Selected Passages
Selected passages
The Alter Rebbe points out that the word in the Rambam is lehar'os. Not just to see. To show. There is a chiyuv to show yourself leaving Egypt - to make it visible, to embody it. And what follows from this is something very practical: you must show your children at least one aspect of Mitzrayim in your own life that you are leaving right now
The ohr Hashem Yitbarach is above time. All future hashpa'os already exist. The work of real emunah is to draw them down - to sing before the sea splits, to pack the tambourines before you know there will be a sea to cross.
The question that the rasha is asking is: did you leave Mitzrayim or not? Or did you schlep Mitzrayim with you into your concept of avodas Hashem? Mah ha'avoda hazot lachem. Give it over. If you have something to offer - offer it. Sitting at the Seder Table So when you're going around and distributing the parts of the Haggadah on Leil HaSeder - be sure to choose to say rasha mah hu omer yourself. Don't give it to one of your children. And you can even tell your children: you know what - I also ask this question. And tonight is the night we have the opportunity and the privilege to answer.
Reb Shlomo says that anything which is real will always be a contradiction. Anything that is not a contradiction is not even worth talking about. If you meet a person and they don't contradict themselves in anything they're doing - don't bother talking to them. They're robots. They either believe in God or they don't believe in God. They are good Jews or they are not good Jews. Real human beings are more nuanced and complex
Is it parents that choose their children or children that choose their parents? Reb Shlomo said this many times: it's children that choose the parents. So what is Seder night really all about? Do you have enough guts to look into your child's eyes and say: why me? If we say that Hashem chooses us Seder night, then it’s an opportunity for us to extend it to all those things in life that are being chosen and re-chosen at that moment. We have an opportunity to look at our children who essentially chose us to be their parents. And out of awe — not out of busha, but out of awe — we can say: wow. Why me?
Ask Hashem "why me?" about one good thing in your life. Pick something specific - a person you love or a privilege you have. During the Seder, direct this question inward: why did I get this? Don't answer it. Just ask it, breathe in and stay in the question. If you have children, look at them and ask the same question. Not out loud necessarily. But feel it: what did I do to deserve the privilege of being this person's parent? Don't answer it. That unanswered awe is the feeling the whole Seder is trying to open up.