Page 13-THE NEWS-April, 1986
LUBAVITCH OF N. C.
Thoughts From The
Lubavitcher Rebbe
Passover and the Pascal Lamb
Purlin Kits Were Distributed
By Rabbi Yossi Groner
Passover is the festiv£il that
celebrates our exodus from
Egypt; the actual celebration
begins a few days before
Pesach. That is on the Shab-
bat before Pesach. This Shab-
bat is called the great Shabbat
(Shabbat Hagodol). The
reason is as follows: “On the
10th day of the Hebrew month
of Nissan, (which fell on a
Saturday Shabbat) the Jews
selected and took the lamb for
their Pascal sacrifices. A great
miracle took place in conse
quence to the Jewish peoples
action; the Egyptians gather
ed around them and asked;
“Why are you doing this?”
They answered that it was a
Passover sacrifice to G-d, who
would slay the Egyptian first
born.
When the first-born heard
this, they approached King
Pharoah and the elders and
demanded that the Jews be
released. Pharoah refused and
in response, they waged war
against each other and many
Egyptians were killed. This
was considered a great miracle
and to commemorate the
event the Shabbat before
Passover is called the great
Shabbat, emd parts of the
Passover Haggadah are read
on this day.
This year the days of the
month correspond to the same
days of the week as the first
year when the miracle actually
took place.
Our sages have called the
exodus “one of Torah’s
general principles.” The Torah
and its commandments are in
trinsically related to the ex
odus from Egypt, therefore a
Jew must bring every aspect
of life into connection with the
Exodus. Awareness of the Ex
odus must permeate a Jew’s
entire existence, therefore we
are commanded to recall it
twice daily, in the morning and
evening.
In a personal and practical
sense, the exodus from Egypt
refers to each individual’s per
sonal departure from all the
restrictions and constraints on
the Divine Soul. It is interest
ing to note that the Hebrew
word for Egypt — “Mitz-
rayim” is etymologically
related to the Hebrew word
“meitzorim” which means
boundaries or limitations, so in
essence Egypt represents the
bound£u*ies and limitation of
Israel.
We are to experience our
own Pesach, our own exodus
and create a miracle; miracles
represent a step beyond the
limitations of nature, a miracle
is there to lift the person into
a high state of spiritualism.
The goal of a Jew is to reach
true greatness, i.e. a state
which is not confined by any
limits. On Pesach, a Jew must
“spring forth” and attempt to
reach such a level of unlimited
freedom.
As a preparation, in order to
stimulate his potential, on the
Shabbat before, G-d performs
a great miracle revealing a
state of total limitlessness.
The midrash describes the
state of the Jewish people in
Egypt as very poor spiritually,
for this reason, G-d command
ed them to bring the Pascal
sacrifice.
The bringing of the Pascal
sacrifice demanded a total
transition of character from
being in a poor state, to pro
gress to the highest levels of
self sacrifice and devotion to
G-d.
The selection of the lamb for
slaughter involved a very real
threat to their lives, as Moshe
himself told Pharoah, “If we
sacrifice the Egyptian’s god
(the lamb was one of the idols)
before them, surely they will
stone us. Nevertheless, after
the selection of the Pascal
sacrifice, the lamb was tied to
the bed posts of the Jewish
people, to excite the Egyptian
curiosity. Despite the tremen
dous gap between their pre
sent state and the service
demanded from them, the
Jews were able to summon up
their power of self sacrifice
and make a public display of
selecting the lamb. This total
transition, in turn, brought
about the great miracle.
These days are to be remem
bered and celebrated. By reliv
ing the process of bringing the
Pascal sacrifice, a Jew caused
G-d to bring about a great
miracle, and bring us closer to
the exodus from our present
state of “Egypt.”
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Telephone Services For Residence
& Business. New Jacics & wiring. Key
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Additions & maintenance to existing
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More than 1500 Purim kits
have been distributed by
Lubavitch to Jewish school
children around the state. The
kits were designed to help the
child celebrate the Purim
festival.
On Purim we send at least
two food gifts to friends, and
we give charity to at least two
poor people. Each of the kits
contained various kinds of
snacks including some from
Israel: it also had a packet
with coins for charity. A color
ful brochure, which described
the many joyous mitzvot
observed on Purim day, was
also placed in the Purim kit.
The majority of these kits
were distributed during
special Purim programs
throughout the Carolinas. The
number one program was held
Sue and Louis Doctor preparing kits.
right here in Charlotte. Addi
tional programs were held in
Greensboro, Winston-Salem,
Fayetteville, Ft. Bragg, Myr
tle Beach, Durham and many
more. This is all part of the
educational project of Luba
vitch of North Carolina.
In addition to the above,
Lubavitch mailed out Purim
guides to over 7,500 Jewish
households in the Czirolinas.
These brochures £ire very well
received, since they give a
comprehensive overview of the
holiday with specific detcdls of
the observances. They are
seen as an excellent educa
tional tool by parents and
teachers alike.
ASE YOU READY
FOR CAMP GAN ISRAEL?
“The best camp in
the South.”
That’s what they call
Camp Gan Israel.
It provides Jewish
boys and girls of all
ages with a combination
of a true Torah spirit and
the very best in summer
recreational activities.
Every camp counselor
is specially trained to care
for the personal welfare
and safety of cach camper
in the spirit of Judaism.
Camp Gan Israel helps
ensure that each boy and girl
spends a summer to remember
enjoying a wide range of
activities in a Jewish atmosphere
• Swimming
• Baseball
• Soccer
• Basketball
• Reid Races
• Bowling
• Miniature Golf
• Rollerskating
• Carowinds
• Discovery Place
• Movies
• Arcades
• Arts & Crafts
• Culture
• Discussion Groups
• Songs
• Shabbatons
• Riverbank Zoo
• Hebrew Studies
• Jewish Education
• Petting Farm
• Horseback Riding
• Shabbos Parties
JUNE 15 - 27
MONDAY - FRIDAY
TINY TOTS
3-4
PIONEERS
5-12
$100.00
$130.00
9-1
9-3
HOT NUTRITIOUS LUNCHES ARE SERVED
FOR MORE INFORMATION WRITE OR CALL
LUBAVITCH OF NORTH CAROLINA
6500 NEWHALL ROAD. CHARLOTTC, NC 28226
(704) 366-3984
DOOR TO DOOR TRANSPORTATION AVAILABLE
Scholarships are available. No chfld is turned away because of iruibilitY to pay.
Confidential fee adjustments can be made by arrangbig an appotntnnent wt^ the director.