[Avodah] Pre-Pesach Special

Cantor Wolberg via Avodah avodah at lists.aishdas.org
Wed Apr 20 05:17:29 PDT 2016


Pesach is a Yom Tov of diverse moods. The tragic and heroic, the mournful and hopeful,
the somber and sentimental — strangely commingled and reflected in the services and rituals. 

One thing that stands out in my mind is the symbol of the egg (l’zecher aveilut). It serves
as a reminder of Tisha b’Av. Interestingly, the first day of Pesach is always the same day as Tisha b’Av.

So as Pesach begins Friday evening this year (and last), so too, Tisha b’Av (actual date)
begins Friday evening this year (and last).

At our seder, we read about the Four Children (quite different from each other, but a portion of each
of the sons in all of us).

On Pesach we usher in the solemn days of Sefirah, which cast a spell upon the mirthful spirit of 
this Yom Tov and which recalls the ill-fated Bar Kochba rebellion with its gloomy aftermath; and
on the same night, we open the door for Eliyahu HaNavi, the harbinger of glad tidings. 

On the day we recite Yizkor (with sad overtones), we recite Hallel (quite the opposite).

On the day when we read the Haftorah of the “Valley of the Dry Bones,” and we ask with the prophet:
“Son of man, can these bones live?” (Ezek. 37); this very same day, we read Shir Hashirim, the song
of youth and of hope.

When we think of all the trouble, travail, terrorism in the world and some of the trials and tribulations
in our own lives, we can drink four cups of wine and temporarily forget our troubles.

May your present be better than your past and not as good as your future!


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