Only YOU Can Do It

Passover and self-assessment go together, for this is not only our national freedom holiday, but our personal freedom holiday. Passover obligates us to break the chains of influences in our life that have nothing to do with getting closer to Hashem, Torah, emuna, mitzvot and prayer. If you’ll take a hard look, you’ll discover that these influences prevent you from achieving all you can achieve and being all you can be. Think about it and you’ll be amazed how enlightened you become.

Stop finding all types of shortcomings in yourself. People have no right to criticize you when they themselves don’t know what they’re doing on earth. Underestimating yourself is a crime – you are robbing yourself both of your future and of your potential. Passover comes to teach that our nation is capable of accomplishing things that no one ever dreamed we could. Why? We have Hashem jet-propelling us forward. But, in order to be in your own turbo-achievement mode, you must connect with Hashem. If our people have unlimited potential, then each of us – as individual parts of the greater whole – possess the characteristics of a whole. Just as one’s DNA is reflected in each cell of his body, our national DNA is reflected in each one of us, the grandchildren of Jacob and the Twelve Tribes.

Rebbe Nachman tells us this explicitly: “Every person must say to himself, ‘The world was created for me…I am therefore obligated to look and to see what needs correction in the world; I must therefore rectify any deficiency in the world and pray for the world…”

One raises an eyebrow when reading Rebbe Nachman’s above directive and asks, “How can I possibly assume responsibility for anything askew in the world?”

The answer is that if Hashem put your soul on earth, then the world cannot function properly without you. You are a most vital piece of the puzzle.

We see that Hashem is doing amazing things for the Jewish People. Yet tikkun haolam – correction of the world – is our special task. Hashem does so much for us; the least we can do is to do whatever we can to make this world a better place.

How do we do this? We have the power. The answer is emuna.

Do you know what happens when a person in Brooklyn or in Monsey takes a step beyond his or her groove of routine and strengthens themselves in emuna? It’s mind-boggling. If a Jew in Seattle decides that he’ll talk to Hashem for an hour a day, then some ISIS terrorist in Sinai who was plotting to fire a rocket on Eilat has the missile launcher blow up in his face. These things happen every hour of every day. We here in Israel survive among our hostile neighbors by virtue of the Torah and emuna of Jews around the world.

The moment a Jewish woman in Miami decides to cover her hair, then the malignant brain tumor that plagued a Jewish child in Toronto miraculously disappears. If you knew how much power you had, and if you knew that only you can accomplish certain seemingly unattainable goals on earth, you’d seek more Torah and emuna with all your heart. Don’t forget, the Yam Suf (Red Sea) didn’t split until Nachshon ben Aminadav jumped in. In like manner, at this very moment, there is some major miracle about to manifest in the world, waiting for you to strengthen yourself in emuna.

It’s all up to you, cherished brothers and sisters. May you have the happiest of Passovers, and may we merit together to partake of the Pascal lamb in our rebuilt Holy Temple, speedily, amen!