What Are You Building - Daniel Winer

Generally when compiling a booklet of Divrei Torah a situation is created where every author attempts to write an outstanding Dvar Torah. Outstanding in the sense that their Dvar Torah stands out. This generally results in an attempt to compile a deep, complex and intellectual idea. This is not a negative phenomenon but can result in a recognition of the trees but a failure to see the forest. Thus I have decided to write a forest Dvar Torah.

It’s quite simple actually – we were slaves in Egypt and then Hashem saved us. As simple as the story is, I don’t think we appreciate the profundity of the event.

We were slaves! Think about it, we were a downtrodden nation, void of basic freedoms, liberties and rights. We never owned our body, our time, our lives. We were nothing more than a cog in a system. But then Hashem, our Father, our King saved us, redeemed us, gave us the gift of freedom the gift of rights and the gift of ownership.

So now what? What does a nation of slaves do? We do what we know best, we build! Previously we built; pyramids for the Egyptians and mass graves for the Nazis… We continue to build, but today we build a country, we build a better world, we build a world full of love, chessed and kindness.

Have you internalised the message of Pessach? Are you still building modern day pyramids for the modern day Pharaoh? Or are you using your building skills to build a better world? Chag Kasher v’Sameach

Daniel Winer


haggadah Section: Introduction