As we begin our Seder, we recite the simanei haseder, the order of the night. Our very first siman is ‘Kadesh’. Yes, we are about to recite Kiddush. But there is a much deeper take-away. Kadesh! All of us must understand that we are inherently holy. It does not matter where we’ve been, the mistakes we may have made. Each of us stood at Sinai. We are all gifted with a ‘chelek Elokai m’maal’, a part of Hashem, Himself, that has been placed within us. Sometimes we forget. Sometimes we look at others and judge, thinking that they are too distant.
Seder night comes as a reminder. Do you know who you are? Do you understand the nation you are a part of? Kadesh, my child. Appreciate the holy soul, the pintelah Yid that flickers deep inside your neshama.
After October 7 we met many souls we would never have known. One in particular stands out to me as I think of the message of ‘Kadesh’, you are holy.
I came across a most beautiful melody of “Elokai neshamah shenasatah bi, tehorah he, My G-d, the soul that you have placed within me is holy.” A young man is driving as he sings the words with a bright smile on his face. His inspiration and love fill the screen.
His name is Yehuda Becher. He was murdered at Nova. I find out that when his parents were sitting shiva for him, a friend of Yehuda’s came to express his feelings loss. He relayed that he had been feeling depressed and reached out to Yehuda.
“Yehuda,” he wrote, “Cheer me up! I am so down.”
What did Yehuda do?
“Instead of sending me a clip of some comedian to make me laugh, or a funny emoji, he sent me himself singing this tefillah. He said to me, ‘Don’t worry. Hashem is watching over you. All will be good.’ He tried to heal my soul.”
What a beautiful people we are.
We are kadosh.
Even the karpas that we take in our hands echoes this message. The Aleksander Rebbe explains that the Jews in Egypt are compared to karpas. Vegetables begin as seeds, covered with earth. Suddenly they sprout forth and you find the green shoots of life piercing the soil.
Our nation was in Egypt, immersed in the 49 levels of tumah. We were steeped in the dirt of idolatry and immorality. Could we ever imagine the great miracles that would come? Would we think it possible that one day we would be standing at Sinai, receiving the Torah and becoming Hashem’s chosen people?
Take a moment to look at the karpas and recognize the beauty of Am Yisrael.
Hashem lifted us out of the darkness of Egypt. We tell our story Seder night so that each one of us knows that Hashem will lift us up once again. We must not be afraid; we must not despair.
Yes, our nation has faced incredible loss and pain. The antisemites of the world gather, believing that this time they have the power. But we must know now, more than ever, that we carry the faith of those who have faced terrible darkness but held on tenaciously to their emunah.
Within us lies the secret of the Jew. We break through the dark soil and discover life. We know that within each of us lies a spark of holiness.
6:07 a.m., on a recent Sunday morning, Magen David Adom received a call. A woman in labor is about to give birth in her car. They begin to give instructions to her husband. Meanwhile Amit Barlev is on her way to her morning shift as a paramedic. She stands at her bus stop and notices the couple in the car. She helps deliver the baby until the ambulance pulls up. As the newborn is being placed into the ambulance, sirens sound.
“We take cover. We protect the sweet new baby. But in the middle of all the tension, it fills the heart to know that we brought light and life to the world.”
This baby’s first breaths are taken as the Pharoahs, Hamans and Amaleks once again try to snuff the life out of us.
“Shebichol dor vedor omdim aleinu lechaloseinu v’HaKadosh Baruch Hu mazileinu miyadam.”
Remember dear friends. Kadesh. Do not be afraid. We are Hashem’s holy nation. Each and every one of us.