May the Festival of our Freedom bring you and yours true freedom; freedom from anxiety, material and spiritual, from anything which might distract you from serving G-d wholeheartedly and with joy. May all the days of your year be infused with the energy of Passover, of freedom, joy and alacrity.
—The Rebbe
On Passover we are enjoined to relive the exodus from Egypt. The Hebrew word for Egypt, Mitzrayim, is related to the term meitzar, meaning boundaries or limitations. The exodus from Egypt represents redemption from all physical or material constraints. It is an auspicious time for us to break free of the fetters that restrict our ability to reach high, to transcend the obstacles that stand in the way of our possibilities and potential as individuals and as a nation.
The confusion and uncertainty that has come to characterize our political and social milieu is discouraging. But “zeman cheiruteinu”—the season of our freedom—as Passover is referred to, is not only a commemoration of a historic event, but imbues these days of Passover with the energy of freedom that empowers us in the present tense.
Prior to Passover, in his many letters to communities and individuals, and in his public dissertations before and during the holiday, the Rebbe would reflect on the theme of “cheirut”—freedom. His traditional blessings of “A happy and kosher Pesach” were followed by wishes that the festival usher in a liberating spirit of “true freedom, freedom from anxiety, material and spiritual.”
May these blessings be realized in our own lives and grant us relief from personal and collective anxieties. May we be blessed with peace of mind; free of all worries, material and spiritual; free of the inhibitions that keep us from serving G-d with joy and gladness of heart.
As we sit at the Seder table surrounded by family and friends, children and adults, let us resolve to throw off the shackles of dysfunction in our interpersonal relationships, private and communal. Let us honor and be respectful to one another. Let us come together at the Seder table, and celebrate the dignity, the humanity, the goodness and the G-dliness that unite us.
We wish a very happy, successful and redemptive Passover to the Rebbe’s shluchim and shluchos who work tirelessly to bring the Pesach festival to Jews around the world. May your exemplary hard work, dedication to Jewish life, and commitment to the Rebbe’s teachings bring to fruition his vision of a unified Jewish People who stand as a light unto the nations.
May we be blessed to realize the message of Pesach in our lives, our communities, and in the world at large.
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