Voices of WRJ: Yom Rishon shel Pesach

by Marla Goldberg As we sit down at our Sederim tonight, we will be observing the most celebrated holiday, by most Jews, most often. How ironic it seems to me, to always hear about those not affiliated, not claiming their Judaism, when I have spent a minimum of six to eight weeks, observing the grocery store shelves fill wide and deep with items we wait for all year. You know the ones, “Kosher for Passover” food, most of which is never bought at any other time of the year. As we consider this week’s parashah, we begin with our journey leaving Egypt. Two areas were remarkable to me and I share my gleanings. The first is that having lived in Egypt for 430 years exactly, now was the time. Literally, a turning point—this is described as a night of vigil—not only for all of us but also for God. I believe this to be the main theme of this holiday. The Hebrew word shimmurim, keeping watch, is used. As pointed out in The Torah: A Women’s Commentary's translation, we are “all in” this reciprocal relationship with God. God watches out for us and makes the Exodus happen, and in turn, we must attentively follow detailed rituals to mark this astonishing event. This notion of being vigilant seems to happen with a force of its own. It goes deeper than what lies on retail shelving. As I find myself preparing, I move into a watchful state, along with heightened anticipation. It often begins with recipes: which to keep? Which to toss? Is there one that grabs my attention that I want to try and do I have the ingredients to try it? It continues with who will be hosting and who will join? Who do we invite and who do we expect, or not expect? When to do shopping? And what is that cleaning with a feather ritual all about? I have thought long and hard about this one and believe it is truly an opportunity to literally get down on our knees and clean. Metaphorically, could it mean we have the ability to search for our crumby parts and brush them off to begin again? Some say it is a season of renewal. Often, the timing is impeccable, that we are beginning to see new buds on a tree or flowering bush after looking at only grey and brown foliage for what feels to be eternal. We reach toward hope which coincides with our Exodus story. Hope that we do not have to live our lives as slaves—confined by others and our own selves. I am comforted though, by the “keeping watch” idea—enjoying mostly an affirmation of our brit (covenant) with God. We are connected, in spite of feeling the closest to a true obsessive-compulsive diagnosis all year long. And it is the time I touch base with friends who live afar, yet remain close in my heart. There is somehow a balance of reaching out (feeding, hosting, praying) and turning in (cleaning, clearing)—being watchful. This gives me pause. The other part of this parashah that speaks to me is the two-time repetition of this holiday serving “as a sign upon your hand and as a reminder on your forehead.” This made me wonder—why these two body parts? How is the tefillin mitzvah significant at this juncture of time? While there is no doubt it was God’s hand guiding us from slavery to freedom, the impact is powerful. Clearly God has a hand in our story as it was God who took us out. How do WE lift, guide, move ourselves and others out of hostile, difficult and narrow spaces? Then there is the forehead—maybe a bit more obvious. Our foreheads are the “frontal” portion of our brains. This specific lobe, in fact, controls the important cognitive skills in human beings—such as emotional expression, problem solving, memory, language and judgement. Some refer to this as the “control panel” of our personality and our ability to communicate–pretty important. So, this is one place and way we memorialize the Exodus experience. There are many others as well—such as during the recitation of Birkat Hamazon. We are commanded to keep Pesach at its set time from year to year. While this season often feels like the most frenzied in the Jewish calendar, I am hoping that in-between you have some moments of introspection or release. When leaving Egypt, we may have had some fear of the unknown and then became watchful. Yet, we hopefully gained some perspective while traversing our lives—from ones of slavery to cherished freedom. Chag kasher v’same’ach (Happy kosher and happy holiday)! Marla Goldberg is a member of the WRJ Executive Committee and B'nai Jehoshua Beth Elohim Sisterhood in Deerfeeld, IL.