B"H
Thursday, Adar 20, 5785 / March 20, 2025
Pesach (Passover) will begin in just over three weeks. The first Seder will be Saturday night, April 12th; the second Seder (for those living outside of Israel) will be Sunday night, April 13th.
Pesach is the holiday of our national freedom. At the Pesach Seder, we recall the harsh and inhuman treatment our ancestors suffered for many of their 210 years in Egypt. We recall the miracles that G-d performed for them during their exile in Egypt and at the time of their liberation.
Q. Why did G-d bring the Jewish people into Egypt to suffer in the first place?
A. The Ben Ish Chai explains it with the following parable: A wealthy man and his wife took in an orphan boy into their home and provided him with all his needs. Many years passed and the little boy grew into a fine young man, taking his benefactors for granted.
One day a poor person came by the house asking for help. The rich man had pity on him, invited him into the house, he fed him and in addition gave him 100 gold coins.
The poor man, who usually received pennies, was stunned at this large sum and fainted. When he came to, he couldn't stop thanking the rich man and showered him with so many blessings. Every time he met the rich man in the street he again couldn't stop singing his praises.
The rich man's wife, seeing the poor man's appreciation, said to her husband, "I don't understand why the poor man on whom you spent 100 gold coins cannot stop singing our praises, while the boy who lived in our home many years and has received much more than 100 gold coins, hasn't said a thing."
The rich man called the young man and said to him, "Until now, we have kept you in our home, we paid all your expenses, put you through school etc., now it's time that you take care of yourself."
The young man bid good-bye to his benefactors, took some food with him and left the house. Not having any money to rent an apartment he spent the next few days in the street. When his food finished, his hunger pangs made him miserable. He longed for the days he was cared for by the wonderful couple.
A while later, the rich man sent for the boy to come home. "I want you to stay in our home as before," he said to him. The young man was overjoyed. He couldn't stop thanking his benefactor for his generosity and benevolence. Each day when he remembered the suffering he experienced during the time he was on the street, he would feel tremendous appreciation towards the man and his wife and would continuously shower them with praise and blessings.
The same is with our experience in Egypt. The enslavement and bitterness of the Egyptian exile gave the Jewish people a true and genuine appreciation of the tremendous kindness which G-d later performed for His people. It was a lesson for the Jewish nation not to take anything for granted.
HAVE A VERY GOOD, HAPPY, HEALTHY AND SUCCESSFUL DAY
OUR HEARTS ARE WITH OUR BROTHERS AND SISTERS IN CAPTIVITY - MAY THEY ALL BE RELEASED NOW