Jewish Life Digital Edition March 2015 | Page 78

SERIES PROJECT SHALOM PESACH – a time of breakthrough The appreciative journey BY LEONARD CARR 74 JEWISH LIFE ISSUE 82 THE SIMPLICITY OF THIS BROKEN, HUMBLE CRACKER WHICH IS NOT ENHANCED BY LUXURIOUS INGREDIENTS THAT WOULD MAKE IT INTO SOMETHING MORE OR OTHER THAN WHAT IT ESSENTIALLY IS, REPRESENTS LIFE WITHOUT THE DISTRACTION AND BURDEN OF HAVING TO MANAGE COMPLICATIONS. more free than a wealthy man, who has to service and protect all his assets and investments, as well as manage the many different demands placed on him by virtue of his station and resources. The less you need, the freer you are. The less you own, the fewer your concerns. The simpler your life, the less that can go wrong and therefore the less there is to worry about. Perfect faith can be described, as the Maharal defines, as fear of Hashem – fear of nothing else. All doubt, worry, regret, complaining and criticising, show lack of faith because they give ultimate power to the physical world. In so doing, criticisers make themselves vulnerable and preoccupied with self-preservation, and not being creative and generative. All unfinished business keeps parts of you trapped in the past. Concerning yourself exclusively with how to best serve Hashem and nothing else paradoxically frees you to focus on what is truly important in life, namely, being the best person that you can be and actualising your unique gifts and talents. Being fully yourself means living for the future and being free to fulfil your full potential in life. You can only do this if you are not scared of people or anything that is ultimately beyond your control – in short, if you have complete faith and trust in Hashem. The opposite of this freedom is the slavery of being submerged in the material that distracts you from your own essence, and from what truly matters to you in your quest for the serenity of spirit that culminates in a life devoted to growing gracefully and ‘sageing’ rather than merely aging. You mature by living your authentic self and investing in service of the greater good, ultimately making the world a better place for you having been here. Taking yourself seriously includes treating time as PHOTOGRAPH: BIGSTOCKPHOTO.COM; PORTRAIT: SUPPLIED THE JEWISH NARRATIVE IS PUNCTUATED BY A succession of journeys. Pesach is simultaneously a national journey from slavery to redemption and the birth of a national identity, as well as an extemporaneous personal one. The personal journey is represented by the matzah, which is held up at the beginning of the Seder, and on which the entire Seder is recited. The Maharal of Prague says matzah represents simplicity, purity and clear, single-minded purpose. Matzah and chometz contain identical ingredients. The only real difference between matzah and chometz is time. Time is a defining characteristic of the physical world. Chometz, on the personal level, represents that which has been adulterated by, reduced to and subjugated by material reality. Matzah represents the transcendent and the spiritual; that which exists beyond the material realm. On a personal level, it represents pure faith and paradoxical wholeness. The simplicity of this broken, humble cracker which is not enhanced by luxurious ingredients that would make it into something more or other than what it essentially is, represents life without the distraction and burden of having to manage complications. A poor man, with only basic possessions and very little to manage other than just staying alive, is far