Wishing You a Happy and Meaningful Passover! |
| 8 Nissan 5773 March 19, 2013 |
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Dear Friends, More than any other Jewish event, across time and space, the Pesach Seder stands out. Children look forward to it all year long. For adults, it is often one of our strongest childhood Jewish memories. For unaffiliated Jews, this is often the singular Jewish event that they attend. When you think about it, it is incredible how the Seder, more or less in its current format, has continued across centuries and continents. As a people, we have done an incredible job of telling the story and passing it down from generation to generation. What makes it so compelling? Is it the family centered design, which demands participation of all around the table, or the requirement that provision be made for all to participate in a Seder? Is it the interactive format, built around the asking of questions and replete with symbolic foods and actions, that engages even the youngest among us? Is it the captivating and dramatic story? And why, as I heard Yael Ziegler of the Matan Torah Institute ask, is the Exodus the seminal event in Jewish history? More than the giving of the Torah, it is mentioned in our weekly Shabbat Kiddush and in our daily Shma, found in our tefillin and on the mezuzot on our doorposts, and referred to so many times (160 after the story takes place) throughout the Torah and Prophets. To understand why, Yael suggests, one has to picture the greatest, most technologically and socially advanced civilization at that time, and a highly stratified social order featuring deified Pharaohs with absolute control at the pinnacle, and the weaker links far below. What was it like to emerge from there with an entirely new moral code? With a belief in a higher authority? With laws governing and limiting the acquisitiveness and arrogance of kings? With a religion focused around an intangible and singular God, and with a social order that protects widows and servants? Suddenly, everything is turned on its head as the Israelites are redeemed. But it's not a one-way street, and what is demanded of them is a rejection of Egyptian values, culture, philosophies, and worship, and the embracing of a new life and order, governed by our relationship with God. I understand the debate between Rav and Shmuel over the primary focus of the Seder narrative--whether about physical redemption or spiritual rejuvenation--and I appreciate that there's room for all levels of discussion around the table. So, at my family's Seder, for the youngest among us, we will follow the Seder's engaging prompts, explain the special foods and add some of these fun ideas that we have found to further spice things up. And for our teenagers, I think we'll try to imagine how revolutionary this event was, and still is, and hopefully, we'll transmit it powerfully enough to carry over for generations to come. Chag Sameach! Debbie Niderberg |
| Enjoy these links for great ways to keep your children entertained at the Seder!» www.aish.com/h/pes/f/g/ » www.jewishfederations.org/page.aspx?id=901 » Click here for Pesach Jeopardy! We also enjoyed these humorous Pesach videos, too! |
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