A pesach thought from the Rebbe

As we approach Rosh Chodesh Nissan, having finished with the four parshios that herald the season, it is time to really focus on the upcoming Holiday of Pesach.

Pesach is the time of year when we cleanse our houses of all Chometz, essentially starting fresh. It is no surprise that this coincides with Spring, which is a time of renewal and rebirth of the land. Everything is fresh, clean and new.

The more mystical connotations of the holiday has been expressed that one should use the opportunity to clean out the "Chometz" of the soul, i.e. to use this time for introspection and see which middos need to be corrected, such as pride, anger and jealousy, to name a few, and work on them, do some "spring cleaning" and sweep them out of our souls.

An obvious question here is, wouldn't this be more appropriate during the High Holiday season? When everyone is focused on their actions of the past year, and is looking to improve?

I think the answer can be found in the Halacha of Parshas Zochor and leap years. We know that one must remember Amalek annually, because otherwise one forgets. So what should we do in a leap year, when it is 13 months between readings of Parshas Zochor? One answer that is given is that one should have Kavana when Hazkoras Amalek
is read during the year, in Parshas Ki Tetze (or even Beshalach). This way the reminder is heard within a year.

We can extrapolate this P'shat to the fact that we should work on ourselves at the halfway point of the year, Pesachtime. It has been a half of a year since the focused attention on our deeds and actions during Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur, and we can use the "tune up" to re-assess and re-evaluate where we are going spiritually. We don't only have to do so once a year during Elul and Tishre. By doing it now, and remembering that Ben Odom L'Chaveiro was what was missing from the Talmidim of Rabbi Akiva, which lead to their deaths, we can elevate ourselves to a level that hopefully can continue for the rest of the year, all the way into Elul.

It is also a good time to focus on Middos, as we will be spending alot of time with family and friends, and would not wish to insult or offend people by being callous to one another.

The Rebbe wishes everyone a Chag Kosher V'Sameach.