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
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