The Perfect Passover

One Passover, Rabbi Levi Yitzhak of Berditchev led the first night seder so perfectly, that every word and every ritual glowed with all the holiness of its mystical significance. In the dawn, after the celebration, Levi Yitzhak sat in his room, joyful and proud that he had performed such an perfect seder.
 
But all of a sudden, a Voice from above spoke to him: “More pleasing to me than your seder is that of Hayim the water-carrier.”
 
“Hayim the water-carrier?” wondered Levi Yitzhak, “Who’s that?”
 
He summoned all his disciples together, and asked if anyone had heard of Hayim the water-carrier. Nobody had. So, at the tzaddik’s bidding, some of the disciples set off in search of him.
 
They asked around for many hours before they were led to a poor neighborhood outside the city. There, they were shown a little house that was falling apart.
 
They knocked on the door. A woman came out and asked what they wanted. When they told her, she was amazed.
 
“Yes,” she said, “Hayim the water carrier is my husband, but he can’t go with you, because he drank a lot yesterday and he’s sleeping it off now. If you wake him, you’ll see he won’t even be able to move.”
 
“It’s the rabbi’s orders!” answered the disciples.
 
They barged in and shook him from his sleep. He only blinked at them and couldn’t understand what they wanted. Then he rolled over and tried to go on sleeping.
 
So they grabbed him, dragged him from his bed, and carried him on their shoulders to the tzaddik's house. There they sat him down, bewildered, before Levi Yitzhak. The rabbi leaned toward him and said-
 
“Reb Hayim, dear heart, what kavanah, what mystic intention was in your mind when you gathered the hameitz- the leavened foods- to burn in preparation for the seder?”
 
The water carrier looked at him dully, shook his head and replied, “Master, I just looked into every corner and gathered it together.”
 
The astonished tzaddik continued questioning him-
 
“And what yihudim- what holy unifications did you contemplate when you burned it?”
 
The man pondered, looked distressed, and said hesitatingly, “Master, I forgot to burn it, and now I remember- it’s all still lying on the shelf.”
 
When Rabbi Levi Yitzhak heard this, he grew more and more uncertain, but he continued asking- “And tell me Reb Hayim, how did you celebrate the seder?”
 
Then something seemed to quicken in his eyes and limbs, and he replied in humble tones-
 
“Rabbi, I shall tell you the truth. You see, I had always heard that it’s forbidden to drink brandy on all eight days of the festival, and so yesterday morning I drank enough to last me eight days. Then I got tired and fell asleep.
 
“When my wife woke me in the evening, she said, ‘why don’t you celebrate the seder like all the other Jews?’
 
“I said, ‘What do you want from me? I’m an ignorant man and my father was an ignorant man. I don’t know how to read, and I don’t know what to do, or what not to do.’
 
“My wife answered, ‘You must know some little song or something!’
 
“I thought for a moment, and then a melody and words came to me that I had heard as a child. I sang-
 
“Mah nishtana halaila hazeh mikol haleilot- Why is this night different from all other nights?
 
“I thought, 'why is this night different?'
 
“Then, something strange happened. It was as if I awoke from a dream, and everything was suddenly more real, more present. It was as if the night itself woke up all around me…
 
“Then I looked and saw the table before me, and the cloth gleamed like the sun, and on it were platters of matzot, eggs, and other dishes, with bottles of red wine. So we ate of the matzot and eggs and drank of the wine.
 
“I was overcome with joy. I lifted my cup to the heavens and said, 'Oh Hashem- I drink to you!'
 
“Then we sang and rejoiced in the nishtana- the specialness- of that moment… then I got tired and fell asleep.”

So my friends- before you fall asleep! Why is this moment different?

On this Shabbat Pesakh, the Sabbath of Passing, may we awaken to know that everything is passing, savoring the unique specialness of this moment. Let the unfolding of Reality become what it will, letting go of whatever it was, and breathing the intention of peace and love and awareness into every thought, every word, every act. Let’s go forth, again, out of  mitzrayim- out of constriction- and into the mystery of the Presence as the present. This moment is truly different from all other moments, and always is…