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Binah -- the Journey from the Intangible to the Concrete

How to Enjoy a Stress-Free Seder

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Class Summary:

This class was presented on Tuesday Parshas Metzorah, 4 Nissan, 5779, April 9, 2019 at the Ohr Chaim Shul, Monsey, NY

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Reb Aharon -5 years ago
Pure Seder
Looking back over the Seder he had just completed, Reb Levi Yitzchak of Berditchev noted with satisfaction that he had succeeded in suffusing each of its successive stages with the light of kabalistic meditation – that he had indeed done justice to each of the mystical kavanos at their respective moments.

But at that moment a voice from heaven intimated to him “Be not proud of the manner in which you conducted you Seder. In this town there lives a Jew called Chaim the Porter: his Seder is loftier than yours.”

Reb Levi Yitzchak turned to address the chasidim who had completed their Seder at home and had come to observe how the tzaddik conducted the final stages of his Seder.”

“Do any of you know Reb Chaim the Porter?”

One of them knew him, but did not know where he lived. If it were possible to call him here I would be most pleased, “said the tzaddik.

The chasidim immediately fanned out over all the streets of Berditchev until they found his dilapidated cottage.

His wife opened the door gingerly and asked: “Why do you need my husband? He’s in there snoring, dead drunk.”

The chasidim ignored her, walked straight in, succeeded in waking him p, and just about hauled the burly fellow on their shoulder to the home of the tzaddik

Reb Levi Yitzchak offered him a chair and said: “My dear Reb Chaim! Did you recite Avadim Hayinu on Shabbos haGadol?”

“Yes,” blinked the porter.

“Did you search your cottage for chametz last night?” asked the tzaddik.

“Yes” said the simple fellow.

Reb Levi Yitzchak had one more question: “And did you conduct the Seder tonight?”

Flushed and flustered, the poor man unburdened himself: “Rebbe, I’ll tell you the truth. I heard that a man’s not allowed to drink vodka for eight days on end. So this morning I drank enough to last me for eight days. So of course I was sleepy and I went to bed. When it was night-time my wife wakes me up and she starts nagging me. You know how. She starts saying like this: ‘Chaim,’ she says, ‘why don’t you make a Seder like all the other Jews?’

“So I said to her: “What do you want from me? I’m an ignoramus, and my father before me was an ignoramus. I haven’t got a clue what it’s all about. The only thing I know is this – that our fathers’ fathers were in exile amongst the gypsies. But we’ve got a G-d, you see, who took us out of there and made us free. And now we’re all in exile again. But G-d will bring us out again, for sure!’ Then I saw that on the table there were matzah and wine and eggs, so I ate the matzah and the eggs, and I drank up the wine. And then I was so exhausted that I had to go back to sleep.”

The tzaddik told the chasidim that they could now take the porter home.

After they had left he said: “Heaven was exceedingly pleased with this man’s words, because he said them with all his heart, without any ulterior motives. His sincerity was unblemished – for he knows nothing more than what he said.”
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