Dear friends,
Every Passover we identify ourselves with the suffering of the Israelites, their anxiety, fear, and distress, their worries for their families and their lives. After more than a year of living through this pandemic, the feelings of the Israelites are very familiar to us. But as we approach Pesah this year, we can also start to identify with another part of the experience of our ancestors: hope. Hope is what gave slaves the courage to leave Egypt and to walk through the Sea of Reeds to freedom. Hope is what we, too, need to sustain us through what we pray is the final phase of this slow-moving crisis. We are not there yet, but the glimmerings of hope we see on the horizon give us the courage to continue on our paths.
Still, COVID-19 continues to shape many aspects of our lives. As I did last year, I want to provide some guidance about these special circumstances and the changes we may need to make to our traditional celebrations as the COVID-19 as a result. I hope you find this helpful, and please do reach out to me for any specific questions or concerns.
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Learning in advance
- How to Lead a Seder: Last year, I taught an online class to help prepare those of us who may be leading our own seder to do so. We covered topics such as “How can we get meaning out of the haggadah this year?”, “What are the really essential parts of a seder?,” and “Is it really possible to lead a seder on Zoom?”
- Siyyum: Join Rabbi Richman via Zoom for a siyyum (a celebration of completion of study) as part of Morning Minyan in anticipation of Passover and in honor of Ta’anit Bechorot (the Fast of the Firstborn). Rabbi Richman will share learning and inspire a brief group study/discussion from her study of Mishnah Ta’anit.
- The siyyum will be held on Thursday, March 27 from 7-8:30 AM via Zoom.
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Organizing a seder
- Limited (physical) guests: Following the guidance of public health authorities, those of us who are unvaccinated should not gather physically even in small groups except for household members. For those who are vaccinated, according to guidance from the CDC, small group gatherings with others who are vaccinated are possible. Please keep in mind the varied access to the vaccine in planning your Pesah celebrations.
- Haggadot everywhere: There are wonderful haggadot that you can order online in amazing variety. In addition, there are websites like haggadot.com where you can create your own personalized haggadah to download or print.
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NEW GJC Passover Supplement
- For the first time, we have made a booklet with artwork, supplementary readings for each step of the seder, and suggestions for engaging children, all created by wonderful artists and teachers who are members of GJC! The Passover Supplement will be distributed to all GJC member households prior to Pesah, and will be made available online.
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Cleaning our houses
- Don’t discard hametz: The Torah states that we should remove all leaven from our houses before Pesah, but this is not the first time that Jews have worried about the easy availability of food. For that reason, the ancient rabbis came up with an alternative: setting our leavened goods aside and “selling” them for the duration of the holiday. I urge everyone to take advantage of this process of selling hametz this year.
- Don’t go overboard: The ancients taught that when we are searching for hametz in our houses we should use a candle because its light is poor (Tosefta Pesachim 1:1). They are encouraging us both to go easy on ourselves in our cleaning and to concentrate on the spiritual meaning of the holiday. Although many of us have the custom of deeply cleaning before Pesah, we need to remember that dirt is not hametz. We need to distinguish between what is law and what is custom at a time when we’re overwhelmed.
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Pesah foods
- We need fewer certified kosher for Pesah foods than we think: At a time when supplies are difficult to obtain, we should remember that generations of Jews celebrated the holiday with only a few special foods. The 2021 Rabbinical Assembly Guide to Passover has very good guidance about the many foods that can be bought without special certification, particularly prior to Pesah.
- Matzah is a Seder mitzvah: Although we typically eat a lot of matzah during Pesah, the positive mitzvah to eat matzah only actually applies at the seder. For the other days of Pesah, the mitzvah is to refrain from eating hametz. So we can get by on much less matzah if necessary. If anyone has trouble finding some, let me know!
- Consider eating kitniyot: Although many follow the Ashkenazi custom of refraining from eating beans, peas, and rice (kitniyot in Hebrew) on Pesah, increasingly Jews in Israel and elsewhere are following the Sephardic custom of eating them. If you have not done so in the past, this year of strain might be the time to consider trying it, knowing that these items are not hametz (and will not treyf your Pesah dishes).
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Seder night
- Connect: Although we may be physically separated from those we love, consider using Zoom or other technology to bring them into your home. Depending on your personal practice, this might involve connecting with family before candlelighting or even holding an entire Zoom seder!
- GJC Online Seder: Rabbi Richman and I will be leading a seder via Zoom on the first night of Pesah for those who would like to attend. (Note that because the seder is taking place as Shabbat goes out, it will not be interactive.)
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Services
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Pirkei Avot study
- A highlight of our yearly calendar is studying each of the chapters of Pirkei Avot, the Teachings of the Sages, each Shabbat afternoon between Pesah and Shavuot. As we did last year, we will hold our study on Sunday afternoons this year instead to accommodate using Zoom to make the study interactive.
A zissen Pesah! Despite all that we are going through, may we find our way through from slavery to freedom again this year, supported by everyone around us and by our wonderful community.
Hag sameah!
Rabbi Adam Zeff