty to complete the task, but you are not free to desist from it"

    This thought is especially true when it comes to showing compassion to others. Too often we experience "compassion  fatigue" and it's exactly at that moment we need to go the extra mile and extend our arms, as Pharoah's daughter did and to do what ever we can and leave the rest to G-D.

   There is so much pageantry to the Yom Tov of Pesach that enthralls me every year. This truism is present because this Yom Tov is unique in a very intriguing way. It is a Yom Tov, par excellance that centers around so many invited guests who truly enhance the Seder experience.

    The best compliment we can pay our past is to prophetically and kindly face today and tomorrow. However, more than these invited guests, Pesach brings together other guests, though we may not see them or count them among the living. They are our parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles, with whom we share this Holy evening as we use their dishes, their Kiddush cups, their Matzoh covers and above all their stories which we relive with beautiful and fond memories. 

     This is our glory: living in the present, but at all times bringing along the past in looking towards a glorious future.

      The arms of our past are reaching out to us with a great sense of compassion and saying,"Please remember our glorious heritage. As you retell the story of the Exodus, always include the stories from our personal past. In this way our presence will be felt in a most inspirational way."    

      When we will open the door and stretch forth our hands to welcome Eliyahu Hanavi we will do so with great hope and faith that he will herald the true Messianic period in our timel