As we approach Pesach and the seder night, one of the themes that dominates the night is the father-son relationship. The entire recounting of the Exodus in Egypt which we are commanded to tell over, is formulated in the Torah as "And you should tell your son". It is a transmission from father to son, the history of our people and the great miracles which Hashem performed for His people to redeem them from slavery. We also read about the "four sons" and the four questions are formulated as questions that the son asks his father.

On a national level the Exodus from Egypt established the entire Jewish People, as the sons of Hashem. Hashem calls the Jewish People His "first born son". During Pesach Hashem reveals to the world that we are His Children and He is our Father. But how can we connect to this revelation and relationship? How do we do our part of acting like Hashem's Children? A father is always looking out for his child's best interest and he molds a path which he thinks is the most beneficial for his child. Many times a father may misunderstand or mold the path that he believes is the best but in truth he is wrong and the son takes a different path which is more beneficial. When it comes to Hashem though there are no mistakes, the path He has molded for us is undoubtedly the proper path. The problem is that we don't fully realize the relationship. We don't fully understand that Hashem is our Father and we are His children and therefore think that the path He has put forth is not always in our best interest. We often choose things that we think are good for us but in truth they are not. On Pesach we need to break out of this mistaken ideology, we need to internalize that Hashem is our Father and His way is the only way for us to attain goodness. Our Sages teach us that there is special spiritual power in eating Matza and refraining from Chametz which helps us attain this true perspective.

May we all merit to strengthen our relationship with Hashem and have a happy and kosher Pesach.

Shabbat Shalom,

Heath