The usual way of looking at this world is to see death as the end. With our limited senses we see ends, but in reality there is no end, just a transformation.
After our time here we will be asked: “Tzipisa l’yeshuah? Did you long for redemption?” Did you believe there was something beyond?
We can read about Yetziyat Mitzrayim, but it doesn’t have much meaning for us unless we can relate it to the events in our own lives. Then the words are brought to life. The mitzvah is to tell the story. With each retelling we can draw further from our own life’s experience. Perhaps this is why we have this mitzvah of telling and retelling the same familiar story. With each retelling we discover more about ourselves. We are not told to learn Torah here – just to tell the story. The story that is our lives.
The Pesach Seder, is a vehicle for personal and national freedom, to free us from the limitations that hold us back from a greater self. The laws, ordinances and statutes of the Seder have been designed for our optimum growth.
These are some questions we might ask ourselves that can help us lift the chains of our self-oppression and guide us towards liberating self-expression: Are we on the right path? Are we walking on the path that our Creator set out for us? What are my goals and priorities, and what are the values reflected in those goals? Are they in alignment with God’s will? Am I being honest with myself, with others, and with God?
After searching deeply within for the answer, we can refine our purpose and go towards positive growth. We can take this opportunity to lift ourselves out of our oppression and be in charge of ourselves. Reaching towards personal fulfillment while connecting to God would be the very truest freedom.
This scrutiny, this self-searching, the seeking out of our inner chometz is one of life’s pivotal and difficult challenges. Achievement and maintenance of freedom is available only through the ongoing struggle of self-awareness. With clarification, and the conviction to follow wherever it may lead, we can achieve a spiritually sensitive, value-driven life, a life of meaning.
L’shanah Habaah B’Yerushalayim