12 Apr A SEDER FOR EVERYONE

We try our best to conduct the Seder like the great tzaddikim of the past, but we must know that it is precious to Hashem no matter how it goes. We are inspired when we hear stories of tzaddikim and the beautiful Sedarim they conducted. We strive to reach their levels, but we know that Hashem is happy with our Seders, too. Shortly after the Ksav Sofer’s chasunah, the Ksav Sofer’s sisters were telling the young bride, Rebbetzin Chavah Leah, about their father’s (the Chasam Sofer zt’l) wondrous Seder. They told her that it was literally impossible to look at the Chasam Sofer’s face during the Seder due to his shining countenance at that time. Rebbetzin Chavah Leah didn’t believe them. She thought it was “Hungarian imaginations.” (She was from Poland, and in those days, Yidden of each country considered themselves wiser than the Yidden ofthe other country.) However, at th e Seder, she tried to look at her father-in-law’s face, but she couldn’t. The Avnei Nezer was a son-in-law of the Rebbe of Kotzk zt’l. The Avnei Nezer said, “My father-in-law always appeared like a malach, but at the Seder, he appeared like a saraf (a higher form of malach). At the Seder, the Rebbe of Kotzk seemed elevated in ways we didn’t see evenon Yom Kippur. During the second h alf of the Seder, sparks of fire came out of his mouth. The Shlah HaKadosh writes that there were chassidim who kissed the matzos when they lifted them at the Seder. The Rebbe of Riminov zt’l said that if he weren’t embarrassed, he would shake the matzos in beis medresh with םיוענענ as we do with the lulav and esrog. We aren’t on these levels, and our love for the mitzvos doesn’t compare to the love of the great tzaddikim. Nevertheless, the Torah was given to everyone, including simple people like ourselves. The Torah speaks to us when it states (Shemos 12:18), ולכאת תוצמ, ברעב” In the evening you shall eat matzos,” and Hashem is happy with our mitzvah of matzah, too.28 The final siman of the Seder is nirtzeh, which means “It was accepted and desired.” We are confident that after we completed the Seder, Hashem is happy with it and accepts it, no matter how it appeared. Everyone’s dream is that the Seder should be beautiful, the children well behaved, the atmosphere happy and uplifting, but, alas, it isn’talways so. We must know that Has hem is happy with our Seder exactly as it was. A renowned mechanech and tzaddik from Yerushalayim invited a few of his students to his home for the Seder. When they entered his home, the students were shocked to find a very not yom-tovdig atmosphere.They were sure they would find a yom-tovdig and orderly home. As it states in Shulchan Aruch “The table should be set from the daytime so you can start the Seder immediately when night falls.” But they foundthis home turned over, and there wa s no sign that it was the Seder night. (It wasn’t the children who were guilty of messing up the house. Unfortunately, this renowned mechanech never had children. His wife was emotionally unwell, and things like this would happen in his home.) The bachurim were taken aback. Their host calmly told them, “When you go to a home, and you find the table set, the children dressed in their yom tov clothing, good aromas wafting out from the kitchen, you think you see freedom, the תורח of yetzias Mitzrayim. I say that you are seeing slavery and not freedom because these people are enslaved to this perfect situation. If a minor detail falls out of place, the family doesn’t know how to handle it. But in this home, we celebrate true freedom because we accept Hashem’s will, whatever it is. If this is what Hashem wants, this is the best for us.” Reb Shmuel of Karov was poor but tried to keep what is written in Shulchan Aruch (Yorah Deiah 255:1) “A person should always refrain from asking for tzedakah. He should live in constraint, rather than ask for financial aid. As the Gemara in Pesachim says” better to eatsimple foods on Shabbos, as thou gh it were a weekday, than to ask people for financial assistance.” Therefore, despite his poverty, he never asked for financial aid. But one year, Pesach was approaching, and he didn’t have matzah and wine. He hoped he wouldn’t have to make an exception to his rule this time. The Chozeh, with his ruach hakodesh, knew what his student, Reb Shmuel Karover, was going through. So, when Reb Shlomo Konskuli z’l (a wealthy person) came to the Chozeh of Lublin for a bracha, the Chozeh told him to send food to Reb Shmuel. A delivery of yom tov food arrived at Reb Shmuel’s door moments before Pesach. Reb Shmuel was extremely happy because he had everything he needed for yom tov without asking for help. That night, Reb Shmuel had a joyous Seder like never before. On the second night of Pesach, Reb Shmuel was very tired, so he lay down before the Seder. He woke up late, and as he was cautious about eating the afikomon before chatzos, he had to rush through the Seder.Having run through the Seder with out proper kavanah, he felt that the second Seder wasn’t good at all. When he came to the Chozeh , the Chozeh said with his ruach hakadosh, “Let’s think about Reb Shmuel’s Sedarim: The first Seder was celebrated with a lot of kavanah and joy, but it wasn’t a perfect Seder. But the second Seder was special! No one conducted such a wonderful and holy Seder like that one.” The explanation is that the second Seder was conducted with humility and a broken heart, and that was what made the second Seder so special. The lesson is: We can never know what is most precious to Hashem. At times, a Seder we thought wasn’t good is wonderful in Hashem’s eyes. And when we think we had a good Seder, Hashem may have a different opinion. All we can do is to try our best and to believe that הצרנ ,it was pleasing and accepted by Hashem. The custom of Reb Ber’tze, a chassid of Rebbe Asher of Stolin zt’l, was to set the table for the Seder himself. But one year, when he came home, he saw that the table was messy, and the matzos and the wine were shattered on the floor. His wife was in bed, moping. She complained, “Why did you put the wine and the matzos so close to the edge of the table? When I passed by the table, my apron got caught on the tablecloth, and since you placed everything so close to the edge, everything came crashing down on the floor. It’s all your fault!” Reb Ber’tze knew that if he became angry, the atmosphere of the entire night would be ruined. Reb Ber’tze calmed down and replied, “This was Hashem’s plan. It isn’t my fault, and it isn’t yours. This is what Hashem wanted.” Reb Ber’tze appeased his wife, and they celebrated the Seder with joy. The following day, Rebbe Ber’tze davened Shacharis in the beis medresh of Rebbe Asher of Stolin zt’l. Rebbe Asher had ruach hakodesh and saw the Seders of many tzaddikim. Yom tov morning, he would discuss what he saw, and this year too, he spoke of the Seders tzaddikim conducted the previous night and the impact these Sedorim had in heaven. Then he said, “But the Seder of Reb Ber’tze was greater than all others. No one reached the heights he attained.” He remained happy despite his upset Seder table and sour wife. How did he do that? Because he believed that everything is from Hashem. We learn from this story that everyone can make a very special Seder, not just the greatest tzaddikim. Secondly, we learn the importance of accepting Hashem’s will, even when it isn’t what we want. There are four sons in the Haggadah. Rebbe Hirsh Rimonver said, “In my opinion, the Sheano Yodeah Lishol is best off from all of them.” Because this son doesn’t ask any questions. He accepts everything with emunah that this is how it has to be. We must remember the lesson stated in Beis Aharon (Pesach p.85:). He writes, “The Seder isn’t exclusively for people on high, lofty levels. The Seder is for every Yid, whichever level he is on. And one must believe this.”