Thursday, April 21, 2011

What's the Rush?

END PESACH ON A HIGH - Moshiach Seudah this Tuesday, see below

Question of the Week:
 
What is the connection between eating matzah and escaping from Egypt? I know that the Jews left Egypt in such a rush, the dough didn't have time enough to rise. The men would have been saying to their wives, "Honey we gotta go in 10 minutes, just grab some food and let's go!!"
 
So they happened to eat matzah - who cares? It doesn't seem at all significant. Why is matzah elevated to be main focus of the whole Pesach experience? I think Pesach is about freedom, not food!
 
Answer:
 
 
Think about it. The Israelites had to rush out of Egypt so fast, they didn't have time for their bread to rise. Why? Does that make sense? What was the rush exactly? The Egyptians had just been blasted with ten plagues as divine punishment for holding the Israelites captive, they were more than ready to let them go. So why rush things? Couldn't they have spent the few extra minutes it takes to let the bread rise and make proper sandwiches for the trip?
 
The answer is: they weren't running from the Egyptians, they were running from themselves. The two centuries of slavery had taken their toll on the Jewish people's spirit. They had forgotten their illustrious past as children of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, pioneers of a path of ethics and higher morals. The corruption and depravity of the Egyptian society had slowly crept into the Israelite mentality, and they assimilated many of its paganistic ideals into their own. They were slaves to Egypt, not just in body, but in mind as well.
 
It came to a point where their unique identity was all but lost. Suddenly they realised that the legacy of Abraham could be lost forever, and the message of hope that the Israelites were to bring the world would not be delivered, all because of them. Only then did they cry out for help. On the brink of point of no return, they called out to G-d.
 
Think of an alcoholic. For a while, the alcoholic fools himself into thinking that things are in control, he is just drinking socially, it relaxes him, there's nothing wrong. Gradually, the habit overtakes him, and one-by-one he loses everything he has: his family, his job, his money, his dignity. But it's only when he hits rock bottom, when he has been stripped of everything, that it suddenly dawns on him that he has a real problem.
 
Now he has to act fast. Once he has recognised the problem, he has to deal with it immediately, before that moment of clarity passes by and he slips back into self-justification. He can't do it alone. He's too drunk to help himself. He has to call for help. Someone from the outside, someone sober, will have to reach out to drag him out of his addiction. But they can only help him if he is willing to go cold-turkey, not to touch alcohol until he is cured. He has to run away from the addict that he has been until now. Otherwise he cannot begin to heal.
 
That's why Matzah is the crux of what the exodus is all about. The children of Israel had to make a hasty retreat from Egypt. Egypt and its lowliness had a hold on them, as powerful as an addiction. They had to first get out of Egypt in order to get Egypt out of themselves. To delay would be deadly. Once they had realised the problem, if they would then have hesitated, it could have spelt the end for them - they may have sunk to the point of no return.
 
We all have our addictions, whether to harmful substances, poisonous relationships, toxic habits or negative ideologies. Pesach is a de-tox retreat, where the spirit of liberty calls upon us to free ourselves from our personal Egypt. The Matzah reminds us that the first step towards freedom is to go cold-turkey. No hesitations; make a sudden and complete exodus from the you that was, and march through the desert towards the you that you can be.
 
Good Shabbos,
Rabbi Moss

 

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THE MEAL OF MOSHIACH

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moshiach

End Pesach on a high with words of inspiration, songs to stir the soul and a glimpse of Moshiach.

BYO Matzah, wine and grape juice.

For men after Mincha 4:30pm in shul, 54 Roscoe St Bondi

For women 4:45pm at 128 Wellington St Bondi 

 

ALL WELCOME

PESACH AT NEFESH
 
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Shabbos Chol Hamoed

Friday April 22

Candlelighting 5:07pm

Mincha 5:15pm followed by shiur

Shabbos evening service 6:30pm - 7:15pm

Saturday April 23 

Shachris 10am - 12:30pm

Mincha 5:15pm followed by words of Torah and Maariv

Shabbos ends 6:02pm

 

Sunday April 24

Shachris 8am

Yomtov Shvii Shel Pesach

Candlelighting 5:05pm

Mincha 5:15pm

Evening Service 6pm

 

 

Monday April 25 Yomtov Shvii Shel Pesach

Shachris 10am - 12:45pm

Mincha 5:15pm followed by words of Torah

Evening Service 6pm

Candlelighting not before 6:00pm

 

Tuesday April 26 Yomtov Acharon Shel Pesach

Shachris 10am - 12:45pm 

Yizkor approx. 11:30am

Mincha 4:30pm followed by Seudas Moshiach for men in shul to end the Yomtov
Seudas Moshiach for women 4:45pm at 128 Wellington St Bondi 

Yomtov ends 5:59pm

Please allow half an hour before eating chometz that was sold

 

 

 

This email was sent to shmuly77d@gmail.com by rabbimoss@nefesh.com.au |  
nefesh office | 45 bellevue rd | bellevue hill | NSW | 2023 | Australia

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