Final Days of Pesach | Chag Sameach!

I hope the first days of Pesach were uplifting and meaningful for you and your families, but more than that – I hope they reinforced who we are.

Here in Shule, we saw that yiddishkeit come alive! Beautiful services, strong crowds, and a truly inspiring family Seder together. There is something deeply powerful about seeing our community retell our story with pride, passing it from one generation to the next.

As we enter the final days of Pesach, the focus shifts in a subtle but profound way.

The first days of Pesach are about a redemption that was. The splitting of the sea, the birth of our people, the moment Hashem revealed Himself in history.

But these final days of Pesach, are about redemption that will be.

Our sages chose a Haftara that describes a stirring vision of the end of days, the days of our future Redemption, with the arrival of Mashiach. Personally, this Haftara gives me goosebumps each year when I read its prophetic words.

The Prophet Isaiah describes: ויצא חוטר מגזע ישי, a future leader will rise and usher in a new era. And then those remarkable words: וגר זאב עם כבש, a time when peace will rule the world, when nations will peacefully live alongside one another, even the “wolf and the lamb” will dwell together.

The seventh day of Pesach recalls the splitting of the sea, but the eighth day -Acharon Shel Pesach points forward. It is a day of longing and faith in the coming of Moshiach. It is why we sit for a special meal, Seudat Moshiach, Mashiach’s meal. Just as we begin Yom Tov with a Seder, we echo that experience at the close, not just remembering the past, but tasting the future. And this year, that future feels closer and more necessary than ever.

We are living through truly historic times. A war that has already reshaped the region, filling us with a combination of hope for the future and despair for the danger to our brothers and sisters in Israel.

Even here in Sydney, so far from the physical battlefield, the emotional frontlines are very real. We carry the weight of Israel in our hearts. We check the news too often. We daven with a little more urgency.

Judaism teaches that we are not only shaped by the past, we are drawn forward by our future. We bring redemption one day at a time. One act at a time. One mitzvah at a time. One life at a time.

The same Hashem who took us out of Mitzrayim, who split the sea when there was no way forward, He has not changed. What we are witnessing now is part of the unfolding. And we are active participants in it.

This is the power of the last days of Pesach. Beyond the headlines and the fear, lies a future of clarity, peace and redemption. Where truth is no longer hidden behind propaganda or darkness. Where Israel is not a place of tension, but of light for the entire world.
Our task is clear – to hold both truths at once. To feel the pain, but hold onto hope. To see the darkness, but shine our light. To follow the news, but anchor ourselves in Emunah. Not passive belief, but active trust that calls us to act. This is our own “rescue mission”.

Let us sit at the Seudat Moshiach not as spectators of history, but as participants in its final chapter. And let us say, with full hearts and unshakable faith: Just as we were redeemed then, so too we will be redeemed now.

Please join us in Shul this evening and tomorrow morning for our Pesach service from 9am. Thursday we have special prayers for our people in Israel and Yizkor service at 10:30am, not only for your dear departed family, but also for the victims of this current crisis.

Register for the Mimouna celebration, it will take place 7:30pm after yomtov.

Chag Sameach!
Rabbi Levi and Chanie