The Month of our Redemption, New Beginnings -Part One
Part of an ongoing series entitled Hidden Sparks Beneath the Surface
By Betty Tabor Givin aka Elisheva Tavor
At every turn, life connects us to our Creator…often referred to as HaShem in Jewish circles. Anyone who has lived long enough will agree that life definitely has its ups and downs, its twists and turns, yet there is an opportunity to connect with our Creator at each and every turn…and if we follow the cycles of the seasons and the G-d given festivals as set up in Torah, we discover that a whole new avenue of connection opens up and we have the opportunity to begin to see things with fresh eyes…and what better time to embrace this concept, but in the springtime of the year!
The Joy of Spring and New Life
“For lo, the winter is past, the rain is over and gone, the flowers appear in the earth, and the time of singing is come, and the voice of the turtle is heard in our land.” (Shir ha Sharim/Songs of Songs 2:11-12)
Rabbi Sampson Raphael Hirsch refers to Israel as “the messenger of spring to man and to mankind… the messenger of a springtime which is to be newly discovered on earth by every person in every time and place.”
When springtime comes and we see the awakening of nature all around us, it heralds an internal wake-up call for us…for it is a time of new life and new birth, a time of new beginnings when all things become fresh and new…even amid these troubled times. This special time begins with the new moon… referred to as Rosh Chodesh in Hebrew. It falls in the month of Nisan on the traditional Jewish calendar. It is referred to as Aviv in the Torah (Exodus 13:4). On the Gregorian Calendar, it normally comes to us sometime in the month of March or April.
The Head of the Months, the First for You – A New Beginning! It was during this season of the year that HaShem spoke these words to His servant Moshe, “This month shall be for you the head of the months; it is the first for you of the months of the year” (Shemot, Exodus 12:2).
We ask the question…why? Why is this month so significant, and why did HaShem appoint it as the Head or the First of all the months? Surely this extraordinary statement indicates something very special, something we shall refer to as sparks…hidden sparks beneath the surface!
When HaShem says, this month is for you, it is as if to say, it is “your very own! “ We know from reading the account in Exodus that to these Hebrew slaves who basically owned nothing, that this month did indeed become their “very own”…for it was given to them to remember for years to come as the month of their redemption, the month in which YHVH, the Hebrew acronym for the One and Only G-d of Israel (referred to HaShem in Jewish circles), delivered them from their oppressors and brought them out of the land of Egypt, that narrow constrictive place called Mitzrayim in Hebrew. It was a new beginning! They were instructed to teach this story to their children (Exodus12:8), and to pass it down, dor v’ dor, from generation to generation, so that “you may remember the day of your departure from the land of Egypt all the days of your life” (Deuteronomy 16:3). HaShem wanted it to stay new and fresh in their minds. According to the sages in rabbinic literature each generation to come was to count it as if they too had come out of Egypt! It is included in the ‘Six Remembrances” prayed daily as part of the Morning Service in synagogues all over the world today.
And now the ancient story of this incredible redemption that has been told and retold throughout the centuries has reached us in our present-day sophisticated society!
What are we to make of it? For the Jew it is all carefully laid out, as we will examine further in a later section of this chapter, but for many others who are either just beginning to discover their Hebrew roots or those who simply have a yearning for Torah that they cannot explain, there are many questions that may arise. There is a great awakening going on in our world today…a sincere search for emet, or truth. Many of you have perhaps been raised in other faiths such as Christianity or even Muslim and find yourself questioning your belief systems…a practice which is usually frowned upon by the establishment. This is not at all the case in Judaism. In Judaism, questions are welcomed and even encouraged!
Each of us is on a different journey…yet as our paths begin to converge, we discover that there is a central connecting driving force behind our quest…and that is the undeniable factor that we are being drawn to HaShem, the One and Only G-d and Creator of the Universe…we want to know Him! For some of us it is a gradual drawing, for others it may we quite sudden…like a homing device deep within us that we cannot ignore!
The words of the Prophet Zechariah come to mind… “Thus says HaShem of Hosts, in those days it shall come to pass that ten men out of all the languages of the nations shall seize the skirt (tzit tzit) of him that is a Jew saying, we will go with you for we have heard that G-d is with you. (Zechariah 8:24).
And that is what is taking place today…people from all walks of life are waking up in mass across the globe just as prophesied in the Old Testament, referred to as the Tanakh in Jewish circles! Many of us have become a part of this phenomenal awakening and have attached ourselves (devekut, like glue) to HaShem, to His Torah and to the Jewish people. If you are reading this, perhaps you may be a part of this massive influx.
As HaShem’s words, “this month is for you” and His promise of deliverance resonates through the ages, we too can claim it for our very own for we each have our own Mitzrayim… our own bondage…the things which enslave us. This month and the Festival of Passover (Pesach in Hebrew), both challenge and empower us to break forth from those bonds for it offers not only redemption but also a new beginning!
Eliyahu Kitov, one of Israel’s most acclaimed Jewish authors who writes on the Chassidic movement and the Jewish way of life, cites that prior to the Exodus known as the “day of redemption” the people counted from the month of Tishrei, biblically the 7th month…which according to Jewish tradition, marked the creation of the world…but he states emphatically, “The day of redemption,” is greater than the day of birth”(The Book of Our Heritage II p.123).
The Significance of the First Day of the First Month in the Bible and in the Jewish Traditions
Jewish tradition teaches that all three Patriarchs, Avraham, Yitzchak, and Yaakov, died on this day, but not before they had fulfilled their life’s mission for HaShem and His people.
HaShem instructed Moshe to set up the Tabernacle in the wilderness with all its furnishings on the 1st day of the first month (Exodus 40:1).
11 Chronicles 25:1-5 records the account of King Hezekiah instructing the priests to cleanse and sanctify the sanctuary that had been desecrated, for it had been a dark time for the Jewish people and there was a huge need to make a fresh start. It is interesting that the text records the priests as having to first sanctify themselves… this is a good lesson for us today.
Going back to our text… “This month shall be for you the head of the months; it is the first for you of the months of the year. “(Exodus 12:2.) The Jewish sages point out what when we look at the Hebrew letters in the words for you (lachem), we discover that these are the same letters as those in the word, king (melech), which, indicate that we must honor this month, the month of Aviv/Nisan more than any other month for it is the King of all the other months…the Rosh…the Head.
The Significance of the Names and the Counting of the Months
Eliyah Kitov lists three names for this month. He makes some compelling comments which add additional significance to its meaning: (1) Hachodesh harishon -The Head of the Months, The First Month (Exodus 12:2) (2) Chodesh ha’Aviv -The Month of Spring which indicates new beginnings, new life. The Hebrew letters in Aviv mean “the head of twelve” the head of all the 12 months of the year. (3) Nisan– Babylonian origin yet it connects with the concept of spring for it bears resemblance to Hebrew word nitzan or bud, indicating new life or a new beginning! It is also connected to the Hebrew word nes, meaning miracle.
(4) It is noteworthy that the Hebrew letter nun at the end of Nisan adds to the connotation of the word in that it signifies that the events therein are ongoing (The Book of Our Heritage, Vol.1I, Adar Nisan p127).
Could we not then bring forth the notion that the miracle of the Exodus is ongoing and reaches forward into the future and has the potential of allowing us to tap into it today?!
Biblically speaking, all the months are counted from this month and named accordingly such as the first month, the second, and the third until we reach the last month, and then the cycle begins all over again. Counting in this manner calls to our memory this special First Month, “The Month of our Redemption” and enables us to remember the departure from Egypt “all the days of our lives,” as put forth in Deuteronomy 16:3.
It is interesting to note that in Judaism, this method of counting is also employed for the days of the week. Each day is counted from the Sabbath with Sunday being the 1st day from Sabbath, Monday the 2nd day from Sabbath, etc., until we reach yom ha shi shi, the 6th day…and then it is the 7th day, the Sabbath, and the cycle starts over again! (See Genesis 1:31).
So, as we bring the remembrance of the Sabbath continuously into our consciousness each day and each week, with each New Moon marking the beginning of each new month, we can bring the remembrance of the miraculous Redemption from Egypt back into our hearts and minds.
Redemption and the New Moon – Emerging from Darkness into Light
The word, redemption according to the Jewish sages only applies to one who emerges from darkness into light, for it is from the lowest depths…the deepest darkness that new life springs forth and offers a New Beginning, a new birth! Think of the tiny little seed and the hidden new life within it that begins to sprout, deep in the dark earth, and grow as it emerges from the soil and stretches forward towards the light.
With the appearance of the tiny sliver of the New Moon in the nighttime sky each month, comes the reminder that we too, like the moon, can experience new birth and arise from the darkness that surrounds us. Like “hidden sparks beneath the surface, “we can emerge from our own individual darkness!
Rabbi Jacobson, in his Meaningful Life Series, states in his article entitled, ‘The Mystery of the New Moon,’ makes a connection between the waxing and waning of the moon to the ups and downs of history as a whole and to life in general. During the time of the long Egyptian exile,” the moon,” he says, “was dark indeed. By commanding Moses to sanctify the new moon, G-d was in effect imparting to Moses the power of renewal: Just as the moon is reborn right after it disappears, so too will the Jewish people experience a renaissance following their darkest moments.” Herein lies a lesson for all of us, he concludes… “one that has been repeated over and over throughout the pages of history.
Eliyah Kitov offers some very poignant and inspiring words when he says… “As we read the story of the Exodus, the ‘book in which Israel goes from darkness of light’ – the story of process, the process of loss and renewal, of suffering and growth, the process of death and birth – we can gather in our own lives much fortitude from the events that took place 3329 years ago.” REF!!!
We can apply the well-known quote from the 18th century Danish philosopher Soren Kierkegaard here… “Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forward.” Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks of blessed memory often reiterated this concept in his lectures but added even more poignancy to its meaning when he added the G-dly aspect, stating that most often, we only see the “Divine Providence of HaShem as we look backwards, but we must live our lives forwards!”
As the time approaches for each new moon (and especially with the New Moon of the First Month), we can use this amazing opportunity to meditate upon all these things and take them to heart.
As we cast our gaze upwards into the darkness of the night sky and search for the tiny sliver of the light of the new moon, we can gather a tremendous amount of strength and courage that can carry us through any challenge, for we know that the answers are both out there and within us, even though, like the new moon, they may not yet be clearly visible. Like those “hidden sparks that lie just beneath the surface,” they are waiting to be discovered and revealed in each generation over and over again!
What is the Connection Between the Moon’s Renewal and the Egyptian Exodus?
The connection is of course Passover and the Festival of Unleavened Bread that follows! But to make it our own, and bring it down to a personal level, each of us must first take stock of where we are. As we celebrate Passover each season, we can look backwards not only to that first Passover over 3000 years ago and strive to put ourselves into the minds of those Hebrew slaves… but as we do, we must look within ourselves to discover our own Mitzrayim, the things in our lives that keep us in bondage, and then go forward as did the Children of Israel when they came out of Egypt.
They had only just begun their journey when they met their first obstacle. With their backs to the sea and the mighty army of Pharoah in close pursuit, it appeared as though they had met their demise…yet against all odds, the sea parted and a path through it revealed itself to them!
They were afforded a miracle by the Glorious Hand of HaShem, for He had a purpose for them to fulfill, just as He has a purpose for us today!
As a rule, that purpose is often initially hidden from us, but if we continue to persevere each day regardless of what we might be facing either personally or as a community, we often find that that purpose will be revealed in its time.
This month, as we have previously stated, has been designated by HaShem as a month of New Beginnings. With this concept in mind, let us go back and pick up at the beginning…to the time when HaShem first began creating our world…
Back to the Beginning
Going all the way back to the Creation, beyond the First Passover, we read in Genesis 1:14, “And G-d said, let there be lights in the firmament of heaven to divide the day from the night and let them be for signs and seasons and for days and years.” The Hebrew word used here for sign is “ot.” An ot is a stamp, a seal, a reminder to help us stay connected with our Creator. In His infinite wisdom HaShem knew that we would need numerous signs, otot… many reminders to enable us to remain close to Him. Through these signs, He continually calls us to Himself in covenant relationship. One such sign is the new moon that appears in the night sky at the beginning of each new month.
‘The Mo’edim, Mikra Kodesh’ – The Festivals, Holy Convocations
Not only does HaShem give us these otot, these signs; He also gives us special times that we are to meet with Him. We see that HaShem placed the lights in the firmament of heaven, not only for signs, but also for seasons. The Hebrew word used here for seasons is mo’edim or festivals. We read in Leviticus 23:2 that these festivals are designated as “Feasts of HaShem, Mikra Kodesh, Holy Convocations. HaShem refers to these festivals as “My feasts.” When we come together with kavanah, heart-felt intent, to celebrate His feasts at His appointed times, His mo’edim, we bring honor to Him, and He blesses us with His Divine Presence and draws us close to Him. In His infinite love He provides us with many opportunities to be drawn and re-drawn over and over again into holy relationship with Him.
The Sabbath was the first festival that HaShem made holy, kadosh. (Leviticus 23:1-3). The Feast or Festival of Passover (Pesach) in conjunction with the Festival of Unleavened Bread is the next. (Leviticus 23:4-5). In Exodus 12, we have the account of the very first Passover, a wonderful festival that we are to celebrate under the light of the full moon from year to year…and one which will be the subject of the next Hidden Sparks article!
Passover – Past Present and Future
There have certainly been lapses since that first Pesach as far as the Jewish people keeping the Passover Festival (See II Kings 23:21-23, II Chronicles 35:18), but yet the tradition continues today. Each year as Passover comes around to us again, we have a fresh opportunity to embrace it as it comes ‘round each year.
As we prepare our hearts and our homes for this ancient incredible Season of Pesach, may we keep in mind that it is a mo’ed, a Divine appointment, with our Creator set from the beginning of time.
What is the Message of Passover?
The Midrash, an ancient commentary on the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible) offers this interpretation of the Pesach offering, “Draw out and take for yourselves sheep for your families and kill the Pesach offering” (Exodus 12). In other words, withdraw your hands from idolatry, take for yourselves, sheep, slaughter the gods of the Egyptians and make a Pesach offering (Yalkut Bo 206).
Idolatry can take many forms, but the bottom line is that it keeps us in bondage.
The message of Passover or Pesach is freedom, redemption, new birth, new life, moving from darkness into light…but not without a price. Our ancestors of old paid the price, first when Pharoah enslaved them in Egypt …and many times thereafter throughout history. The enslavement continues to this day, both for the Jewish people and those that have attached themselves to them in their love for HaShem, the One G-d and Creator, and His Torah.
Many of us have spent our lives with false beliefs and fears which have in the past entrapped us, strangled, and entangled us. Then we found Torah, Baruch HaShem, and we were set free! Yet the struggle continues for oftentimes we have carryovers that unconsciously seep into our newfound Torah faith.
Pesach, the Festival of our Freedom, sends us a message to wake up, to remember…to remember our affliction, and to go forward and be free…the promise of freedom is right at our doorstep, but it is up to us to release ourselves, but how? We must with bitachon (trust) take the plunge like the Children of Israel did…take the plunge into the sea and follow the path through it…not around it!
Mitzrayim – Breaking Out – The Big Challenge!
Rabbi Donnel Katz teaches that we are currently in exile, and when in exile, he explains, we are not totally conscious… it is as if we are on auto pilot. Being in exile, he says, is living consumed by fears and false pretenses. When in this state, we may not even be aware of our condition. The Hebrew word for Egypt is Mitzrayim, which as we have pointed out, means a narrow, constricted place. It is spelled with a double mem, a letter which in the beginning of the word is slightly open, but at the end of the word it is completely closed, suggesting that once we are in this place, we may feel as though there is no way out!
This must have been the mindset of the Children of Israel when in desperation, they cried out to HaShem and He, in His mercy, answered their plea (Exodus 2:23-24).
This is the challenge for us today…we too need to break out of the mindset that keeps us in bondage and cry out to our Creator as our ancestors did.
The Torah states that that HaShem brought them out to bring them in…not only out of exile and into the Land, but also to bring them into connection and relationship with Him because His ultimate purpose was and continues to be, to “shechan” … to dwell within His people…in their midst. In Exodus 25:8, we read, “And let them make Me a sanctuary, that I may dwell among them.”
This sanctuary is one that goes beyond a physical building for it is to be a sanctuary that is built within the heart…a sacred place for HaShem to dwell.
We each have a purpose, but in the day to day living of our lives, we often forget who we are, and lose focus of what is most important…and that is our individual relationship with our G-d. We need a wakeup call and sometimes this call only comes with a jolt…when we reach rock bottom…when it feels as if everything is crashing down on us.
It may feel like we have hit a wall…it may not be a wall of water that faced the Children of Israel, but it appears to be an impenetrable wall nonetheless…a wall that may have arisen due to circumstances beyond our control, or a wall that has been of our own making.
Surprisingly, this juncture in our lives may prove to be the first step in waking us up out of our auto pilot state of mind.
My personal belief is that this step is one that is essential to our growth for it gives us the opportunity to discover more of those hidden sparks beneath the surface…
those sparks within life itself that emerge from all of creation, including every single person on this planet, those sparks deep within each of our hearts that have become dormant and need to be reignited, those sparks that connect us to our Creator… those life-giving sparks that we are given the opportunity to discover over and over again in our journey if we but open our hearts and our eyes to see.
This process of discovery is unique and manifests itself differently in each of us. Yet what we must remember is that we each have a destiny, a Divine purpose given by our Creator into which we can tap.
The call of HaShem through His prophets down through the ages has been, “Return to me and I will return to you” (Zechariah 1:3, Malachi 3:7).We can easily become consumed in our issues of daily living and allow ourselves to become lost in our comfort zones, controlled by negative thought patterns and habits that have become second nature… habits that entrap us and inhibit our growth, and cause us to lose our way, to forget who we are and who we were created to become. Like little bits of leaven, they collect in the cracks and crevices of our hearts and need to be uncovered and removed.
Cleaning out the Leven-Chametz
Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread gives us the opportunity to meditate on these things and regain our focus. HaShem has given us this mo’ed, this Divine appointment not only to meet with Him, but also to enrich our lives and give us hope by bringing to our remembrance the ancient message of redemption and deliverance. This message has come down to us today through the traditions and stories of generations past, but it requires preparation on each of our parts in order that we may embrace and experience it… preparation that is both physical and spiritual.
When the time came for the Children of Israel to leave Egypt, we are told that they had to leave in haste…subsequently there was no time for their bread to rise. Prior to their departure, they were given explicit instructions. One instruction was that they were to clear away all the leaven from their homes … another that they were to eat only unleavened bread from the evening of the 14th day of the First Month until the evening of the 21st day…a full seven days (Exodus 12:15-20).
All over the world today, we find the Jewish people and those who have attached themselves to HaShem and Torah cleaning their houses to one degree or another, in an attempt to search for and rid their houses of any bits of leaven (Hebrew chametz) hiding here, there, and everywhere, so as to honor this Torah injunction and to prepare themselves for the yearly anniversary celebration of redemption.
Chametz, explain the rabbis, represents the swelling of ego, and corresponds spiritually to corruption or to anything that enslaves us. The Chasidic masters teach that as we search for the physical leaven in our houses, we do an innermost search into our hearts and souls as well in order to rid ourselves of anything that holds us in bondage and causes a separation between ourselves and our Creator.
Passover – A Night of Watching
Whether we will be doing a traditional Passover Seder or simply reading and discussing the text from the Book of Exodus over a meal with friends or family…or even alone…it is important to keep in mind that, according to Jewish tradition, there is a designated order and a purpose for ordaining this festival to be observed in every generation, ‘dor v’dor,’ for all time.
In Exodus 12:24-42, we read that it was to be a memorial and a night of watching, a night to commemorate HaShem’s passing over the houses of His children who followed His commandment to place the slain lamb’s blood on their doorposts, thus sparing their firstborn sons from death. The literal meaning of the Hebrew, passing over actually means skipping or jumping over.
There is a lesson for all of us in this and that is that we must acquire the art of skipping, leaping, jumping over all the obstacles which are confronting us…we must take the giant leap of emunah/faith, and move forwards towards our goal. And with this giant leap of faith, we must endeavor to skip over negativity…first in ourselves and then in others. In practicing this mitzvah/good deed, we are better able to temper our judgmental tendencies towards ourselves and others which drag us down. When we skip over negativity, we become better equipped to emulate HaShem in His chesed/lovingkindness and to show compassion to our fellow.
The Passover Seder, the Order, the Haggadah and More
When you ask an Israeli how they are, many will reply, “B’seder!” We usually take that to mean they are okay, but it means much more! The literal meaning of “B’seder” is that everything is happening according to an order, like the Seder…according to a purpose!
A guidebook called a Haggadah is used in a traditional Passover seder. One rendering of the meaning of Haggadah is “telling.” Taken directly from the Torah. it comes from the word, vehigaadota…” And you shall tell your son on that day (the eve of Pesach), It is because of what HaShem did for me when I went free from Egypt” (Exodus 13:8).
The Talmud takes this concept a bit further when it states, “In every generation, a person is obligated to view themselves as if they personally left Egypt” (Pesachem 116B). In the Haggadah, we read, “And even if we were all wise, all men of understanding, all knowledgeable of the Torah, it would be incumbent upon us to speak of the Exodus from Egypt.”
In fact, within the word Pesach itself, we find a direct connection to this “telling,” which is one of the major components of the festival. Peh = mouth and sach = speak. So, Pesach means “to speak with the mouth.” And is not that the command of HaShem to His children that has been passed down from generation to generation…dor v’dor?
Again and again, the story is told by the parents to their children and by their children to their children’s children down through the ages. Despite the lapses of the Pesach observance and the countless attempts to destroy the Jewish people by her enemies, the spark within this people has not been extinguished…. like the moon, it waxes and wanes…but its light continues to shine in the darkness!
We know that HaShem chose Abraham because he knew that he would teach his children (Genesis 18:19). This appears to be one of the keys that the Creator has used to ensure the survival of His chosen people. We see evidence of this years later in the story of the Exodus and HaShem’s admonition to the fathers to teach their children when they inquire about the meaning of the Pesach celebration (Exodus 12:26-27).
The Haggadah is an excellent example of how this telling is carried out because it directly involves the children by asking them for their participation as it tells the whole story of the journey from slavery and bondage to freedom and redemption. The late Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks of blessed memory teaches that it is these stories that have kept Judaism alive through the centuries.
The Chassidic Masters give us another meaning of the Hebrew term, Haggadah, which also ties into the secret to Jewish survival…and that is to “draw down!” As we participate in going through the Passover Seder each year, we are “drawing down” its order. But the challenge here is not only to draw down, but to kabbalah, to receive… to internalize it, to take it all in and to incorporate its lessons into our lives…beyond the Seder!
The Symbolism in the Seder
In creating mankind, HaShem in His amazing wisdom gifted us with five senses…the sense of sight, taste, touch, smell, and hearing. As a former teacher of young children for many years, I have found that the more we can allow the student to utilize all five of these senses in the learning process, the more readily the learner can grasp and internalize the concept we are undertaking to teach. This is active rather than passive learning. It has been my experience that this method holds true in teaching adults as well as children.
Perhaps this is why the Jewish sages designed the Pesach Seder in the manner that they did, for all five of the senses are involved!
The traditional Jewish Seder begins and ends with wine which is symbolic of joy…from the Kiddush, the 1st of 4 cups of wine, to the Hallel/the Psalms of praise, and the 4th cup, the joy is overflowing… yet in between, our joy is mixed with hints of bitterness. As we partake of the matzah/ the unleavened bread, we symbolically go from the bread of affliction or slavery to the bread of hope and freedom. This journey is the quintessential message of the Passover celebration.
There are 15 steps to the Seder, steps which the rabbis teach, correspond to the 15 steps of ascension going up to the temple…the 15 steps of holiness.
There are many symbols, but to keep it simple, we will just review a few of them here.
One of the major symbols of the Seder is the matzah which, like wine, is used intermittently throughout the ceremony. Matzah is a baked cracker-like wafer made only of flour and water, with no leaven to make it rise or have the appearance of being puffed up. It not only represents our quick departure from Egypt, but also represents the dryness of the desert. It, like us, symbolically changes during the Seder… from the bread of affliction and slavery to the bread of hope and freedom.
The bitter herbs or maror (usually horseradish and bitter romaine lettuce) are symbolic of the bitterness of slavery in Egypt.
The charoset (a chunky mixture of chopped nuts, apples, honey, sweet wine and sometimes a touch of cinnamon) is symbolic of the mortar in the brick building process of slave labor but is also symbolic of the sweetness of redemption.
Sometimes our days may seem like matzah days…when we go from being or feeling afflicted to overcoming that affliction and through faith, feeling full of hope… while other days may seem to be completely bitter days with no hope, like the maror…and still others a mixture…like the charoset.
All this symbolism has been intricately and purposely designed to encourage us to take a deep look inward which enables us to take an honest evaluation of where we are in our relationship to HaShem, our Creator… and with His help, move forward with the courage, faith, and strength to face and work through our challenges and the many issues in our lives that keep us in bondage. In so doing we can elevate ourselves to a higher level of living…a level of G-d Consciousness.
Laila Seder – the Night of the Seder and Beyond
For those who choose to participate in the traditional Passover Seder, I would suggest at least a cursory review of all fifteen steps of the Haggadah before participating in the seder, for each one carries with it deep symbolism and is integral to the whole.
Rebbe Nachman of blessed memory goes a step further. He suggests that one should choose the step that seems most to resonate within, and to focus upon it. On a personal note, this was difficult for me, but the one that stood out the clearest was and still is, the one called “Korech,” known as the Hillel Sandwich.
Very simply, we make a sandwich and eat it…but it is a sandwich like no other. It is a physical act but carries with it a very deep spiritual and practical meaning. It represents, what I believe to be, the key to living a productive life.
We take a piece of matzah, put a small portion of maror/horseradish on one end and a larger portion of charoset/ the apple, nut honey mixture on the other end, and place a piece of matzah on the top.
We say a blessing and then we take a small bite…horseradish end first. Depending on the potency of the horseradish, we will feel a burning sensation in our mouth and nose to the point that momentarily, it can seem difficult to breathe…be careful not to overdue this part!
The key is to keep eating. DO NOT STOP, no matter how much it hurts…because the next bite is the charoset, the sweet mixture…and it is the antidote! The burning is then alleviated as our taste buds take in the sweetness.
So, it is with our lives…often we use the term, ‘bitter-sweet.’ Both the bitter and the sweet are a part of life.
Menachem Freedman sums it up by saying, “The ‘free’ person is one who is not enslaved by life’s difficult challenges, but rather grows from them. The bitter experiences of life, when approached with faith and courage, can bring out the greatest potential of the human being” (from ‘Understanding the Sandwich’ chabad.org).
One thing we know for certain is that HaShem, our G-d and Creator, is always with us and will see us through…even in the most painful darkest of moments, for it is in those darkest moments that He is preparing the light that will break through in our lives!
In the beginning when HaShem first began creating the world, we are told there was darkness and chaos (hamas)…then He flooded it with light and beauty and purpose and an order! This is the key…the journey from darkness into light…it is our journey.
And the preparing of a simple sandwich in the Passover Seder where we force ourselves to push through the bitterness of the horseradish into the sweetness of the charoset can prove to be an unforgettable and powerful real-life lesson that we can carry with us beyond the seder… for it can remind us how we need to push through the tough times.
Bringing it Home – The Afikomen Connection
Prior to the beginning of the seder, three pieces of matzah are placed on a plate at the table. At one point, the leader breaks the middle piece in half, replaces the smaller one back in the stack and hides the larger piece for the children to find at the end of the seder. Sometimes, a prize is given to the child who finds it. According to the Babylonian Talmud, this larger piece is referred to as the afikomen, a term derived from the Greek, meaning dessert, and is the last thing eaten at a meal (Talmud Pesachim 109 a).
There is a teaching regarding the tradition of hiding the larger piece of the matzah, the afikomen, which states that it is a reminder that the Great Redemption is yet to come … it is still hidden but will be revealed in the future (Haggadah of the Sefat Emet). This theme is also referenced in the Book of Jeremiah the Prophet!
“Therefore, behold the days are coming says HaShem that it shall no more be said: ‘As HaShem lives, that brought up the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt, ‘but: ‘As HaShem lives, that brought up the children of Israel from the land of the north, and from all the countries whither He had driven them’; and I will bring them back into their land that I gave unto their fathers” (Jeremiah 16:14).
There is an additional possible connection to this great future redemption which has seemingly been overlooked. It corresponds perfectly to the ceremonial breaking, hiding, and finally the redeeming of the afikomen in the traditional Jewish seder.
For just as the whole piece of matzah is broken into two parts in this step of the seder, the once united people under King David and his son Solomon, split into two separate kingdoms, the Kingdom of Judah to the south and the Kingdom of Israel to the north (I Kings 12-16, and II Chronicles 10).
The Southern Kingdom of Judah, the smaller of the two entities, has remained relatively intact, much like the smaller piece of the matzah that remained on the seder table. They have maintained their identity as a people for the most part, while the Kingdom of Israel to the North, much like the larger of the two pieces, was dispersed and hidden among the nations.
Having lost their identity as a people, they have become known as the “Lost Tribes,” but this is a misnomer because they are not actually “lost.” HaShem says that they have been “sifted through the nations,” but that not a grain has fallen to the ground or been lost (Amos 9:9). They have simply been hidden and can perhaps be symbolically represented by the larger piece of matzah, the afikomen in the seder. The good news is that like the afikomen, they will be found!
There is a stirring traversing our world today…a stirring to rediscover the ancient paths, to learn more about HaShem, His Torah His Festivals…such as Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread. Could some of these people that are coming out from the nations be part of the so-called lost tribes of Israel, and be unaware of their lineage? Perhaps so, but there has been so much mixing amongst these from the nations, that it is difficult if not impossible to determine. Yet does it really matter?
The bottom line is the call of the heart. HaShem promises, “You shall seek Me and find Me when you shall search for Me with all your heart” (Jeremiah 29:13). This is addressed to all peoples, not just the Jewish people.
If you are reading this book today and are experiencing an inexplicable drawing in your heart, perhaps this call of HaShem to seek Him and His Torah more deeply is resonating within your soul.
We know from multiple prophecies in the Tanach that the whole house of Israel, including those of Judah, in addition to those who have attached themselves to them will be restored at the Final Great Redemption! (See the prophecy of the Two Sticks in Ezekiel 37:15 ff).
The message of Passover is clear…its message of redemption and deliverance that calls out through the ages comes full circle to us each year. May we open wide our eyes, hearts, and minds and let its message penetrate deeply into our innermost being… for as we do, we open ourselves up to discover even more of those Hidden Sparks Beneath the Surface, those sparks of chochma, binah and da’at (wisdom, insight, and knowledge) that are all around us, just ready for us to embrace…those sparks of hope and renewal that have the innate power to propel us forward as we look forward to the coming Great Redemption!
La Shanah haba’a b’ Yerushalayim!!!!
Next Year in Jerusalem
