Pesach - The Seder Night and the Revelation of the Baal Shem Tov

00:00 At a farbrengen, the Rebbe once related that he had heard a story from the Frierdiker Rebbe at a farbrengen before the war, about the year 5664. That year, a major, difficult war was being fought between Russia and Japan. Many Jews were soldiers in that war. At the time, the Rebbe Rashab, who was the Rebbe then, made great efforts to ensure that all the Jewish soldiers at the distant front, in the Shanghai region near Japan, would receive matzos for Pesach. He worked on it tirelessly, approached wealthy benefactors, contributed a great deal of money himself, and succeeded in sending thousands upon thousands of pounds or kilograms of matzos, which reached the thousands of Jewish soldiers at the front. It was a tremendous effort by the Rebbe Rashab, undertaken with great mesirus nefesh. Before Pesach, a letter arrived from the soldiers thanking the Rebbe Rashab for his efforts, thanks to which they had been able to obtain kosher matzos for Pesach. They wrote a letter of thanks for the whole undertaking and signed it: “Soldaty Akapa Shanghai.” This meant that they were soldiers stationed

01:59 in akapes, akapen—a kind of bunker or trench. In other words, pits where soldiers lay, dugouts where they hid while fighting the war. Those were called akapes. “Soldaty Akapa Shanghai”—they were in the Shanghai region, near that city. That Pesach, the Rebbe Rashab was very happy and deeply gratified that he had merited to help the Jews in this way, and he held a farbrengen. Among other things, he related something in the name of the Alter Rebbe. The Alter Rebbe had said, concerning the Baal Shem Tov, that his letters show that he sometimes signed “Reb Yisroel of Tloste,” and sometimes “Reb Yisroel of Akop.” That is how he signed: “Yisroel of Akop”—Akop. The Alter Rebbe explained what “akop” meant: it was the same as those akapes—pits and trenches. He explained that the town where the Baal Shem Tov was born had once had a wall, many years earlier. Over the years, the wall had fallen, leaving behind something like pits. It was in those pits that the Baal Shem Tov’s

03:39 holy parents, Reb Eliezer and Sarah, who were very poor, lived—in dugouts like those, in such akapes. That is why the Baal Shem Tov wrote “Reb Yisroel of Akop”: the Baal Shem Tov, born to his parents in their old age, was born in those dugouts, in a poor lodging among the excavations beside the town wall. That is where he was born—Reb Yisroel of Akop. [unclear] that in the merit of the Baal Shem Tov’s akapes, it is possible to get through [unclear], and the whole community need not face war. Through the power of the Baal Shem Tov, one can get through it and break a path forward. That was the story the Rebbe Rashab told on Pesach 5664. The Rebbe said that the reason it happened on Pesach 5664 [unclear]. The Rebbe related this at a farbrengen in 5720. It was on the last day of Pesach 5720, and at the time it was [unclear] since the Baal Shem Tov’s passing. When the Rebbe heard the story, he asked: What is the connection between this story and Pesach? After all, he told the story on Pesach; that brings us back to the question of its connection to

05:14 Pesach in particular. It was not for nothing. The story took place around the arrival of the matzos. Yes, with the Rebbe [unclear]. And surely this was no coincidence, but a matter of Divine providence. The fact that the story happened specifically on Pesach expresses something central to Pesach—to the festival as a whole, and to Seder night in particular, which is part of Pesach. Pesach, after all, is the time of the Exodus from Egypt. And in the Exodus, we find that the Jewish people were at two opposite extremes. On the one hand, the Jews were at the lowest point, in the most abject poverty. Physically, they were subjected to backbreaking labor, [unclear], broken in body and spirit by their material circumstances: they were slaves, subjugated to Egypt in every respect. Spiritually, too, they were “naked and bare.” The Jews were devoid of mitzvos; they worshipped idols, as our Sages describe it—idolatry. They were sunk in the forty-nine gates of impurity. “The Egyptians made us evil”: the Rebbe explained that this means the Egyptians made them bad, turning them into bad people. One must realize that, G-d forbid, even the scent of Egypt could still cling to them. The Jews were at the lowest point, both physically and spiritually. And then, at that very moment, while they were at such a low point, “the King of kings of kings, Hakadosh Boruch Hu, revealed Himself to them”

07:06 in His glory, in His very Self. What was the greatest revelation, the revelation of His Essence, of which it says, “the King of kings of kings revealed Himself to them”? It refers to four levels, each higher than the last: not “kings,” not “King of kings,” not “King of kings of kings,” but “in His glory, in His very Self.” And these are not, G-d forbid, levels ascending through the order of hishtalshelus until reaching “His very Self,” which would make the contraction remarkable. On the contrary, the Rebbe Rashab explains in his maamarim that these were the greatest revelations of His Essence, all at once during that night. That is what the Haggadah says: “I, and not an angel; I, and not a seraph; I, and not a messenger; I, and no other.” All of this came together in the Exodus from Egypt, on the night of the Exodus. Here the deepest heights meet the deepest depths: the greatest revelation and the greatest darkness. That, in fact, is what the Exodus from Egypt is about. Its central point is that precisely there, when the Jews were at their lowest, “naked and bare” and subjected to backbreaking labor, precisely from that utterly low state, the greatest essential light was aroused, bringing about the revelation of Hakadosh Boruch Hu. This is the greatest joining together: the greatest light, the greatest revelation of Essence and Being, together with what is expressed in the familiar words, “with the crushed and lowly of spirit.” Precisely where one feels “crushed and lowly of spirit,” there “I will dwell”; that is where Hakadosh Boruch Hu comes. And when the Jews were

08:50 then at their lowest, this aroused the highest, deepest depth, the depth of [unclear], and that was the revelation of the Exodus from Egypt. As Chassidus explains, this is true every single year. Each and every day, when the time of the Exodus from Egypt arrives, this is what it means. When Pesach comes, when Seder night comes, what is the central point of Seder night, of Pesach? That even if a person is at the lowest point, whether in his material circumstances or his spiritual state, Pesach means that Hakadosh Boruch Hu does not take any calculations into account. “He skips over the mountains, leaps over the hills,” as the Midrash says. He skipped over every calculation and every limitation, and there was a revelation of Essence and Being. So it happens each and every year, in every generation: “As in the days of your exodus from Egypt.” These are simple things—yes, to say it simply again: it happens every year. This point is the foundation of the whole matter of Pesach, of the Exodus from Egypt, and it finds expression in the service of the soul and the body. When a person stands on Seder night and thinks to himself, “Who am I, and what am I?”—when he knows that, in his present state, he is at the lowest point, the very

10:24 lowest point, in a state of slavery—he is told: Know that you can get out. That is how it was the first time, on the first Pesach: the Jews were at the lowest point, in a state of slavery. Yet even from such a state, from such lowliness, there was a revelation of the King of kings of kings, Hakadosh Boruch Hu. Hakadosh Boruch Hu sees where you stand and where you are going, and the moment you simply reach out your hand and say that you want to leave Egypt, Hakadosh Boruch Hu comes, in His glory and His very Self, and pulls you out of all the mud, all the concealments and obscurity, and all the constraints and limitations. He takes you and connects you all the way to Essence and Being. This is the great revelation of “that night,” the night of the Exodus from Egypt. On this basis, we can understand the true meaning of the opening of the Haggadah. When you look at the wording we say—“Ha Lachma Anya”—it is very interesting. The whole passage is difficult to understand. What do we mean when we say, “This is the bread of affliction that our ancestors ate in the land of Egypt”? What are we trying to emphasize by saying that this is “the bread of affliction” that our ancestors ate in Egypt? Why must we mention that it is “the bread of affliction”? And why does it matter that this “bread of affliction” was eaten in the land of Egypt? Why emphasize the hardship? The Chida asks this, in section 365. The Chida

11:53 He explains “This is the bread of affliction that our ancestors ate in the land of Egypt” as follows: The Gemara says that when you give to people, to Jews—Jews are the children of Avraham, Yitzchak and Yaakov, and therefore they are the children of kings. No matter how much you give them, it will never be enough. But, says the Gemara, you give them on this condition: I am giving you a little food, but even what I give you is not enough. And that is exactly the case here. He wants to invite people and give tzedakah, and since they are the children of Avraham, Yitzchak and Yaakov, the children of kings, one should even give them [unclear] wealth. So the Haggadah states a condition: “This is the bread of affliction that our ancestors ate in the land of Egypt.” I am giving you the bread of affliction, as it was in Egypt. That is the condition on which it is given, as if to say that what I give is, in any case, not enough. That is what the Chida says. But clearly there is a deeper meaning here, and we especially need to understand how it connects to what follows. What do we say next? After “This is the bread of affliction that our ancestors ate in the land of Egypt,” we say: “Let all who are hungry come and eat; let all who are in need come and celebrate Pesach.” What is the point of “come and eat,” rather than just “come and celebrate Pesach”? Yes. And this itself is not understood. Why do we say it? Why is it important? It is not written on the tray, and people

13:37 are, after all, standing here with only [unclear]. What are we handing out? It is only [unclear]. This is a major point. [unclear]. How does it connect to what follows, when we say, “This year we are here; next year in the land of Israel. This year we are slaves; next year we will be free”? How is that relevant? Why do we need to talk about reaching the land of Israel? How is that relevant? What does it have to do with a Jew? The entire text is brought here. What is so significant about it? What are we talking about? [unclear]. It continues everything said before. After all, that is what this night is directed toward. When Seder night arrives, what is “the season of our freedom”? What is this time? What are we saying? This is one of the central points. The Seder shows a passage across a vast distance, from one extreme to the other: from a state of exile to the true and complete Geulah. It is an auspicious time to bring what is hidden into the open, and to go beyond all boundaries—from the lowest depths to the highest heights, all the way to the Essence. That is the progression from exile to Geulah. Every Jew needs to ask himself: How do I recognize a state of matzah? How do I recognize lowliness and matzah? How do I know if I am there? There is physical matzah and spiritual matzah, matzah in the world. Take a look: perhaps you find yourself, G-d forbid, [unclear], amid the confusion, concealments, kelipos, distractions, grime and all these things. One can be moving about in such a place, and Hakadosh Boruch Hu leaps from the lowest depths to the highest heights, all the way to the true and complete Geulah. That is why the words of the Haggadah come to strengthen each person in what takes place on Pesach night.

15:26 As it was the first time, at the Exodus from Egypt. “This is the bread of affliction that our ancestors ate in the land of Egypt”—take a look: after the Pesach in Egypt, the Jews were in the land of Egypt, amid constraints and limitations. “The bread of affliction”—they were poor; it was the bread of affliction in the literal sense. What does this mean? What is the mode of serving Hashem represented by matzah? And according to [unclear], the point of matzah is that it was their food. That is, precisely right away [unclear]. What is matzah? Both of them [unclear]. There was an effort here to contend with the bread of affliction. So we say: that is how it was at the time. That was their state—the bread of affliction in the land of Egypt. And because they were in the harshest exile, they could not be taken out by an angel or a seraph. Rather, “the King of kings, Hakadosh Boruch Hu, revealed Himself to them in His glory and by Himself” and took them out of the exile of Egypt. And that can happen in a single night. That is why we go on to say: “Let all who are hungry come and eat.” This is addressed to anyone who is hungry, not only physically but spiritually as well. A person in a state of “not a hunger for bread nor a thirst for water, but for hearing the word of Hashem,” who feels hunger in his service of Hashem—“come and eat.” We are now telling him that every Jew must know he can partake of Torah and mitzvos, of bread and meat, and of everything in Torah and mitzvos. And not only that: “Let all who are in need come and celebrate Pesach.” Not only can he receive these things, he can also celebrate Pesach with wealth and expansiveness, with the greatest expansiveness in serving Hashem, and reach a level of wealth.

17:19 And Chassidus explains that this is the service of Hashem represented by matzah: serving Hashem according to necessity, according to nature. Afterward, one rises to a service of freedom, to the level of free people, beyond measure and limitation, which is attained through the Geulah. And all this happens in one night: from the lowest depths of “this is the bread of affliction” until we reach the Geulah of freedom. This strengthens every Jew’s faith and trust in the true and complete Geulah. When we look at the world, at all the darkness that has spread—both physically and spiritually—and at all the troubles, wars, turmoil and upheaval throughout the world, we could fall into despair. We are told: as it was in Egypt, we must know that this itself brings the Geulah. “This year we are slaves; next year we will be free,” “next year in the land of Israel.” And the Rebbe says that “next year” does not mean only when we get there. “Coming,” as in “and Rachel came with the flock,” means that it is coming right now. Immediately, in this very night, on this very Seder night, we must know that “next year”—right now we become free, and right now we are in the land of Israel. And that is precisely what the land of Israel means: it is a land of desire. When you are in the land of Israel, you are in a state of desire. Outside the land means outside that desire. “Jews outside the land serve idolatry in purity.” The state of being outside the land is one of being outside the Divine will, distant from Hashem in one’s desires. In the land of Israel, one does Hashem’s will, wants what Hashem wants and is His servant. And so we continue: “This year we are slaves; next year we will be free.” That is, every Jew is redeemed and reaches the true and complete Geulah through Moshiach Tzidkeinu. In light of all this, this is

19:23 the point of Seder night. This is the message the Haggadah’s narrator passed on to us, so that we know what Seder night should be: do not be afraid, do not falter and do not despair because of all the darkness around you. Rather, know that on this one night, the festival of Pesach, we enter a state of freedom and Geulah, all the way to the true and complete Geulah, from one extreme to the other. And the loftiest revelations are drawn down on this night, without any limitations. On this point, the Rebbe relates the story of the Baal Shem Tov. This is what the Rebbe said on Shabbos about [unclear]. The Baal Shem Tov was connected with a period of darkness. As we know from accounts of those days, his era was a terrible time of redoubled darkness. This was true physically: the Jews were then going through the most difficult times of great poverty, as is well known. And as we see in this very story, the holy Baal Shem Tov was born in [unclear], in places like that, in pits and holes, [unclear]. The very depths of material poverty and deprivation. The Jews were then at the very depths of spiritual deprivation. As is well known, this was after the episode of Shabbtai Tzvi, after all the pogroms that took place in Europe. And this had a severe [unclear] effect on the Jews spiritually: a coldness toward matters of Geulah, a coldness toward Yiddishkeit, as is known from the history of those days. And this was the point: precisely in [unclear], precisely in those holes and those pits, at that lowest depth—precisely there

21:08 the soul of the holy Baal Shem Tov was revealed. He was the one who received the instruction and promise from King Moshiach: “Your wellsprings will spread outward.” The Baal Shem Tov’s wellsprings will spread throughout the world, and through this—“When will the Master come?”—King Moshiach. And this is the instruction, the lesson and the strength we receive on Pesach from the [unclear] of the Baal Shem Tov, as the Rebbe said on Shabbos. How do we take all those [unclear]—as we said, the pits, the holes, the lowest depths, the darkness, the concealments, the [unclear], everything connected with hiddenness and concealment, redoubled darkness? The Baal Shem Tov was revealed within the [unclear], in the lowest depths. Precisely there, the light of the holy Baal Shem Tov’s soul shone. And precisely there, within the [unclear], came “Your wellsprings will spread outward.” And so we see that with the Baal Shem Tov’s [unclear], more revelations and more expressions of light—the light of Chassidus—are added each year. Even when all around us [unclear], we are engaged in battle, engaged in war. Every Jew stands firm in battle, in Hashem’s war, with the promise that “Your wellsprings will spread outward,” bringing the light of Chassidus outward and illuminating the world with it. And especially at the time in which we find ourselves, in Nissan, a time of

22:33 The month of Nissan. There is a promise about Nissan, and the Gemara says: “In Nissan they were redeemed, and in Nissan they are destined to be redeemed.” Midrash Rabbah says the same, in the words of Rabbi Yehoshua. On the verse “This month shall be for you the first of months,” the Midrash says that when Hakadosh Boruch Hu chose Yaakov and his children, He established for them a month of Geulah: the month in which they left Egypt and in which they are destined to be redeemed—from darkness to light, from servitude to Geulah, from an iron yoke to the sovereignty of Hakadosh Boruch Hu. And so He established joy for them. This is the true joy [unclear]. In these days, when the light of Geulah is already shining, and we are already beginning to see, openly and with our physical eyes, the miracles and wonders amid the deep, doubled darkness in which we [unclear], we are beginning to see the light of Geulah shine. May we indeed merit to see, openly and with our physical eyes, the revelation of the King of kings, Hakadosh Boruch Hu Himself, who brings every Jew out of this exile. May we proceed to the complete Geulah and merit to “eat there of the offerings and of the Pesach sacrifices.” And in the words of [unclear]: “We will thank You with a new song for our redemption and the deliverance of our souls. Blessed are You, Hashem, Who redeemed Israel.”