As we enter the latter part of the Passover Holiday there are some wonderful celebrations to be had! The Seventh Day of Passover (in Hebrew called Shevee’ee Shel Pesach) is an important day in Jewish History as it commemorates the final redemption of the Jewish people from their Egyptian oppressors.
The Jewish people were cornered with the Sea of Reeds directly ahead of them and the Egyptian army bearing down upon them. There seemed to be nowhere to go. When Nachshon ben Aminadav waded into the water he had faith that G-d would keep His word and redeem His people. The water went up to his chin and then, voila’, the sea parted and a path was found through to the other side. The Egyptians wouldn’t (perhaps ‘couldn’t’ is a better word) stop from chasing the Jews. This refusal to read the situation correctly – despite so much history and so many lessons – ultimately cost Pharaoh his vaunted army.
Imagine the joy of the Children of Israel as they successfully navigated the passage through the midst of the Sea! As they emerged on the far bank they broke into song led by their beloved leaders Moses and Miriam, who led the women. They extolled the Almighty who had saved them yet again and who finally completely broke the dysfunctional hold of the Egyptians over the Israelites.
The word Shevee’ee, meaning seventh, is related to the word Sove’ah, which means satiated, meaning that on this day we are fully satiated with the concept of Passover.
And what is the concept of Pesach? The main concept of Passover is freedom! It is on this holiday that we are freed from both our internal and external oppressors. Those powers that seem irresistible that are always telling us what cannot be done are vanquished, allowing us to realize our full potential. The faith of a man led to the actions of a people, which led to the miraculous intervention of the Almighty.
The miracles of the Seventh of Passover usher us directly to a new Era, the Era of Redemption, the Era of Moshiach. When Moshiach (finally) arrives it will mean the ultimate in experiencing freedom, as the G-dliness will envelope us and inspire us to free ourselves from our own limitations. No longer will we be oppressed. Likewise the external limitations will be completely negated. Our hope is that our external enemies will change their ways and become our allies so that they may too partake of the blessings of the Messianic times. The crucial consideration is timing, for one must choose to believe – just as Nachshon chose to jump in the water – to become a full beneficiary of Moshiach.
Let us all endeavor to use the inspiration of this sacred holiday to make the right choices and may those choices be rewarded now with the immediate arrival of the righteous Moshiach!