Pesach 5773 - 18/03/2013 - Federation Of Synagogues

Pesach and Jewish Eternity
By Rabbi Jonathan Hughes,
Associate Rabbi at Hendon United Synagogue and Tribe Chinuch Liaison
On Jewish festivals we do not
recollect national events in
our history; we relive them.
The access to holiness during
Pesach 2013 is no different
than at the time of the
Exodus itself over 3000 years
ago. In Jewish thought,
time does not merely
pass over us (no pun
intended!) in a linear
fashion; rather, we
pass through time, which carries with it cycles of
spiritual portals. At this time of year, we re-enter the
chambers of the redemption from Egypt. What secret
can be discovered there?
When we read the Haggadah, we fulfil the Talmudic
dictate of starting the recounting of the Exodus with
a description of the humble origins of the Jewish
people, before ending in its praise: 'In the beginning,
our forefathers were idolaters… Terach the father of
Abraham and Nachor…'. What is the point of doing
this? Why highlight the embarrassing polytheism of
our pre-Abrahamic progenitors? After all, Abraham
heroically detached himself entirely from his
predecessors and established a new family devoted to
the cause of promulgating ethical monotheism. So
why bring up the 'non-frum' genealogy he so
doggedly strove to break away from?
Rav Dessler, zt'l, explains that the reference to
Abraham's lowly origins is not something to be
ashamed of. On the contrary, his determination,
courage and insatiable pursuit of truth were only
brought to the fore on account of his upbringing. His
background gave Abraham the opportunity to be a
trailblazer! Each of us knows how difficult it is to
swim against the tide, to boldly go where no one has
gone before, to muster the sheer gall to rebel against
one's environment. Abraham's stiffed-necked refusal
to bend the knee to the rampantly idolatrous society
in which he lived, is to be embraced, not ignored.
How, though, is Abraham's recalcitrance relevant to
the Exodus, and in what way does it speak to us
today? Rav Dessler tells us that in return for his
stubborn allegiance to truth, Abraham received a
covenant from G-d ensuring that the kernel of
holiness he implanted within himself would, in turn,
be passed on to his progeny and be ensconced in the
heart of every Jew for all time. This covenant was
nothing short of spiritual gene therapy, precipitated
by Abraham's achievements. In effect, G-d promised
that the evil inclination, against which Abraham so
bravely battled, could never entirely obliterate the
indefatigable Jewish soul.
Under the nefarious Egyptians, the Jewish people
descended to the 49th level of impurity. The 50th
level would have meant irrevocable spiritual death.
But there was a covenant - a brit - that G-d promised
to Abraham. So we were whisked out of Egypt in a
supernaturally speedy fashion, as is symbolised by
matzah, which it is taken out of the oven just before
it rises to become chametz - the puffy dough that
represents spiritual negativity. Pesach is the time
when Abrahams's struggle was rewarded, when we
re-encounter the essence of the indomitable Jewish
soul.
In our lives we go through our own exiles and
redemptions, as individuals and as a community.
There are times when we think there is no way out,
that all hope is lost. The message of Pesach is that
no matter how dark it gets, or how dejected we feel
inside, the neshama we have inside of us can never
be destroyed, our hope can never be extinguished.
May this Pesach be the time when we rediscover the
essence of who we really are and that we see the final
redemption of the Jewish people, speedily in our days.
Hamaor / April 2013
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