Moonshots, Elections, and the Real Goal of Pesach

Last week, Israelis closely followed two unfolding stories.

The first Israeli spacecraft, "Beresheet," was poised to land on the moon and place Israel among the few nations to do so; at the same time, several parties were short just a handful of votes to clear the electoral threshold—or snag one more Knesset seat.

From a distance, you might ask: why the nail-biting tension? The spacecraft had already traveled hundreds of thousands of miles, an astonishing feat—from planning and building, to a flawless launch, to cruising from Earth into space and executing precision maneuvers from afar. Amazing! So much went right; let’s just go to sleep already... Land, don’t land—does it really matter? Most of the work is behind us, and it was a success. Why get hung up on \"trivialities\"?

And to the party activists poring over lists, numbers, and spreadsheets—my question is the same. You pulled in over a hundred thousand supporters. Kudos! That’s a ton of votes. Think about it: so many people left their errands, their homes, their backyard barbecues, and came out to back you. Rub your hands and enjoy it—why stress over a few hundred or thousand more? Look at the upside: even if you didn’t cross the threshold, the result is still impressive!

Of course, that’s misguided.

To all of us it’s obvious: the scientists didn’t labor for eight years—and donors didn’t invest hundreds of millions—just to go on a journey. The whole point was to reach the destination.

Likewise, politicians with lots of support still can’t wield any real power unless they clear the electoral threshold—unless they hit the target and actually join the legislature...

These two moments point us toward a big takeaway about Pesach!

Elections, a spaceship, and Pesach... how do those connect? Sounds like the setup to a joke...

Let’s take a look.

This time of year, we put in serious physical and emotional effort getting ready for Pesach: scrubbing, laundering, refreshing, and koshering. What don’t we do for this beautiful holiday? And that’s before the bills—new outfits, festive foods. Pesach! Everything’s perfect!

Have we ever stopped to ask ourselves: what’s all this work for? Why?

The Torah gives us a clear answer: \"So that you may tell your child and your child’s child what I did to Egypt and the signs I placed among them, and you will know that I am Hashem\".

Faith!

Us—and our children!

That is the whole point of these days: to know that Hashem watches over every single detail in the world—He took us out of Egypt, performed all the signs and wonders for us, and still watches over us every day, hour, and moment.

That’s why we have Pesach. One week a year we stop everything and reconnect with our Creator through simple, pure faith in Him.

But how connected are we, really, to the soul of this holiday—its spiritual core?

We scrub, we clean, we cook; our hands are cracked, our backs ache, the credit card is maxed out, and... we arrive at the Seder night,

Landing time! 150 meters above the ground...

And... that’s where we crash.

We forget the essence. We miss the goal.

We show up unprepared—exhausted, frazzled. And the kids? They’re tired and counting the pages left until \"Shulchan Orech\"...

So are all those tasks we did—valuable and worthwhile on their own—really worth it if they still \"don’t clear the threshold,\" when they end up crowding out the lion’s share of the day’s mitzvah—the piece that connects weeks of effort to the holiday’s primary goal?

Of course we all want the main thing—the result—and not just the long road we took to get there!

So let’s take a few practical steps to actually reach that peak—strengthening our faith in Hashem and fulfilling the central mitzvah of Pesach: passing that faith down to the next generation.

How do we do it?

Simple.

1. Keep reminding yourself of the goal: faith in Hashem, as we’ve said.

2. Carve out time before the Seder to review the Haggadah, get comfortable with the relevant halacha, and come into the night filled with clarity and conviction. That way you can pour from a full cup—instead of scrambling to learn just when you’re meant to teach and inspire the people around you.

3. Remember, the central mitzvah of the Seder is \"And you shall tell your child\"—the kids! As with any important journey, prepare them. Make sure they’ve slept and eaten before the big night so you can keep them focused on the story of the Haggadah and on building faith—rather than dealing with the very real hunger and fatigue that hit on this night... and then you’ll fulfill \"And you shall tell your child\" in the most beautiful way.

4. Sweeten the night for everyone at home. Encourage listening and participation. Hand out candies, chocolates, and the like to help them stay alert.

5. Sometimes a table of very learned people shows up brimming with insights and parables about the Haggadah and Pesach. Nice—and even important—but usually it drifts from the night’s core mitzvah. This night, keep the focus on stories, parables, and simple, faith-building demonstrations—in language the kids will understand. There’s time for novel ideas during the meal, and really, all through Pesach.

Come into the Seder energized. Connect with the Creator of the world. Strengthen your faith. And in doing so, tap into all the spiritual treasures and the immense segulot tucked inside this holy, awe-inspiring night.

Chag sameach!