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We are going to celebrate a very special Pesach
this year- a Pesach where we can truly ask, even if we must ask ourselves, “Why
is this [Seder] night different from all other [Seder] nights? All the social
distancing, with its restrictions, makes us feel like we are once again slaves
in Mitzrayim (from Hebrew: constriction). Just as it was in Egypt, now, the restrictions
are getting harder and harder. First, we were restricted to praying only in a
congregation with less than 100 people, then, only with less than 10 people,
then no gathering of even a small group inside. It was only permitted to pray
in a minyan 2 meters apart outside, and now according to the latest
restrictions, everyone must pray at home. Echoing Yishai Ribo’s heartfelt song,
asking Hashem, “What do you want us to learn from this? How will we know how to
unify in this separation?” It seems to me that Hashem wants to strengthen us,
to get ready for something very big. The first step of the spiritual
preparation – for the awaited paradigm shift – is to learn to reconnect with
our personal, essential selves, in order to free our souls from bondage and
dependence on others, including various forms of co-dependence. When we are
busy participating in diverse social settings, we may not be aware of how much
we lean on other people, rather than tuning into our independent strength,
leaning only on Hashem. Now, alone with our selves, it is time to shed the
layers of the superficial image we project into the world, while returning to
our essential selves – our soul inherently connected with the Divine. Whereas,
Yishai Ribo captures the feelings of the world – of not wanting to be alone –
and asking what Hashem wants from us, I will venture to answer that ‘being
alone’ is exactly what Hashem wants from us, at least for the time being. It
seems clear that Hashem has removed all exits and outlets, so that we can no
longer run away from our selves. Hashem wants us to peel away all our exterior
layers, so that each of us can be לְבַד עִם עַצְמִי/le’vad
im atzmi – ‘Alone with myself and my essence’ (in Hebrew the word עַצְמִי/atzmi means both).
Eating Matzah,
Returning to Our Essence and Gaining Freedom from Excess
The message of returning to
our essence is the message of the matzah. Why is the matzah calledלֶחֶם עֹנִי /lechem
oni (the bread of poverty)? Matzah is called lechem oni because it
consists of only the bare essentials of flour and water. This contrasts with matzah
ashira (rich matzah) which contains eggs and honey that enriches the bread.
The poor person has no money, only himself and his body. Likewise, matzah has
only the essential dough. It also doesn’t have any yeast or leaven agent, so
that the taste of the yeast won’t change and add to the essence of the dough.
Although, the usual outlook of the worldis that money provides freedom, actually,
matzah is the bread of freedom and redemption, because true “freedom is just
another word for nothing left to lose.” Maharal explains that redemption can
only come, when each of us becomes totally our self, without being dependent on
anyone/thing else. The economic crisis happening today is making us remove all
the excess materialism and return to appreciate fulfilling only our essential
needs. Unlike the slave who cannot stand on his own but is dependent on his
master, wealth and materialism cannot stand on its own, because it is dependent
on its possessions. When the stores are closed, and even online shopping is
limited, we gain independence from materialism since we can only buy our vital
food and medicine. Poverty without possessions is essential for redemption,
because it stands on its own. Therefore, we were commanded to eat the bread of
poverty at the night of the Exodus, since the matzah has nothing but the
essence of bread. Although simplicity is considered a lack in this compound
world, it is a virtue from the perspective of the World of Simplicity – the
World of Truth towards which we are currently transitioning. On the night of
Pesach, we eat the simple matzah because we are redeemed from this compound
world, in order to enter the upper world, which is simple (Maharal, Gevurat
Hashem Chapter 51).
Your Deeds in
This World are What You Will have in the Eternal World
My friend, Chava Berg, had a
profound insight on our current situation, when we are unable to buy new things
because the stores are closed, and it’s even impossible to order online from
abroad, since the few planes that still fly only carry vitally important cargo.
Having to make do with what we have, without any possibility to exchange what
we’ve already got and what we don’t like, is a parable for the World-to -Come.
In Olam Haba (the coming world), we will find ourselves in the same
situation: what we come with is what we have. There will be no opportunity for
getting more, no getting what we forgot, no exchanging what we don’t like. Our
actions, words and thoughts, that we brought along from our lives in this
world, will be all that we have forever. Hashem, in His endless kindness, is
giving us our present situation of material scarcity as a stark, very powerful
reminder of what will be. Just like it’s no use regretting that we did not buy
something, or did not go to somebody’s Simcha, or go to shul when we still
could, so it will be no use regretting not coming closer to Hashem. Then it
will be too late to perform the mitzvot we could have done, such as learning
more Torah, reciting more heartful prayers, being more giving and forgiving to
others, and using all those wonderful talents Hashem granted us, to make this
into a better world. However, today it’s still not too late to serve Hashem and
keep his mitzvot better, so let’s intensify our service like a runner who
approaches his goal.
Integrating the Message of the Matzah
by Eating Matzah Every Day of Pesach
I thought I was going to write about the women’s
mitzvah of eating matzah on Pesach, but Hashem put different words in my
fingertips. Still, I wanted to share that, although I try to stay away from
bread and flour as much as possible, and prefer eating whole grains and
vegetables, I’ve decided, this year, to try to eat matzah every day, in order
to give preference to spiritual above physical benefits. I always thought that
it was perfectly fine to eat the prescribed matzah on Seder night, Shabbat and
on the last day of Pesach. The rest of the week, I could eat other healthier,
more fiber rich non-chametz foods. Baruch Hashem, that quinoa has become
accepted as kosher for Pesach, also for Ashkenazis. Although the Torah states
that you must eat matzah for seven days, the Talmud explains that it is not an
obligation to eat matzah except during the Seder night:
ספר שמות פרק לד פסוק יח
אֶת חַג הַמַּצּוֹת תִּשְׁמֹר שִׁבְעַת
יָמִים תֹּאכַל מַצּוֹת אֲשֶׁר צִוִּיתִךָ לְמוֹעֵד חֹדֶשׁ הָאָבִיב כִּי
בְּחֹדֶשׁ הָאָבִיב יָצָאתָ מִמִּצְרָיִם:
“The Festival of Matzah you shall keep; seven days
you shall eat unleavened cakes which I have commanded you, at the appointed
meeting time of the month of spring, for in the month of spring you went out of
Egypt” (Shemot 34:18).
Unlike the first night of Pesach, where there is a
mitzvah to eat matzah, during the rest of the holiday, consuming matzah is an
option rather than an obligation. A beraita supports [the opinion of] Rava:
“Six days you shall eat matzah and on the seventh day it shall be a resting for
Hashem your G-d” (Devarim 16:8). Just as on the seventh day [eating
matzah] is not obligatory, so too the first six days [eating matza] is not
obligatory … Can it be that even the first night [eating matza] is not
obligatory? It was learned from “on matzot and maror it shall be eaten” (Babylonian
Talmud, Pesachim 120a).
Yet, the Vilna Gaon teaches that there is a
Biblical mitzvah to eat matzah all seven days of Pesach. The simple meaning of
this Torah verse, even when that verse is understood differently by Chazal,
conveys a mitzvah from the Torah, although it is not the same kind of
obligatory mitzvah to eat matzah on the Seder night. Understanding the
essential message of the matzah, to return to our essential selves, without the
exterior trappings, inspires us to understand the importance to ingrain this
message every day of Pesach. We, women, need to integrate this message no less
than men. Therefore, women are obligated in the mitzvah of matzah, since we
were part of the miracle of the Exodus (we were actually redeemed in the merit
of the righteous women (Babylonian Talmud, Pesachim 43b).
Repairing the Family Unit
Once we have achieved reconnection with our true
selves through eating matzah in isolation, contemplation and meditation, then
we need to repair the family unit. With more time on hand and less
distractions, we can focus on the people in the inner circle of our lives,
those who are most dear to us: our spouse, parents, children and siblings. The
current situation truly protects the family, making it nearly impossible for
anyone to cheat on his or her spouse. Banning pre-marital sex is a natural
consequence of social distancing. Children and teenagers are being kept within
the protective walls of the home, without their regular outlets for getting in
trouble. This situation offers the opportunity to repair the gap between
parents and children. The last Shabbat before Pesach, Shabbat HaGadol, we read
about repairing this gap as a preparation for “the great and awesome day of
Hashem.” The last word of the haftorah also alludes to the current social
distancing, where we are all, in a way, excommunicated from one another:
ספר מלאכי פרק ג פסוק כג הִנֵּה אָנֹכִי שֹׁלֵחַ לָכֶם אֵת
אֵלִיָּה הַנָּבִיא לִפְנֵי בּוֹא יוֹם הָשֵׁם הַגָּדוֹל וְהַנּוֹרָא:
פסוק כד וְהֵשִׁיב לֵב אָבוֹת עַל בָּנִים וְלֵב
בָּנִים עַל אֲבוֹתָם פֶּן אָבוֹא וְהִכֵּיתִי אֶת הָאָרֶץ חֵרֶם:
Behold, I will send you Eliyahu the prophet before
the coming of the great and awesome day of Hashem, 24 that he may turn the
heart of the fathers back through the children, and the heart of the children
back through their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with
excommunication (Malachi 3:23-24).
We have come full circle. The
final redemption follows the pattern of the first redemption (Micha
7:15). Like the first Pesach in Egypt we are confined within our homes. Just as
the Kohanim were commanded, “Do not go out from the opening of the Tent of
Meeting (Shemot 8:33), all Israel
was commanded, “None of you shall go out of the opening of his house (Shemot
12:22)…[in order to be protected
from the plague of the firstborn]. It compared the last redemption with the
first redemption (Ba’al HaTurim, Shemot 12:8). May Hashem protect us
from the current plague as He protected us from the Ten Plagues in Egypt!
Sorry the article needs an important correction: Unlike [change to like] the slave who cannot stand on his own but is dependent on his master, wealth and materialism cannot stand on its own, because it is dependent on its possessions.
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