A Cycle of Growth
“…Safeguard the month of spring and offer a Pesach to Hashem, your G-d; for in the month of spring, Hashem, your G-d, brought you out of Egypt at night…” – Devarim 16:1
שָׁמוֹר אֶת חֹדֶשׁ הָאָבִיב וְעָשִׂיתָ פֶּסַח לַה’ אֱלֹקֶיךָ כִּי בְּחֹדֶשׁ הָאָבִיב הוֹצִיאֲךָ ה’ אֱלֹקֶיךָ מִמִּצְרַיִם לָיְלָה – דברים טז, א
The Torah commands us to structure the calendar in a manner that ensures that the holiday of Pesach will be in the springtime. The emphasis placed on timing this holiday for the springtime highlights the uplifting message conveyed by the season of spring.
Almost no signs of plant life are visible during the winter months. When the winter season concludes, however, the processes of growth that lie dormant in the earth suddenly spring to life. It becomes evident that the lack of growth in the winter had been only a temporary pause to allow for nature’s rejuvenation. Now, a fresh season of vegetation can blossom and thrive.
This idea is also hinted in the holiday of Pesach. Bnei Yisrael suffered bitterly in Egypt, exiled and oppressed in both body and spirit. Only later was it revealed that the exile had in fact refined Bnei Yisrael) see Devarim 4:20, Rashi(, enabling them to receive the Torah a mere fifty days after leaving Egypt.
The sequence of winter and spring serves as an example for the individual as well. If we ever experience a period in life that seems to be barren, with no signs of productivity or growth, we must realize that this barrenness is almost certainly not a permanent reality. It is merely a temporary break in order to strengthen us, to enable us to ultimately blossom and flourish.
—Igros Kodesh, vol. 4, pp. 267-268
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