Passover תרס”ד 2
כל הג’ רגלים זכר ליצ”מ.
All three pilgrimage festivals are a remembrance of the Exodus from Egypt.
The Sefat Emet begins by stating that every festival carries within it the core theme of liberation revealed at the Exodus.
כי בפסח זמן חירותנו.
For on Passover is the season of our freedom.
Passover opens the experience of freedom, the foundational spiritual liberation.
אח”כ במתן תורה הבינו מכוון זה החירות שהוא לצאת מן הטבע לקבל כח אלקות כאמור אנכי ה’ אלקיך אשר הוצאתיך שזה תכלית החירות להיות אנכי ה’ אלקיך.
Afterward, at the giving of the Torah, they understood the true intent of this freedom: to leave the realm of nature and receive divine power, as it says, “I am the Lord your God who brought you out,” meaning that the purpose of freedom is to reach “I am the Lord your God.”
True freedom is not merely escape from bondage but the capacity to transcend natural limitations and cleave to the Divine, revealed fully only at Sinai.
וכמ”ש חז”ל אין לך בן חורין אלא העוסק בתורה.
As the Sages taught: “You have no free person except one who engages in Torah.”
Torah study itself is the expression and realization of authentic freedom.
פי’ בן חורין שמבין החירות ומתדבק בשורש החירות שהתורה מלמדת להכין זה החירות.
This means a free person is one who understands freedom and cleaves to its root, which the Torah teaches in order to prepare one for this freedom.
Freedom is an inner understanding and attachment to its divine source, cultivated through Torah.
אחר כך כשזוכין להתמשך אחר עלמא דחירות הוא עיקר השמחה בחג הסוכות.
Afterward, when one merits being drawn after the realm of freedom, this becomes the essence of the joy of the festival of Sukkot.
Sukkot manifests the state of living within divine freedom, and therefore it is the festival of supreme joy.
ומעין זה נוהג בכל שנה ושנה שבפסח נפתח פתח החירות.
A reflection of this occurs every year: on Passover the gateway to freedom opens.
Each year renews the same spiritual process, beginning with the opening of freedom on Pesach.
אח”כ בימי הספירה ושבועות צריכין להבין ולהתבונן במכוון זה החירות.
Afterward, during the days of the Omer and Shavuot, one must understand and contemplate the true intention of this freedom.
The period between Pesach and Shavuot is a time of inner work to grasp the nature of divine freedom.
וכשמבין זה שב בתשובה בר”ה ויוה”כ כדי שיזכה להתמשך אח”ז החירות.
And when one understands this, he returns in repentance on Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur so that he may merit being drawn afterward into this freedom.
The High Holy Days refine a person, preparing him to fully receive the flow of freedom in the new year.
ואח”כ זוכין לשמחה השלימה.
And afterward one merits complete joy.
This culminates in Sukkot, the time of perfected joy.
ואלו הג’ הם בחי’ קודש קדוש קדושה שהמועדות הם מקראי קודש.
And these three are levels of “kodesh, kadosh, kedushah,” for the festivals are sacred convocations.
The festivals correspond to ascending stages of holiness embedded in the annual cycle.
קודש עצם הקדושה.
“Kodesh” is the essence of holiness.
This is the inherent sanctity revealed at Pesach.
קדוש התמשכות הקדושה לאדם.
“Kadosh” is holiness flowing into the human being.
This aligns with the receiving of Torah on Shavuot.
קדושה כשנמשך האדם אחר הקדושה.
“Kedushah” is when the person is drawn after holiness.
This describes Sukkot, when a person fully dwells within holiness.
כמ”ש מזה בזוה”ק אמור ע”ש בר”מ:
As is written about this in the Zohar on Emor, in the section of Rabbi Shimon.
The Sefat Emet points to mystical sources that expand on these three stages of holiness.
Summary: The Sefat Emet teaches that the three festivals reenact a progressive journey of freedom—opened on Pesach, understood through Torah on Shavuot, and fully lived as joy on Sukkot—corresponding to ascending levels of holiness: kodesh, kadosh, kedushah.
