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We Must Eat it TogetherThere's an extremely strange requirement in conjunction with a korbon Pesach,that we find by no other korbon, and that is that we must eat it בחבורה in a preassignedgroup. We can't just sit down and eat our delicious korbon with anyonewe feel like . We must decide beforehand with whom we will shecht it and then eatit together in a group. One wonders then, why all this special fuss about eating it in a group? What difference could it make how we eat the korbon? בחבורה -Why thegreat stress of eating it only in a group? Perhaps the answer to this puzzling question lies in understanding the tremendous importance in not being an individual but rather being part of a group. A group carries within it great strength and power. There may be many times in a person's life that one can suddenly undergo personal tragedy in the family or in business, which may occasionally bring about periods of depression and if he's not very careful it may chas v'sholom cause him to fall in his personal adherence to Torah and Mitzvos.Of course, these must be seen as tests that Hashem is putting him through, and hemust strengthen himself with all his power not to allow these worldly problems to chas v'sholom make him lose his faith and belief. However, sometimes, no matterhow hard he tries, he is unable to pull himself free from his difficult plight. This is the moment when we most desperately need to be part of a group. That's because האסורים מבית עצמו את מתיר חבוש אין - one can't extract oneself from prison.The mere fact that he has friends and is not alone is of the greatest help. It is only their constant encouragement and the knowledge that he has someone around him that cares for him, that he is able to survive. It's very hard for a person all alone to rise out of depression, which in turn is the greatest danger to his avodas Hashem. Thisis when he needs to be part of a חבורה who will help sustain him until the dangerspass by. The korbon Pesach represents the destruction of the Egyptian avodah zoroh. Tomany Jews, serving idols had become a very strong addiction. Not everyone had the courage, strength or ability to overcome their addiction on their own. Sometimes we need support groups such as Alcoholic Anonymous or Weight Watchers to encourage and enable us to fight an addiction. The Egyptian avodah zoroh wasn't easy toovercome. Without a חבורה , some people would be unable to extricate themselvesfrom its powerful grip. Only by being part of a group could one hopefully overcome the strong and powerful addiction. One sometimes needs the helpful hands of others to support him and slowly drag him out. The unity of a group can do what no individual can do on his own. Only in the setting of a group can we feel secure that if we chas v'sholom should fail in our avodah, there will be someone there to grabhold of us and not let us fall. Roasting the korban Pesach symbolized unity, says the Maharal. That's becauseroasting solidifies it. This may also be why it was not permitted to break a bone of the korban.The Torah also teaches us that not only do we have an obligation to watch out for ourselves, but we must also be ready to care for others as well. We can't be loners. When extricating ourselves from the Egyptian avodah zoroh, we must learnto stand together. It's this achdus חבורה (togetherness) of a that gives us the strengthwe need to defeat our enemies and all the many forms that the Egyptian avodahzoroh represented and to survive this long and dark exile. Very few people can go italone. Comradeship and solidarity, is the most important commodity a person can possess. |
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