Working the Dough

The Hagadah Shel Pesach Ishei Yisrael explains a famous halacha in an inspiring manner. “Our sages teach that matzah must be made from one of the five grains, since only the five grains can become chometz. Matzah may not be made from other species since, although something happens when they are left, it is not the same chemical process as leavening. Instead of becoming chometz, other species ferment or spoil. Rav Yisrael of Modzhitz, zt”l, explained the practical lesson from this as follows: rice and other substances that cannot become chometz represent the person who is in the grips of depression. Even if in his lethargy he doesn’t sin outright and does do good when he moves at all, his mitzvos are spoiled. These acts are done out of depression and lack vitality. Like a spoiled thing, the depressed person sits on his couch and goes through life in spiritual slumber. He feels certain that he has done all that is incumbent upon him in avodas Hashem. He added, “But a person with a joyous heart is the exact opposite. He is filled with inner happiness and strength. Although such a person is more susceptible to sinning because the yetzer hara wants especially to bring such a person down, if he stays joyous he is freed. As the verse states, 'כי בשמחה תצאון'—‘For you shall go out [of exile] in joy…’ As long as he acts for holiness in whatever way he can, he will never come to the chometz of sins. This can be compared to dough that cannot become chometz as long as it is worked.”

The Land of Light and Wisdom

Shortly after the Holocaust, when Rav Yisrael Grossman, zt”l, paid a visit to the Abir Yaakov of Sadigura, zt”l, he was surprised to find him in an exceptionally joyous mood. When the rebbe noticed Rav Grossman’s surprise, he used a parable to explain why he was filled with joy despite the recent tragedy. “Imagine a poor Jew, beaten down and sickly, who has nowhere to even rest his head. If people have mercy and open their homes to him, he will surely be filled with boundless joy from gratitude. “The Jewish people today are likened to this poor man. Although we endured such cruelty which resulted in the murder of millions of Jews, we must never lose sight of the positive. Now that we have entered Eretz Yisrael, which is our homeland, we are exactly like a poor displaced man who has finally found a home. He added, “You might argue that the spiritual level here is not exactly optimal. Nevertheless, the very fact that Hashem has brought us back home after such a tragedy is also enough to make us joyous!” The Kaftor V’ferach, zt”l, learns the greatness of Eretz Yisrael from a statement of our sages. “The Midrash Rabbah explains that the verse, 'וזהב הארץ ההיא טוב'—‘the gold of that land was good,’ refers to the spiritual gold of Torah. ‘There is no Torah like the Torah of Eretz Yisrael and there is no wisdom like the wisdom of Eretz Yisrael.’ In Bava Basra we find that the very air of Eretz Yisrael imparts understanding of Torah. In Menachos we see that when Rav Avin told over a teaching to Rav Yirmiyah, his hearer criticized those who live in Bavel saying that they were fools who lived in a place of darkness. This is in contrast with Eretz Yisrael, whose very air is the breath of Hashem.”

The Advice of the Tzitzis

A certain man heard that the Zohar calls the mitzvos six hundred and thirteen pieces of advice or “eitzos,” and couldn’t fathom what this implies. When he asked the Chidushei HaRim, zt”l, about this he explained that this reveals the greatness of every mitzvah. “This teaches that each and every mitzvah teaches us to overcome our natural state of being sunken in materialism. Through every mitzvah it is possible to attain wondrous elevation. This can be understood in light of the gemara in Menachos 44. There we find the story of a man whose tzitzis ‘hit him in the face.’ And eventually he became a true ba’al teshuvah…” In his last will and testament the Sifsei Tzaddik, zt”l, teaches how to access the guidance contained in mitzvos. “Accustom yourselves to approach every mitzvah as a precious commodity which should make you feel joy—much like a man who finds a fortune. Remember your smallness, and that despite this Hashem has chosen you to serve Him through this mitzvah. Even though He has myriads of angels to serve Him, he prefers the service of Yisrael, the people He has drawn close to Him. It is only fitting that you fulfill the verse, ‘One heart mirrors the other like a face is reflected in water,’ and value each opportunity by serving Hashem with your entire heart. “Every time you don your tallis, you should be filled with profound joy. We attain this by recalling the greatness of this mitzvah, which our Torah reveals gives us the ability to recall all the mitzvos. In Menachos we find that the tzitizis hit a man about to sin on the face and this caused him to ascend from the lowest depths to the highest heights. He felt like he was crushing his entire self by resisting his urge to sin, but in the end he merited a great illumination and became a complete tzaddik. “Every person should beg Hashem that the mitzvah of tzitzis should protect him and his offspring from plummeting into the darkness of this world. One who works on this will eventually feel a huge illumination in the mitzvah of tzitzis.”

Today's Pesach Stories: Seeking the Laws of Pesach; Chametz and Matzah

1) The Rebbe of Sanz-Klausenberg, shlit"a, gave a very inspiring talk. "The Rokeach writes that one should prepare himself with cheshbon hanefesh and teshuvah before fulfilling a mitzvah; he should beg Hashem that he merit to do the mitzvah as is fitting, without feelings of self-aggrandizement. Some would even fast before fulfilling certain mitzvos. The reason for these extra exertions is because a mitzvah done with genuine feeling as it should be makes huge rectifications in the upper worlds. Obviously there are many barriers that block the way of the person who wishes to reach this pinnacle. The least we can do before performing a mitzvah is to beg Hashem for help. "Now we can understand why every tractate in the Talmud begins with a shaar blatt, a page with a gateway, and then starts on a page marked as number two. Tzaddikim always petition Hashem for help to learn and do mitzvos. They plead with Hashem: 'I know in my heart that I am not as I should be. I have done much wrong. Nevertheless, You Hashem are gracious and merciful. I therefore plead with You to help me serve You in truth.' The first page is the gateway: we enter into the gates of learning Torah lishmah by begging Hashem for His aid. Only after entering this gateway can we begin the actual tractate on page two. "This is the meaning of the words of our sages that thirty days before the holiday one should begin studying the laws of Pesach. The language used there is,שואלין ודורשין בהלכות הפסח, which literally means to ask about and seek the halachos of Pesach. This indicates our asking Hashem for help. דורשין should also be understood in the context of verse, 'דרשו ה' בהמצאו'—'Seek Hashem when He is to be found,' since this alludes to seeking aid from Hashem. When learning hilchos Pesach, we must beseech Hashem for help to avoid the slightest trace of chometz and that we merit to fulfill the many mitzvos of the holiday properly." #2) The Hagaddah Ishei Yisrael writes:“Our sages teach that matzah must be made from one of the five grains, since only the five grains can become chometz. Matzah may not be made from other species since, although something happens when they are left, it is not the same chemical process as leavening. Instead of becoming chometz, other species ferment or spoil. Rav Yisrael of Modzhitz, zt”l, explained the practical lesson from this as follows: rice and other substances that cannot become chometz represent the person who is in the grips of depression. Even if in his lethargy he doesn’t sin outright and does do good when he moves at all, his mitzvos are spoiled. These acts are done out of depression and lack vitality. Like a spoiled thing, the depressed person sits on his couch and goes through life in spiritual slumber. He feels certain that he has done all that is incumbent upon him in avodas Hashem. He added, “But a person with a joyous heart is the exact opposite. He is filled with inner happiness and strength. Although such a person is more susceptible to sinning because the yetzer hara wants especially to bring such a person down, if he stays joyous he is freed. As the verse states, 'כי בשמחה תצאון'—‘For you shall go out [of exile] in joy…’ As long as he acts for holiness in whatever way he can, he will never come to the chometz of sins. This can be compared to dough that cannot become chometz as long as it is worked.”

How to Serve Hashem with Joy

Rav Levi Yitzchak of Berditchev, zt”l, offered practical advice how to serve Hashem with joy. “The main purpose of creation was to take pleasure in one’s Divine service. In order to feel this pleasure one must consider that when one davens or learns Torah this gives Hashem great joy. This fact is readily apparent from the Mishnah which lists of six things for which a sacrifice must be brought. 'L’shem reyach, l’shem nichoach'--Rashi explains that this means that Hashem takes pleasure when we bring sacrifices since we are following His commands. This is our main task: to give nachas to Hashem.
“We need only consider that every positive action draws down bounty from on high. Every good action we do matters so much! Our hearts will be enflamed with enthusiasm and we should all say to ourselves, ‘Here I am, a human being formed from a putrid drop; one day I will leave this world and my body will rot in the grave, yet right now I can give pleasure to the Creator! My every mitzvah makes such a difference!’
“Every Jew is obligated to feel immense joy and satisfaction that he merits such favor from on high. But what if he is filled with doubts due to humility, and wonders to himself, “Yet what am I that I should think that Hashem has bestowed upon my avodah such importance?’ He must respond to this question in the following manner, ‘This is a kindness from Hashem which has nothing to do with anything I have done. It is truly a wonder that a human being fashioned from mere flesh and blood can give pleasure and joy to the King of kings!”

Living a Life of Kiddush Hashem

Rav Shach, zt”l, would explain how one can fulfill the mitzvah of Kiddush Hashem his entire life. “People mistakenly believe that sacrificing oneself to sanctify Hashem’s Name only applies to actual martyrdom. This is based on the well known halachah: If one must either transgress the mitzvos of the Torah or die, he should transgress except for the three cardinal sins for which one must give up his life. Rav Yochanan adds that during a time of religious persecution, even if they demand one to violate a minor mitzvah he must die.
“Yet one who delves a bit deeper will realize that self-sacrifice has a much more common application: to live a life through which one sanctifies Hashem’s Name. Although dying to sanctify the Name is a very great merit, we are also required to sanctify His name every instant of our life by living with self-sacrifice. The proof to this is from the verse, 'וחי בהם'—‘And you shall live by them.’ Our sages learn from this that one should live through the mitzvos, not die on account of them. We see from here that Hashem wants one to live fulfilling the mitzvos, not die in their fulfillment. The Torah values life to such a great extent that our sages tell us that one who commits suicide forfeits his portion in the next world.
“But how can one live a life of self sacrifice? Life is filled with tests, especially for those who keep Torah and mitzvos. We have a clear precedent for virtually every step of life. What we can and cannot do, and how to do that which we must. Those who withstand the many trials of life and fulfill Torah as it should be kept live with self-sacrifice. We have six hundred and thirteen mitzvos which teach us how to live our lives. How to eat and how to sleep; every detail is explained. Non-Jews are free to do as they please. Nevertheless, a Jew who overcomes his base urges feels filled with joy. Like a general returning from a victorious battle, he sees the positive and rejoices in his success. Most importantly, he rejoices in his portion as one of the chosen of Hashem, a son of the King.”