Skip, Skip, Skip To My Lou

בס"ד

One of the classic ploys of the Yetzer hora is impulsiveness, or the ability or inclination to perform an action quickly and without too much (or any) thought. It is both a tool to perform negative actions that we would usually avoid ("Oh, I can't believe I just said that …") and a deficiency in its own right.

Then why does it seem that Pesach is all about this same trait ?

Because it is.

What makes impulsivity bad is the absence of a rational thought process. While this is usually utilized for bad actions, there is no reason why we can't hijack this for good.

In the same way that an impulsively quick action can drop you (or your actions, or your speech, etc' …) to a pitifully low level in your avodas Hashem – the same kind of action can turn the tables!

Pesach is when Hashem did not examine our overall status in order to redeem us from bondage. It is a time when Hashem asked us to do the impossible (taking the sheep, god of the Egyptians in total and complete defiance) and without thinking too long about the possible ramifications … we did it ! We skipped the part of out decision making process that would have caused us to doubt fulfilling Hashem's command. G-d, in turn, skipped our houses and children when He swept through Egypt in the final retributionary rampage. To commemorate this we even skip the rising of the dough in the baking process.

This Pesach, skip something. At the seder, or in teffila, get into it! Skip the self consciousness, skip the doubts, and have an incredible, meaningful Pesach!

Hatzlacha !