Pesach Thoughts
RAbbi Laibl Wolf has a unique ability to capture big and powerful ideas in 60 seconds. We have colated the 60 second ideas which have a relevance to Pesach. They were recorded at different points over the years but their messages remain as current as ever.
Your Daily Exodus
The exodus from Egypt was a blueprint for our future exodus from the current enslavement – albeit that ours is a psychological enslavement that creates confusion in the world. The Alter Rebbe said that instead of just seeing ourselves as free people, which itself is a challenge, we need to actually live the freedom to give us a true taste of freedom.
Who Is Truly Free
Who is truly free? Not the self-serving bohemian living on the edge of society, but the disciplined artist who practices, trains, studies and observes, and finally expresses his soul truly. The Jewish soul expresses real freedom by living the life of a Jew, not some social hybrid.
Nights of the Pesach Table
Of the major festivals the one that is most memorable for adult and child alike, is Pesach. Even if the Pesach is reduced to a family dinner with token Matza at the table, a Pesach family gathering is still held by most Jewish families and always approached with anticipation and joy.
Making Sense Out of Matza
It’s just a form of bread, isn’t it? Perhaps a little more basic, and rustic, but bread nevertheless? Yet Matza has a spiritual connotation far beyond the symbol of Passover that it conveys.
Seven Inspirations for Your Pesach Seder
Seven elements that propel you into the world of our ancestors. Experience their travail and liberation as your own. An existential reconstruction of our collective memory.
Another Four Cups – Play it Again, Sam
Yes, the eighth day of Pesach takes place in Casablanca as well! (For those who don’t get it, Google the heading!). In fact everywhere outside of Israel there is an 8th day of Pesach – an extra day of Yom Tov, this year occurring this Shabbos – a real spiritual treat that Hassidim celebrate in a special way.
The Transformation of the Wicked Son
The central motif of the Pesach Seder is our children. They are encouraged to question, contribute and even be mischievous. Even the so-called wicked son is an attribute of the family. Sure had he been in Egypt of old he may have been in a bit of a pickle, but today he has the potential to grow, change and evolve in a warm and loving family setting. Hence his placement next to the wise son in the narrative of the Haggada.
Take the Plunge
Miracles are rare. But this Shabbat we celebrate one such historical miracle – when the sea split for the Jewish people. But it took the courageous initiative of one person who took the plunge to invite the miracle. What initiative do you need to take for your miracle to occur?
The Last Day Pesach
The last day Pesach has been celebrated in many places with an extra meal called Seudas Moshiach (Moshiach’s meal). Consisting of Matzah only during the era of the Ba’al Shem Tov, this unusual duality, of humility and self worth, was complemented some generations later with drinking four cups of wine, like at the Seder, so that the sweet taste of Moshiach’s impending arrival remains in our mouth as a constant reminder of our role in triggering this world transformation
Shevi’I Shel Pesach – When Nature is the True Miracle
On the 7th day of Pesach we read about the splitting of the sea. That event is considered a miracle. But was that a real miracle or is the seemingly ordinary mundane world the true miracle? Maybe the miracles are the laws of nature imposed on infinity moulding it into finity of time and space. Perhaps the splitting of the sea was a momentary peek at the true chaos of infinity?