Maggid2

Maggid continued

The history of the Jewish people is said to be a sad one. Yet when one looks at the impact we have had upon humanity one has to conclude that no matter the pain, the fact that we have impacted the world so profoundly speaks of an otherworldly destiny.

There are many kinds of art . One kind, I believe it’ called impressionism is the ability to make colors and shapes that are hard to

Figure out until you step back and see how the patterns create an image that can only be seen when viewed in total.

So too , with Jewish History, when we look at bits and pieces we see blurred events that are sometimes horrific. However, when viewed in total one sees the emergence of a unique and self critical people who are brutally honest about everything.

There are many individual items with regards to Jewish History that indicate a Divine Plan for facing the evils of the world .One by one,

They appear, only to fade from human history , a worn-out footnote in the collective memory of man.

Amongst the bright items in our annals is the life of the Lubavitcher Rebbe ,Z.T.L.. The Rebbe not only strengthened the study of Torah and the belief in the Creator who gave it, HE REDEFINED THE PROCESSES altogether!

Until the Rebbe came along many thought that the oral law’s language was non-specific and unimportant. The only thing that mattered were the concepts behind the Laws. Items such as Aggadic teachings as well

As the commentaries were extremely precise for their meaning and content. Furthermore. The Rebbe showed that all the great commentaries actually reinforced one another. Furthermore, the original commentaries without knowing it , were able to find the needle in the haystack with respect to understanding the past without the aid of archaeological digs.

The Rebbe also showed us that the Torah portion is relevant to what happens at any point in the week or year. Furthermore the Rebbe showed us how we see divine Providence at every juncture.

We speak about the Exodus at the Seder. However how many of us are bold enough to speak about Messiah’s coming at the Seder?

The Rebbe taught us to keep the conversation about Moshiach

Relevant and timely. This, all the while we fulfill our role as Jews who follow the Torah and no other ideology.

The Rebbe’s 105^th birthday is this Friday. In his memory let us say a lechayim and make the Torah and Messiah current matters of discussion.

By the way there is an old question I wish to address:

In the beginning of the Haggadah we say “whoever is hungry come and eat , whoever needs should come and partake of the Pesach meal”. Now this is said behind closed doors. Why don’t we announce it the week before in the paper ?

One of the great commentaries on the liturgy is the famed Yavetz whose Siddur is still venerated and studied today. In one of his comments on the Seder, he writes that in Persia at the time of the Haggadah’s redaction, the custom was that poor people would just show up at any feast. It was the obligation of the host to feed them all as if they were his guests. Amongst them were Jews and Gentile poor.

Given the social norm the host invited all to be seated including the uninvited poor.

He would say , that while all who are hungry are welcome to eat with the rest of us, however, if amongst you are Jews, they must have in mind to fulfill the Pesach obligations!

I talked about this at a class and a Persian Jew told me that even today such is the custom in his hometown in Iran=Persia!