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The great Chassidic sage Rav Levi Yitzchok of Berditchev points out an interesting phenomenon: On the one hand we traditionally refer to the holiday as Pesach (Passover) yet, on the other hand, the Torah itself doesn't use this name and instead only refers to it as "Chag Ha-Matzot" ("the festival of the matzot").

To explain this inconsistency Rav Levi Yitzchok points out that the matzah represents the Jewish people's great devotion to God, as the pasuk explains that the people were in such a rush to leave Egypt that they left before their bread had a chance to rise and without any other provisions. They were willing to do this because they trusted God to provide for them even in the desert. The word "Pesach," on the other hand, recalls when the firstborn of Egypt were killed in the final plague and God "passed over" the homes of the Jews and thus saved their firstborn children.

 It emerges, therefore, that the Torah refers to the holiday with a name that praises the actions of the Jewish people - we trusted God when we left Egypt - while we refer to the holiday with a name that extols the greatness of God - in that He miraculously saved our children. R. Levi Yitzchok explains that this highlights the importance of seeing the good in others: we choose as name that stresses the good that God did and He uses a name that focuses on the good that we did.

I believe that this is a message that our students at Midreshet AMIT have learned well over the last few months. Each student came to Midreshet AMIT with her own goals and talents. But over the course of the year, through working together for the benefit of the children at Beit Hayeled, learned the value of teamwork and grown to appreciate the talents that others possess. The various activities and projects that our girls have led and participated in have each highlighted the abilities of different students and, as a result, the entire group has benefitted from each individual member of the group. Rather than focusing on our own contributions we have learned to value the contributions of others.

My best wishes to all of you for a wonderful and meaningful Pesach.