The Wisdom of the Chasidah Bird: Cultivating Peace in Pesach Preparations

Unlock the secrets to a harmonious Pesach preparation as we navigate the bustling challenges of the holiday season with a touch of wisdom from Jewish teachings. Imagine transforming the overwhelming tasks into a spiritual growth and peace pathway within your home. Rebbe Lazevnik from the Presidential Estate's Synagogue shared an intriguing lesson about the Hasidah bird, as outlined in Rashi's commentary, revealing how this bird's seemingly righteous acts carry a deeper message about performing kindness.

Get ready to shift your perspective on the feverish Pesach prep that can sometimes push sholom bayis to the brink. With insights from Rebbe Moshe Sternbach's Tam V'das, we explore how the Hasidah bird's selective generosity mirrors our potential pitfalls as we scurry about our preparations. Listen in and learn how embracing the divine commandments with humility and without seeking accolades can be the elixir for maintaining tranquility in your home. Rather than puffing our feathers for recognition, this approach can guide us through the pre-holiday whirlwind, ensuring that the true spirit of Pesach shines through, just as it's meant to be.

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:01

With the kids off from school, mom and dad engaged in the cleaning frenzy, probably some significant traffic on the streets, a lot of people in one home can become kind of like a melting pot or building disaster, sholombayis disaster, with all the Pesach preparation. So it may be a good idea to keep the Hasidah's birds Rashi's comment on it lesson in your head to protect yourself from any unwanted happenings, if you get my drift. Well, in Parshashmini we learned about this Hasidah bird that's its name that this bird is prohibited from consumption. Rashi says well, what's in a name Hasidah? Because this bird, it does kindness with its close friends, with its peers, and because of that, this righteous bird isn't exactly a good example of Jewish people, because you only do kindness with your peers. So it's prohibited.

Speaker 1: 1:23

And much ink has been spilled on this draft sheet to figure out what exactly is the chronic issue here with the Hasidic bird. The Yivinezer has one understanding, one approach that Jewish people were encouraged to do chesed at all the times of the year and with all people. And this Hasidic bird only does kindness with just its. You know, clique, its close friends, any of those in the club. There's different approaches, from the Ger Rebbe, the Imra'imus, but I heard over an idea from the great Rebbe Lezevnik, the Rebbe in the Presidential Estate Synagogue. I subsequently found it in Rebbe Moshe Sternbach's Tam Vidas at least an idea similar in which they said that, no, the fact that this Hasidic bird does what the Torah commands of it to do, good acts, meaning take care of your responsibilities. And the Hasidic bird, it's found and deems this as chesed, as kindness, as if you've done something so basic. But now you walk around as a big tzaddik because you're a chesed, because you brushed your teeth or took out the garbage.

Speaker 1: 2:38

What do you want? A parade? You want us to bring in Benny Friedman and have a concert for you to celebrate that. You learned the Aleph Beis. It isn't chesed.

Speaker 1: 2:49

This is an obligation, doing kindness for friends and family, the point being that it's commanded before Pesach for man, woman, to search out the chametz, to engage in these mitzvot. But quickly, one can feel entitled if they are doing more than the other spouse or they are picking up the slack, not doing enough. That person isn't doing it. It can feel like extras that you're giving and then you're not getting enough back. But the mindset should be that the Almighty commands men and women alike to have Dalet Kosos. So you shine the Kos. You want a big parade now. It's been obligated, it's been commanded. We shouldn't feel so entitled but be more of the opposite of the Hasidic bird. I do kindness and mitzvos and clean my house because I'm not looking for any parades, but because God commands that we keep his will. And when you live with that type of outlook this is my job it may help us to stay the course, stay consistent and not always looking for a little extra attention that can sometimes lead towards disaster.