It is no small thing that the middah associated with the beginning of Pesach this year is seder (order). Drawing from insights I have heard and read from great scholars of our tradition, the general irony of seder in the midst of Pesach has not escaped me.

The Sages teach, and this is widespread in Jewish thought, that man must act in even a small way in order to open the gates for Hashem to respond from above.

"Open to Me as the opening of the eye of a needle and I will open to you as the great entrance to the Temple hall." --Zohar 3:95a; Pesikta Rabati 15:6