What’s The Message Of Pesach?

Our Sages teach us that the Jewish nation was born on Pesach. On this day, Hashem delivered us from the ‘womb’ of Egypt, and established us as a people apart. In a deep sense as well, Humanity was also reborn with a new recognition of the Living G-d. When Hashem took the Jews out of Egypt, He demonstrated complete mastery over all the details of creation. The Torah therefore commands every Jew to recall the Exodus each and every day, in part, as testimony to Hashem’s involvement in our nationhood, and also in part as witness to His absolute dominion. Ancient Egypt was the center of civilization, science, engineering and the occult. Our story of deliverance is therefore a lesson in Creation’s obeisance to Hashem.

Pharaoh was no ordinary adversary. In the Zohar, he is called the ‘Tanin Hagadol’, the ‘great sea serpent’. He set himself over his countrymen as a god, and was worshipped by them as the self-sufficient creator of the Nile River. The Zohar also explains that he actually believed his own fabrications, perhaps because of his great mastery over black magic. The Egyptians used a form of witchcraft to control their subjects and rule over them. The Zohar explains that the Egyptian slaves and prisoners were not physically shackled with metal chains, but rather with mental and psychological constrictions stemming from the dark arts. Our Rabbis tell us that the Egyptian magicians employed magical androids with canine forms to patrol the streets and ensure that everything was in-line. All of this and more came from the Egyptians adept mastery over the Impure Side of creation called the Sitra Achrah.

The Impure Side has ten levels, or can be divided into ten Forces. Therefore, Hashem brought Ten Makkot (plagues) upon Egypt to counter each Impure Force. For each Makkah that Hashem brought, Pharaoh and his magicians lost the ability to manipulate a category of impurity. Initially, Pharaoh assumed that he was in control! But one by one, Hashem pulled away all of his strength. Accordingly, the plagues culminated in the total breakdown of Egypt’s occult powers. The Final plague of Makkot Bechorot targeted the first-born of Egypt because they populated the priestly cast. The Egyptian priests were in charge of the magical arts and when they were removed, Pharaoh lost an invaluable asset. He could no longer make use of sorcery with impunity; he was forced to acknowledge Hashem’s power over everything.

Our Rabbis revealed our ancestor’s true depth of despair by telling us that if not for Hashem’s involvement, there was no natural way to escape Egypt. The Egyptians utilized the powers of impurity, human psychology, and backbreaking labor to ensure that no slave ever have the ability to escape cruel servitude. Therefore, step by step and level by level, Hashem Himself broke the physical and spiritual power of Egypt. By doing so, Hashem demonstrated to the whole world that He is in charge of every Power and Force in creation, for all time. No longer can someone come along and like Pharaoh, claim that he is in charge of the Side of Impurity. Hashem has demonstrated in Egypt that even the Side of Impurity must bend to His Will and depends on His Word.

Pesach is special in that it demonstrates how Hashem is the only true Master. As Yitro, the former Chief-Priest of Egypt said: “And now I know that Hashem is greater than all the Powers”. Our Rabbis tell us that none was more qualified than Yitro to make this statement because he knew the intimate details of every pagan deity and idolatrous cult. Concurrently, he was also a master occultist and understood the operations of the Impure Forces. The fact that he was able to recognize that Hashem is above all was a great praise. This universal recognition of Hashem’s mastery over the world is what we celebrate on Pesach. It is a reality that we focus on throughout the year, in the morning and evening. The Holiday of Pesach celebrates our existence as a people under Hashem’s watch.