Good morning, everybody. In the name of Hashem, the holiday of Pesach is approaching shortly. We have the night of the Seder (ritual meal), the Haggadah, the Pesach night, coming our way, in the name of Hashem. We hope to celebrate it with tremendous Simcha and tremendous joy for us, for our families, and for the entire Am Yisrael. You know, our rabbis tell us that the Zohar HaKadosh says that the night of the Haggadah, the Seder night, is a very, very auspicious and special night.
The Zohar tells us that HaKadosh Baruch Hu goes to the Pamalya shel Ma'alah (heavenly entourage above), to all the Malachim (angels) in Shamayim (heavens). And He tells them, “Malachim, come downstairs to Olam HaZeh, come to this world. And see what my children are going to be saying about me tonight. Come down to the homes of my children.” The Zohar tells us that Borei Olam comes to visit every home with Malachim, with angels. It is a very, very special night when HaKadosh Baruch Hu is the host and the guest. We are not going to say that Borei Olam is the guest. Borei Olam is the Baal HaBayit (host). Borei Olam is the host as well. But at the same time, so to speak, Borei Olam is our special guest. Borei Olam brings with Him an audience to come and hear what we have to say about HaKadosh Baruch Hu. It is a night that we should spend talking about Borei Olam, about the miracles Borei Olam performed for us. Therefore, the theme of the night is HaKadosh Baruch Hu. He is the night, the spotlight. So to speak, k'vayachol (so to speak) is on HaKadosh Baruch Hu.
B'ezrat Hashem, we hope to be able to fulfill this mitzvah (commandment) in a way that makes Borei Olam proud of us, where Borei Olam says, “You know, you guys did a good job in this house. The angels were very, very impressed by you.” B'ezrat Hashem, we will be zocheh (merit) to make HaKadosh Baruch Hu proud on the night of the Seder. And B'ezrat Hashem, we will be zocheh to make Borei Olam proud of us throughout the entire year. Amen.
Now, I’d like to share with you a beautiful insight to keep in mind on the night of the Seder. You know, our rabbis tell us—and this is the halakha (Jewish law)—that when we drink the four cups of wine, we must drink them while leaning, to our left, that is. We have to be leaning like kings when we drink the four cups of wine. And so too, when we eat the matzah (unleavened bread), we must eat it while leaning to our left, like kings. However, the halakha says that when it comes to eating the maror (bitter herbs), we do not eat it while leaning. What’s the difference between them? The rabbis say it is very simple. You see, the matzah and the four cups of wine symbolize freedom. When Hashem took us out of Mitzrayim (Egypt), our dough did not even have time to rise. Borei Olam rushed us out of Egypt. You were rushed out of Mitzrayim. Borei Olam’s salvation and redemption came so quickly. It was so fast. It was not expected. It was not anticipated to happen so quickly. Our dough didn’t even have time to rise, and it was baked in the form of matzah. Therefore, when we eat the matzah, we are reminded of Borei Olam’s salvation—Borei Olam’s speedy redemption that He sent us, that He did for us in the time of Mitzrayim.
And so too, the four cups of wine also symbolize freedom. A slave does not have the luxury and liberty of drinking wine. Wine is drunk by wealthy people, by honorable people, by kings. Therefore, when we drink the wine and eat the matzah, since both of these items symbolize freedom, the rabbis tell us that you should drink it and eat it in a way that also shows that you are like a king. Therefore, the matzah and the wine must both be eaten and drunk while we are leaning like kings. However, the maror that we eat on the night of the Seder symbolizes the bitterness that we went through in Mitzrayim: the hardship, the back-breaking labor, the tears, and the weeping of our people, who suffered in Mitzrayim. That is the maror. Therefore, the maror is not eaten in a way where we are leaning, for the maror symbolizes bitterness and hardship.
But the rabbis ask an interesting question: If that’s the case, why is it that when we eat the korech, which is the sandwich that has matzah and maror in it, the halakha there is that we have to eat the sandwich while leaning? After all, there’s maror in there. There is bitterness there. Why do we eat that while leaning like kings? The commentaries answer with a beautiful, beautiful answer that is very inspiring. The rabbis say the following. The Zohar tells us that matzah is called the bread, the bread of faith, which means that matzah symbolizes our emunah (faith) in Borei Olam’s redemption and our belief that Borei Olam could easily take a person out of his hardship, out of his bitterness. This matzah turned into matzah only because Borei Olam took us out of Mitzrayim in a way that we didn’t even expect. It happened in such a rush, when we were rushed out of Mitzrayim at the speed of light. Everything happened so fast. We were one minute slaves, and the second minute we were b'nei chorin, we were free. We had our freedom and independence. It all happened instantly, in a moment. Yeshu'at Hashem keheref ayin. The salvation of God comes with the blink of an eye.
Therefore, the matzah symbolizes that. The rabbis tell us that even if there could be bitterness in a person’s life at the moment, and a person is right now going through somewhat of a maror, where there is bitterness, hardship, difficulties, and challenges, if a person incorporates matzah with that maror—if matzah is there, sandwiched, and it is right there, standing next to that matzah, next to that maror, giving it the chizuk and the support that Yeshu'at Hashem keheref ayin—that bitterness can easily come to an end. Just like Borei Olam took us out of Mitzrayim so fast, unexpectedly, and in such a rush, so too Borei Olam could take anyone out of the bitterness that he is going through in his life. Yeshu'at Hashem keheref ayin.
And with that thought, with that in mind, yes even if a person is eating maror, even if a person is eating bitterness, is going through somewhat of bitterness in his life, with the Emunah being there with him, with the lechem (bread) of Emunah, with the bread of faith, with his trust in HaKadosh Baruch Hu, he could transform that bitterness into eating like a king, where now he has his peace of mind, where now he has his Menuchat HaNefesh, where he lives a life of tranquility and peaceful mind. With that, a person can indeed eat that maror while leaning like a king. Because when Emunah is there in times of bitterness, the Emunah transforms the bitterness into sweetness. Therefore, he is entitled to lean while eating that type of maror: the maror that has matzah with it, which is emunah in HaKadosh Baruch Hu, that Yeshu'at Hashem keheref ayin.
But when a person eats the maror by itself, if a person goes through difficulties and bitterness in life without being accompanied by matzah, the matzah is not there. The Emunah is not there with him. He doesn’t have the faith in HaKadosh Baruch Hu that He could get me out of this. Then, unfortunately, it is sad to say that the bitterness is going to be true and genuine bitterness. Therefore, he cannot lean when he is eating maror on its own. But when a person eats the maror, he is going through a bitter time in life, but he has the matzah with it. He has the Emunah HaKadosh Baruch Hu with him. That Yeshu'at Hashem keheref ayin. That person now can eat the matzah. And even though it has maror with it, he can eat that maror in a way of leaning like him. Because he is now with HaKadosh Baruch Hu. He has Borei Olam with him. He has faith in Borei Olam that HaKadosh Baruch Hu can get me out of this problem at any given moment, just like Borei Olam proved that to us many, many years ago when He took us out of Mitzrayim. One day we were slaves. One moment we were slaves. And the moment right after, we were free like kings. Tizku le-shanim rabot (May you merit many years), and have a wonderful day.