Nachal novea; makor chochma -
A flowing river; the source of wisdom (Mish. 18:4)

The meal-offering was mainly offered by the poor. The state of poverty was essential, and the main ingredient for doing repentance. No matter how far a person may be from G-d, the healing effects of the meal-offering could reach that person wherever he might be. He then would merit to brought close to G-d. In what way could the meal-offering heal? A person had to be able to feel his spiritual poverty, and overcome his pride, in being able to ask G-d for help in returning to Him, just and an  economically poor person is motivated to beg for financial assistance, because he is acutely aware of his economic difficulties. The following verse tells us that it is only when a person considers himself in a state of spiritual poverty, that one can come to sincerely beg G-d for help: 'A prayer of the poor [the one who sees his spiritual poverty] when he is enwrapped (in his troubles], and [only then] pours out before G-d his conversation (asking for G-d's help]" (Psalms 102:1). This type of prayer is very precious in the eyes of G-d.  Through praying with this type of sincerity, one will surely merit to come close to G-d.

This is why the meal-offering was brought in halves: To illustrate that a sincere, heart-felt prayer for G-d's assistance, even if it is defective, intermixed with confused thoughts, and thus not expressed so eloquently, is acceptable to G-d just as a half the quantity of the meal-offering was an acceptable offering. Also, a person had to feel that he was incomplete and only half, and feel he needed G-d's help. It is very difficult for a person to approach G-d if he thinks that he is rich with accomplishments, such as knowing how to learn Torah, doing many good deeds, possessing wealth, intelligence, etc.  Even if someone were to know the entire written and oral Torah by heart do many good deeds, an inflated ego acquired through these accomplishments would still prevent one from coming close to G-d. Therefore, if one truly seeks G-d, one should attune and synchronize his attitude to the offering of the poor, which was only offered in halves, the meal-offering.  A prayer like this is considered as if one had offered the entire world, for a prayer uttered with humble sincerity is that valuable in G-d's eyes.

One cannot begin to imagine how great G-d's mercy is. Therefore, one should never despair of reaching G-d through one's prayers.  This is why the holy Ari said one should say right before the morning Shemoneh Esrei, the phrase, 'ozer da'layim," (G-d] helps the poor, with feeling. He also said that one should say this phrase with the thought and awareness that this phrase applies to oneself, for it is he who is actually spiritually poor and yet has a lot to accomplish spiritually to be considered close to G-d. With an attitude like this, before one prays the main prayer of the morning, it will be easier for one's prayer to be accepted. It is a prayer like this which reaches from one end of the world to the other, just like the meal-offering. The Midrash illustrates this idea by quoting the following verse, "From the rising of the sun unto his going down (from one end of the world to the other] the name of G-d is praised (through sincere prayer uttered with humility]" (Psalms 113:3). (Lekutai Halachot Orach Chayim, Hilchot Tefillas Mincha 7:44)

The following story illustrates that a person who sincerely approaches G-d can be greater than a very learned  person.  One of Rav Nosson’s followers, Reb Lazzer,  had trouble expressing himself when talking with G-d.  He told him to repeat the phrase, “Ribbono Shel Olam,” Master of the World, one thousand times. This would eventually help him open up to G-d. One day someone told Rav Nosson, that a man was visiting town who knew 1000 pages of the Talmud by heart. Rav Nosson was not impressed. He indicated that his follower Reb Lazzer's feat was such greater than this, for he was able to say “Ribbono shel Olam” a thousand times. Rav Nosson explained that the scholar received a great amount of recognition for his accomplishment and everyone talked about how great he was. However his follower talked to G-d in private and no one was aware of what he was doing.  Plus repeating this phrase could not possibly bring one to pride.

However, the Zohar adds that due to the intensity of the exile, the alien influences of the environment we find ourselves in has caused the world and our understanding of the Torah to become as dark as night. Therefore, the Zohar continues, it has become very difficult to draw the guiding light from the Torah and its commandments.  This is due to the alien mentality that we have encountered in exile, which doesn't allow us to fully understand and draw from the guidance from the Torah properly. In a situation like this, what can we do to get the proper guidance? The solution to this problem is that it is the sages and the tzadikim who have the ability to reveal the meaning of the guiding light of the Torah who will enlighten us in the extreme darkness of exile.  This is one reason why the sages instituted the Rabbinical commandment of Chanukah, which is to light candles to illuminate the darkness. This commandment, which was enacted by the sages during the period of exile, intimates to us that the sages have the power to provide the Jewish people with the guiding light of the Torah in the darkness of exile. The following verse illustrates this point: “Even the darkness can obscure nothing from you (G-d]; but the night will shine like the day (through following the guidance of the Torah, which is the word of G-d]; both the darkness and the light are alike (to you, G-d]" (Psalms 139:12). (Lekutai Halachot: Chosen Mishpat: Hilchot Nezikin 5:39)
 

A little about Passover

Belief in the One who created and runs the world is dependent on water. Therefore, water was created with two spiritual properties: Chesed, kindness, and Din, strictness (Zohar: Va'ara 4:24). Water is the intermediate step between the physical and the spiritual world. Nothing but spiritual holiness existed before the physical world was created.  Therefore, water contains the properties to bridge the physical world and the spiritual world. Therefore, every holy act that we perform which involves the use of water, elevates and detaches us from the impurities of this world and allows us to purify ourselves by connecting ourselves, physical beings, with the spiritual realm. This enables us to draw from and be merged with the holiness of the spiritual world to be able to purity ourselves.

Therefore, the Jewish people entered into the covenant with G-d by immersing in a ritual bath. This same rule applies to a person who converts to Judaism. The priests were also required to immerse in a ritual bath and wash their hands and feet before they were permitted to perform any service in the Temple. Water is used in many other rituals as well. This is why we  wash our hands two times  during the seder ceremony. We want the waters  that are connected to holiness to purify our minds, through the washing of our hands (how the hands affect the mind is a very lengthy topic, and we are unable to explain this concept here) to a greater degree at the seder.  For it is very difficult to purify ourselves from the influences of Egypt.

On the other hand we find that water has the power to render things impure. For if cut produce was downed with water, only then can it be put in the position to become impure.

Therefore, the definition of holiness is faith in the One who runs the world. This is why water has the ability to make things holy, for water is the foundation of creation and thus faith itself, as mentioned above. Not having faith is the source of impurity.   Non-believers attribute the formation of the world to an accident of science. They claim that this very complex world was accidentally formed from          molten liquid lava. They also disclaim any belief in G-d's creation of water, the process called something from nothing. Therefore, we are commanded by G-d not to allow the food we eat on Passover to leaven. For the longer we allow the unbaked dough to linger without completing the baking process, the more the effect the air has on the dough. What is wrong with this?  It is the air that carries with it the influences of the environment from were it originated.

Therefore, the Jews were commanded to safeguard their dough from leavening, so as not to allow the polluted air derived from the immoral and idolatrous Egypt from having any negative influence on the matzo,  that the spiritually weak Jews would ingest into their bodies. If the dough would be allowed to leaven, it would  eventually provide spiritually polluted nourishment to the most important organ of all, the brain. This spiritually tainted food would then confuse their minds to such a degree that it would then be very difficult for the Jews to acquire the proper faith in G-d.

 The Egyptians worshipped the negative aspect of water, a body of water called the Nile River. They believed that the source of all creation came from this body of water.

Another reason why we try to limit the air which is absorbed in the food we eat on Passover, is that air is an ingredient that was formed from the process of something from something. We try to eliminate as many as these type of ingredients as possible on Passover from what we eat.  We try to eat the purest type of food possible on Passover, containing ingredients that mainly emanated from that which was created from the process of something from nothing. These type of ingredients are connected to the holiness of the spiritual world, and to a higher level of faith as was mentioned above.

Why are we only concerned with grain products absorbing too such air?  Shouldn't we be concerned with this problem with other foods as well? Grain products are affected by the air more than any other type of food. Other types of foods would not absorb the impurities contained in the air as grain products would. Plus grain products have the strongest effect on one's mind, more than any other type of food. Therefore we want to safeguard our minds from the impurities of the negative  properties contained in the air that grain products absorb, which nourish our minds and our thoughts.

This is why we don't drink the wine that has been handled by a non-Jew, for wine, as by grain products, has a very strong influence on one's mind,  as is well known.  A non-Jew, on a lower     level of  faith and spirituality than a Jew, is not required to keep the majority of the commandments, and this adversely affects the spiritual contents of wine, and thus has a bad impact on one's thoughts and faith.

Why are we required to prepare the food that we ingest, in this fashion, only on Passover? If leaven in       so bad shouldn't we abstain from eating it all year round? Why is it only on Passover that we are so overly concerned about adversely affecting our minds? Shouldn't we take these extreme precautions all year round?

There was a great conflict going on at the very moment the Jews left Egypt. The Jews had to decide whether to believe in G-d and flee the immorality and idolatry of Egypt, or remain in Egypt and believe in the Egyptian philosophies of life. Four fifths of the Jewish people chose to remain behind in Egypt for they had fully accepted the Egyptian way of thinking. Therefore G-d was forced to punish and kill this large group of Jews, for they were already spiritually dead. To prevent any further spiritual damage to be caused by these Jews, it became necessary for their own benefit and the benefit of the world, to put an end to their destructive activities through their demise.  The  remaining  Jews had more faith however, but their faith was very fragile and there was no device in place as yet to protect and purify their minds from the overwhelmingly powerful and spiritually corrupt Egyptian influences.  Therefore it became necessary to protect their fragile faith by resorting to extremes such as filtering out the air of Egypt.  After the Seventh day of Passover, the crisis had passed, for they were then taught some of the commandments of the Torah.  The Torah spiritually purified their minds with holiness and thus fortified their faith.  Now that the protective device of the  Torah was in place, it was no longer necessary for the Jews to be so extreme in their eating habits, and that is why leaven is permissible the rest of the year.

Why must we be, in our age, so extreme by avoiding leaven each and every Passover, several millennia after we have left Egypt? Is this really necessary in our time? The answer is that when a major event takes place in history, such as what happened at the time of the birth of the Jewish people as a nation, a spiritual imprint is left on the date when the event occurred for all time. All Jewish holidays are based on this premise. Therefore the strong negative spiritual influences, emitted by the Egyptians centuries ago, is forever present during the week of Passover. This situation must be dealt with in the same fashion as the Jews had done on the very first Passover, when this event took place. The power of the Torah at that time, as we mentioned, was not in place as yet, so the learning of Torah was not effective enough to protect their faith during the Passover week. Therefore, we must annually respond to this situation in the same way our ancestors had done, and go to the extreme of rigidly watching what we eat, to protect our faith during Passover.

This is why we must make a benediction, expressed verbally, before and after we partake of food, for food has the tendency to influence the mind.  Due to Adam's sin, all the food we eat must be cleansed of its spiritual impurities. If this is not done, the mind could become seriously confused and a person could lose sight of his faith in G-d.  By making a benediction on all the food we ingest, we declare our faith in G-d, as it was He who created the world, including the food that we are about to eat.  This declaration infuses the food spiritually with faith, and our minds absorb this faith after our food is digested. This process helps protect our minds from any possible negative effects from the food we eat. (Lekutai Halachot: Orach Chayim: Hilchot Brachot Ha'Rayach 4:9-13)
 

Rabbi Nachman’s view of overly-stringent practices performed during Passover

Rabbi Nachman was against taking on too many special stringencies on Passover. Many people go too far in observing many fine points of custom that they are literally depressed by the holiday.  Rabbi Nachman said that keeping ultra-strict practices are nothing but foolishness. He told us that he had also been caught up in this, and would waste such time thinking up all sorts of unnecessary restrictions.

Once he worried about the drinking water used during Passover. He was afraid that a small amount of leaven night have fallen into the well from which they drew water. The only alternative would be to prepare water in advance for the entire Passover week, as some people do. But this was not good enough, for water had to be carefully safeguarded from leaven from the day before Passover, and this was very difficult.

He finally came to the, conclusion that the only satisfactory water would be that, drawn from a flowing spring, just as it emerges from the ground. The problem was that the only such spring in the area was very far from his home. He thought of traveling to a place near a spring and spending Passover there.

This is an example of how deeply a person can become in unnecessary strictness.  He cam to ridicule such practices, teaching that such ultra-strictness is unnecessary, even on Passover.

Rabbi Nachman emphasized, “True devotion to G-d consists mainly of doing things with simplicity and sincerity. Pray much, study much Torah, do many good deeds. Do not worry yourself with unnecessary restrictions. Just follow the way of our forefathers.” The Torah was not given to the ministering angels. There is nothing that you absolutely must do.  If you're not able to do something,  “G-d exempts a person under duress” (Baba Kama 28b).  “There is no such thing of ever doing anything perfectly” (Sichos HaRan 235).

Once Rabbi Nachman and his student Rav Nosson were once invited to the sukkah of a simple Jew. When Rav Nosson questioned the validity of the sukkah, Rabbi Nachman remarked, “A Jew works very hard to build his sukkah and you seek to invalidate it based on stringencies found in the code of Jewish Law?”' (Avencha Barzel 25:17).