Rabbi Yossi's Blog

Every year we experience changes in seasons; spring changes into summer, followed by fall which leads into winter. The cycle repeats itself every year. And although it may be a whole new year and we may be experiencing all sorts of changes in our life this year over last, still the seasons repeat themselves in the same way as the previous year.

Just as there are physical seasons, there are also spiritual seasons. These are punctuated by the holidays on the Jewish calendar; when these holidays come around, we’re not just commemorating what happened many years ago; we re-experience the same forces that originally caused these events to take place.

Next Friday night (March 30th) is the first night of Passover and (hopefully) everyone will be gathered with their family and friends for the first seder. At that time we will not be gathering simply to commemorate the experience of our ancestors; we can actually experience the same Exodus that they did.

But just like the physical seasons, we need to engage. If we were to remain in a temperature controlled environment we would never feel the difference between the seasons. And just because we wouldn’t experience the changes in seasons, it obviously wouldn’t indicate that the season hadn’t changed. It’s just that we were cocooned in our controlled environment and couldn’t experience the changes that were taking place.

Pesach (Passover) is so named not only because that’s how G-d practically saved the Jewish people back then, but it’s called Pesach (Passover) because that is the spiritual season this time of year. It’s a season of Exodus and passing over; jumping to a whole new place.

The Jewish people didn’t gradually become free, gaining more rights over the years until eventually becoming free. In an instant they went from being slaves to being free. A complete departure from their previous experience into a whole new reality.

Walking represents gradual achievement, incremental growth - one step after another. Jumping implies exponential growth. One lifts oneself from the place they are in and transports oneself to a whole new place.

The spiritual forces during this spiritual season that caused the original Exodus are just as prevalent today as they were back then. All that’s needed on our part is to leave our controlled environment and engage with the season.

Jump to a whole new place and truly experience real and personal exodus this Passover.