Toward Shabbat

April 22, 2016
14 Nisan 5776

Dear Friends,

This morning I sold Cheryl all of the chametz in our houses and at thesynagogue until the end of Passover. Geo and I just finished burning the chametz that he, Penina, and I each brought to the shul this morning. The fire burned much better than last year, since I remembered to add the lulavs which had been sitting around since Sukkot. That's right - the tradition is to use the lulav to search for your chametz, and then burn it along with it. That's what we call "rabbinic repackaging". Lulavs make great kindling too. In manysynagogues, they are kept above the ark until Passover, when they're brought down to use for searching for chametz and then the burning thereof. (Since our ark is really high, I kept them in the ritual closet...)

While our inner pyromaniac is happy to watch the fire burn, there is, of course, a deeper message in these crazy rituals we do. First is that nothing goes to waste and everything, even outdated and unnecessary lulavs, can be repurposed for holy usage. Second is a reminder that Passover is the time when we celebrate leaving the slavery of Egypt and going into freedom. 

When the Israelites left Egypt, they took what they could carry with them. There must have been things they left behind. Passover reminds us that if we want to be free, we need to let go not just of our physical chametz, but also our spiritual chametz. In order to be free, we have to let go of that which no longer serves us. Obviously, making choices of what to keep and what to leave behind can be excruciating. And yet, we all have areas of our lives we might need to let go of in order to be free.

Tomorrow night we begin the counting of the Omer. The Omer was a biblical measurement of grain, and it's also become known as the time period between Passover and Shavuot. Each night for seven weeks we count the Omer - many use it as a time for inner spiritual development, asking ourselves what we need in order to stand at Mount Sinai and receive Torah? Are we ready to do that? What spiritual preparation might we do?

Each week of the Omer also has an emotional quality to it, based on the seven lower sephirot on the Kabbalistic tree of life. The first week is devoted to chesed - lovingkindness. I invite you to spend a few moments pondering the following questions:

How does love show up in your life?
Who do you love and why?
Is your name on the list? Why or why not?
Is your love given appropriately or is it forced?
Is your love reciprocated?
Is there empathy and compassion in your love for others?
Is your love given freely or with an expectation of something in return?
Is your love strong in the good times and in the bad? 
Does it withstand setbacks? How?
Is your love humble or arrogant, controlling or flexible?
Does your love bring you closer to someone or further apart?
Is your love mature? Is it real? Is it nourishing? 
How does it call you to be in the world?
Can you see that love is a gift from God? 

There are many different mindfulness approaches to the counting of the Omer. These questions come from Rabbi Simon Jacobson's book/Omer counter. There are online apps to help you remember to count the Omer each night, my favorite of which is undoubtedly the one which allows us to count the Omer with Homer Simpson. Click here!

Our Passover services schedule is available at our redesigned website -www.bsholom.org Since lots of you will ask me, the Yizkor service will be next Shabbat morning. Services will start at 9:15. Yizkor will be approximately10:30 but if you want to be on the safe side, come by ten.

I hope for all of us that we have a liberating, nourishing Passover experience, and that each of us take another step on the road to freedom. Make sure to check our website for the list of Omer Challenge programs Penina has put together - we have all sorts of great learning opportunities available during the Omer - hope to see you at them when you're able.

Happy Passover to all.

Blessings,

Rabbi Ilan