* Translation by Yehoshua Siskin
What is exile? What is redemption? Rabbi Shlomo Wolbe wrote a profound definition:
"Exile is a situation in which a nation, an individual, or an object is not in its proper place. Redemption is a return to that place.”
* Exile is when the nation of Israel is not present in the Land of Israel, in Jerusalem, or in the Holy Temple. Redemption happens each time a Jew returns home. Therefore the book of Exodus that we finish reading this week is a book about redemption: We leave the land of Egypt on our way to the Land of Israel.
* Exile is when our precious hostages are not where they are meant to be — at home.
* Those who are unmarried and searching for their other half, those working in a job that doesn’t quite suit them, children and teenagers who are lost or feel out of place — these are all examples of exile.
* Exile is also when physical things and not where they are supposed to be. When we organize the house for Pesach, we throw away possessions we don’t need or give them to those who can use them — this is also redemption.
* There is also a concept of an “exiled mind” — (גלות הדעת) when our thoughts are not where they should be and we lack tranquility or peace of mind.
Everyone is invited to think about other examples of exile and redemption. May we merit this Pesach to leave behind every sort of exile for redemption so that everyone and everything is in its proper place.
Besorot tovot.
