*Emunah in Tough Times: From Pirud to Achdut* “*V’higadta L’vincha: If we remember, we’ll zoche—L’shana Haba’ah* *B’Yerushalayim*”.”

It’s Erev Pesach. This morning, before we even finished our last-minute preparations, we already heard about five attempted attacks against us. This isn’t just “happening.” It’s a wake-up call to hold onto a simple, pure emunah in the Ribono shel Olam and to step up our achdut, especially now when things are so tense.

The Seder isn’t just some story about what happened in Mitzrayim once upon a time. It’s the lighthouse that shows us the way through the dark right now. When we sit and tell the sippur of Yetziat Mitzrayim, we aren’t reading history—the Haggadah is a manual for life. It straightens out our focus and teaches us how to work on our middot and live with real tachlis.

Every detail in the Haggadah is davka. Every minhag has a deep yesod. Even the simple question of the Ben—”Tonight we dip twice”—reveals the secret of the Geulah. Our Chachamim weren’t just giving us external customs; they wanted to show us who we really are and how to find the oneness inside us.

These two dippings represent two sides of the Jewish people:

* The first (Karpas): Takes us back to the root of the Galut—the dipping of Yosef’s Ketonet Passim in blood by his brothers. That’s where the pirud (division) started: the kinah, the distance, the inability to see the other person as part of the same whole. That’s where the seeds of all our tzaris were planted.

* The second (Maror in Charoset): Shows us the tikkun—the “Agudat Ezov” (the bundle of hyssop). It shows many individuals coming together as one Agudah to do the ratzon of Hashem. That achdut is what actually made us ready to leave Mitzrayim and merit the Geulah.

The Seder teaches us that Galut and Geulah depend on bein adam l’chavero. Where there is pirud, there is Galut. Where there is achdut, that’s where the Geulah begins. That’s why we start with “Hashta Hacha” (this year we’re here) and end with “L’shana Haba’ah B’Yerushalayim.” The Haggadah shows us the goal, but also the path: if the downfall started with division, the aliyah must come through unity.

And this is daily work, in the small things:

* At home: Speaking with nachas, holding back when we’re angry, and really listening to each other.

* In the community: Bringing people closer, looking for the ma’alot of the next guy instead of his chesronot.

* In Klal Yisrael: Focusing on what connects us, being an “Agudah Achat” under Hashem’s hashgacha.

The Geulah won’t happen with one big bang; it’s built from small tikkunim: a harsh word we didn’t say, a din we turned into rachamim, a relationship we fixed. Those are the actual bricks of the Bait HaMikdash.

Right now, with all the threats around us, we have to remember: our strength is in our emunah. Our eyes are on our Father in Heaven, and our bitachon is in Him. But to be zoche to a yeshuah, we have to be together, like one Agudah.

“L’shana Haba’ah B’Yerushalayim” isn’t just a tefillah—it’s a condition. If we can move from pirud to achdut, if we can be one Agudah bound together, then with Hashem’s help, these words will stop being just a hope and become a reality. A Kosher and Freilichen Pesach, and quiet for all of Klal Yisrael.*

“Rabbi Eliezer Simcha Weisz

© The Times of Israel (Blogs)