Pesach – A Call to Action

Photo Credit: Moshe Klausner

The transition from slavery to freedom was not merely a physical transformation. 

It was a psychological transformation from being 100% submissive to someone else’s will, obeying the orders of others without personal regard in order to simply survive, to learning how to be proactive and to make one’s own decisions as a free person. 

The Jews were so stuck in their slave mentality that they needed a Moshe Rabbeinu, who was never enslaved, to remove them from that mentality and help them start thinking and acting as free people. 

This transformation has also repeated itself in our times. 

For thousands of years, the Jewish people were in exile, subject to the whims of stronger people and nations, attacked in crusades, expulsions, inquisition, pogroms, farhud, and the holocaust. This created a type of slave mentality among our people, where the goal was to lie low and simply survive. Being proactive was not a priority, and for good reason. 

Even after the Jewish people left Egypt when the Egyptians confronted them at the Yam Suf, the Jews complained to Moshe that they would have been better off had they remained slaves in Egypt. Moshe then cried out to Hashem, and Hashem responded with the famous words (Exodus 14:14):

 וַיֹּאמֶר ה’ אֶל־מֹשֶׁה מַה־תִּצְעַק אֵלָי דַּבֵּר אֶל־בְּנֵי־יִשְׂרָאֵל וְיִסָּעוּ:

“Hashem said to Moshe: Why do you cry out to me? Tell the Israelites to go forward!” 

Freedom entails being proactive, even if it is uncomfortable. 

The Jews once again returned to a slave like mentality when they were sent into exile during the times of the Babylonians. 

In Megillas Shir HaShirim, which is read on Pesach, are possibly the most famous words of the Megillah (Song of Songs 5:2):

“אני ישנה וליבי ער קול דודי דופק פתחי לי… ”

“I am asleep but my heart is awake, my beloved’s voice, he is knocking, open up for me…!”

God is asking the Jewish people to let him in.

But the Jewish people responded: (ibid 5:3)

“פשטתי את כתונתי איככה אלבשנה, רחצתי את רגלי איככה אטנפם”,

“I have taken off my dress, how can I put it on again? I have already washed my feet, how can I dirty them again?”

The Metzudat David and other commentators explain that God was telling the Jews that the time of the Babylonian exile was ending. “I’m knocking on your door to tell you to come home to Eretz Yisrael.” Ezra has already begun the process, and you just need to join. But the Jewish people responded that they were comfortable in exile and had no intention of returning en masse.

After that, the Jews had a change of heart and wanted to come back, but by then it was too late, as the pasuk then says: (ibid 5:6)

“פתחתי אני לדודי ודודי חמק עבר.”

“I rose to open the door for my Beloved, but my Beloved had turned and gone.”

The Jews in the Babylonian exile were content and preferred to be passive, until it was too late.

We are at a turning point in our days as well. Will we remain in our exile mentality, lying low and hoping nobody will bother us, or will we be proactive and face our issues head-on? 

About 10 years ago, my family made aliyah, and we felt that we did our part in contributing to the future of the Jewish people in Israel, planting our roots here, and building our lives and family here.

To us, we were answering the call of קול דודי דופק פתחי לי – “My beloved his calling, open up for me.” 

After October 7, I realized that whatever I had been doing until now was no longer enough. I agreed to be interviewed on European news, sharing Israel’s situation in the days following the attack, and began writing blogs to encourage myself and others to participate more in the war effort and to help each other in more meaningful ways.

As time progressed, seeing friends, family, and others returning for their 3rd and sometimes 4th shifts of army service, I realized that writing blogs was not enough.

With encouragement from family and friends, I reached out to the Charedi Enlistment office to apply for service in the IDF.

A few months later, I received a call from the Charedi Enlistment office to train under the Israel Homefront Command division of the IDF (which deals with protecting Israel’s cities, rocket and missle alerts, search and rescue, body identification for burial etc) in a condensed training and to then join the IDF reserves.

While I do not know yet exactly what lies ahead, I am humbled to be the first in my family line since the time of the Second Temple 2,000 years ago to be in a real position to serve and protect the people of Israel.

This is the message of Pesach. This is the transition from the slave mentality that has defined us for so many generations, to the freedom mentality that is necessary in our generation. 

May we all find our niche as integral pieces of this process, which will ultimately bring our redemption, speedily in our days. 

עם ישראל חי!