Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Making Kadesh Last
“The conquest will not be through strength or power; it will be with my spirit”. – G-d (to Zecharia in 4:6)
The land of Israel was blessed with two types of holiness.
When Zecharia’s generation regained Israel after the Babylonian exile, the conquest was from the outside in. We gained (partial) control militarily and strategically in order to built a second sanctuary for Hashem.
The future conquest of Jerusalem will be from the inside out. We will conquer Jerusalem with a holiness that will then overflow to encompass the entire land of Israel.
What will be the source of this holiness?
The answer lies in the table of contents that we sing at the Seder. According to the Kabbalists, we name each step of the seder because it represents a spiritual undercurrent. The seder is not just a mimicry of the Greek symposium; it is a yearly process of freedom, liberation and closeness to G-d.
We begin the Seder with Kadesh Urchatz: we sanctify ourselves and wash our hands. Common sense would dictate that we wash our hands as a first step in sanctification, but the Hagada tells us otherwise.We sanctify first and wash our hands second.
The Shpoiler Zaide (of Dancing Bear fame) explains that it is not we who are sanctifying ourselves at the seder, but G-d who is sanctifying us. Every Pesach (and, on smaller scale, every shabbos) we receive a gift of free sanctification from Hashem. Sometimes that holiness is allowed dissipate and get lost, but if we are alert we can ride that holiness and follow it with our own purification, making it last forever.
The Bais Yisroel of Gur had a unique perspective on the “Baal Teshuva movement”. He used to tell his Chassidim that a spirit of Teshuva had descended upom the entire world, unfortunately it was only the irreligious who took advantage and became inspired. His point was that every person at every stage in life is given freebies from G-d. We can ignore them and let them fade away, but if we are smart we will grab them.
Zecharia taught us that one jump start of Kedusha can fuel the conquest of the entire land of Israel. One spark, properly cultivated, can bring redemption to the entire world.
Post Script:
This is the third essay in a trilogy on holiness. The Targum on Isaiah, quoted in our daily Tefilla, writes that the three-fold Kadosh, Kadosh, Kadosh, refers to three types of Holiness. There is Holiness in Heaven, Holiness on Earth, and Holiness that Lasts Forever.
Uploads on the Hagada (prepared for my students).
Hilchos Haseder (43 pages)
Hagada Companion (58 pages)
More posts on Pesach:
Bongo Without a Cause (on Unity)
Chag Kasher Vesame’ach!
