Last Shabbos we discussed how character traits are a range and it is usually best to be in the middle. For example, there is the extreme of being stingy and the extreme of being too generous. It is best to be in the middle. There is the extreme of being overly cautious, for example too afraid to leave the house, and the extreme of not being cautious at all and acting recklessly. Again, it is best to be somewhere in the middle.
We discussed one exception to this, which is humility. The opposite of humility is arrogance, which is represented by chumatz. It is best to be as humble as possible. Matzah represents humility. Before Pesach we get rid of our chumatz – arrogance – and replace it with matzah – humility.
During the times of the temple we would sacrifice animals, which represented getting rid of our animal instincts. When we give in to our ego and animal instincts we distance ourselves from Hashem. When we do mitzvah, and carry out our mission and follow the Torah we get closer to Hashem.
We discussed why we are allowed to eat chumatz all year around, if it represents our rising egos. If we ate matzah all the time, we would have nothing to compare eating matzah to. In Judaism, the day begins with darkness and ends with light. We have to visit the dark, first. The Jews went to Egypt in order to know what slavery is like. Only after being in Egypt can we appreciate freedom. The Jews remember how they turned something bad into something good, slavery into freedom, and recount the story every year so that they can apply the same lessons to their personal lives.
If there is something bad, challenging, or unpleasant going on in our lives perhaps Hashem put it there or allows it because he wants us to learn something and grow stronger. We also need to keep in mind that only Hashem has the complete picture, and we may not know why bad things happen to us, or the reason for anything. But we should be grateful that bad things happen, because if they did not we would never grow stronger as human beings. Hashem wanted us to finish the act of creation, so that we could be humans, rather than robots or animals.
We discussed the fast of the newborn. In Egypt power came from being physically stronger, or having a superior position, like that of being first born. The reason Hashem instituted the plague of the first born was to demonstrate that power should not come from these sources, but should come from being spiritual and doing what is right. The day before the seder is the fast of the first born. The first born do not have to fast if they are going to be going to a simcha that day, or if they feel that fasting would interfere in their ability to participate both mentally and physically in the first seder.
We discussed whether or not there really is a conflict between science, and the Torah. It is very interesting that the Torah has always said that time had a beginning, but it wasn’t until the 20th century that scientists discovered and agreed that time has a beginning. The Torah is more a book of “why” than a book of “how”. Science can explain how things happen in the physical world, but cannot really explain why the world and an were created, and how we should live our lives and use our free will. We have to describe the spiritual world, by using representation in the physical world so sometimes what we read in the Torah is not to be taken literally. For example, when we read “the hand of Hashem” , we do not mean to say that Hashem has a physical hand! The fact that taking something literally doesn't make sense doesn't mean it is not "true".
On Pesach during the lunch we discussed what is the purpose of the remaining days of Pesach, after the Seders, and what remaining mitzvah remain. The primary mitzvah is to continue enjoying the holiday, and to make it a happy occasion. We should also start looking into those things that hold us back in our own personal lives. And just like the Jews Exodus from Egypt, we should think about how we might try to rid ourselves of these things, so that we can experience our own personal freedom.
We discussed whether or not there is a mitzvah to continue eating matzah for the remaining days of pesach after the seders. It is widely agreed that we should substitute matzah in those cases which we ordinarily would eat bread, but should we go out of our way to eat matzah? There is some disagreement on this, but many authorities would say that yes it is a mitzvah to go out of our way to eat matzah. In order to get the mitzvah, we only have to eat a small amount every day. It is certainly ok to eat a larger amount, but there is no more mitzvah in doing so.
We discussed whether or not there is a mitzvah to continue eating matzah for the remaining days of pesach after the seders. It is widely agreed that we should substitute matzah in those cases which we ordinarily would eat bread, but should we go out of our way to eat matzah? There is some disagreement on this, but many authorities would say that yes it is a mitzvah to go out of our way to eat matzah. In order to get the mitzvah, we only have to eat a small amount every day. It is certainly ok to eat a larger amount, but there is no more mitzvah in doing so.
We compared the mitzvah of eating in the sukkah with eating matzah over pesach. We discussed why we say the blessing for every day of sukkot, but only say the blessing for matzah during the first 2 days. An explanation we discussed was because we really have no choice but to be in the sukkah every day - as sleeping is not really an option in life, but we do have a choice whether or not to eat matzah.
This is a summary of what we discussed this Shabbos. No Halachic rulings are intended or should be inferred.
This is a summary of what we discussed this Shabbos. No Halachic rulings are intended or should be inferred.
No comments:
Post a Comment