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By Rabbi Tuvia Bolton, Yeshiva Ohr Tmimim, Kfar Chabad, Israel

Passover commemorates the miracles that G-d did for the Jewish people over 3300 years ago when He took them all from Egyptian bondage. G-d did it all.

But the holiday stresses commandments that WE do: eat matza, moror, recite the hagadda. Even more the teachings of Chassidut stress that we must leave Egypt every day! We do it all.

Here is a Passover story to explain this apparent contradiction (Tziri Chabad, Yagel #29).

The year1951; in Russia Josef Stalin, perhaps the most accomplished mass murderer of all time, ruled the minds, souls and bodies of the populace… especially through his secret police the dreaded KGB.

Most of their work was done deep into the quiet night when people were in wrapped in cocoons of warm sleep oblivious of the fear and murder around them…. that’s when the KGB would strike!

But on Passover the Koblanov family wasn’t afraid; they were Jews, sitting around a festively ‘decorated’ Passover table celebrating the ‘Holiday of Liberation’. Their route to freedom was one that defied anti-Semites for over 3,300 years.

But it wasn’t easy to feel free.

Three of them were missing. The father Reb Eliezer had been taken away by police in the middle of the night a few months earlier for ‘anti-revolutionary activities’. Then a few weeks later they took his eldest daughter Chaya (leaving behind a husband and a small baby) and finally his wife Elka was arrested a few weeks after that. They were taken to the fearsome Spolerki Prison to await ‘trial’ and only a miracle would bring them back.

Who knows when the next arrest would occur? It was hanging over their heads like a sharp sword. But what good would being afraid or getting depressed do? Their only hope was G-d.

They remembered the words of the Lubavitcher Rebbe and his father before him: “Our enemies can control our bodies but nothing can control the Jewish soul.”

And the words of Rabbi Akiva some 2,000 years earlier who defied the Roman prohibition of teaching Torah. It’s like a fox saying to a fish ‘Come live with me in safety on the dry open land.” “Fool” answered the fish “If I’m not safe here where I’m supposed to be, for SURE I won’t last in a place I’m not created for.”

“Same with me” Rabbi Akiva concluded. “If I’m not safe doing the commandments then for sure I’m in danger without them!”

Their only chance was to rejoice in the holiday of Passover…. Only Passover could save them.

So the five that were left; two sisters Liba and Sterna, their two brothers;  Kerpil and Mendel and his wife, tried to be as happy as possible and even managed to sing a few songs of redemption at the Seder.

But after the Seder when the family was asleep and the house was peacefully silent it happened.

It was as though someone was pounding on the door with a sledgehammer. The house shook, the windows rattled. The KGB broke in, took away Kerpil and a few hours later returned and took the two sisters. Then a month later Mendel was taken and the entire family was gone.

A few months later they all miraculously made it to the trial alive. The charges weren’t clear but when they heard the sentences, they almost wished they were dead. Rav Eliezer got ten years in Siberia, the rest of the family got eight (very few people survived even the first year) and an hour later each was on a different train headed for a different one of the hundreds of work camps scattered throughout vast Mother Russia.

20-year-old Kerpil took it hard. He lacked the stamina for the twelve-hour hard labor shifts, meager, bread diets and sub-zero weather. After a one month he was sure that he would soon die.

But then two miracles occurred. The first; that because he had learned medicine for a few months before he was arrested he was unexplainably appointed to be a camp doctor. So he didn’t have to work as hard.

And second; one of his ‘patients’ was a Jew and as a sign of gratitude, took a folded piece of newspaper from his pocket, carefully opened it and took out a piece of Matza, broke off a small piece and put it in Kerpil’s hand.

It was still several months before Passover but as soon as this small treasure touched Kerpil’s palm he felt as though he was plugged in to a new source of life!

That Passover he found an empty room in the work camp, put the Matza before him, recited what he remembered of the Hagadda by heart, gave thanks to G-d, asked Him to get him out of his Siberian ‘Mitzraim’ and vowed to always keep Passover.

But miracles can’t last forever.

For five years, through hunger, fatigue, danger and cold he kept his vow but in the sixth year, as Passover approached, every day he felt weaker and colder until he was really worried. He felt sick, weak, empty, as though he would faint any moment… or worse.

Usually on Pesach he only ate vegetables that he cooked in a small pot he had secured as his own, but this year it he was sure he wouldn’t make it on such a meager diet. And to make matters worse he had to work. If he didn’t do his job he would be demoted, punished even killed! But he made his decision. Nothing would make him compromise on Passover.

Somehow, he made it! He dragged himself to work every day for seven days and actually finished the holiday in one piece!

Almost.

On eighth last day of Pesach a soldier came to him with an order to appear immediately before the dreaded chief doctor of the camp; a middle-aged woman with mean, narrow eyes who was an anti-Semite and a bloodthirsty sadist to boot.

Kerpil’s knees knocked as he climbed the stairs to her office. If she decided to fire him he would have to return to hard labor. which meant sure death. He stood before her, pale as a ghost, certain that this Passover would be his last in this world and stammered, “Have I done something wrong? Did someone complain about me?”

“Listen” She said, “You look terrible. I think you have to get out of here.” Kerpil couldn’t believe his ears… she was talking like a human being!

“Don’t tell anyone I told you this” she continued, “But in a few months there will be a group of officials here to review all the prisoners. For sure they will notice you and punish me for misusing you. You see, since Stalin died (in 1953) things are changing. Just tell them that you regret your past deeds and I’m sure they will free you. You don’t look well at all.”

It seems that the poor diet of Passover was exactly what saved him!

A few months later the officials did arrive and over a half a year after that ….. just a week before the next Passover (!) Kerpil was freed! But imagine his joy when he returned home to discover that his entire family had also unexplainably been freed from their various camps just days before him. Each miraculously had their sentences shortened in time to be home together for the holiday of Pesach!

That year at the Passover meal there were a lot of miracle stories about leaving Egypt.

This answers our questions. The Jews are G-d’s CHOSEN people; we were put here in the world to improve it and make it a blessed place.

And there are two ways to do this. One stresses ‘do it yourself’ and the other stresses leaving it up to G-d. This can be seen from the Jewish calendar.

The first day in the Jewish calendar is Rosh HaShanna followed closely by Yom Kippur. They stress the work of man (Adam, who was created on Rosh HaShanna) to fix the world in a normal way; “To work it and protect it” (Gen. 2:15)

But the first Jewish Month is Nisan .. containing the holiday of Pesach, which means changing the world in a MIRACULOUS way.

And although these are opposite approaches they will be combined with the arrival of Moshiach.

Moshiach will be the true example of man (Adam) and of Moses.

Adam; because he will teach us to fix the world in a normal Torah way and Moses; because he will teach us to be conduits for MIRACLES putting meaning, blessing and joy in all creation.

Something like what happened to Kerpil in our story.

And the Lubavitcher Rebbe announced many times that those days are here! It all depends on US to make the world a meaningful, miraculous place but after all G-d will do even greater miracles than He did when He took us from Egypt.

It depends on us to make it happen even one moment sooner. We are standing on the merits of thousands of years of Jewish hopes, prayers and suffering. Now it could be that just one more good deed, word or even thought will bring a happy and Kosher Pesach with  ……  

Moshiach NOW!!

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