In an appointed time
the beloved children of Israel,
by number and by name,
went down into Egypt
In its appointed time
Israel’s exodus from Egypt
and its passover sacrifice
were above all things,
are above all things
And at its second appointed time
it is above all things again
Let Rabbi Hillel be your Nasi
He said, the Passover sacrifice,
like the Daily Sacrifice,
speaks of a Sabbath above all Sabbaths
When you recline by the river of life,
you will remember with thanksgiving
all the laws of the Passover
The lips of the people of the dead body
will be touched by the water
Their heart will be moved and they will remember
It will be the appointed time
for those who could not partake of the Passover lamb
to partake
Those who came last will be first
They will speak to the community
They will perfect the seder of the entire community
Each person will know
their own soul’s potential
They will know that their soul is the key
that fits the lock of all
to which they are attached,
unlocking all the sparks that can serve God
The lamb will not be too small for the household
But the household may be too small for the lamb
For this reason,
Jacob elevated his love for Rachel
to the level of his love for Leah
He saw Rachel and loved her
as Adam loved Eve,
as Abram loved Sarai
But he loved Leah
as Abraham loved Sarah
Then Jacob perfected his love for Rachel,
as all Israel would perfect the Passover
with the Second Passover
And HaShem blessed Rachel with Joseph,
and not only with Joseph,
but also with Benjamin
Adam was enslaved by a lust for freedom
But Joseph, though he was a slave
desired only to see Benjamin again
When Israel developed into seventy souls
the seventy nations,
clamouring in Egypt’s gleaming eye,
took Joseph into captivity
But the Foundation of Joseph
took captivity captive,
sitting Adam down below in the lowlands,
at the foot of the Torah Mountain,
and taught Adam what it was to be free
Knesset Israel will slaughter the lamb in the afternoon
The Temple will not be too large for Knesset Israel
But Knesset Israel may be too large for the Temple
If so, let them come in as camps,
like a seven branched menorah,
three branches to the left and three to the right,
with one Tzaddik in the middle
With hyssop and lamb’s blood
the household will be made one
Many attributes of Divine Service
will form one body
Now’a’days, however,
the tree lies on its side
Roots and branches have intermingled
The nation has become inorganic
An individual is born or misborn
The soul has exited Egypt but not the wilderness
But if not now, when?
The redemption of Israel
is the salvation of the whole creation
Without the salvation of the whole creation
David's child is not saved
For there is no king without a kingdom,
no flame of light without a lamp wick burning
You cannot ignore the lost soul
You must return it to its owner
A warning to the enterprising hand:
Do not exploit the lost soul if you have found it
and cannot find its owner
Rather, take care of it until Elijah comes
The soul’s garment
is not like the body’s garment,
but love even the suicidal person as yourself
The soul of the nation is her anointed ruler
What love can measure the heart of a true king?
The king of Israel raises her up from the north country
with a brush of hyssop
and redeems her from the ends of the earth
He makes the blind to see with love,
and the lame to be warriors of faith
Israel gives birth to hope in every land
She is gathered up from there to one land
Her honour and glory magnify his love
World of prayer without end, Amen
Holy love,
may it come to me
Holy love,
may it freely be in all the earth
And May it sanctify this hour of dust and wilderness
and shepherd us in footsteps of repentance
Today, if we will hear his voice
*Being a meditation on two Torah class on parashah Behaalotecha, as well a class from a series entitled, Beyond Right, delivered by Rabbi Baitelman of ChaBaD Richmond, B.C., based on Torah series, by Rohr Jewish Learning Institute. Neither Rabbi Baitelman nor the JLI have reviewed or approved of the content of this post.