Positive Passover Thinking

Are you a negative thinker? A pessimist?  Negative thinking = negative feeling = negative speech = weakened immune system = more susceptibility to illness.
Positive thinking = positive feeling = positive talk = stronger immune system = more health.

In the words of the Tzemach Tzedek – Think Good and it will be Good!

One may think that if you have a difficult time changing your thinking that hope is lost.  Fear not, fret not!  Salvation is on the way, coming to you straight from the upcoming holiday of Pesach.

The basis of the entire Passover Seder is the Torah’s instruction to “tell it to your children”.  That is why the Mah Nishtana – the four questions, is such a focal point at the beginning of the Seder.  That is why the Seder is filled with sensory actions, taste and touch, sound and smell and watching, watching the parents, the friends, the family.

Yes, it is wonderful when the inside provides the attitude and energy for the outside, but we are not all or always fortunate to have that positive inside.  The Seder teaches us that our external behaviors can create a muscle memory that over time will transform the inside.

This idea is further brought home by an interesting aspect of the Pesach Seder as instructed in the Torah. The Torah tells us not to break the bones of the Passover sacrifice.

The Chinuch, a codifier and explainer of the Mitzvos tells us the reason for this interesting Mitzvah.
  
One who is poor needs to extract every last bit of juice (marrow) from the bones.  But one who is rich, can just take another piece of steak.  On the Seder evening we are to see ourselves as if we left Egypt, we are to see all the events of this evening in wealth and richness.  If we are breaking bones to suck the juice we are acting in poverty.

“After the actions, the heart is drawn!”

So this year as we navigate preparations for Pesach, let’s talk positive talk, sing positive songs, tell positive stories and allow our hearts and minds to fill with positive thoughts.

May Hashem bless you and your loved ones with good health and a happy and joyous Pesach!

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