Pent. Lev. 14:1 - 15:33
By now many of you are checking the items off your Passover list: invite guests to the Seder and give them food assignments; clean out the cabinets, the fridge, the piles of papers and junk that might be hiding those crumbs of chametz; buy the Pesach products before the local Safeway runs out; take the Pesach box of Haggadot, seder plates, Afikomen holders and matzo plates out of the garage; go to the Temple Gift Shop and buy some of those cute plastic “plague” frogs and craft supplies to keep the little one happy during the seder. Celebrating Passover takes planning, elbow grease, energy, endurance and exuberance! (Easy for me to say this year - I am currently in Israel with our wonderful group from Temple Isaiah and will be spending my seders with cousins on their kibbutz in the Northern Galilee - as a happy and grateful guest!)
But most importantly, creating a meaningful seder takes some thoughtful reflection on the Pesach themes of redemption and freedom. In this week’s Torah portion we learn about some different kinds of plagues that the Israelites suffer during their desert sojourn; they must cope with skin diseases, house plagues (perhaps mold or mildew), and bodily emissions and discharges that, according to their understanding, render the affected individuals ritually unclean. The portion reminds us of the slim barrier that exists between health and illness, between freedom and slavery, and how quickly our circumstances can change - in fact, from moment to moment.
We reenact the Exodus precisely to feel, intensely, the pain of the many kinds of slavery that exist in our world: illness, poverty, homelessness, loneliness, depression, political and religious persecution, domestic violence, terrorism, warfare, and famine. Cute plastic frogs entertain the little ones and help them relate to the plagues suffered by the Egyptians, but the adults at our seders need to be reminded with powerful words and images how obligated we as free people are to work diligently to release those still in bondage.
It is important to take as much time--and more--finding supplements to our Haggadot that awaken our spirits as it is to clean our homes and set a beautiful table. The Internet has made this job easier in recent years. I recommend you go on-line to http://www.myjewishlearning.org for some good general suggestions, and then go to sites like http://www.shalom-bayit.org and http://www.mazon.org for Pesach readings on domestic violence and hunger. Invite your guests to bring ideas and readings to talk about along with the charoset and matzo balls. May our seders be filling and fulfilling in every way.
Shabbat shalom and Hag Samayach!
Rabbi Judy Shanks
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