Looking Ahead to Pesach

Why is this night different?

On Monday evening, March 29th, we will begin the holiday of Passover. It is a unique opportunity to bring the realities and treasures of our tradition into your home. I can’t think of another holiday that is so based in the home and in the family unit. It is one holiday on which the synagogue takes second place to the individual home. While we come together in the synagogue for prayer, it is the individual Seder that really tells the story of Passover and reminds us that we are connected not only to every other home in which Passover is observed but to every generation that has come before us.
Through a series of questions and answers scripted to be meaningful to all ages, the Hagadah leads us through a reenactment of Yetziat Mitzraim, the exodus. As hard as we work preparing for Passover, the cleaning, cooking, and planning become anti-climactic as we reach the moment that everyone is seated around the table to begin a “back-to-the-future” journey through Jewish history. If you think of the Seder as a play then it is every one of us who becomes the starring actor- we all have lead roles to play in the retelling of the history of our people. This retelling is not just for the sake of telling “an old story that we all know,” but a chance to be reminded that we are a part of a community that has brought hope and faith to this world for thousands of years. This begs the question of just how we did this. How did we survive and flourish under the most impossible of conditions? How did we maintain an identity and spiritual message in a world that changed over the course of history? How did we beat all odds and become “the eternal people?”
In part we have survived by creating multiple institutions to insure that our children are educated and involved in Jewish life; we have youth programs and camps to teach Jewish values. We have social, cultural, and philanthropic organizations to promote our heritage that do an amazing job of bringing our community together. Unfortunately we are now in a situation that is unprecedented- many of our institutions are struggling to survive, the economy have taken its toll on our institutions, and those of us in leadership roles are faced with the challenge of creating a new vision of the Jewish future that we will create on the other side of the current crisis.
At this Season of Freedom I offer one insight that is not new but deserves repeating. The abiding message of Passover is that Jewish life begins at home! As our institutions are revamped and reshaped for the future, it will be the Jewish home and the lessons and priorities taught there that will give shape to the future. Our leaders are not created in a vacuum, nor are their passion and commitment created by institutions. Jewish leaders are Jews who have grown up in homes that were passionate and committed.
As you sit at your Seder take that time to look around at your friends and family? Are you helping to ignite their love of Judaism? Are you providing a role model for some future Jewish leader? The Seder may seem as though it is all about the Jewish past—the reality may be that it is all about the Jewish future!