Pesach times, sell chometz - see below
Question of the Week:
I am very connected to the zodiac and was wondering if there is a link between the stars and the timing of Pesach. I have also noticed that the Seder always coincides with the full moon. What is the significance of all this?
Answer:
There is deep astrological significance to the date of Pesach. We celebrate the festival of freedom on the night of the 15th of Nissan in the Hebrew calendar, the night the Israelites were freed from Egypt. This is the full moon of the month of Aries, the ram.
The Egyptians worshipped the ram as a god. Aries is the leader of the star signs, the first and most powerful, and the Egyptians saw themselves as the leaders of the world, receiving their strength and fortitude from their god, the ram.
So the strongest time for the Egyptians would have been the month of Aries, when their god is ascendant. And the strongest day on that month would be its full moon. Egyptian power would reach its zenith on the 15th of Nissan.
And that is exactly when the Israelites left Egypt. Aries was rendered impotent at its very moment of strength.
But there's more. The Israelites ate a festive meal on the night before the exodus, and the main course was a lamb roasted on a spit. They were eating the Egyptian deity, the ram, under the full moon of the month of the ram, in the eyes of all Egypt, and they got away with it.
The message is unmistakable. The world is not run by capricious forces and amoral star signs. There is a G-d who rules heaven and earth, who cares for the innocent and exacts justice from the corrupt. To the stars, our actions make no difference. To G-d, our actions do matter. The zodiac demands nothing from us. G-d demands we live a life of goodness.
The Jews themselves didn't always get this message. After the exodus, some in the Israelite camp suggested that while the ram of Egypt (Aries) had indeed been trumped, it was not G-d's doing, but rather the next star sign, Taurus, the bull who had beaten Aries. And so they made an idol honouring Taurus, known as the Golden Calf. It's very tempting to fall back on idolatrous beliefs, because they relieve us of responsibility. But they also rob us of our freedom.
Pesach is a celebration not only of freedom of the Israelites from Egyptian slavery, but also freedom from being bound by destiny. Our lives are not subject to the impersonal forces of the zodiac. We are free to rise above the limitations of fate and conquer our birth sign. Your fortunes may predict one course for your life. You are free to create another. This idea was brought home on the night of the full moon of Aries.
Good Shabbos and a Happy and Kosher Pesach,
Rabbi Moss
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