Dvar Torah for Pesach

Based on Likutey MoHaran I, Lesson #5

"Every person is obligated to say, 'The entire world was created for me'" (Sanhedrin 37a).
"Consequently...I must constantly look into and consider ways of making the world better; to provide what is missing and to pray on [the world's] behalf." (Likutey MoHaran)

The freedom that we attained and celebrate on Pesach (Passover) is not a freedom from being subservient to other people desires so that we may be subservient to our own. The freedom of Pesach is the freedom to fulfill our mission in the world. It is our responsibility, individually and collectively, to be sensitive to the world's needs and to undertake to set things right. Each one of us has to act in a way that he can be most effective in improving the world.

Being human beings though, there is a limit to what we can do and how many places we can get to. With tefila (prayer), though, we can touch the lives of many more people. ("Pray globally, act locally," as it were. Nonetheless, what the world needs and what the world doesn't need has to be thought about carefully. Don't spend rachmanus [pity and compassion] on a situation that doesn't warrant it.) Even though every prayer is beneficial, how effective any particular prayer may be depends on a number of factors (e.g., concentration, sincerity). Rebbe Nachman writes that there are two modes of prayer. One is the ordinary one, addressing Hashem (God) directly and asking Him to provide in the best possible way what is needed. The other is to tell stories. The ordinary mode is fine when the decree hasn't been sealed, namely when it has not yet been decided in Heaven that a particular situation must remain in effect. However, after the decree has been sealed, ordinary, undisguised prayer is blocked by destroying angels. A prayer of the second mode, encloaked in a story, may make its way past those angels and arouse God's mercy.

One of the prerequisites for being able to know if it is before or after a decree has been sealed is the simcha (happiness) borne from doing mitzvot. By cheerfully using the various parts of our body in mitzvah-performance every part of us can be happy. If we would be unhappy (not we Breslovers!), we would fail to properly notice the "unwellness" in the world. We might not notice that something is out of place. So, of course, we wouldn't pray for the world to get better.

The happiness in performing mitzvot comes from our faith in the mitzvot. This itself is developed by praying in such a way that the words of the prayer make a solid impact on us, in a way that we hear them loud and clear. Then, when we do a mitzvah, there is a space in our heart for the joy that goes on to radiate throughout our bodies. But prayer can only have this power and this effect if we keep our minds free of chametz (leaven, sourdough), free of pre-occupying thoughts of how to fulfill and perpetuate our desires, free of ideas that we don't need to know.

The beginning of our Pesach preparations is removing chametz from our homes. No cakes, cookies or sourdough pretzels in the cupboard and no sour thoughts in the brain. Using our legs to go from room to room, we get down on our knees and use our eyes to inspect for chametz. What we find we remove with our hands. The simcha begins to fill us.

When we arrive at the Seder we arrive at a table full of mitzvot and tefila. (Try to be well rested for the Seder. You'll get a lot more out of it.) Pouring the wine for the person next to you, washing your hands, eating the vegetables, sitting comfortably - these and the other mitzvot make use of almost the entire body. We begin to be filled with elation.

The Seder is filled with prayer. Kiddush, the blessings we make before and after eating and drinking at various points in the Seder, the Hallel (selected Psalms) that precedes the meal and the Hallel that follows it are all undisguised prayer. The second mode of tefila comes from the part of the Seder that makes this night different from all other yom tov (holiday) nights - the stories of the Exodus. For example:

"We were slaves to Pharaoh..."—may we be slaves to no man, ever again;
"Rebbe Elazar ben Azarya said, 'I was like a man of seventy...'"—"Do not cast me to old age" (Psalms 71:9);
"The Torah speaks about four sons..."—"God! Please make each of my children like the Wise Son!";
"Initially our ancestors worshiped idols..."—"God! I've made some pretty horrendous mistakes in my past - help me overcome them!"

(The songs sung at the Seder's conclusion come in both varieties. See one of our dvar Torahs from last year for Reb Noson's interpretation of Chad Gadya. The stories shared by family and friends during the meal are disguised prayer.)

agutn Shabbos!
Shabbat Shalom!

A kosher und freilekhen yom tov!
Chag kosher v'sameach!