Pesach and the Seventh Day of Pesach

"He who keeps the commandment will know no evil thing" (Ecclesiastes 8:5)

Mordechai cried out regarding the decree during the time of burning the chametz • Esther said that through engagement in mitzvot they would be saved until after Passover • We will destroy Haman through the tikkunim of the Seder night • The Afikoman hints at the splitting of the Red Sea • Mordechai said that one must not wait - the decrees must be annulled immediately • "The miracle occurred only through self-nullification to the tzaddik"

"The Midrash (Ecclesiastes, Chapter 8) says: 'He who keeps the commandment will know no evil thing'—this refers to Esther, who was occupied with the mitzvah of burning the chametz."

Mordechai cried out regarding the decree during the time of burning the chametz

"When Mordechai arrived at Esther's house, it was already after sunset. The decree was on the 13th of Nissan; throughout the 13th, they were busy writing and signing the decree, and by the time it was put into effect, it was already toward evening."

"And Mordechai began to cry out with great and bitter cries, walking through the entire city while Esther was occupied with the mitzvah of burning the chametz."

Esther said that through engagement in mitzvot they would be saved until after Passover

"Esther said to him, 'Why are you crying out in the middle of burning the chametz? Right now, I am cleaning the hundred rooms of the palace. He who keeps the commandment will know no evil thing.'"

"We will also intend to burn Haman; after that, there will be the Seder night, we will drink the four cups, and 'it is this that has stood for our forefathers in every generation, and they stand against us to destroy us'—we will wait until after Passover."

We will destroy Haman through the tikkunim of the Seder night

"Esther actually disagreed with Mordechai. The Midrash says that Esther argued that we have time to begin everything even after Passover. Now there will be the splitting of the Red Sea, the Song of the Sea, 'Pharaoh's chariots and his army He cast into the sea'—we will focus on the splitting of the Red Sea on the seventh day of Passover to drown Pharaoh."

"We will destroy Haman through the tikkunim of the Seder night; we will focus during the Song of the Sea on drowning Haman."

The Afikoman hints at the splitting of the Red Sea

"The Midrash Rabbah says that here Mordechai understood more than Esther—'And Mordechai passed by'; Mordechai said to her, 'This year there will be no Seder night, this year there will be no four cups, this year they will not eat the Afikoman.'"

"Because the Afikoman truly hints at the matter of the splitting of the Red Sea, for the word 'chatz' (half/arrow) when we break the Afikoman in two has the gematria of 98, and twice 'chatz' is the gematria of 196, [the value of] the Red Sea (Yam Suf)."

"The Afikoman itself hints at the splitting of the Red Sea, for at the time the Red Sea split, at that very moment all the waters in the world were split, and the commotion went from one end of the world to the other."

Mordechai said that one must not wait - the decrees must be annulled immediately

"Reb Noson explains that the entire miracle happened through the self-nullification that Esther had toward Mordechai."

"Esther argued that it was possible to begin all the efforts in a week's time, for the decree was for 11 months away, and Mordechai argued, 'There is no such thing! It is forbidden to wait even one second; not only will there be no Seder night, there will be nothing! We must annul the decree now.'"

"No one will wait 11 months. When Hitler rose to power, they began to kill Jews. When Hitler conquered Poland, they were already killing Jews in Ukraine; they didn't wait for Hitler to arrive. They saw a Jew and killed him; the Ukrainians themselves would enter and shoot Jews—the world was lawless!"

"Mordechai said to her, 'Listen, it is not as you think; the situation is catastrophic. They are beginning to kill Jews in the streets.' The Midrash says they began to kill Jews in the streets."

"The miracle occurred only through self-nullification to the tzaddik"

"Reb Noson explains that Esther, a woman who feared Hashem, was inclusive of all the women in the world, just as Eve was inclusive of all the righteous women until the end of all generations, and now she needed the miracle."

"The miracle could only happen through Esther's self-nullification to Mordechai—through her reaching such a level of nullification to Mordechai, not just the nullification of 'if I perish, I perish.'"