EXPERIENTIAL SEDER

     As Pesach draws closer and we are getting ready for the Seder I am reminded of a letter sent by Rebbe Kalonymus Kalman ע״ה of Piasceztna, to his followers, on Pesach 5699, (1939).

    "My dear ones, I am calling to you and speaking to your souls. The Holy days of Pesach are approaching and the Holiness of these days infuse us thoroughly, inside and outside. Their light fills us and encompasses us.

    It is stated אור זרוע לצדיק ולישרי לב שמחה, 'light is sown for the righteous and there is joy for the upright of the heart׳s'.

Like a field needs plowing and hoeing and watering so do we need to prepare  ourselves before the Chag. Without preparation there can be no joy, no growth and no light. With all the preparations needed for the festival we must be careful not to divert our attention from ourselves and not to forget to draw down the Holiness of the season. The main aspect of the festival is to be joyful, to praise and glorify Hashem for all the miracles and all the goodness."

   In essence, the Rebbe is saying that the Yom Tov of Pesach is a time to rejoice over our tremendous good fortune and for the privilege we have to engage in the Avodah of the Seder. We need to reiterate to ourselves; "My joy is without bounds. I have been granted the opportunity to achieve my purpose  in the world and to be elevated to the upper spheres and to glorify His great name and to draw down the Holy splendor of Hashem's light into my soul and the souls of my family."

   To achieve this glorious feeling at our Seder we must focus on what  I consider, the most important directive as recorded in the Hagadah.

   בכל דור ודור חיב אדם לראות את עצמו כאלו הוא יצא ממצרים

"In every generation ,we are obligated to see ourselves as if we had personally come out of Egypt "

   The Rambam,on a play on words, says, not only לראות to see ourselves, but להראות, to present ourselves, which means to show others that we feel this way. 

    Since we must recite the Hagadah to others, as implied by the question and answer approach required at our Seder, it follows that the manner in which a person performs all the other Pesach practices must also  demonstrates to others his personal expierence of the Exodus.

  The Rav, Rabbi Soloveitchikזצ׳ל extends this idea and says that we must make our memories at the Seder come alive. As we celebrate and remember the past events of our history, we do something more profound than merely remembering , we reenact the past and recreate past events and by doing so, we enter into the expierence as if we are there. In this way, events of the past do not remain ancient history, for by recreating them we bring them to life.

    This is the beauty of the Yom Tov of Pesach. We, with our children, are becoming one with the past and the present, and consequently we will give the future an energizing force that will keep Judaism ablaze in our hearts, minds and actions.

   This idea is so important for me personally, for it becomes a reality to our family as we welcome a visit with our parents and grandparents by placing on our Seder table, our mother's candle sticks, our father's and grandfather's Matzoh covers, their Kosot and especially their Kos shel Eliyahu. They not only visit us, spiritually, on this special night, but they become part of our inner beings to be ever preserved, revered and truly remembered in a very real and positive way. 

     We then see the glory of Pesach  as the epitome of an observance where we turn the past into a living experience.

It is so magnificent to celebrate the past as if it is the present. In doing so, our history is alive and vibrant and it impacts upon us more greatly than we would ever imagine. 

  With our Seder observances we  begin to realize that our  past is vital, flowing into our future in a creative fashion that gives spiritual life to all the participants.

   This is what Judaism is all about. Judaic life, it's laws and minhagim are invigorating and life sustaining.

  Let us gather with our families with joy in our hearts and hope in our beings at our Seder and together recite , לפיכך אנחנו חיבים להודות ולהלל ולשבח we give thanks to the Almighty for all of our Blessings, and especially for the love of family and dear friends and together we will echo the wish, לשנה  הבאה בירושלים הבנויה.

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   Please permit me to share this insightful D'var Torah with you and  I hope that you will discuss it with your family.

    In our Hagadah, as an introduction to describing the four sons , it says; ברוך המקום ברוך הוא," Blessed is G-D , Hamakom, blessed is He".

  The question I pose, "Why is G-D referred to as Hamakom?"

    Chazal teaches us that one of Hashem's names is Hamakom.  This is based upon the idea that G-D is the מקום של עולם 'the place of the world.׳ This interpretation expresses the idea  that  G-D embraces the universe and that the universe is within G-D.

 The Rav, offers another insight into this idea. He said that Hashem is called"place" or "home" to emphasize a very important aspect of G-D'S involvement in our lives.

  The Rav said to be homeless does not mean that a person does not have a roof over his head.  Someone can have a strong roof and feel secure in his home, but can still remain exposed, insecure and vulnerable. The only home where man can find security is within G-D, which is why a person who is close to G-D and feels he is protected by His guiding hand, is a person who is truly "at home". This is the experience of knowing Hashem as   המקום.

This feeling of being at "home" is greatly felt as we sit together at our Seder with our family and friends.

We begin to understand why this night of all nights is referred to as  לל שמורים , a night of protection, of feeling secured with the knowledge that Hashem is with us.  To a certain extent the night of Pesach becomes as brilliant and aglow as if it was daytime.  

May we all embrace this glorious hour with greater love and fellowship that will extend itself for the entire year.

                                                חג שמח