Blessed be He who kept His promise to Israel - blessed be He!

(from the Passover Haggadah)

Nisan 18, 5777/April 14, 2017

"And I will stretch forth My hand and smite the Egyptians with all My wonders that I will wreak in their midst, and afterwards he will send you out." (Exodus 3:20)

With these words, spoken to Moshe at the burning bush, G-d explains His plans for the children of Israel. He is referring specifically to the ten plagues which He will visit upon the Egyptians to prepare the way for the exodus from Egypt, but not just. The splitting of the Sea of Reeds, receiving Torah at Mount Sinai, manna from heaven, water from a rock and all the other miraculous wonders that accompanied Israel throughout the desert were also part of the plan.

Today, we are privileged and blessed to live in an historic era in which G-d's manifold wonders are manifest and literally visible to anyone who wishes to open his eyes and see. The establishment of the state of Israel from the ashes of the Holocaust and the flames of pogroms in Muslim lands, the creation of the first army of Israel in more than 2000 years, the ingathering of the exiles and the rediscovery of long lost but not forgotten tribes of Israel, the liberation of Jerusalem and the return to the Temple Mount, resting place of G-d's Shechinah and location of the Holy Temple, are all wonders wrought by G-d, as His hand shapes and directs our destiny.

Here in the land of Israel, even the small things are living proofs of the wonders G-d works each and every day. The opening of a single flower is the fulfillment of prophecy. Rain from the sky and dew on the morning grass are signs that G-d is near and that He cares.

The plan that G-d revealed to Moshe at the burning bush continues to unfold before our very eyes and we are part of that plan. The Haggadah that we read at our Seder meal on the first night of Passover which recalls the story of the exodus from Egypt instructs us that "In each and every generation it is a person's duty to regard himself as though he personally went out from Egypt." Recalling the miraculous history of our forefathers is not enough. We must regard ourselves as leaving the slavery of Egypt for the freedom of being a nation in whose midst dwells G-d. We are the people on whose behalf G-d smites the tyrants and enslavers of our day. And we are the people who must exhibit in our actions the courage of the Hebrews who followed G-d's command, slaughtered the Pesach lamb, painted their doorposts with blood and left Egypt at midnight. G-d still has a plan and we are still His partners in making that plan a reality. Chag Sameach - Happy Passover!

-The Temple Institute