What is karpas? A little piece of vegetable, certainly not a full meal. We eat only a small piece, less than a k'zayit in order not to be obligated to recite an after blessing. Its small size hints to poverty.
Yet just a month earlier, we also see the word karpas in Megillat Esther, but in a completely different context. We read how King Achashverosh hosted a feast for everyone in his palace, amidst extraordinary wealth with all of his royal furnishings and vessels (Esther 1:6). Here we see karpas as something very rich. So how is this explained in contrast to the poor karpas of Pesach?
In Likutey Halachot, Reb Noson explains that rich and poor are both from HaShem. The very same karpas can be the most rich or the most poor. One moment it is one way, the next moment, another way. It is all in God's hands, He can convert rich to poor and vice versa. This is why we hear about karpas last month as well as this month. It shows God's unity and oneness, since both conditions come from Him.This is true in all contrasting situations. It is all one. During Pesach, God brought out an entire people from inescapable slavery to complete freedom.
Comments