“RABBI’S MUSINGS (& AMUSINGS)”
Erev Pesach 5786
14 Nissan 5786/ April 1, 2026
THE LONG ROAD
The weeks leading up to Pesach are always an exciting time in yeshiva. Learning Haggadah, warmer weather and longer days are certainly all part of that excitement. In addition, many alumni, who have returned home from their various yeshivos for Pesach, come to visit their old stomping grounds. It’s a tremendous nachas to see talmidim growing in Torah and avodas Hashem. It’s especially a chizuk for me, as a ninth grade rebbe, to witness the exponential growth of students, especially those who may not have been too motivated to learn when they were in my shiur a few years earlier.
Normally, when I speak to an alumnus, I ask him how the z’man was, his plans for after Pesach and perhaps for next year. But I never ask about his flight from Eretz Yisroel back to America.
This year, because of the ongoing war with Iran, one of the first questions I asked each returning alumnus was, “So which countries did you go through on your way home?” The answers ranged from Egypt, Jordan, Cyprus, France, Italy, Spain, Germany, Poland, and Morocco. Some had overnight stopovers, and some had to travel long distances just to get to their flight. Then there were a few who somehow had gotten direct flights from Ben Gurion airport to New York. There were others who wanted to come home but weren’t able to get on a flight and will remain in Eretz Yisroel for Pesach. There didn’t seem to be any pattern as to who was able to get on a direct flight and who couldn’t get a flight at all.
My niece Racheli went to the airport with a couple of friends and spent hours in line hoping to get on a flight to New York. The flights they had reserved on Arkia airlines were for the following week and more than likely to be cancelled. After waiting for hours on the line at Arkia, an older man dressed in sandals and shorts began talking to her and her friends casually about their travel plans. He then walked over to the woman at the front of the line and told her that the girls were his family members and should be given seats on the next flight. They only knew that his name was Avi. My sister-in-law googled Arkia and found a picture of the owner, Avi Nakash. She then sent it to my niece who confirmed that the man in the picture is the one who helped her. It still took a few more hours and a lot more effort and frustration, but somehow, they got onto a flight early the next morning and returned to New York.
Aside from the actual frustration of disrupted travel plans, added travel time and added expenses, the whole ordeal takes an emotional toll as well, both on the weary traveler and on the anxious parents. Of course, none of this compares one iota to the intense fear and anxiety family members of IDF soldiers feel constantly.
Metaphorically, the whole crazy ordeal is a reminder that everyone has his own path to travel, and no two are alike.
Hashem did not only take out the collective nation out of Mitzrayim, but He lovingly took out every family and every individual as well. We state as such in the Haggadah: “It was not only our forefathers whom Hakadosh Baruch Hu redeemed from slavery, but even we too were redeemed along with them.”
When Klal Yisroel left Mitzrayim they did not take the most direct route. If they had done so they likely would never have arrived at their intended destination. Similarly, every individual has a path of life predestined for him or her.
Chazal (Targum Yonasan, Pirkei d’rabbi Eliezer) relate that when the Yam Suf split, the nation did not all cross together. In fact, they didn’t cross at all. They emerged on the same side of the sea as they entered, traveling in a semicircle. Each tribe had their own path through the sea, meaning that some had a longer route through the sea than others. The destination may have been the same, but the road was different from each tribe.
When we are young, we are told that we can be anything in the world we want, if we only put our minds to it. That notion is patently untrue. The reality is that we are dealt with certain cards in life, for good or for better. The challenge of life is how we deal with the cards we are dealt with.
One of the difficulties with institutionalized schooling is that students’ progress is measured based on their peers. We view their achievement based on what percentile of kids their age and grade they are on. But the truth is that every child has different capabilities, personality traits, and life situations. For one student, scoring an 80 is far more of an accomplishment than another who scores a 97. But only heaven can measure the true worth of one’s efforts and achievements.
The first step in achieving one’s potential is to understand his individual potential. No two people have the same journey, even siblings and even twins.
The exalted night of Pesach is referred to as Seder – Order. There are many mitzvos and customs that we fulfill throughout the night, but they must be done according to the order that halacha dictates. So too, world events and personal events often seem befuddled and random. Who can make sense of all the craziness around us? Yet, we are taught that there is a Seder, even, or perhaps especially, when it seems that there isn’t.
The journey out of exile continues into the desert with its numerous unknowns. It requires great faith to stay the course and not veer off.
Hashem didn’t just take us out of Mitzrayim once over three thousand years ago. It is an ongoing event that happens whenever we are ready to follow Him out. Our job is to proceed and hold strong for the ride.
Chag Kasher V’sameiach & Freilichen Yom Tov,
R’ Dani and Chani Staum
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