Community Magazine April 2014

16 COMMUNITY MAGAZINE Why we should be I imagine many of us – especially among the women – offer a prayer sometime before Pesach that goes something like this: “Gd, please help me get all this done!” This prayer is perfectly legitimate, but the legendary Hassidic master Rabbi Levi Yitzhak of Berditchev (1740-1809) offered a much different prayer during this time of year: Master of the world! Half a year ago, Your children blew 101 shofar blasts in order to earn Your favor. Perhaps the sounds weren’t perfect; it could be that they were not accompanied by the proper thoughts of repentance. But now, dear Lord, Your children are making a far more precious noise – the noise of scrubbing and the clanging of dishes in preparation for Pesach. These sounds are much holier than the sounds of the shofar. So even if You could not accept the sound of the shofar – how can You ignore the beautiful sounds of Pesach preparations?! Rav Levi Yitzhak, the great “Defender of Israel,” understood something which many of us either don’t understand, or simply forget: the days and weeks leading up to Pesach are among the holiest times of the year, and our Pesach preparations are among the most valuable religious acts we perform. The Zohar comments that the souls of the tzadikim in Gan Eden are stirred by the spiritual energy produced by the frenzy of Pesach preparations. Sensing this energy, the Zohar describes, the souls rush to the “fence” around Gan Eden and look over it to see what it is happening here on Earth. When they see the Jews running about with such intensity and devotion, they exclaim, “ Ashre ha’am shekachah lo ashre ha’am sheHashem Elokav – Fortunate is the nation that is like this; fortunate is the nation that has Hashem as its Gd!” These righteous souls then come before the Almighty to pray on our behalf. The “sounds” described by Rav Levi Yitzhak are so loud and powerful – that they are actually heard in Gan Eden ! What makes Pesach preparations so powerful? How could scrubbing and moving dishes produce such a cosmic effect? Spiritual Root Canal We generally tend to think of the High Holidays as the “ teshuvah season.” In truth, however, there are two such seasons in the Jewish calendar – the High Holidays, and Nissan. RABBI ELI J. MANSOUR Yes, it’s hard work - scrubbing, scouring, sweeping, vacuuming, dusting, mopping, cleansing, shopping and cooking. But preparing for Pesach might just be the most exciting and valuable mitzvah of the year. Whistling While WeWork