OUR COMPLETE REDEMPTION

 The most magnificent and beautiful experience of Pesach, for me, is to sit at our Seder Tablewith our family, with our children and grandchildren, as we read and study the Hagadah and sing the songs, using the same tunes, like our parents and grandparents did years ago. At that moment, as teary eyed as I get, I realize what this Yom Tov is really all about- it is the valued time when all generations are united into one - when the past is fused gloriously with the present but more so realizing that our Mesorah is not a relic of the past but, is in reality, the powerhouse and the energizer of the present. I am in touch with my parents as I cover my Matzohs with their covers and hold the Bechers in my hand and feel their spiritual energizing power going through my very being and try to convey that feeling to our children and to our grandchildren. At that moment beaming with pride at our family at our side, something which I will never take for granted, I realize that before me sit young people who live in two worlds without compromising their dedication and commitment to Yiddishkeit  toTorah and to our Inspirational Mesorah.

   I shared with them one of my favorite stories about the Blushiver Rebbe.  The Rebbe was incarcerated in a concentration camp and a young man became attached to him in a very warm way. One night they were dragged out of their bunks, emaciated as they were, cold and frightened, and were brought to a trench and were instructed to jump over the ditch.  If they could not succeed they would die in the pit. The young man standing next to the Rebbe, said, “I can’t make it.  Please let me die in peace.” The Rebbe said, “We need to try.” After a minute or two they both landed on the other side of the pit, successfully. The young man asked the aged Rebbe, “How he did you do it?” The Rebbe answered, “I held on to the coattails of my father and my grandfather and they pulled me to safety.” The Rebbe, then, asked the young man, “How did you make it?”  The young man answered, “I held onto your coattails.”

   This is what Pesach and Yiddishkeit are all about.  It is holding onto the coattails of our past generations who help us, always, to weather the storms of life and savor the precious moments that we experience and to bring our Seder of Life full circle while basking in the sunshine of humanity and a Torah way of Life.

   As the participants at the Seder delivered their Divrey Hagadah, a most important message was shared; This night is all about G-D, Who Was, Who Is and Who Will Always, Be Our Deliverer, Our Goel, and on this night we are to reiterate this point, לא על ידי מלאך ולא על ידי שרף ולא על ידי שליח אלא הקדוש ברוך הוא בכבודו ובעצמו. It is, for this reason that even thoughMoshe played an important role in the redemption process, this night does not belong to him.  It is, as the Rav suggests, “A night, of great romance between the Almighty and the Jewish People. It is a night when we sing with pride and joy. אני לדודי ודודי לי, I am my beloved and my beloved is mine.”

   The most cogent part of our relationship with Hashem is best expressed with the words of the Rav.

   The Rav reiterated, “One of the names that the Torah uses for G-D, is Shaddai. It is the name of G-D that is written on the parchment of a Mezuzah. Hashem also identifies himself with this name when he speaks to Moshe. What is the meaning of this name of G-D?”

   Rabbi Soloveitchik cites the Midrash which teaches, “ Hashem in the act of creation issues the following order to the world. Dai, enough! In the word Shaddai, Dai is the root of G-D’s name. In the act of creation, G-D, so to speak limits His creation.” The Rav goes on to explain, “That Hashem is saying, in essence, “In my act of creation, I have not completed things fully”.

   At the conclusion of the first week of creation, on Friday afternoon, as Shabbat was entering at sunset, the world was left unfinished. This was done intentionally. This unfinished part of creation is left for man to complete. Man becomes a Partner in Creation.

   The Rav explained,  “The imperative that G-D issued to Avraham in the following way. “I am the Lord, Shaddai, walk before me and be whole wholehearted”. This statement is to be translated, not to be wholehearted, rather “To make Whole”. In other words, G-D charged Avraham with the mission of perfecting and fixing the world.

  This is truly a most enlightening idea that seems to come to the fore on this special night of ליל שמורים, a night when we experience G-D’s infinite protection. It is the eternal mission of the Jewish People. The message and the mission are clear - we are entrusted by Hashem to bring about the Tikkun Olam, To Fix and to Heal a Fractured World.

   There is no greater need, at this time, to join with Hashem to make this a better world.  There is no better way than to start by making man a better person, with greater feelings towards his fellowman, and to return to the beginning of the Seder and to reiterate and to feel those magnificent words of כל דכפין וכל דצריך, words that project acts of kindness, of understanding, of empathy, of a life lived by Chesed and concern for others.

   With these ideas in mind we will be able to, once again, lift our cup of wine and recite that glorious Bracha as we did at the Seder, כן הי אלוקינו יגיענו למועדים ולרגלים אחרים הבאים לקראתנו לשלום שמחים בבנין עירך וששים בעבודתך, ונודה לך שיר חדש על גאולתנו ועל פדות נפשנו. ברוך אתה הי גאל ישראל. 

   These lessons of Pesach need to become our mantra for the future survival of עםישראל, ארץ ישראל and for the survival of Humanity. 

This, I believe, was the greater purpose of our Redemption from Egypt and will be our guarantee for our future and Complete Redemption, which will give us the Zechut to see the ביאת גואל צדק בימנו  

A SEDER FOR GENERATIONS

אז מען וויסט פון וואנען מען קומט, וויסט מען צו וואנען מאר דארף גיין.

If one knows from whence he comes, he will know his life’s destination.

    

   This short but emphatic statement aptly and profoundly describes, in a most meaningful way, the essence of this glorious Yom Tov of Pesach.  As the Hagadah states,” חייב אדם לראות את עצמו כאילו הוא יצא ממצרים, We are to appear as if we ourselves left Egypt. It’s not enough to retell the story of the Exodusfrom Egypt, it is important to actually reenact that great historical moment, in a very personal way.  When doing so, we become more empathetic with our feelings and the needs of others and our indifference to the plight of others will dissipate and the rally call for help will be responded to in a very positive way.

   In a similar light, these are times that we must equally tune in to the needs of the plight of Jewry, especially to the rampant feeling of Anti Semitism and anti Israel bias being spread though out our country. 

   It at this time of the year that I recall the words of the Hagadah, והיא שעמדהלאבותינו ולנו,  “In every generation they rise up against us”. 

  Things have not changed much from biblical times, and we begin to realize that there are people in every generation that wishe to destroy the Jewish People. 

   The Rav reflecting on this statement in the Hagadah, “Often there is a tendency to see events described in the Hagadah as remote and distant from our current lives. It is then that we read the והיא שעמדה, that drives home the relevance of the Pesach story for all of us today.” 

   It is at this point of the Seder that we move from the historical events to a better understanding of the dangers that we face as a Nation today and we lift our cup of wine. Why this act at this moment?

   The answer suggests that a cup of wine is symbolic of Jewish destiny and eternity. We call this Netzach Yisrael, as indicated in the verse from Psalms, “The cup of salvation I shall raise and call on the Almighty’s name”. 

   At the Seder we speak of the relevance of the events in our history and the cycle of danger and redemption that is so characteristic of Jewish History. The enduring existence of the Jewish People against overwhelming odds is testimony to the fact “redemption from Egypt” also, takes place in the present and not only in the distant past. It is fitting that before we begin reciting and commenting on the Passover story, we introduce this section by stating our intent to translate the past into the present and identify memory with reality. 

    As we focus on this part of the Hagadah, let us focus, even more, on another part of the Seder when we recite לפיכך אנחנו חיבים להודות להלל לשבח לפאר לרומם להדר לברך ולקלס למי שעשה לאבותינו ולנו את כל הניסים האלה. ונאמר לפניו שירה חדשה                                        .....  

  We move from the blight of history to the glory of the saving power of modern day history when G-D, who miraculously brought us to this day.  We remain confident that He will always be present to bring about a glorious future for עםישראל and ארץ ישראל. 

   With this idea in mind we progress to the end of the Seder and conclude with Nirtzah that means acceptable and pleasing. We are asking Hashem that our recitation of the Hagadah and performance of the Seder rituals be acceptable and pleasing to G-D. As we conclude the Seder and sing לשנה הבא בירושלים , our souls are stirred with a feeling of longing for ציון, and our hopeful vision of celebrating the Yom Tov of Pesach, in all its splendor once again in our Holy City of ירושלים, with the rebuilding of our  Bes Hamikdash. 

    We conclude our Seder with joy and jubilation, with the final magnificent words of the song אדיר הוא, as our inspiration for our future. 

        קדוש הוא רחום הוא שקי הוא תקיף הוא  יבנה ביתו בקרוב

                 

                                 

   

MODEL SEDER

As we prepare for the Yom Tov of Pesachmany of us experience a great sense of anxiety.  This is a Yom Tov that makes great demands upon us. Who can deny that the changes over our entire household - the shopping and the cleaning and the cooking take a great toll on our lives?

    I was giving a class on Pesach preparations and a young lady asked, “Do you really think that this anxiety is what Judaism wants for us?” My immediate answer was, “No, we are bringing this anxiety on ourselves.” I reminded the class of a very important idea; “We need to focus on the outcome. It serves no purpose to expend our energy about the things we haven’t done and the goals we haven’t achieved. Focus our thoughts on the outcomes we do want and watch them become our reality. Focus our attention on our intention.”

   This is the philosophy to live by, if we are to rise to the occasions presented to us in our daily lives. 

  What should we really focus on as we prepare for the Seder and celebrate the Yom Tov of our Geulah?

   For me, the paradigmatic Mitzvah of this glorious night is expressed in the Pasuk, והגדת לבנך ביום ההוא לאמר, suggesting that the most important directive of Judaism is to maintain our Mesorah by involving our children in the education process of Torah that will assure that our future will be continuous throughout future generations. This is the essence of the Seder and it is the reason that the entire Seder centers on our children which is indicated by our analyzing the ארבע בניםthe four different sons, teaching us that inJudaic education it is important חנוך נער על פי דרכו, every child is to be reckoned with according to his/her ability and welcomed into our Mesorah.

   The essence of והגדת לבנך  is to enable a child to develop in his/her own way and to utilize their energy and wherewithal to grow on their own, realizing the advantage for living a Torah oriented life. This realization comes with maturity and the adult population must act with our youth with patience and with love and with understanding. 

   Our greatest dilemma still remains.  We are concerned about so many of our youth who do not attend a Seder.  We must reach out to them so that they will accept our Seder of Life.  

   I have always found that the best educational method is to show our children the דרך האמת ודרך האמונה, by example which will inspire them and encourage them to live a Torah way of Life.

   We read in the Hagadah, צא ולמד, “Go out and learn,” that we are to” move out of ourselves. When doing so one can learn much better and teach others more successfully.

   Too often we are involved with the selfwhich can be a deterrent in our educational process. 

   The beauty of all this, is the extraordinary fact that we have different children sitting at the Seder table, with different ideas and different points of view. But the magnificence is that they all are sitting at the same table sharing the exact Mesorah that has come to us from time immemorial. This is our Blessing, and one that we should never take for granted.

This is what the Seder is all about. A table full of memories, reenacting history for all to learn and for all to be hopeful of the vibrant future that is in store for Judaism. It is a propitious time to come together, achieving the goal of family unity and bringing harmony to our families and to K’lal Yisrael. With these accomplishments and with those present at the Seder, we can act with confidence that when we open the door for Eliyahu, he will finally enter our home bringing about the גאולה שלמה.