Still at Home with G-d

Rabbi Yosef Levin | 

This is the second Pesach under unusual circumstances. Although many people have, thank G-d, been vaccinated, and people are starting to relax, there are still a lot of limits and most people are having their Seder at home. Even the public Seders (we are having one) are being held outside and the number of people is limited by the safety rules. Last year we were all like deer in the headlights, not sure how we would be able to have Pesach, feeling as if the Seder would not happen. We scrambled and managed the best we could. This year we have had lots of time to plan for a quiet Seder, but are we ready to really experience the Seder spiritually? While it is certainly more exciting and celebratory to have a Seder with lots of family, friends and community, the essence of the Seder is the spiritual uplift that it provides, and that can be accomplished even alone.

Rabbi Yosef Ginsburg, a great chassid and Kabbalist, writes in his Haggadah “The Secrets of the Seder,” about the Kabbalistic meaning of some of the numbers relating to the Seder. Gematria – the study of the numerical values of the Hebrew letters and their significance - features prominently in Kabbalah. Rabbi Ginsburg points out several numbers that are featured in the Haggadah: 3 – the three Matzot, the three main Mitzvot, Pesach Matzah and Maror, and more. 4 – the four cups, the four sons, the four aspects of every plague, and more. 5 – the five aspects of every plague, the fifth cup of Elijah, the fifth son about whom the Rebbe speaks who doesn’t even show up and to whom we need to reach out and bring back in. 10 – the ten plagues. 15 – the 15 signs of the mnemonic Kadesh Urechatz etc. 50 – the 50 plagues at the sea, and more. These numbers, 3,4,5,10,15 and 50 add up to 87.

87 is also the numerical value of the words “Ani Hashem” (Hashem as it is written out properly with the four letters of the Tetragrammaton) which means “I am Hashem.” In other words, the observance of the Mitzvot and customs of the Seder bring the revelation of Hashem to each of us. This makes sense because our holidays are not just memories of the past, but re-experiences of the original event. The Hebrew word for year, Shana, has a few meanings, including repetition. So every year when the 15th of Nissan arrives, Hashem’s essence is once again revealed in the world as it was 3,333 years ago in Egypt. In the Haggadah we read “And I passed through the land of Egypt… not through an angel…, not through a Saraf…, not through a messenger, rather I, Hashem and no other.” This was the great revelation that broke the slavery, bondage and darkness of Egypt and brought freedom and light to our people and the world. This same light is revealed every year. The way we access it is by eating the “food of faith” (Zohar) – hand-baked Shmurah Matzah, drinking four cups of wine, reading the Haggadah and observing the other customs of the Seder.
All of this can be observed at home, and can be very meaningful when we realize the powerful impact of our own actions and observances on us and the world around us.
Another unusual aspect of this year is that the first Seder night is on Saturday night, which presents certain challenges in terms of preparation for the Seder, as well as differences in the way we observe the burning of the Chametz and several other issues that arise. You can find the information here.
I wish you a wonderful holiday, as the traditional blessing goes, a “Kosher and Happy Pesach,” and let’s add safe. May you find this Pesach truly inspirational and uplifting, and may we realize the ultimate promise of Pesach, the “time of our redemption,” with Moshiach.