It’s a common scenario:
Somebody's walking life’s path, oblivious to their own benign neglect, when suddenly...boom! They hit the proverbial 'brick wall'.
Maybe it’s a family member or an accountant, perhaps a client or an employer; somebody perceives the truth and yells “Stop! This can't continue; something needs to change.” An unpleasant, jarring disruption to life's rhythm. And an important wake-up call.
Even though it’s painful, the stress from a shocking paradigm shift can serve as productive energy, propelling us out of our rhythm’s gravitational pull.
In a way, that’s the Passover story. Simply put: The Jews were slaves in Egypt, Moses dislodged them from their captivity and our ancestors escaped “in haste”.
It’s also a personal story: We each have our own ‘Egypt’ - our own counter-productive cycles.
When we’re fortunate, our ‘Moses’ – our soul-conscience, or perhaps a spouse or business associate – chases after us and points out our negative patterns. The recognition hurts, but we can channel the pain so that it catapults us to a better place.
In Passover language: We are impelled to urgently act, ‘leaving Egypt in haste,” In that sense, the word ‘Pass-Over’ [also] refers to the liberating leap from a spiritually constricted life to a visionary, conscious one.
But what about the times when we’re not escaping an Egypt? When things are just ‘normal’? When we feel no friction and face no brick walls?
Then, we face a different danger: Complacency.
When we feel that we’re on a good path, we’re more likely to live our lives on auto-pilot. We can relax. After all, if we’re not being chased, why run?
Because.
Because when we’re on ‘auto-pilot’, we float along with life’s current, without the initiative to go faster than the stream. Because when we’re on ‘auto-pilot’, we’re without the quickened pulse, without the butterflies in our stomachs, that accompany a quantum leap forward.
G-d expects more, and we deserve more. We shouldn’t only grow to escape pain. We should grow because we have great potential and a beautiful destiny.
So the Torah gives us an exercise: It’s called ‘The Second Passover’ (‘Pesach Sheini’ in Hebrew) and it’s about finding the strength to ‘Pass-Over’, to leap forward in life, even when we’re comfortable where we are.
It’s about taking the opportunity to consider where life is going RIGHT, and finding the strength, vision and humility to make life go even MORE RIGHT.
This Sunday, Iyar 14/May 15, is Pesach Sheini.
Have a piece of Matzah (matzah is a primary Liberation tool, in that it embodies the humility that we need for authentic growth). Then focus on a growth-objective. Pass-Over your own inertia, and meet your potential.
Because finding Freedom isn’t only about leaving captivity; it’s about taking a leap forward.
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