You got your matzahs???

It's Pesach/ Passover..

When the Jews left Egypt after being enslaved for so many years, there was no time to lose. Pack up yo' bags and get!!!  There was no time to wait for the dough to rise to become bread. And so instead of bread, they had matzah. It takes minimum 18 minutes for the dough to begin to rise to become bread. The Jews didn't even have 18 mins!! There was simply no time. 

And, truthfully, there was no room for bread!! Bread, with it's leavening agent symbolizes the evil that inflates our ego that can create a barrier between us and G-d/ Hashem and between our true selves. The Jews, having been broken by slavery, cried out to G-d from the depth of their beings for salvation. No ego here.

And since time is like a spiral, we are now in the days of Pesach, the holiday of Matzot. So, now is the time when we again do away with our breads, our pastas, and all the yeast/ leavening agents from our cupboards, from our kitchens, from our homes and from our hearts.

Please pass some matzahs!!!

G-d bless!!!

The Moshiach In You

We are commanded to leave Egypt every day.


Although the Exodus from Egypt occured thousand of years ago, we find that "Egypt" can still exist within us. The Pharoah of today lusts to keep us his slaves through depression, despair, apathy, selfishness, and other negative character traits.

When we succomb to this foreign rule, our joy is stifled, and we cannot even hope for a better tomorrow. We all know that in life, there are hardships that can really crush us, seemingly too difficult to overcome. If, however, we find the strength to fight, we not only escape to freedom, but we become the agents to help others escape as well.

Moshe, son of Amram, dared to defy his Egypt. Born with a speech impediment and raised in Pharoah's palace, he witnessed the injustice done to his people. How easy it would have been to remain silent and hidden! But no. Moshe mustered tremendous amount of courage to return to his birthplace and demand the Jews' freedom.

And because of his humility and courage, he became Moshe Rabbeinu, the greatest Prophet that ever was.

And his holy boldness infused the Jews with the energetic boost they needed to leave their Egypts. He was their Moshiach/Messiah.

After leaving Egypt, the Jews recieved the Torah at Mount Sinai and became their own nation. Our sages teach us that the Jewish nation was like a newborn with a lot of growing up to do. They wandered 40 years in the wilderness, refining their character traits until they were worthy of entering Israel.

Not easy. Even as they stood at the borders of the Holy Land, they succombed to lack of faith in G-d and spiraled into negativity. They complained that they would perish in this new land and desired to RETURN TO EGYPT!

Could it be that their immaturity and negativity prevented them from being a "Moshaich" to another?

Moshe Rabbeinu erred at the Waters of Merivah when he became angry at the Jewish people when they complained of thirst. They had complained one too many times. But, Hashem judges the Tzaddikim at a higher standard and therefore Moshe was denied entrance to Israel.

But what if the Jews had put aside their own needs and focused their attention on Moshe. What if they had banded together and demanded Hashem to let Moshe enter? What if they had tried to negotiate? Our Sages say there is strength in numbers, and that Hashem delights when His children work together. Could the Jewish people have been Moshe's Moshiach?? I believe YES.

This is why we are commanded to leave Egypt every day. To go to those places that stretches us out of our "speech impediments" and out of our selfish-ness so we can help others. We need each other so much. We are the keys to each others' salvation!! We can emulate Moshe Rabbeinu, gathering courage, energy, and G-'dly power to help others break free from their bondage.

Then the Exodus from Egypt occurs again. Perhaps we will not see it with our physical eyes. But spiritually, it is like a domino effect, one soul effecting the other, one arousing the other until the Final and Ultimate Moshiach will arise from his place.

G-d bless!

A Wonder...

Pesach/Passover is tomorrow!
We learned the story of the Hebrew slaves leaving Egypt. Charlton Heston's Ten Commandments always comes to mind.

The story here is slavery

and being liberated

Sages say that time is like a spiral. Each moment in time carries with it an energy signature. And although years may pass, we keep going back to the same energy track.
For example, there's this Tuesday, and there's next Tuesday. Two very different days. But two very similar days in that the "Tuesday energy" exists in both days (and in every Tuesday that was and will be!)

So, right now, we're celebrating Pesach/Passover which is all about liberation. That means the energy of freedom is in the air. The energy of breaking free from constraints. The energy that propels us to step out of old boxes. The energy of sawing off chains. Removing bitterness. Changing our mindsets. Looking forward to a better future and a new life. Life.

Changes.

"The wind is blowing in another direction..."

And I want to know how I can tap into this energy and effect the changes that I WANT!!! People naturally want to be free. And, in fact, we're taught to imagine ourselves leaving our "Egypt" every day But we get blocked. We get stuck. We get ensnared.

Enslaved

Lazer Brody writes about modern-day "slavery":
"Lack of self-respect, self-deprecation, and ignorance of one's own marvelous qualities and heritage are tickets to the slave train. Shame or embarrassment about one's ethnic or religious background is tantamount to carrying around an iron shackle with a 50-lb. ball and chain.

These feelings of inferiority are an invitation to let society dictate how you should live your life. People who feel inferior are weak; it's easy to exploit a person with no backbone. Controlled and exploited people are the most miserable creatures on the face of the earth."

And we have to know, G-d made no mistakes when He created us. He made us EXACTLY how He wanted.

He made you and I perfectly.

The depth, the beauty, the widsom that exists in you are beyond words. BEYOND! Here you are. You! There has never ever been anyone exactly like you in the whole world before! Your DNA... how you think...what you say...your potential...

You

are a wonder.

Hmm...what is your life like?
Can we even begin to understand what you go through? How do you endure? Where do you find your strength? What makes you happy?
HERE YOU ARE. Alive.

Able.

And know!
Your depth and beauty has the upmost value because of your source.

Your source being the Creator.

Who took and takes the time to "build" you. To free you!

Faith/Emuna is the key. And it's not just believing G-d made you, end of story.
Oh no. It's knowing that life isn't a purposeless vacuum. It's understanding and appreciating that He is intimately involved in your life.

loving you every second

waiting to hear from you

and WANTING good for you

yes, even when you fall...

and, even when it seems He's out to get you! But hold on and believe this truth.

"Faith/Emuna helps you feel good about yourself. As soon as you begin feeling good about yourself, you become free. Every human has an inherent right to freedom; that's the universal message of the Passover holiday."

G-d bless!