People are accustomed to preparing for the Seder with nice vertlach and purchasing nice Haggadahs. This is wonderful, because a person must have vessels, receptacles, in which to deliver the words—the vertlach and stories are like the vessels for the illuminations. But we must remember that this is merely the external preparation for the Seder night. If you prepare your heart, your words will emanate from the heart. If you cry out to the Ribbono shel Olam to have the proper words, you will have a pure heart to transmit to your children.
Praying for Heart
The Imrei Chaim of Viznitz would journey to Meron every year prior to Pesach to beseech the Ribbono shel Olam in the merit of Rabbi Shimon that he should be zoche to a proper Seder night.
He would cry out to Hashem because he understood that the avodah of Pesach night is to be a mailman; he is merely delivering the words... they’re not his words! I should come and tell my stories?! They won’t leave any impression! This won’t give me the koach haddibur to illuminate when it is dark.
A truly beautiful moon must be able to illuminate the darkness. A true koach haddibur must leave an impression on a child that will never depart him. This can happen only when there’s a true dibbur—like the words of a tzaddik, which leave an everlasting impression.
A Yid must be able to say in his old age., “I can never forget the warmth that I felt as child on the Seder night.” He may not remember the story or the mashal that his father told, but he’ll remember the warmth and the heart of those bright nights.
Memories Based on Emotion
We see an interesting phenomenon: The Ribbono shel Olam calibrated humans so that the memory of a person is closely linked with his emotions.
People don’t easily remember technical information and knowledge. You tell a person a phone number, and he forgets it a moment later. But emotions are remembered well. People remember a time when they became very emotional. They can’t forget where they were standing in those moments. It so overcame him, and tears were streaming down his face in those moments. He remembers it years later.
Why is this? Because it was a situation of הלב אל נכנסים. That is why he became so emotional. And if it entered the heart, then it must have been a true koach hadibbur. A true word out of his heart has the power to get into the heart very deeply. This is the power of dibbur!
Pure Words Are Forever
The eitzah to attain this koach hadibbur is that the words should מן יוצא הלב, emanate from the heart. Therefore, we must first and foremost know what we are seeking to achieve—our intention is to ensure that the words will penetrate the hearts of our children and remain with them for generations.
