Pesach – New beginnings: A blog about spirituality, chaplaincy and renewal

Post 200 – Bridging Purim to Pesach

Continuing with the theme from my most recent post based on Rebbe Nachman’s thought, Purim 2, the relationship of Purim to Pesach, I want to offer a connection between the two days that will build a bridge between our celebrations today and the upcoming preparation and celebration of Passover in a month. I have been reflecting all day on the contrast between Purim and Pesach in how we see Gd’s role in our lives.

One of the interesting things about Megillat Esther is that Gd is missing from the text. This is the only biblical work in which Gd doesn’t make an appearance. The historian in me particular finds this fascinating as there are other versions and parts to Esther in which Gd is again to be found (see the article The Other Side of Esther for one perspective on this historical approach). The rabbi and spiritual coach in me finds Gd’s absence to be in line with the traditional suggestion of how we are to read Esther as a story in which Gd is hidden but always behind the scenes, a lesson about how not “seeing” Gd’s hand doesn’t mean it isn’t there.

Contrast this to Passover, in which Gd becomes the main character of the Seder night. The Haggadah is a rabbinic compilation of Gd’s story of rescuing the children of Israel from slavery. Moses is not mentioned except in one offhandedly quoted verse towards the latter half of the main, story section of the Haggadah. Gd is as revealed to us as we could possibly imagine, with the theme of the night being that Passover night is the Leil Shimurim, the night of protection. This is the night when nothing can harm us. Spiritually, this is the night we come to recognize that all that does occur has Gd’s involvement.

As such, if we think about how the two days of Purim and Pesach relate, it is in the dual way we experience spirituality and the Divine in our lives. Many times we have periods in our lives when things will happen that seem to be chance, out of sync, leading us along a journey we cannot figure out. We have no roadmap, no clear sense of what is going on. It is in those times when we struggle to maintain faith that things are moving along a path for a purpose. We can’t see the bigger picture. That is, we can’t see it until we can step back and reveal to ourselves how a variety of choices and events lead us to this moment. It is in that discovery when we can see Gd behind the scenes, we can experience that faith we have been struggling to feel. Purim is the hidden, the chaos, the sense of the random. Pesach is that moment when things become crystal clear, when we see what led us to where we are.

As we wrap up our celebration of Purim and begin the month long arduous journey to the celebration of the Israelites emergence from slavery to freedom, Passover, may we make this is a time of working towards revealing the seemingly hidden in our lives.

Are you struggling with your spiritual growth? Faith? Feeling lost in the midst of the journey of life? Contact New Beginnings Spiritual Coaching and Consulting LLC at 732-314-6758 ext. 100 or via email at newbeginningsspiritualcoach@gmail.com

Rebbe Nachman’s Advice # 15 – Purim 2 – the relationship of Purim to Pesach

Tonight we celebrate Purim. We celebrate this day with four rituals:

Reading Megillat Esther at night and during the day
Mishloah Manot – sending gifts of food to friends
Matanot L’Evyonim – giving food/money to those less fortunate to be able to celebrate Purim
Seudat Purim – A special celebratory meal on the day

These four mitzvot speak to the joy of survival, remembering through reading, celebrating with food, connecting to others and caring for others. Interestingly, there is a fifth mitzvah of Purim, though not directly related to Purim. The Shulchan Aruch states:

שואלים בהלכות פסח קודם לפסח שלשים יום

We learn the halakhot of Pesach for 30 days before Pesach.
429:1

Since Purim is 30 days before Pesach, we would therefore need to start the study of laws of Pesach on Purim. There are various connections between the two holidays, from the idea that the crucial moments of Megillat Esther took place around Passover, to the common theme of the two days of going from persecution to freedom. Perhaps we can argue that by studying about Pesach on Purim, we bring those two days together.

Another way to look at this is the following from Rebbe Nachman:

פּוּרִים הוּא הֲכָנָה לְפֶסַח. עַל־יְדֵי מִצְווֹת שֶׁל פּוּרִים זוֹכִין לִהְיוֹת נִשְׁמָרִין מֵחָמֵץ בְּפֶסַח: (לק”ת סי’ ע”ד)

Purim is a preparation for Pesach. Through the mitzvah of Purim we are protected from chametz on Pesach (Likutey Moharan II, 74)

The mitzvot of Purim that Rebbe Nachman is referring to are the four primary commands of the day. Through the remembering, celebrating with food, connecting to others and caring for others. we are showing that we are not selfish, filled with “leaven” a symbol of arrogance. There is a trope in mystical thought that part of our mission before Passover is to remove our spiritual chametz, our arrogance. Through celebrating with others and making sure others can celebrate, we begin the process of removing the husk of seeing the world just through our eyes. We put ourselves in relationship with others, which requires a certain basic humility. And we show this by beginning our reflections about Pesach on Purim, literally bridging the two days together.

On this Purim, may we experience the joy of the day and may this celebration be the opening steps to a deep and meaningful Passover preparation season.

Rollercoasters and post Pesach reflections – taking a holiday message into our lives.

Mako Rollercoaster

I used to be a rollercoaster junkie. Any amusement park I went to I would spend my day riding one rollercoaster after another, seeking the next thrill, the next controlled risk. Nothing could stop me.

As often happens, as we get a bit older, we shy away from many thrills and risks. So there we were, during Chol HaMoed, at Sea World Orlando, and I decided I needed a thrill, a risk. Still, even though I had made up my mind, I was feeling nervous and worried. The ride warnings were telling me “just don’t” but my adventurous, live life side said “try.” Yet, it wasn’t until my nephews grabbed me by the arm to ride the Mako rollercoaster that I finally committed to “stepping back in time” and going for it.

The rollercoaster was wild. If you didn’t watched the video on top, watch it. The coaster was intense, leaving me with a sore neck and a bit woozy. Yet, was completely worth it! What a ride! Of course, it ended up being the only rollercoaster I went on all day (hey, I still have limits).

As I was sitting around reflecting on this moment, reminding myself of all the fun I used to have riding rollercoaster after rollercoaster, loops, no loops, wooden, you name it, I also found a hidden Passover message in the ride and the risk.

Passover celebrates the beginning of the Israelite journey out of Egypt. Beginnings are like the initial plunge of a rollercoaster. The new start seems very slow, an upwards grind, fighting “gravity.” The anticipation of the thrill as well as the accompanying fear grows as it travels higher and higher. And then, wham! the plunge, the moment of truth. When the Israelites leave Egypt, each part of the journey is like the grinding ascent, it’s a slow path to a moment. And once they reach that moment, there is no turning back.

For them, leaving Egypt was the initial plunge, the risk. Passover acknowledges the initial powerful, plunge into the unknown. Even if you can see the path of the rollercoaster, until you are on it, I would say you don’t know it. The Israelites knew the journey was to get to Israel, but how they would get there is the question. And along this journey there weren’t plunges, ups and downs and turns sideways, upside down, etc. we know the story is long, and we know Passover is just a moment and it is the moment all wrapped into one.

Life is similar. When we embark on the next rollercoaster, the next risk, we build up and up until the moment we choose to commit. We then take the plunge. We don’t know how it works ends, how it gets you there, but we know an end of the ride will be waiting. Every journey has this process.

The rabbis offer an approach to framing the beginning and end. We begin with the negative, the difficulties, the grinding upward mobility and end with the praises, the hope, etc., or in their words מתחיל בגנות ומסיים בשבח. Each journey begins from jettisoning the negative weight of what was and building up to the new, positive weight going forward. And when you take the step forward, the twists and turns makes for the thrill of the ride. So…

Take the plunge!

Need help riding the rails of new challenges: Contact New Beginnings Spiritual Coaching and Consulting LLC at 732-314-6758 ext. 100 or via email at newbeginningsspiritualcoach@gmail.com

Nissan and Renewal

Yesterday marked the new month of Nissan in the Jewish calendar. According to the Torah, the month we know as Nissan is the first month of the Jewish calendar:

הַחֹ֧דֶשׁ הַזֶּ֛ה לָכֶ֖ם רֹ֣אשׁ חֳדָשִׁ֑ים רִאשׁ֥וֹן הוּא֙ לָכֶ֔ם לְחדְשֵׁ֖י הַשָּׁנָֽה׃

This month shall mark for you the beginning of the months; it shall be the first of the months of the year for you.

While this date is not celebrated or formally acknowledged as the new year (for that we wait until the 7th month, Tishrei, when we celebrate Rosh Hashanah), Nissan is an auspicious time as it was the month of the Israelite redemption and the first month commemorated by the Israelites in Egypt, which we acknowledge in a special reading from Exodus (12:1-20) on the Shabbat preceding or coinciding with the new month.

In light of the Israelites new beginning, I wanted to reflect on new beginnings and the symbolism of this new day and month. In the lunar calendar, a new month begins when the moon is no longer or almost no longer visible from Earth. The month encapsulates the amount of days the moon cycles from invisibility to full visibility to invisibility again. This cycle can be a symbol for how life goes for many of us. In the words of Rabbi Dr. Abraham J. Twerski:

Whereas the secular calendar is based on the sun, the Jewish calendar is based on the moon. Many commentaries remark that there is a symbolism in the lunar calendar. After reaching its maximum brightness, the light of the moon begins to decrease until it disappears completely. Then, out of the darkness a bright new crescent appears.

This is something to remember when circumstances in life are such that we find ourselves in utter darkness, without any visible sign whence our salvation may come. We should know that out of the depths of darkness, a new brightness can appear…
Living Each Day p. 181

While every month contains this message, in a way this idea is most exemplified by the story that places in Nissan, leading up to Passover. On the night of Passover, the main section of the seder, Maggid (telling the story) is designed as a microcosm of the first 15 days of the moon’s cycle, as we are to tell the story through the eyes of going from slavery to freedom, from darkness to night. Passover night in a way is the apex. Yet, after the apex, the climax of the Exodus, the actual leaving, the Israelites lives wax and wane, with moments of terror and fear followed by moments of redemption and hope.

Perhaps this is the lesson of the days leading to Passover. We must prepare for both the celebration and integration of what redemption means and also prepare for the realization that a redemption is also a new beginning and new opportunity. And new opportunities are not easy, not always shining with light. Sometimes the path is dark even after part is lit up.

May this be a season of renewal, of new beginnings, or finding the light when things seem dark and finding the tools to combat the waning light that often happens after reaching the next step.

Looking for methods to foster feelings of renewal: Contact New Beginnings Spiritual Coaching and Consulting LLC at 732-314-6758 ext. 100 or via email at newbeginningsspiritualcoach@gmail.com