Rabbi Yoshiyahu Pinto’s talks are known throughout the Jewish world. They combine chassidic teachings and philosophy, along with tips for a better life. We have collected pearls from his teachings that are relevant to our daily lives. This week he comments on the best preparations for Passover.
On Seder night we take three matzahs, break one in half and use it for Afikoman, and leave the other two matzahs whole. Why is only one matzah broken in half and used for the Afikoman? Why not leave all the matzahs intact or take a whole matzah for the Afikoman?
A person faces a war on his faith in three fronts: for what he went through in the past, for what will happen in the future and for what is happening to him now. Concerning what happened in the past, believing people find it easy to talk about the past and believe it was good. At the end of the day, their typical reaction is to admit that everything is from God and everything is for the good. About whatever will happen - everyone is hopeful, thinking and praying that it will be good. But about what is happening now? It is very difficult to strengthen oneself with faith. The evil inclination does its utmost to discourage a person from having faith.
Of the three matzahs in our Seder plate, the upper one symbolizes the past and therefore remains whole, while the lower matzah symbolizes the future and therefore also remains whole. The middle matzah which symbolizes the present is broken in half for the Afikomen. The matzah representing the daily struggle for faith in G-d is broken in half, because every day a person must strengthen his faith in G-d.
It is told about Rabbi Galanti, a righteous sage who lived hundreds of years ago in Jerusalem, that there was a drought one year and the Jews were in deep distress because of the lack of rain. The Pasha, the Jew-hating ruler of Jerusalem at the time, called the Jews and said that if it didn't rain, he would drive all the Jews out of Jerusalem. Rabbi Galanti set a day of fasting to pray to God for rain. He announced that at an early hour in the morning they would go to the Tomb of Simon the Righteous (the Second Temple High Priest) and pray there. Because he trusted that God would respond to their prayers and it would rain, he told everyone to come with winter clothes, coats, scarves, and boots.
Even though it was a scorching day and didn't seem like it was going to rain, everyone followed the Rabbi’s instructions. On the way to the Tomb, one policeman stopped all the people with Rabbi Galanti and asked them why they were dressed for the winter. Rabbi Galanti answered that they were going to pray for rain and had prepared for when it would fall. The policeman scornfully slapped Rabbi Galanti’s face. Rabbi Galanti continued with his students and prayed at the Tomb of Simon the Righteous. He declared that he would not leave the Tomb until it rained. This is exactly what happened. The windows of heaven opened up and rain poured down.
A person shows he has strong faith when he believes that the salvation will come. A person who prays “I hope it will be good”, “we will see what happens”, shows he doesn’t have strong faith. A person’s faith in God should be so strong that even if he sees that a salvation is not likely, he still feels that it will come. That is the significance of cutting the middle matzah.
Unlike the top matzah which refer to past events which people generally view as directed from God, and the bottom matzah which refers to the future when people are generally hopeful, the middle matzah is about the present. It is broken because having faith in one’s present circumstances is always weak and needs to be strengthened. Like Rabbi Galanti, even if the sun is hot and you don't see rain coming, a person should show strong faith and go with his umbrella and winter clothes believing God will send the rain. This demonstrates true faith in God and belief in our sages.
All of us should know that the trial of this generation is a trial of faith. Passover is also the holiday of faith. It is said about the events of the Exodus which is the theme of this holiday, "And they believed in the Lord and in Moses His servant." (Ex. 14:31)
When a person prays and believes with perfect faith, he sees salvations and great heavenly assistance. If there is a drought, go out with your rain clothes and be certain that it will rain. If a person is confidant and believes it fully, then he will see a great salvation. This is what the Israelites who were in Egypt did on the night before they left Egypt. Our sages say that the Israelites sat down and ate the Passover sacrifice to celebrate their liberation even before it happened. Only afterwards, God redeemed them and brought them out of Egypt. By showing their belief as if they had already been redeemed, the Israelites merited for God to bring about their salvation and redemption.
A person should have trusting faith in God in every matter, even if it seems out of place or it is difficult for him. Even if it brings him enemies and antagonists, he should always have trusting faith in God. A person has to realize that when people are aggravating him, this is part of the process of his self-growth. Our sages say that the high waves in the sea are created by the force of a wind that pushes against the water and makes the waves go high. Anything that comes against a person also has the potential to lift him up. Every time there is a push against holiness and purity, it's a sign that a person can rise higher. Let us strengthen our trusting faith in God and then we will achieve our greatest and loftiest achievements.
This article was written in cooperation with Shuva Israel