Pesach Seder Preparation

More on Matzah and Chametz

Matzah and Chametz, חָמֵץ וּמַצָּה for example, which come from the similar source but differ in that Matzah מַצָּה has the letter Hey while Chametz חָמֵץ has the letter Chet. [see the teaching by Rabbi Gershom Winkler below]

Chametz חָמֵץ is spelled “Chet, Mem, Tzadi” while Matzah is spelled Mem, Tzadi, Hey. They share the letters Mem and Tzadi. Together these spell the word “matz”, which means “to beat” or “meitz”, which means “to oppress”. The letter Chet is similar to the word “cheit” which means “sin”. Thus, chametz חָמֵץ can be thought of as “cheit meitz” which means “the sin of oppression”. When we eat chametz חָמֵץ , we are oppressing our souls, our yetzer tov (good inclination) and subjecting it to a foreign power (the yetzer hara).

Another aspect of this "sin of oppression" is that of coercion in our lives. When we try to be "right" with our ideas being a better solution for another person than their own perceptions of what is "right" for them we are committing this "sin of oppression". When we perceive what we think as "right" for another person we may be compromising and redirecting that person's essence unless we have "true love" for that person. It is better to not make suggestions unless the person asks us for our opinion.

One of the purposes of the matzah מַצָּה is to correct for that "sin of oppression". Matzah מַצָּה , can be thought of as “meitz hei” which means to oppress the “five”. The letter Hey has a numerical value of five. The sages list four cardinal sins: idolatry, bloodshed, immorality, and loshen hara (gossip). i would like to add one more; the sin of apathy and forgetfulness. Too often we sit by and let evil happen because it is either not our concern or we don’t have time to get involved. Maybe someone else should do it. The end result is that the evil goes on. By eating the matzah מַצָּה , we oppress these five deadly sins and free ourselves for one week for a spiritual redemption.

Matzah מַצָּה spelled backwards is ha-tzom, which means “the fast” or “ha-tzam” which means “the thirst” (the difference is vowels while the letters are the same). Therefore, the matzah מַצָּה is a thirst for answers.

The sages also call Matzah as “Lechem Oni” which translates as “Poor Bread". The Sages also interpret "lechem oni" not as "poor bread", but in the sense of “oneh” meaning answers. The matzah מַצָּה is the bread over which answers are given. In the Haggadah we say “Ha lachma anya”; “This is the bread of affliction”. This can also mean, “This is the bread of answers.” After the four questions are asked during the Pesach Seder, the matzot are uncovered, and we deliver the “answer” to the youngest child. Remember "Ha Lachma anya" precedes the 4 questions and actually starts the Maggid - story telling of the Haggadah. Thus the writer of the Haggadah is teaching us the truth about cause and effect. It is the answer that is the cause and the question that is the effect of the answer that wants to be revealed. Very Kabbalistic and Very True.

Chametz חָמֵץ can be thought of as “tzam cheit” or “thirsting for sin”. By relying on material possessions instead of devoting ourselves to good deeds, Torah study, and the performance of mitzvot, we lust after those things that in the end, makes us poorer and not richer. We are not truly free if we are slaves to our possessions.

Teaching by Rabbi Gershon Winkler

NOOKS, CRANNIES AND POCKETS

In the Talmud Yerushalmi, Pesachim 1b); and also according to the 16th-century Rabbi Moshe Isserles [the RAMA], we search the Nooks, Crannies, and our Pockets as well (on Shulchan Aruch, Orach Chayyim 433:11). This applies within our homes and within ourselves.

Chametz. Usually it is translated as leavening, any bread crumbs, or remnants of other leavened foods. None of it is allowed in our bellies or our homes on Passover. Passover is a time of basics, absent fluff. So we feast on matzah instead of bread. Matzah is made of flour and water. Period.

Matzah is a very basic representative of freedom. The highest experience of liberation is simplicity.

Matzah is called lechem o’nee [bread of poverty] because freedom requires us to become as the poor, in the sense that they are not shackled in bondage to things, to stuff, to property, and are thus more free to re-situate themselves at will than those of us who are attached to many things and assets.

The16th-century Rabbi Yehudah Loew of Prague known as the MAHARAL in his commentary on Haggadah shel Pesach, on Ha Lach’ma An’ya) teaches matzah – Creator blended earth [flour] and water -- the sole composition of matzah, from which all else evolved. Chametz חמצ and Matzah מצה virtually share the same letters, only (1) the letters differ in their arrangement for each, and (2) the letter Chet ח in Chametz חמצ is not open at its upper left corner while in the word Matzah מצה to form the letter Hei ה at the end of Matzah has an opening in the upper left corner.

This is to teach us that the difference between attachment and freedom is a simple little mark, a dot, a point, as in the point of Genesis from which all came into being. Therefore, we eat matzah for seven days corresponding to the seven cycles of Creation, remembering during this period of Spring, of life emerging anew, that every now and then we need to release our attachments, transform the Chet ח into Hei ה , to remember we came from nothing, we are emanating every moment from the invisible point of Genesis into beingness.

When we attempt to give form to the point of Genesis, we create a Chet, ח which means fence, and become slaves to our attachments (chametz); חמצ .

When we cease our attempts at defining the mystery that is God, we become free of our attachments and create a Hey ה , which means window, implying possibility, visioning, freedom (matzah) מצה (Sh’lah, Mesechet Pesachim, D’rush Sh’leeshee, No. 12).

Chametz reversed spells Tza’mey’ach צמח , the Hebrew for Sprouting Being, or Tzeh’mach, simply -- growth. This implies that the opposite of chametz, of excess, fluff, is growth, freedom from the weightiness of too much stuff, which then allows us to evolve, to become more organic and grow, branch out, become free from chametz throughout our homes.

On a deeper level, adds the 16th-century Kabbalist Rabbi Yeshayahu ben Avraham, we are examining our home life to rid it of chametz, of what keeps us stuck, of what veils us from being more conscientious in our day-to-day relations with our loved ones. Why, then, do we clean the House of Torah Study and the Synagogue? Because, he continues, even there we need to examine, to seek out the chametz that accumulates in our spiritual lives as well. How pure is our learning, our sacred studies, our prayers? With what have they possibly been tainted over time? Maybe we have used these venues to show off our “righteousness”, our piety, our religious-correctness. Maybe we have used them as escape routes to avoid facing important issues in our lives. And so on. And why, then, does Rabbi Isserles add pockets? Because, writes Rabbi Yeshayahu, we need also to examine how we conduct ourselves around money. Have we dealt honestly in our business dealings? Have we been generous toward those in need? (Sefer HaSh’Lah HaKadosh, Mesechet Pesachim, Drush Sh’leeshee, No. 27).

When we do these last searches "the Bekidah" we use candles. The question as to why is written in the Talmud Yerushalmi, Pesachim 1b: “And we do [these inspections] not by the light of the sun, nor by the light of the moon nor by the light of the stars -- only by the light of a flame, for ‘the flame of God is the human soul, searching all of the inner chambers of the belly’” (Proverbs 20:27).

Freedom and its Meaning

Before we return to the Seder Stages, let us discuss the concept of Freedom

As we have learned and will learn again Pesach is about asking Questions.

What is the physical and political effect of the Holiday of Pesach? It is the transition of political power from one nation - Egypt to another nation.

The basic essence of the Nation Egypt is learned from the Hebrew shoresh (root) of the Hebrew word Mitzraim. The shoresh is Maytzar spelled Mem Tzadi Reish. Its meaning is narrow, limited, straights, and to set boundaries. The country of Egypt has the essence of being limited, setting borders, and venerating body consciousness over soul consciousness. This is learned from their death and burial customs and practices. Mummification being only one aspect of this.

According to the Bible Egypt became the sole/soul world power through the auspices of Joseph HaTzadik. In fact all of the world came to Egypt to buy food during the 7 years of famine which was so severe that it actually destroyed all food storage outside of Egypt in two years. The effect of this famine was to bring Jacob and the Children of Israel into this narrow place. It also essentially moved all of the wealth of the world into Egypt as well. The purpose of this was to allow the Children of Israel to go out of Mitzraim with that wealth.

Were the plagues real miracles or natural events?

What changes about the Exodus if the Miracles are natural events? NOTHING! So why do men struggle so much with this issue. Just as we have learned that the tools of the Ana Bekoach and the Zohar work for Believers and Non Believers as well, the effect of the Exodus does not change if the cause was mystical or natural.

The political impact described above actually has a different perception. Egypt valued the body and felt that man did not have a divine right to FREEDOM. The teachings of Abraham Issac and Jacob is exactly the opposite. FREEDOM is a Divine or innate Right attached to each human being.

The correction of the month of Nissan is that right to be free. Israel essentially shone a Light on the practice of limitation and borders. The Bible teaches that Israel has the responsibility to "Be a Light unto the Nations". That Light includes: HUMAN FREEDOM which is another word for Free Choice. Moshe came to Pharaoh for the purpose of telling Pharaoh "Human Freedom and Free Choice has Nothing to do with Governments".

The Torah teaches that first Freedom is a state of Mind a state of consciousness.

What Egypt learned and each individual must learn for themselves: Slavery of the body starts with slavery of the mind! Yet before that one must understand what does FREEDOM mean?

FREEDOM is responsibility! What is the opposite of FREEDOM? Parenting - someone else should take care of me. This is the conflict that rages until today between the Children of Israel and the Rest of Mankind. Israel teaches as Kabbalah teaches accept the responsibility for your actions. While we continue to see the manifestation even up to today in the United States that Parenting provides. In the.. United States "Bigger Government will provide for everyone.

How do we break out of Slavery of the Mind that is created by our own created limitations?

That is the Seder and its rituals. What is the first Esser Debrot (Ten Utterances)? I am HaShem who took you out of the Land of Egypt out of the House of Bondage.

As a student of Kabbalah i ask you to use your brains and read between the lines of that statement. The First Esser Debrot is to “leave Egypt!" This means to become FREE. To break out of your self imposed limitations. To accept your responsibility.

The true slave wants to be taken care of like a child. There are slaves today. These people do not want to accept their responsibility.

How do we overcome our own desire to be taken care of? How do we become FREE? Through the ritual of the Seder and its steps. Let us start looking at them now.

The Seder Plate is a Tree of Life Glyph

Actually there is one step that needs to be performed prior to the Seder steps and that is to build the Tree of Life for the table or to build the Magen David for the table. In fact they are both the same thing. This is a little known piece of wisdom.

We have all seen the Tree of Life Glyff and you have all heard me teach you what Rabbi Ashlag said about the Tree of Life Glyff that it should not be used to help people understand the Tree of Life because it is a 2 dimensional picture in a 10 dimensional universe. We need to picture it with our minds and our imagination not see it physically. Now you will learn why this is true.

Most Seders that i have attended are boring and i end up hungry and miserable and looking for a confrontation with my sisters.

The hunger comes from the little known fact that food is not forbidden prior to the matzah. It just can not be matzah so have plenty of nosh items and people should plan to not wait for the main course but enjoy the appetizers, as long as they are not matzah. Fruits and Vegetables are best.

The family fights and conflicts come a little from and a lot from the fact that the Seder Plate is already on the table and is not built as part of the ritual. When it is built as part of the ritual it truly becomes a Protection Shield. I will not go into the idea of the Star of David which is the Seder Plate but I will describe the mechanism of building the Tree of Life which certainly does not look like the Glyff.

Here are some links to examples that are a complete Tree of Life . The first one is 6 locations in the air plus the bars to hold the three Matzot.

A Modernistic Seder Plate with room for the Matzot as well as a more traditional Seder Plate. Click on the second row fourth picture from the left.

Here is another link to a second seder plate which has room for the three Matzot and a more traditional plate. It also allows the parts to be concealed where appropriate within the Seder.

Double Level Seder Plate with Room for Matzot concealed in the lower level while the traditional Seder Plate is revealed on Top. Click on the fourth row second from the right.

Here is a link to many more Seder Plates. The word Plate is actually a misnomer because we are building a metaphorical Tree of Life which includes all ten Sefirot. The Lower 7. And the Upper 3 which are the three Matzot which we will build after the lower 7 and before the formal start of the Seder.

Link to a view of many more Seder Plates

Now lets us build the Seder Plate.

We start with the traditional Seder Plate. Perhaps round with 6 locations marked on the plate. No you do not have to use a traditional Plate you can use a regular Pesach dinner plate if you wish.

One of the Hebrew words for plate is מנה. The Gematria is 95 which is the gematria of the Hebrew word HaMelech which translates as The King. Thus the Seder Plate is the Sefirah of Malchut.

Place in the Center lower part of the plate the Chazeret spelled חזרת. Chazeret means Romaine Lettuce. When Chazeret is permutated it becomes Raz Chet Tafv or “Secret of being broken." This is the beginning of the breaking of your desire to receive for oneself alone. The Chazeret is Yesod.

Next on the left side of the plate slightly above the Chazeret we place the Karpas or Parsley. It can also be a Radish if Parsley is not available as was true in Eastern Europe at the end of winter. Also Radishes are red and white in color indicating two different energies – sharing and receiving.

When the word Karpas is broken into its component syllables Kar and Pas it translates as “striped sheep”. This is a hint to DNA manipulation and correction of all genetic diseases. It also hints back to Jacob impacting the physical DNA of Lavan's Sheep and receiving his just reward and Parnasah for his work for Lavan. Thus the Karpas being Hod relates to Sustenance for All. Also Karpas has a gematria of 360 which is the same as the sequence מהשיה . This is the 5th of the 72 Names with the addition of God's Help. The 5th Name relates to Healing. Thus we see that Hod on the Seder Plate represents both Healing and Parnasa. Of course these are two aspects of the same thing. Healing is sometimes necessary to fix the flow of Parnassa.

Next place on the right side of the plate opposite Hod the Mixture called Charoset. Charoset is spelled חרוסת . Charoset is best prepared during the day prior to the Seder. It consists of 10 items consisting of 3 spices and 7 fruits. It has the appearance of mortar to remind those connecting to history of the slavery in Egypt.

Here is a list of ingredients and their relation to the Sefirot from Rabbi Issac Luria known as the Godly Rabbi Issac or the ARI. He is the most famous Mekubal in the last 600 years. He lived in Sefat during the famous Kabbalistic resurgence in that community during the 1500's.

3 Spices: Cinnamon, Ginger, Cummin representing (Upper Sefirot):

Keter Chochma, Binah

7 Fruits: Grapes, Dates, Figs, Pomegranates, Apples, Almonds, Walnuts representing:

(Lower Sefirot): Chessed, Gevurah, Tiferet, Netzach, Hod, Malchut)

As an aside, Charoset has been made by people participating in the Seder all over the world. There are as many recipes for Charoset as there are years since Creation. My personal favorite which i highly recommend for eating (not the Seder itself) is the Carribean Recipe of Mango Charoset. It is even available on the Internet if you are interested. One interesting thing to do that promotes questions at the Seder Table is to have ½ dozen different Charoset plates around your Seder Table and have everyone take a taste of each one during the meal (After The Motzi Section).

Charoset is Netzach

Next place the bitter herb called Maror in the center of the plate above the Chazeret. Maror is spelled מרור. Its gematria is 446 which is the same gematria as Mavet מות which means death. Maror is a vaccine against death as we will discuss within the 15 steps. This is why Maror is placed as Tiferet. Maror is Horseradish and it is best to grind it just before eating. The fresher the better.

Now place a hard boiled egg on the left of the plate above the Karpas. The Hebrew word for egg is Beitzah spelled ביצה . The egg is a very interesting item in the world. It is the only item that gets harder and harder the more energy or fire you put to it. Everything else material is destroyed by fire while an egg just gets harder. This is why the egg is used as Gevurah.

Many people provide many hard boiled eggs on the table prior to the meal. Yet they do not realize that it is necessary to say the Shehakol Blessing prior to eating them so most people think it is incorrect to do so and wait until the Motzei step to start eating them. They then end up eating them after Hamotzei and while the food is being put on the table. You can eat an egg anytime you are hungry just say the Shehakol blessing prior to eating it if the Hamotzei Blessing on the Matzah has not been said.

Now place the scorched shankbone spelled Zaroah in Hebrew זרוע above the Charoset and across from the Egg. The shankbone should be scorched by fire during the afternoon of the 14th of Nissan. This sometimes leads to arguments about the use of the oven. If this might happen the suggestion is to use a roasted tomato as a replacement. The Talmud teaches that the roasted tomato has the same energy and was used in Temple times by vegetarians. If your household is vegetarian this is the halachic alternative. The shankbone from either a lamb or chicken (both animals are left column animals) when roasted which sweetens the negativity and makes them acceptable as items of Chesed.

Now verbalize the Tree from the top down. Everyone should build his own Seder Plate/ Tree. This is too expensive for a communal Seder so the normal method is for the human head of the Table to build it with eveyone else in mind. While this is happening it is best to meditate on the actions of the Table Head.

Everyone Verbalize out load in a normal voice – top down

Roasted Shankbone or Tomato - Zaroah – Chesed

Boiled Egg or Beitzah – Gevurah

Bitter Herb (Horseradish – Maror – Tiferet

Mix of Items - Charoset – Netzach

Parsley – Karpas – Hod

Romaine Lettuce – Chazeret – Yesod

The plate itself – Malchut

Place the plate on the Table near the Head of the Table.

Matzah Preparation

We are now going to prepare the 3 upper Sefirot. Take a normal Pesach plate and place three Matzot upon the plate one at a time. Now lift up the top Matzah and inject into that Matzah the consciousness of Abraham – Right Column – Sharing Energy - Chochmah by saying out loud and meditating on Abraham – Right Column – Sharing.

Now pick up the middle Matzah and inject the consciousness of Itzhak - Left Column – Receiving - Binah in the same manner as the first Matzah.

Now pick up the bottom Matzah and inject the consciousness of Israel – Middle Column – Balance created through Binding by Striking - Da'at in the same manner as the other two Matzot.

Now if you have the correct "double layer Seder plate" shown in the picture above then place the three Matzot in the concealed part of the "the double layer Seder Plate" and the Seder Plate on Top so that it is visible. If you do not have the "double layer Seder plate" then you can put the plate with the Matzah over the Seder plate for a few seconds while you say the Names of the 10 Sefirot. Then put the plates on the Table, side by side with the Matzot to the South.

Magen David

Some people put the Chazeret above the Zaroah and the Beitzah in the middle. Then they put the Maror at the bottom of the plate below in the middle, below the Charoset and the Karpas. Thus they form two triangles that are interlocking and this is the design of the Magen David. Is anyone surprised that the Magen David and the Tree of Life are related?

Here is a short course about the Magen David

Magen מגן is a Hebrew word that translates as Shield. A shield is a form of protection for a fighting soldier. During the month of Nissan we are all soldiers fighting our only true enemy that of the Satan epitomized by the desire to receive for oneself alone.

The Magen David is formed from two triangles. One pointing up to heaven which represents the lower worlds and one pointing down to earth which represents the higher worlds. These 2 points do not touch. They actually flow past each other. One point is the highest point of the Magen David and one point the lowest point in the Magen David. In this shape there are 6 points and thus it is often referred to as the Star of David.

Whether it is called the Star of David; Shield of David; or Magen David it is actually the lower 7 Sefirot of the Tree of Life. It is a very useful tool for us.

The Magen David embodies the energy of the numbers 1, 2, 3, 6, 7, 12, and 13. In my longer teaching about the Magen David i explain how this is actually possible as well as true.

Next class we will actually start looking at the Stages of the Seder and their meanings along with the Letters that represent the particular flow from Sefirah to Sefirah.