JEWISH DESTINY

   Chol  Hamoed gives us an opportunity to reflect on the very special experience of our Seder which we celebrate with our families and friends recounting our historical and influential Jewish History. 
   While sitting with my family, one word came to mind describing my feelings “Destiny”.  Jewish history is magnetized towards a glorious destiny with a great desire to fulfill our existential goal to forge ahead in our Jewish life towards the fulfillment of our ordained destiny. 
   Too often we are caught in the quagmire of history and fail to see and live up to our destiny that has been set forth for us by G-D in our Torah. 
The question I pose, “What is our Jewish Destiny?” 
   With this in mind, let us reflect on our Seder and the prescribed order that we follow. It all began with Kadesh - a realization that the true fulfillment of our destiny must begin with Kadesh, a sanctification of our lives which can only come about with living a life of Torah, based upon a life replete with outstanding morality and ethics. To achieve this important goal we will need, immediately, after Kadesh, the act of Rachsah, of not only a washing away some impurities in a physical sense but more so a washing away all of our spiritual morass to begin to travel towards the goal of our destiny. 
Rachsah leads us to the act of Yachatz, when we take the middle Matzoh and break it in half and reserve one half to be eaten as the Afikomen at the end of the Seder. The symbolism that is present when we break the Matzoh in half is intended for us to reflect upon the fact that to our great dismay there is a "brokenness", within many  Jewish Families  that needs to be mended if we are to reach our true Jewish Destiny.  I sense we are witnessing a disruption in our Jewish unity, one that is bringing about excessive assimilation resulting in many of our young people leaving our fold and traveling on foreign spiritual roads, in doing so they are destroying the fabric of Judaism, of a Torah way of life, and especially losing their faith in feelings and passion for our glorious State of Israel. 
   This pessimistic feeling that I have is immediately replaced, like a bolt of lightning, as I realize that the other half of this broken Matzoh is being reserved for the Afikomen, which symbolizes to me an optimistic feeling of a Yeshuah, that will once again dawn a brilliant and illuminating future for Am Yisrael, mending this brokenness to become whole again. 
   This is our road to destiny, a road that begins with the counting of Sefirah, leading us on the journey to Sinai, a journey back to the truism of Yiddishkeit , a journey that will lead us to our destiny of life, to our redemptive Jewish Destiny. 
   All this begins now. We all must take the initiative, in a positive way, to help fulfill our destiny.  It is in our hands to make this goal a reality.  When this will be accomplished we will be able to sing a Shirah Chadasha that will herald our true rendezvous with Hashem, bringing about the true Geulah S’hlaymah. 
   As Chazal said   בניסן נגאלו ובניסן עתידין להיגאל,that  this is the most propitious time for our redemption and we are enjoined to muster all our Spiritual strength to bring about the true גאולה שלמה, for the Jewish People. 
חג שמח שבת שלום