Pesach vacation starts with Rosh Chodesh Nissan, the month of redemption. Nissan is a month in which we celebrate the freedom of Bnei Yisrael from Egypt, the house of slavery. However, this year we approach the month of liberation with heavy hearts, as the world and Israel have seen more peaceful days. 

The constant battle for our national and personal freedom draws its inspiration from Pesach, the festival of freedom. The three most fundamental aspects of our Pesach holiday are Pesach, Matzah and Maror. Rabbi Lamm z”l suggests that each of these three elements represents a dial on our Jewish compass – time, tenacity and tactic. 

The Pesach offering of a lamb was only permitted to be offered once a person had already disposed of their chametz. This teaches us an important tactic – a person must first remove negative aspects from their home before preaching good. King David describes the appropriate order of character development – סור מרע – first depart from evil and only then – עשה טוב – do good. We cannot truly improve ourselves while we still have chametz in our souls.  

The second aspect is Matza. Matza represents the importance of time. The difference between matza and chametz is the extra time the dough is left to rise. Every moment of baking matzot is accounted for. The gift of time should never be taken for granted. The word ‘matzot’ is spelled the same way as ‘mitzvot’ and both are opportunities for appreciating time. We strive to be people who don’t miss an opportunity to do a mitzvah, or performing an act of kindness for someone else. 

The third aspect is Maror, the symbol of tenacity. Maror, the bitter herbs, begin sweet and turn bitter by the end. We sometimes take on new endeavours but the excitement wanes and we lose interest. It takes tenacity to continue when things get tough. The Jewish people have survived throughout history due to their determination and perseverance. We survived years of backbreaking labour in Egypt to become a people who walked through a barren wilderness to accept the Torah. We withstood 2000 years of bitter exile to return to the State of Israel. 

As we enter the Pesach break and the month of Nissan, we look back at what our students have achieved so far this year. They have sharpened their tactics and become better versions of themselves, taken advantage of their time learning and with their kids and approached every challenge with tenacity. I hope and pray that we all continue to internalise these messages of Pesach so that our Jewish compass continues to lead us in the right direction on our individual and national journeys.