The minhag is to begin a Shabbos hagadol drasha with a dvar halacha. I will begin by saying what we all know – that the machla that is going around is sakanas nefashos and therefore if during yom tov/Shabbos any question comes up about helping a choleh – the din is to be machmir on sakanas nefashos. This is a kiyum of the mitzvah of “v’chai bahem” and it should be done b’simcha like every other mitzvah.
This includes (but is obviously not limited to) avoiding putting emotional strain on a choleh.
I will move on to agadda. The hester panim is so deep, we are looking for guidance, what is the message of this situation of Charon af Hashem?
I do not have the answer to this question but in the hagada we find guidance for this very confusion.
In the hagada we describe how Yaakov Avinu went down to Mitzrayim and how the Mitzriyim enslaved us – “Va’yarei’u osanu hamitzrim vay’anunu vayitnu aleinu avoda kasha ” – “the Mitzriyim did evil to us and they afflicted us and the placed heavy work upon us.”
We then go on to describe how we cried out to Hashem and how Hashem listened to us. And then we go on to say how Hashem saw “anyeinu, amaleinu and lachatzeinu” – “our affliction, our toil and the pressure that we were suffering.” The baal hagada goes on to describe details of the affliction that Hashem saw us suffering – details that were not listed when we described how we were suffering before we cried out.
I think that this teaches us that Hashem knows our tzaros more than we do, and this applies to physical tzaros and it certainly applies to ruchniyus tzaros.
Let me pause to explain how I understand the idea that we don’t fully comprehend our physical tzaros.
Hakodosh Baruch Hu made a beautiful world. Cheit, sin, was mekalkel that world and continues to do so. Chazal tell us that since the churban every day the klala increases. We have no idea of what a world filled with birchas Hashem looks like. We have become habituated to a world of klala to the degree that we don’t fully comprehend what we are lacking even begashmiyus. (I sense that the abundance of gadgets that we have are part of the klala – but it is hard for us to see it that way).
When it comes to ruchniyus no explanation is necessary. We are all aware that a part of galus is the lack of understanding of what we are all capable of reaching and what steps we need to take to get there.
But the message and the guidance of the hagada is clear – “Vanitz’ak” – “we cried out to Hashem Elokei avoseinu.” Hashem knows our affliction, He knows what we need beruchniyus uv’gashmiyus. We could cry out from the depths of our heart; Hashem! Help us! Save us! And help us not stand in the way of Your salvation, help us come towards You in the way that You want.
Every chizzuk in Torah, in Tefilla, in Gemilus chasadim and middos tovos is so precious in this dark time – we should do each of those with hearts filled with yearning to Hashem – Hashem please accept these steps that we take towards You as part of our cry for yeshua.
And the message of the matza is that the chometz/yetzer hara cannot get in the way of yeshu’as Hashem. Hashem plucked Klal Yisroel out of 49 levels of tum’a and He brought them to Gilui Shechina in one instant.
This year let us go about the biur of chametz, both the physical chametz and the chametz in our heart of ta’avos and midos ra’os. Let us do this as part of our cry to Hashem – Hashem save us – because only You can save us and we want no Yeshu’a but yours.
And just like our ancestors in Mitzrayim before us, no matter how dark the situation, we know and we trust that “yeshu’as hashem keheref ayin” – “the salvation of Hashem is as quick as the blink of an eye.” And it is our responsibility to allow that hope for Yeshu’a to light up our hearts.
May we be zoche to see Hashem hear our cry and see the ge’ula shleima this very year.