A PRACTICAL GUIDE TO PESACH

Pretend Nisan is Tishrei. The month of Nisan has a special power of teshuva, just like Tishrei (so practice for Rosh HaShanah now). Now is the time to take a renewed look at your life and evaluate where you are heading. Take a spiritual inventory and pray for the ability and courage to make the necessary life changes towards holiness.

Read the Haggadah in a Loud Voice. The Haggadah read during the Pesach seder is a powerful tool to repair any aspect of human sexuality and restoring it to its proper place and expression in holiness (called Tikkun HaBrit). And this, in turn, is directly related to the repair of the conscious awareness of God (called Tikkun HaDaat). The Egyptian exile, on the other hand, represents the corruption of sexuality, whether in its blatant or subtle form (called Pegam HaBrit), which directly blocks and prevents connection to God. In other words, zero awareness the Divine. Since the voice has the ability to awaken the awareness that God is everywhere, read the Haggadah in a loud voice. Full awareness of the presence of God is the basis for redemption, whether then in Egypt, or today.

Celebrate Pesach with Honor. When Pesach is observed in the appropriate and honorable manner, the obsessive desire for money can be fixed, and then you can attain true fear of God, prophetic inspiration, and effective prayer. Yes, a normal person can achieve these things. You do it primarily through being in a joyful mood, dressing your best, eating the holiday meals, and exerting yourself financially on the mitzvot associated with Pesach.

Remember to Count the Omer. The first night of Pesach, we are given a tremendous light as a gift. The second night, however, it recedes so we can regain it through the period of the Omer, by purifying and sanctifying ourselves. Each of the forty-nine days between Pesach to Shavuot possesses a specific spiritual dynamic that can be felt so strongly, that you see it expressed through whatever people are talking about on that particular day. And don’t forget about the Book of Psalms. One of the most powerful tools to personal refinement, especially during the Omer, is saying Psalms. If you want to draw closer to God, say Psalms on a regular basis. Together with counting the Omer and working towards spiritual refinement, the light granted to us during the Seder is regained slowly, step by step, we find ourselves at the revelation of the Torah on Shavuot.