B"H

Wednesday, Nissan 12, 5778 / March 28, 2018

Pesach (Passover), which will begin Friday night, is one of the three festive holidays in the Torah.

Each holiday has a spiritual message and should cause us to feel spiritually uplifted. In addition, we are also commanded to wear holiday clothes, enjoy a sumptuous meal, and be physically happy.

Q. Our rabbis ask: Why does the Torah command us to eat and drink as part of the festivities associated with our holidays? Are earthly pleasures really so important? Wouldn't it be better to concentrate on the spiritual aspects of the holidays - the elevation of our soul?

A.Rabbi Yaakov Krantz, known as the Magid of Dubna, explains this with the following parable: There was once a man who was, G-d forbid, lame.  He had a friend who was healthy, strong and fit, except that he was deaf.

One day the lame man decided that between him and his deaf friend they can manage to do many of the things which each of them couldn’t do on their own.  He would ride on the shoulders of his deaf friend, while he would be the listening ears for him. This way they managed to accomplish many things together.

One day they were passing by a place from where wonderful joyous music was coming. The lame one loved the music and wanted his friend to stop walking so he can enjoy the beautiful music. But the deaf one, who didn't hear a sound, didn't want to stop.

The lame one sitting on top of his friend’s shoulders remembered that he had a bottle of liquor in his pocket. He motioned to his friend to stop and filled him a glass of the liquor. He then filled him another glass and another until the deaf man began dancing.

While he was dancing as a result of his drinking, the lame person riding on his shoulders also danced as best he could to the tune of the music which he was hearing.  Although they were both dancing for two different reasons, they were both happy and content!

The same says the Magid is with each of us who is comprised of a body and soul.  True, the main purpose and pleasure of the holidays should be their spiritual high and pleasure derived by the soul.

However, the physical part of the person - the body, cannot derive its enjoyment from spirituality and thus becomes an obstacle to the spiritual enjoyment of the soul.

Thus, the Torah commands us that we should have the physical enjoyment, such as food and drink on our holidays.  Then with our body being happy and content, our Nesahama (soul) will not be distracted and enjoy the spiritual aspect of the holiday to the best of its ability.

HAVE A VERY GOOD, HAPPY, HEALTHY AND SUCCESSFUL DAY