Editor’s Letter: Calligraphy Pesach 5782
He lifted us into a realm where we could be ourselves, free to think, free to feel, and free to hope.
Therefore, tell Bnei Yisrael, “I am Hashem and I will take you out… and I will save you… and I will redeem you…and I will take you…” (Shemos 6, 6–7)
Four words of geulah, the process of redemption.
But the order is intriguing, for isn’t the first step the salvation itself? When coming to help, a rescuer will first save the victim, and then remove him from the place in which he’s being oppressed.
Why is V’hotzeisi, I will take you out, before V’hitzalti, the actual saving?
The Mitzriyim didn’t just physically oppress the Bnei Yisrael. They had a more sophisticated idea. They would dehumanize them, strip them of their dignity by giving them no chance to think, to feel, to simply be. It was a program designed to smother that which allows a person to have any dreams at all.
Peace of mind. Tranquility. Focus.
Without that, they would never leave, because they could never leave.
So what HaKadosh Baruch Hu did is, even before He saved us, He took us out. He lifted us into a realm where we could be ourselves, free to think, free to feel, and free to hope.
And until today, this Yom Tov, this glorious evening, remains zeman cheiruseinu, a time when we are free of distraction, enveloped in tranquility and joy. It’s a time to revel in our relationship with Him and enjoy the blessings with which He surrounded us.
It’s never been noisier than now. That little bit of focus doesn’t come easy.
But we worked hard to get here, and we believe that, as the Chasam Sofer wrote, “Even deep in the galus, the Divine flow still rests on the Jewish home on this night, when the fathers tells over the wonders of redemption.”
You can’t tell a story if you’re distracted.
But if you’re fully there? What a story it will be!
May we merit the final chapter, without having to wait a moment longer.
A kosher’n freilechen Yom Tov,
Yisroel Besser
(Originally featured in Mishpacha, Issue 907)
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