Is there a equivalent for the memories of the Pesach seder? Jews around the world, indeed even those who may be called "opted out by choice" , flock  to seder table in unprecedented numbers each year.

They defy logic.

After all, we may have not so many fond childhood Pesach memories too!

For starters , the seder of your youth may be filled with memories of the  not so often encountered with ubiquitous jolly rolly - polly  bubby or zeide  that loved to pinch your cheek and remark how much  you had grown since last Pesach! What of the squirming in your seat " Let's eat and get out of here" frustration as the seder seemed to take longer than leaving Egypt  itself! Maybe the new (stiff) suit or patent leather party shoes you were forced to exchange for skipping around in your (dirty) Kids made you wish for brighter days!?

So what brings us to the Pesach table each year?

Memories  aside, wasn't the Yetzias Mitzrayim, the Exodus, a little while ago - like 3,330 years. Hasn't enough been said? Maybe we should just move on?

EGYPT AND MOSHIACH

The Rabbis of the Haggadah push this last question even further! Discussing the Mitzvah of "remembering the day you left Egypt (which we do when we recite the Shema each morning and evening and we mention Mitzrayim in the third paragraph) they argue whether  we will mention the leaving Egypt after Moshiach arrives? They conclude, that even after Moshiach arrives, and the world has a true redemption from  its darker side we will remember the leaving the iron crucible of Mitzrayim!

What is the value of generating thought on slavery and its defeat in a time where there will be no more of even a thought of slavery?

To Go Where no Man has Gone Before!

When something new is attempted and accomplished we say that "we broke ground".  Like a new untouched field, the first shovelful  that removes  its dirt makes way for and begins a new journey. Fundamentally the field is new, as it begins the process of revealing the inner potential it always had.

There is natural excitement at a ground breaking for this reason. Tapping into as of yet treasures is exhilarating.
And difficult.

Trail blazers. Revolutionaries. Visionaries. Inventors. All receive their accolades as much for starting out as for their final product.

The Zohar refers to groundbreaking as " opening pipes" - pesach tzinorim". In  order to reach oil and natural gas that lays underneath the earth's crust, you must bore through the rock hard surfaces to create an opening for the energy fluids to flow, so too the spiritual forces. If you want to  uncap hidden reservoirs, pipes must first be developed.

CREATIVE FORCES

Touching on the arena of  laying new pipelines is the (familiar and powerful ) talent of creativity. Coming up with new ideas, new products and services, and any novel insight takes opening the proper pipeline.

What ingredients go into  cultivating creativity?

Students of creativity have different theories on the subject. Some posit the idea of Divergent or synthetic thinking.This is the ability to draw on ideas from across many disciplines and fields of inquiry in order to reach a deeper understanding of the world and one's place in it. Sticking to one focused thinking is called convergent thought. This is the talent of connecting a known piece of information with a proper and corresponding task or problem.It  is based on familiarity with what is already known and is most effective in situations where a ready-made answer exists and needs simply to be recalled from stored information, or worked out from what is already known by applying conventional and logical search, recognition and decision-making strategies

In Chassidic thought, divergent thought  is inherent in the process of Jewish meditation - called hisbonenus. The adept Chassid can draw on his or her own information of many diverse subjects and discover a new paradigm that they give birth to.

The now well known basis of creative problem solving through brainstorming uses this technique. Come up with as many ideas of possible answers to a problem -  regardless of their efficacy - and after you are finished the "right" answer will emerge out of the mix.

In general, creativity takes stepping aside, leaving your assumptions behind, and discovering new scenes and events that lie around you. Convergent thought stays with what you know.

MOSHIACH DIVERGENCE                             

The Alter Rebbe author of the Tanya explains the spiritual imperative of Leaving Egypt:

"In every generation and every day a person is obliged to regard himself as if he had that day come out of Egypt". This refers to the release of the divine soul from the confinement of the body.

The first thought on leaving Egypt is that more meets your eye then what you are prepared to look at. The "body" is limited. In order to open your pipe line of exodus and creative living is to then realize that indeed there is a much more deeper and unlimited part of ME that I have the ability to uncap. 

Choose which is your platform. One is Divergent.

When the Jews left Egypt they t  became a pipeline: an entire nation dedicated to living what G-d says, not the nature of world.

Living life so you see what lies beyond the obvious. Setting aside all assumptions, even on how we exist. That is  thinking out of the box!

In order to create, G-d also thought out of the box so to speak. After all, there is no benefit in creation and nothing that He needs from it. So why create it!

The ultimate leaving the box is Moshiach. Not an angel or soul but in a body, Moshiach breaks boundaries.  A complete New world, but nothing new at the same time! The world remains natural, but you see G-d's Essence when you look at it! Like Moshe before him, he is "half man and half a man of G-d" quotes the Talmud.

These are the reasons why we flock to the seder. At our lower level generation, we none the less feel the draw and pull of what the seder and Pesach are all about -  soul over body and limitlessness over limits. It is the basis of the entire Jewish existence. A pillar of our system of belief that nature is not what she claims to be. We can be beyond what we are today.

The first and basic principle behind Moshiach Divergence is the following: as of now, though the world may seem unready for such thoughts, a pipeline must be drilled into the rock. This pipe lining brings us to Moshiach. And therefore remains important after the goal is accomplished. Opening pipelines is nothing new. It started with the Exodus.

So it is relevant .

Always. 

The expression of Pesach is the Matzah. Devoid of any taste, bread like form, it is a flat panel bread! It is called the bread of faith by the Zohar. For it brings faith downward into the consciousness of the one who consumes it. It is promised to open your mind and heart. Perhaps not the instant you chew it, but it will do the trick.

So walk away from your assumptions. Peer out of your box. And begin with a piece of Matzah. And think about what lays beyond the scope of the obvious.

We show up to a celebration that is 3300 years old - because in truth, it is as relevant to day as it was when it first occurred. And now its time to embrace it.

Moshiach Now. Learn On . Light On.