No Mundane Speech:
The Shlah Hakadosh writes the following about the kedushah of Pesach:
The holiness of this night with all the halachos and customs is extremely lofty. On this night, Hashem chose us from all other nations and sanctified us with His mitzvos. Therefore, it is appropriate for a person to be careful not to speak any mundane words on this night and one should teach his family members about this. Nothing should interrupt a person’s d’veikus with Hashem for a moment. Rather, one should only be immersed in the mitzvos of the night and relating the story of the miracles to his family.
Feeling Holiness Even Without Removing Impurity:
Every individual can feel the holiness of this night. The Kosover Rebbe zy”a (Sefer Toras Chaim) explains the first two simanim of the Seder – Kadesh, Urchatz – by saying that on all other nights, one must first wash away his impurity before attempting to attain kedusha. On Pesach, however, we commemorate how Hashem lifted the nation up from the 49th level of impurity and brought them to a high level of sanctity. So too, every year on Pesach, one must have emunah that even if he did not prepare himself fully by removing all traces of sin, he can become holy. Thus, we can do “Kadeish” and raise ourselves to a high level of kedusha even before we do “Urchatz” and remove the impurity.
Ahavah Mekalkeles Es Hashurah:
The Sefas Emes writes that the reason one can reach great spiritual heights on Pesach even if he has not fully removed his impurities is because Pesach represents “ahavah”. On Pesach, Hashem’s love for Klal Yisroel increases and “ahavah distorts the line”. Therefore, Hashem increases our level of kedusha, even if we do not deserve it.
This is hinted to in the pasuk (Bamidbor 9:11): “On matzohs and maror, we eat it.” This can be understood to mean that even if a person is “like maror”, meaning that he still contains bitter elements of the yeitzer hara, he still can obtain the benefits of the Korban Pesach.
Like the Kohen Gadol:
The holiness we can reach on Pesach is similar to the kedusha of the Kohen Gadol when he enters the Kodesh Kodashim. The Maharal zt”l writes that the reason we wear a kittel at the Seder is to show that on this night, every Jew can reach the level of the Kohen Gadol and every house is like the Kodesh Kodashim.
Reaching Dveikus with Hashem:
This holiness connects a person to Hashem. Rav Mordechai Chaim of Slonim zy”a relates that Rav Levi Yitzchok of Berditchov zy”a once became very emotional on the Seder night and screamed, “Ribono Shel Olam! Either you come into me or I will come in You.” In his tremendous passion, he began to bang on the table, knocking over all of the plates and food.
The Story of Yetzias Mitzrayim Removes Bad Thoughts:
The Chozeh of Lublin zy”a said that the mitzvah of relating the story of the exodus from Egypt has the power to remove all bad thoughts from a person’s head and transform them into pure and holy thoughts. He explains that when the Jews were in Egypt, they had thoughts of idol worship. (Chazal say in Shemos Rabbah 15:2 and 21:7 that some people actually served idols.) Hashem lifted them up from the 49th level of impurity and brought them up to an extreme level of holiness, thus removing those thoughts from their minds. When one relates this story to his children, he brings back this influence and allows their thoughts to become purified as well.
This explains the words of the Hagadah: “Anyone who speaks a lot about the exodus from Egypt is praiseworthy.” This can be understood to be referring to a person’s neshama. Since he speaks a lot about yetzias Mitzrayim, he purifies his soul and cleanses his thoughts.
Removing Bad Thoughts Through Emunah:
The Rimanover Rebbe zy”a writes that that Pesach is the time of ultimate redemption, and contains so much holiness that one can reach a level of fully understanding Hashem’s essence. On this day, one can come to comprehend how Hashem’s greatness fills the entire world, which will cause a person to be ashamed of having improper thoughts, as he knows that Hashem is aware of everything he thinks.
There was a moment during the night of the exodus when the Jewish people reached a level of perfect emunah, and this influence remains for all generations. Even today, if a person is careful not to allow his thoughts to stray during the Seder night and he concentrates on the holiness and sanctity of the night, when that moment comes he can attain the same level of perfect emunah. Only our improper thoughts prevent us from feeling this.
The Light of His Face:
It is known that tzadikim reached extremely lofty levels of kedushah on the night of the Sefer. It is said that the Chasam Sofer zy”a ascended to a very high level of holiness on this night. He would scream so loud that his voice could be heard for several blocks around his house and no one could even look at his face since it shone so brightly with the light of kedusha, just like Moshe’s face shone after receiving the Torah.
It is said that when his daughter-in-law, the wife of the Kesav Sofer zy”a, first heard about this, she thought that it was a “bubbe maisoh”. However, when she spent her first Seder in the presence of her father-in-law, she saw that it was 100% true and that no human being could look at the Chasam Sofer’s face at this time.
