Speed Demons
"Why are cars manufactured to drive up to 130 MPH, if the maximum speed is much lower?" my 10-year son asked me recently. I didn't have a good answer at the time. I wondered if perhaps it is a marketing ploy to appeal to the men out there who love and crave speed.
Why do we crave speed? Auto racing is one of the most popular spectator sports in the world. Roller coasters, zip-lining, and other similar speed and adventure thrills make up a huge part of the entertainment industry.
What is at the root of this craving? The Kabbalists explain that our souls come from a different dimension, one beyond time and space. The soul feels trapped by our earthly restrictions and yearns to return to its spiritual place of origin, and therefore we all have a deep-rooted craving to break out of our physical "time-space limitations."
The craving for speed and adventure is an expression of that yearning. That's why we have such a fascination with space travel. It is for this reason that so many children dream of becoming astronauts when they grow up.
Frank White is an Oxford Rhodes Scholar who authored eight books on Space Exploration. He is famous for his Overview Effect theory. It describes the powerful psychological effect that space travel has on astronauts. Apparently the experience of breaking out of the normal physical limitations leaves a profound impact on space travelers for the rest of their lives. A fascinating documentary film called "Overview" was produced in 2012 describing this effect.
Let's rewind 3,000 years to the Passover story. It was a transcendent experience for the Jewish people. We rose from being a downtrodden nation of slaves to becoming G-d's Chosen People literally overnight. This had a profound "Overview Effect" on the soul and psyche of the Jewish people, both nationally and individually.
To commemorate and relive this experience, we eat matzah, a food that not only represents our transition from slavery to freedom, but also a food that transcends time. You see, besides for flour and water, a kosher for Passover matzah must beat the clock: it must be baked in under 18 minutes. If 18 minutes elapse from the time the flour and water mix until the time that the matzvah comes out of the oven, the matzah is considered "chametz" and is not considered kosher for Passover. If you've ever been privileged to be in a Passover matzah factory, you know exactly what I mean.
The Passover Seder has the ability to provide an "Overview Effect" on the Jewish soul. It is a spiritually transcendent time, a time when we experience the potential to break free from some of the insecurities, limitations and desires that hold us back from realizing our potential all year round. a time when we all become uplifted and re-committed Jews. So we eat soul-food, matzah, the food that reminds us about that transcendent moment of leaving Egypt, as well as our responsibility to transcend the physical and gravitational pull of the "yetzer hara" the negative drive that tries to prevent us from living a more transcendent life.
So, this Passover, before you take a bite of the matzoh, recite a prayer to G-d, ask Him, in your own words, to help you become a better, kinder, freer human being and Jew. Focus on one specific, negative character trait that's holding you back from realizing your potential and ask for Divine assistance in that area of personal growth and development and then crunch away!
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Koval
