Thursday, April 10, 2014

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
   

No comments:

Post a Comment