Preparing on One’s Own:
A lot of work goes into preparing for Pesach, such as cleaning the entire house, shopping, cooking, etc. Yidden around the world willingly do this work on their own, without relying on others to do it for them.
The Kesav Sofer zt”l explains that this is the wicked son’s question. He asks: “What is this work to you?” Why do you do all this work on your own? Why do you do such hard work like slaughtering and roasting the Korban Pesach? Why don’t you hire workers to do it for you?
We answer him by saying that we offer the Korban Pesach to Hashem for skipping over the Jewish houses in Mitzrayim. We tell him that Hashem also did the work Himself, so to speak, when he killed the Egyptian firstborns and skipped over the Jewish houses, even though this work could have been by a malach.
He did this as a sign of his love for us. Therefore, we emulate Him and do the work of preparing for Pesach on our own as a sign of our love for Him.
Preparing for Ruach Hakodesh:
On the night of the Seder, one can even rise to the level of ruach hakodesh. In fact, the Satmar Rov zy”a would say almost every year in the name of Rav Yehoshua of Kroli zy”a that one who doesn’t have ruach hakodesh on the Seder night is not even a real person. During the month of Nissan, when the needs of the community or of individuals would interfere with his avodah, he would say that a person must put forth much preparations for the Seder because one must reach a level of ruach hakodesh on that night.
Preparing for the Great Light:
The Shem M’Shmuel zy”a explains the reason we wear white clothing on the night of Pesach by citing the verse (Koheles 9:8) that states: “Your clothing should be white at all times and oil shall not be lacking from upon your head.” He writes that “white clothing” is symbolic of preparations one does on his own, while “oil” symbolizes Divine wisdom that is granted to a person. On the night of Pesach, Hashem sends down a great light to those worthy of it but we can only merit this light if we properly prepare to receive it. This preparation is symbolized by the white clothing we wear.
The Kotzker Rebbe zy”a explains why preparations for a mitzvah are necessary by saying that if a person tries to connect to Hashem by doing a mitzvah without preparing in advance, the mitzvah does not make it to the “side of holiness” but, rather, it is grabbed by the damaging forces. This is hinted to in the pasuk (Bereishis 32:14) that states: “And he took from what came into his hand as a present to Esav.” This is a hint that if someone grabs a mitzvah into his hands without preparation, it is “a present for Esav”, meaning that it is given over to evil forces and will have no positive effect.
