Torah

It was a stormy night, and a battleship was on exercise at sea. The captain stood on the bridge, peering into the foggy night ahead. Suddenly, he heard the lookout shout from the observation post. “There’s a light on the starboard side!”

Time is a prominent theme of Pesach, but it expresses itself in a unique and somewhat puzzling manner. On Pesach, we are commanded to eat matzah (unleavened bread); eating chametz (leavened bread) is absolutely forbidden (Sh’mos 12:15). This is an incredibly strict prohibition; the punishment for eating chametz is kareis (spiritual excision). This seems extreme, as the difference between matzah and chametz can come down to a matter of seconds. This means that a single second can decide a person’s spiritual reality, determining whether one performed a mitzvah or violated the most severe of prohibitions. Why is time so central to Pesach, and how can a single second of time have such significant implications?

We all want to share deep and thoughtful ideas at the Seder in order to enhance the experience. I hope this collection of divrei Torah will aid you on your journey towards a meaningful, transformative Seder night.

Human beings are creative, intelligent, and powerful; but at the same time, we are incredibly limited:

 “I did not know what learning just a half hour of Mishnah Berurah could do to my life! At the beginning of the machzor a friend of mine told me that a chaburah was forming in our shul and asked if I could join. After a bit of cajoling, I agreed. What can I say? Now, from the time I wake up in the morning until the time I go to sleep, every action is done through the prism of the halachos that I have learned in Daf HaYomi B’Halacha! I started with the halachos of waking up in the morning and then I learned so much about tzitzis and tefillin, kriyas shema – halachos that I had never known.”

In our previous article, we began exploring the mistake and tikun of the N’siim. To review, during the Chanukas HaMishkan (the Inauguration of the Tabernacle), the N’siim (princes) of each Sheivet (tribe) contributed spectacular gifts toward the Mishkan (BaMidbar, perek 7). Chazal explain that these donations were intended to be a tikun (rectification) for their previous sin (See Rashi, BaMidbar 7:3; Sifrei, Naso 1:150). Earlier in the Torah, the N’siim are criticized for their inappropriate approach regarding their donations toward the building of the Mishkan (Rashi, Sh’mos 35:27). They delayed in donating gifts for the Mishkan, and in the interim, the Jewish People donated everything needed for the Mishkan, leaving the N’siim with nothing to give.