Ari Goldwag - Pesach - Ecstatic vs Measured Spirituality

you're listening to the weekly para podcast recorded with hashem's never running assistance in ra Israel 5776 2016 this week we don't have a par because we have the holiday of Passover of pesak so this week and also next week for those who are in karts outside of Israel we are going to be reading readings that have to do with the concept of Passover of pesak itself so what I'd like to do is I'd like to share with you some thoughts about pesak and hopefully we'll have something that we can take with us through the holiday something that will inspire us it's important to note as we look at the Jewish calendar as we look at the holidays that we go through everything is set up in such a way that it's very orderly there's a very clear structure to what's going on and the structure very much has to do with the fact that there are six months and six months we have 12 months in a year generally sometimes we have a 13th month not for our discussion right now but generally speaking we have six months that go from Nissan through through the end of L and then we have TI through the end of Adar so these six months parallel each other so Nissan is the month that we're in now it's the month of PES of Passover Tish is the month that we'll be in in six months from now which is the month when we have the holidays of R and sukus the g tells us in in a number of different places that we have a connection between the holiday of pesak and the holiday of sukus and that connection the way that it's described is as a a connection we have the same word in the context of Passover as in the context of sukus in the Torah in the description within the Torah and that is the word the 15th because both of these holidays occur on the 15th of the month that's very significant because the 15th of the month is the very middle of the lunar month and in the middle of the lunar month the the moon is full and so that expresses the idea or that brings out the fact that in the middle of the month the spiritual Realms that we experience the the world that we experience reflects at the in the most possible way just like the Moon is reflecting fully what it can reflect of the Sun's light so to we are reflecting the spiritual Realms so it's significant that sukus and pesak both occur in the middle of the month on the 15th and it's significant that they're connected through this passage way so to speak through this word these words of the 15th of the month now in thinking about the comparison between sukus and pesak so these two holidays because they're connected in this way by the Torah and because of the fact that that we find them in the middle of the first month of these two six month series means that we can look at them through this connection and we can say that there are some kind of parallel there are many different parallels but I want to focus in on one specific parallel which has to do with the Mitzvah themselves the particular Commandments that we find in each of these holidays on sukus the Commandments that we have are the Commandment to build and walk into our Suka to live our lives within that Su to eat there to sleep there Etc and we also have the Mitzvah of L we have the Commandment to to bring these four different species to shake them in the in the different directions there's a lot of movement a lot of motion we also have the fact that on sukus we go around the beima we surround it we walk around with our lul and Asim we also do this action on on the eighth day of sukus and we we walk around the the Bea with the sa Tor We Dance Etc so we see that when it comes to sukus there's a lot of action on our part there's a lot of movement we're building that Suka we're walking into that Suka we're shaking that Lula we're dancing with the Torah a lot of movement but when it comes to pesak it's very interesting because the mitzah of Passover involve eating they involve yes there's an action that we do but after we take that action we eat this food it's consumed and it's gone when we finish with the the lul and the asog it's still there it's still it's not consumed what's the significance of the fact that there's so much motion around the holiday of sukus there's so much movement but when it comes to Passover there's almost like a a stopping of movement that's the way it seems it seems like we're not moving so much also very interesting is the fact that we find that when it comes to sukus so we have this special e8th day which is called and there's a medish which I've quoted in the past that talks about the fact that really sh the eth day of sukus should have been 50 days later just like we count 50 days from the second day of Passover until sh when we receive the Torah and then we have a separate holiday of sh 50 days later on the sixth day of of San so too it should have been that way in regards to suus we should have had a holiday 50 days later on the sixth day of kiss but that's not what we do in fact what we do is that we have it on the eighth day we have it immediately we have that Eighth Day thater is also called it's a day of stopping after we've gone through a certain process we stop that's why it's called atas what is the significance of the fact that we have the eth day where we dance with the Torah so it's clearly all about the Torah what is the significance of the fact that it's immediate as opposed to on Pak where we have aneras as well 50 days later we sit and we learn the Torah and but that's happening 50 days later why is it indeed that it takes more time to get there also significant why do we dance with the Torah there's this movement like we said in regards to suus there's movement there's dancing there's shaking there's building but when it comes to Shu the way that we encounter the Torah is not with a dance but rather it's with sitting all night and studying the Torah and preparing ourselves to receive the Torah but it seems like in a more passive way what's the understanding of this contrast between sukus and PES between shes and Shu another thing that's worth thinking about is the fact that we find that on sukus there's no seder on pesak we have a Seder we sit down with our children we tell the whole story of of The Exodus from Egypt and we have a whole process and we give it over to our kids but on sukus there's not really such a process what's the difference why on sukus is it not as focused on giving over on M the giving over the tradition to our children but on pesak it is indeed what's the understanding of that so to begin to understand what's going on I'd like to share with you the idea that there are two different modes of service of Hashem or said differently there are two different modes of our experience of spirituality of godliness of our relationship with Hashem one possible way of experiencing that is a more ecstatic way it's where we we work ourselves up we dance we sing and we have really an awesome experience of the spiritual realm perhaps or of our relationship with hasem or our relationship with others that's one way and that's one mode of service of hasm and that's something that we see in theic World more it's something that we see that people certain people indeed need to have that kind of relationship with Hashem or there or relationship to spirituality but there's another mode and that mode is through more is is a more thoughtful mode it's a more measured mode it's more metered mode and in that mode in the second mode so the person develops his relationship with Hashem or his relationship with spirituality or his relationship with Torah in a more measured way in a building way in a slower way way it's not as ecstatic it's not as awesome it's not as inspirational but it it's something that lasts longer it's something that's a little bit deeper in a certain way each one of them has their Mila each one of them has their advantage sometimes a person needs inspiration but sometimes the person needs to settle down in order to receive that more measured and calm so to speak relationship with Hashem and I think that if we look at the difference between sukus which is in Tish the beginning of the year which is the fall so that time of year things are more dark our connection to hasem is not as open it's not as obvious everything is starting to you know all of the plants they're not opening up like it is in the spring in the spring everything is Manifest there's much more light it's warmer everything about the spring is much more open much more connected and that's a reflection in the Physical Realm of what's going on in the spiritual Realms in the fall however everything is much darker everything is much cooler things are moving into a different mode they're moving into the winter mode and so in that place in that space when we're in that darkness when we're in that place where we don't openly see Hashem as much so in that place we need more movement we need more motion we need to do something greater to experience a revelation to experience inspiration to experience a connection to Hashem and in that space also because of the fact that it's darker because of the fact that it's colder so to speak so it's much easier to to lose it so it's something that has to be done quickly you have to run and jump and and dance with the Torah you have to shake that lul up you have to move you have to build that Suka you have to get get yourself moving in order to have a relationship with Hashem when we get to the spring however because the light is much more prevalent because it's much more obvious because it's much more available so it's something which if I take too much I will be overwhelmed with it I need to take it in a much more measured way in a more metered way and not only is it something which I must do but it's something that I have an opportunity to do to slow down because there's so much light it's an opportunity for me to receive it in a much deeper way now what's interesting is one of the minhagim that we have one of the Customs that the Jewish people has is that we save our Lula and esrog from all the way from sukus we save it and we include the lul esog in the burning of the when we burn that when we burn all all the leav stuff so we get rid of that so we only are eating matah all we have in our houses is matah there's no bread left there's not a crumb left in our homes what's the significance of the fact that part of the burning one of the things that we use to Kindle the burning of the Kates is indeed the lul andas and the other things that are the components of the arinum that which we shook six months ago or in this case in this in our year because it's a leap year seven months ago so the simple explanation is that we want to use one Mitzvah to help us do another mitzvah but I think that there's another deeper idea here that's going on and that is that there are two different modes of serving Hashem which are reflected in two different times of year and we can say it's reflected in the different types of people within CLA Isel but the two different modes are one is an ecstatic greater inspired service of Hashem that involves movement that involves dancing that involves song as we had it sukus suku it's a time of Greater Joy but it's a time when we need Greater Joy we need greater inspiration we need that extra movement in order to feel connected to hasm as we go into the winter months but as we get to PES there's a different mode when we get to Nissan when we get to the spring there's a different mode because the light is more available because access to Hashem is more obvious and we can't stay in that mode we need to in a certain sense burn up that mode we need to take the lul and the esog and we need to put it in the fire with thees because the represents a certain level of ego it represents a certain level of neediness on the part of our emotional selves our animal selves and that is for that food for that thick bread which represents the represents that you know the leavening in the bread represents our our evil inclination our animal desires when it comes to P we need to come down from even from that inspiration that you know when we're inspired when we're dancing so there's a movement there's an involvement of our physical selves in ourem in our service of God and that's important and that's one mode of being that's one one mode of serving Hashem but there's another mode and so in this when we're in this time we need to give up that mode in a certain sense we need to burn that mode and we need to move into the new mode the new modality which is where we are serving hasem in a in a more quiet place in a more meter Place more measured place where we're eliminating the ego that's not something that we can stay in all the time that's not a mode that's for all the time but it's for now it's where we are at this time it's where we are when we come to PES when we come to Passover when we come to n when we come to the spring because to receive this great light is something that has to be done in a more measured way and that is why when it comes to shmin we have to have that that ecstatic day that receiving of the Torah that dancing with the Torah has to be immediate because we have to hold on to it before we lose it it's something which only comes it's inspired and then that's it it's dark again but in our time in the time of the spring and the times of pesak of Nissan so the inspiration is something which is open it's more more manifest and so we have this time where we get to build up to receive it and so we have the counting of the Omare we don't have to have that ecstatic day immediately because the light is here it's readily available but we still need to make ourselves in a measured way we count One Day 2 Day 3 day four 5 6 7 one week and then we count again we count slowly up to receiving the Torah and even when we receive the Torah it's not in this massive dancing ecstatic form but rather and sitting learning the Torah receiving the Torah in in a more passive way in a more metered way and with less ego you know on sukus there's no P there's no we don't sit and talk about in The Exodus from Egypt but what we do do is that we represent we we behave in a way which is spiritual and that's something that our children you know when you see something ecstatic inspiring so you know you're inspired it's something that sticks with you it's something that makes an impression so yes we are indeed interacting with our kids we are indeed giving them something inspiring but it's in a different it's a different way it's a more inspired way perhaps but it's not something that's metered and measured when we get to PES when we get to Passover we're slowing down we're sitting down we're taking the time just like on sh we stay up all night to study the Torah we we take the time so too on PES we say up all night to take the time to talk about this amazing experience that we had but we looking at it in a more measured way and with less ego with less inspiration perhaps with less ecstatic type of interaction with God but it's a different mode it's different way of teaching the mitz of suus involve motion involve movement involve building involve dancing so there's that motion but on P the Mitzvah involves something which is consuming I'm eating up this food I am I'm eating the matah I'm it's becoming part of me it's it's something which has less movement less motion and it becomes absorbed into me there's much more of an incorporation of the actual Mitzvah itself into myself on a physical level what's interesting is that in the Torah when it talks about the month of Nissan it tells us and it's the first mids of the Torah it says this is your month clel this month the month of Nissan is your month do you want to know how the Jewish people survived throughout Millennia of persecution of difficulties of Holocaust of inquisitions Etc how did we survive it's through the fact that we had this measured this ability to stay in a measured mode in a meter mode you know we have a setback we move forward slowly we we have an inspiration we move forward slowly we receive it we work through the process here we are clel the Jewish people still exists after 3,300 years of History really more 3,700 years of History here we still are why because we've absorbed the message of Nissan the message of Nissan is take it one step at a time one day at a time we counting one day at a time and then a week at a time from PES until sh that's how you receive the Torah that's how you remain as a nation and that's why we give over we have a sedor where we sit down with our children this is the time of m a tradition we give it over to our children we show them that this is something which requires a measured approach we have to do this slowly we have to do this properly we have to take it and we have to receive it in order to receive it we need to do it in this specific way in the mode of Nissan CL Isel has returned to the land of Israel in our times unbelievable miracle and how did we get here through perseverance through constantly remembering every single day God returned to Jerusalem our focus our prayers always to Jerusalem it's just metered and measured slow willingness come back return return to Israel return to the land of Israel that all occurs in this time between pesak and we have this recognition of the fact that here we are back in Israel back in our land because of the patience that we had for so many thousands of years and remembering throughout this time and giving over to our children every single year we say next year in Jerusalem it's going to be it's going to be soon and as we remember that as we give that over to our children we need to realize we need to remember we need to incorporate into ourselves that how does this occur how do we return to Israel it's through the mode of Nissan it's through the mode of patience it's through the mode of sitting doing the work going through the process and then we return that's how we get don't we don't say this year in Jerusalem because we recognize that it's next year that it's through the process of what we're going to go through over the next 12 months that we're going to move closer and closer to Jerusalem to returning to Israel I want to bless you and please bless me back hasem should help us to incorporate to absorb the message of Nissan the message of the idea that we are in a process and in order to receive the amazing light of redemption that Hashem wants to give us we need to go through that process we need to receive it and it's a step at a time yes it starts 6 months earlier or 7 months earlier in Tish with that inspiration but the way that we ultimately truly receive it is through the metered and measured process thank you so much for listening have a wonderful shabas and a wonderful PES this podcast was made possible through the gracious donations of listeners like you for more 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