A Freedom Fighter's Pesah

by Rav Yehuda HaKohen, visionmag.org

The haggadah in every generation is meant to teach Israel how to liberate ourselves and understand the basic value of our people's freedom.

Between Israel’s slavery in Egypt and the final redemption in Jerusalem, the story of the Exodus continues throughout time. In every generation we find challenges and heroes in our unbroken struggle for complete liberation as we inch ever closer toward history’s ultimate goal.

The festival of Pesaḥ is the holiday of Israel’s initial emancipation, marking the birth of the Hebrew nation and HaShem’s great love for us. It was on this day that the Kadosh Barukh Hu took Israel out from Egyptian slavery in order that we become His human representatives in this world. We were brought from subjugation to freedom in order that we establish the civilization meant to express His Divine Ideal and bless humanity with the light of His Truth – a light that can only be illuminated through Israel experiencing complete independence in our historic homeland. It is therefore precisely on Pesaḥ – on the birthday of the Hebrew nation – that we must educate ourselves to the true value of freedom.

Rashi teaches that the miracles of the Exodus began on the tenth of Nisan, a few days prior to the festival. It was on this date that Israel overcame our fears and psychologically freed ourselves from the chains of bondage. Each household prepared to slaughter a lamb, one of Egypt’s most prominent national deities, and displayed it defiantly for our oppressors to see. Although the Egyptians would naturally seek to punish their Hebrew slaves for such an offense, the Children of Israel remained miraculously unharmed. This was therefore the day on which the miracles of redemption truly began and when Hebrew courage was first demonstrated after so many years of persecution.

This Seder Night Teach Your Children the Truth

by Rav Tzvi Fishman

One of the central mitzvot of Seder night is to recount the story of the Exodus to our children, as the Torah commands: “And you shall tell your son on that day, saying, It is because of this which the L-rd did for me when I went out of Egypt” (Shemot, 13:8). To help us carry out the all-important mitzvah of passing on our heritage to our children, our Sages composed the Haggadah, which we joyously recite on Pesach night. We are commanded not only to relate to our children the wondrous events that G-d brought to pass in liberating us from bondage and making us His chosen Nation, but also to incorporate the lessons of the story into our lives.

The Source of Israel's Uniqueness

by Rav Haim Avihu Schwartz, author of works on the philosophy of Rabbi Tzvi Yehuda HaKohen Kook, yeshiva.org.il, translated by Hillel Fendel

VI.  The Source of Israel's Uniqueness

1. Human Specialness

The uniqueness of the People of Israel does not begin with the appearance of the people of Israel, but well before that. As R. Yehuda HaLevy says in his classic work HaKuzari, we already see differences between people starting from the days of Adam HaRishon – the first human being to live on the face of the earth – and we comprehend that not everyone is equal.

For instance, in the first generations mentioned in the Torah, we already see some men who were simply a cut above the rest: Adam, Seth, Enosh, Keinan, Mahalel ... We see this clearly in the Torah portions of Noah and Lekh Lekha, as we will see.

Vayikra: How Korbanot Affect the World

Korbanot in Jerusalem produce a spiritual ripple effect that adds incredible blessing to the world – curing diseases, alleviating suffering & influencing random acts of kindness across the globe.

Pikudei: Continuing the Work Moshe Began

by Rav Yehuda HaKohen, visionmag.org

It's important to recognize the internal development of the Hebrew tribes from the Exodus from Egypt to the Brit Sinai and consecration of the Mishkan.

Listen to the audio/read the transcript here (5 min)

Vayakhel: Actualizing the Mishkan

by Rav Yehuda HaKohen, visionmag.org

If Dan is the extreme expression of Yosef in the same way that Shimon is of Yehuda, what was the importance of appointing tribesmen of Yehuda and Dan to lead the construction of the Mishkan?

Listen to the audio/read the transcript here (7 min)

Ki Tisa: Crisis of the Golden Calf

by Rav Yehuda HaKohen, visionmag.org

A mistake that nearly had catastrophic results for the entire people of Israel ultimately revealed Moshe's true greatness as a national leader.

Listen to the audio/read the transcript here (18.5 min)

The Relevance of the Nation to Torah Study

by Rav Haim Avihu Schwartz, author of works on the philosophy of Rabbi Tzvi Yehuda HaKohen Kook, yeshiva.org.il, translated by Hillel Fendel

V.  The Blessings Before Torah Study

Israel's High Stature Leads to our Connection with Torah

As we cited in the first article of this series, the Vilna Gaon referred to "the emuna of Israel and Torah." Jewish emuna, of course, stems from Torah, but the very foundation begins with Israel, as the Birkhot HaTorah (Blessings Over the Torah) emphasize. Hashem created and chose Israel, and created Torah as well, and then matched us up together. And from amid this profound connection, we arrive at the true understanding of the connection between Israel and G-d, via the Torah.