The Soul of Passover...
Dear Friends,
Yesterday I was talking with the always-fabulous Jaynie Judaken about the recent family service which the Judaken family graciously sponsored and organized, and we both shared how wonderful it was to see our young families together, making music and enjoying a spirited, soulful Shabbat at Beth Sholom. She shared a comment that got me thinking. She said that so often we get so busy with the business of Shabbat that we forget about the soul of it. She's absolutely right. It's easy to get lost in the details - who's coming to dinner, what are we feeding them, how many trips to which grocery store do we need to make, who's allergic to which food, are we going to shul or not going to shul, what do we wear, what color shirt will the rabbi be wearing (i'm told that's become a fun game in at least one Beth Sholom household!), what (hopefully) brilliant words of Torah will the rabbi share, why is the service so long, and when do we eat and/or get to kiddush club already???
With all those (and more) questions, it's easy to lose track of the fact that Shabbat is a time to be nourished.
I'm not passing judgments on anyone for having these questions - they are human nature, and endemic to every religious community.
I have the same questions sometimes too...is it really time to get out of bed, didn't we just do this Shabbes thing last week, is anyone actually paying attention when I share words of Torah (thankfully, i know the answer is yes to that one), what melodies should we sing, what announcements will i forget to announce, who's going to be in shul, how do we continue to make services even more meaningful, and just what color shirt should i be wearing today (such pressure!)???
Lest you think we rabbis don't also struggle with the same questions as you, i'm happy to share that we're all human, with many of the same questions and foibles as you. Even and perhaps especially for us, it's a challenge to have Shabbat be a meaningful experience instead of a necessary part of the job. Thankfully, I do love liturgy and community and sharing words of Torah and somehow, no matter how long a week it's been or how exhausted I might be when I get to shul, there's always something magical that happens to keep me nourished on Shabbat, and on all Jewish holidays....
....which brings me to Passover. I know lots of Jews who focus an inordinate amount of time on the business of Passover - why is there so much to clean, who's coming to seder, what will we feed them, who's going to sit where, how do we keep Uncle Shmelkie from drinking more than four cups of wine and Bubbe Faygie from falling asleep in her soup again, what afikomen prizes are we buying this year, how do i muster enough energy to pretend to like Aunt Gertrude's sponge cake again this year, what's the absolute latest time to eat chametz before the holiday starts, and dear God, why is this holiday so long, who came up with these ridiculous laws about rice and beans, and when can I have real pizza again??? (And on a more serious note, for too many of our families this year: how can we still have Passover without our parent, grandparent, spouse, sibling, loved one and friend who's no longer with us?)
I get it. It's easy to focus on all of this and forget that Passover is also a time to be nourished, to celebrate our freedom and the miracle of our people being liberated from slavery and brought forward into freedom and community. Passover is a time to tell the story of freedom, and if we only focus on the business of Passover, we will lose the soul of it.
Thankfully, there are thousands of Haggadahs out there, and hundreds, if not thousands, of supplemental readings you can find to make your seder more meaningful. In too many seders, the soul of the story is lost. My friends, I want to encourage you to tell the story the way you want it to be told. What does freedom mean to you? Where are we still enslaved and how can we help more people be free? How should we respond when others are living in war and poverty, both around the world and here at home? Where are we called to be Moses and lead others into freedom and connection with God? What does freedom even mean?
These are just a few of the questions that are at the heart of the seder experience. The only real requirement of the seder, other than eating, is telling the story and making it your own. I encourage you all to use the haggadahs for the important stuff, and then let them guide you to have meaningful conversation about where we are in the world today, and what Passover calls on each of us to do. There is no right or wrong answer to the questions - the conversation is the journey, and it's a journey that never ends.
I want to bless us all with a meaningful, nourishing, liberating Passover. May we be blessed with the arrival of Elijah the Prophet, and may we all receive the wisdom we need to take our souls and our lives even higher than where they already are.
Shabbat Shalom and Chag Sameach,
Rabbi Ilan
PS Hope to see many of you tonight at the Epsteins for Adopt-a-Shabbat services and dinner at 6 pm, and in shul tomorrow at 915.
Our Passover service schedule is online and we can certainly use your help for services in the coming week. Sunday minyan is at 8 am, Monday a special service and breakfast at 7 am so we can study and allow our first-borns to eat, followed by burning our chametz together at 8:30, Tuesday and Wednesday mornings at 8 am.
There will NOT be evening services at Beth Sholom Monday or Tuesday nights due to the seders. We WILL have evening services Wednesday and Thursday at 6 pm. Please help us make minyans where you can.
Please also check out the fabulous schedule of Omer Challenge events which is on our website as well. I'm excited by our lineup of outstanding programming.
Finally, if you haven't yet appointed me to sell your chametz, please get me that form by Sunday - Monday morning at 830 am at the absolute latest...feel free to fill it out and scan it or send me a picture of it, whatever is easiest for you. As in previous years, we'll be making a significant contribution to the Food Bank from your chametz form donations. Thanks for all you can do. As always, it's a pleasure having you all in our community. Chag Sameach.
PPS Watch out for Uncle Shmelkie, Bubbe Faygie, and Aunt Gertrude....some say she's using a new recipe for sponge cake this year, but I have my doubts....
