Passover/Pesach 14 April 2014

14 Nissan (April) Pesach

15 Nissan (April) Unleavened Bread (leaven represents sin)

April 15, 2014

Then Moses said to the people, “Commemorate this day, the day you came out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery, because the LORD brought you out of it with a mighty hand. Eat nothing containing yeast.” — Exodus 13:3

Today is Day 1 of the eight-day Passover celebration. The Torah reading for today is from Exodus 12:21–51 and Numbers 28:16–25, and the Haftorah is from Joshua 3:5–7; 5:2–6:1; 6:27. Because the first two days during Passover are non-working days, these devotions were prepared in advance for you.

Passover is a joyous holiday. We celebrate the fact that God hears our prayers and intervenes in history in order to bring salvation. However, as we take a good look at the Passover story, the details reveal that salvation comes in many different guises.

In Exodus 13:3 we are commanded: “Commemorate this day, the day you came out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery … Eat nothing containing yeast.” We are given two distinct directives. One is to commemorate the day that God took Israel out of Egypt and the other is to refrain from eating anything with yeast. What is the connection between the observance of Passover and the dietary restrictions?

Let’s go back to Exodus 12. Late at night during the final plague, Pharaoh approached Moses and said: “Up! Leave my people, you and the Israelites!” (v.31). Pharaoh sent the Israelites packing so fast that the people didn’t have time to finish baking their bread: “So the people took their dough before the yeast was added …” (v.34). By refraining from foods with yeast on Passover, we remember not just that God redeemed Israel, but also how Israel was saved.

The Sages teach that on the eve of the Exodus, many of the Israelites were hesitant to leave Egypt. Pharaoh had to literally kick them out without giving them any time to think, plan, or retreat, in order to get them marching toward their freedom.

This reminds me of the following story: There was once a wealthy man who was known for throwing elaborate parties. At one such party, the man announced that he had placed alligators and sharks into one of his pools. Anyone who would swim from one end of the pool to the other would be granted any request. Suddenly, there was a splash and the guests watched in shock and admiration as a man swam deftly and quickly, narrowly escaping the deadly waters. When he emerged from the pool, the wealthy man commended him and asked what his wish was: “What I’d like most is to know the name of the man who pushed me in the water!”

Sometimes we are pushed into dangerous waters that we would never dare enter. Sometimes that’s what it takes to get us to do the things we never knew we were capable of achieving. On Passover, we remember not only that Israel was saved, but also that salvation can come from the most unlikely places. Often the things we thought were working against us are what will lead to victory. So this Passover, trust God and His plan. That push we thought might bring us down can be the push we need to soar!

With prayers for shalom, peace,

Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein

That same night they are to eat the meat roasted over the fire, along with bitter herbs, and bread made without yeast.
— Exodus 12:8

A note to our readers: Beginning at sunset on 14 Nissan/April, the Jewish celebration of Passover takes place for the next eight days. For each day of Passover, or Pesach in Hebrew, we will offer a devotional reflection tied to this very special observance. Since some of the days during the Passover celebration are non-working days, the devotions were prepared for you in advance.

The way we celebrate Passover today is not how it was originally commemorated. When the Temple stood, the main focus of Passover was the offering which was brought in remembrance of the first offering originally made on the eve of the Exodus. As you may recall, God commanded the children of Israel to sacrifice a lamb, place its blood on their doorframes, and then “eat the meat roasted over the fire, along with bitter herbs, and bread made without yeast.”In Temple times, the nation of Israel would eat the Passover offering in the same way. Today, we observe a modified version of this ritual. On Passover night, we eat bitter herbs together with matzah, bread without yeast.

Matzah

The Sages point out that the bitter herbs and the matzah represents two opposite ideas. The bitter herbs represent slavery; matzah symbolizes redemption – it was the bread that didn’t have time to rise when salvation came in the blink of an eye. Today, there is an added element in the bitter herb-matzah combination. We add haroset, a sweet mixture made of fruit, nuts, and wine that is meant to remind us of the mortar used for building by the Israelites as slaves in Egypt. Haroset reminds us of bitter times, and yet, at the same time, it tastes sweet with its fruit and wine.

Haroset

On Passover night, we mix the bitter and the sweet, slavery and freedom, oppression and redemption. Why? Because it is all part of one story.

In life, we tend to separate our good times and bad times. We have dry seasons and seasons of abundance. We don’t like the trying times in our lives, and we long for the more comfortable, blessed times. But the truth is, as we learn on Passover, it’s all a blessing. The adversity in our lives is what leads us to our greatest victories.

God sends us bitter times so that we may become better people. He sends us challenges so that we might rise above them. When God told Abraham about the slavery and redemption that would befall his descendants, God said: “Know for certain that for four hundred years your descendants will be strangers in a country not their own and that they will be enslaved and mistreated there. But I will punish the nation they serve as slaves, and afterward they will come out with great possessions”(Genesis 15:13–14). God promised that there would be bitterness, but then there would also be blessings. (The Jews were in bondage 400 years in Egypt.)

Friends, know today that anything that tastes bitter in your life right now is preparing you for sweet blessings in the future. Have faith … the best is yet to come!

With prayers for shalom, peace,

Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein