As we begin the last frantic hours before the onset of the holiday of Passover, one needs a distraction to insure one's continuing sanity. Physical action and demands need a counterpart in mental activity - mind and hands busy. The cooking. The cleaning. The welcoming and preparation for lots of guests and family. The fatigue that falls like a fog over every Jewish woman preparing for this holiday. Once the Israelites were enslaved to Pharaoh and now the women are enslaved to the needs of this holiday. Sounds terrible, does it not, but the truth is that we all miraculously recover and join in, talking, discussing, singing, reading and eating and eating and a bit more eating. No maltreated slaves here. Another miracle? We do it all over again the second night! Yup. I kid you not.
Why do we do this? Well, for those who follow the laws and strictures of the Torah, it is mandated to do so. The Rabbis through the generations added a second night as it was impossible to know exactly when the proper day was, hence, two days to insure the whole deal. Bet no one ever asked any women about that whole deal! They would have figured out a better deal, for sure.
As for others who are not as strict, this holiday is a time of thought and celebration. We became a nation, not a collection of slaves. We carried the bones of Joseph to the land to which he longed to return, a Zionist to his very bones.
We saw the goodness of G-d as the Israelites were spared the consequences of the Ten Plagues, their first born not succumbing to the Angel of Death. In fact, the English name became Pass-over, for that is what is presumed to have happened. How were their homes recognized? There was a sign on the door jambs, from the blood of the sacrifice to G-d. Ironic indeed as signs were used during the following millennia to mark the Jews, to segregate them, to persecute them, to subject them to harm, to mayhem and murder. Yet through it all, they survived and even thrived. The Star of David mandated by the Nazis is the same Star of David so proudly a symbol of the State of Israel and for Jews all over the world and known as the Jewish star, Magen David.
Today I heard of an ancient name that was part of this holiday. It is a commemoration of compassion, another meaning to the word of the Bible; Pa- sach, as several verses of this chapter of the Torah has it written. Compassion. The compassion of G-d who did not harm his People, despite their own doubts and wickedness, despite their whining at every difficulty and their challenging G-d as to why they were so maltreated. Kind of the same complaints they could and would make over the centuries, chased from pillar to post, threatened by all, and killed at any excuse, with great joy.
From this we learn that the holiday of Passover, in addition to the holiday of freedom. to be responsible for themselves, not the master, other than G-d, is also the holiday for the seasons, that Spring returns. New growth, new life, new hope. But we also learn that compassion is a must, as an integral part in every Jewish heart and soul, the same compassion and forgiveness given to Israel.
This holiday of Passover is so venerated, so beloved, that even within the murderous confines of the ghettos, in the horror of the concentration and death camps, despite all that, the holiday of Passover was celebrated as best they could.
While slaving myself around the house and the shopping and the cleaning and the cooking, I thought. I wondered at the horrors that Jews have suffered throughout the ages. I wondered why all that blood and death, the rapes and the maiming. I wondered. Yet somehow, I knew that hidden in depths which I could not fully understand, there is a plan, and we say, "Gam Zoo le-tova. Even this is for the good. There is rhyme and reason even if we cannot internalize it fully.
Perhaps if we all had a deeper, compassion for all of this earth, we would all be the better for it. The world would be the better for it. And Ukraine entered the picture. Are we not required to have compassion for them, rather than leave them out there, hanging, sacrificing themselves for democracy as well as their independence as a nation? But make no mistake about it. They are the front line in this battle which affects all the nations of the world. We must have compassion and gratitude, share the light of Passover in its ancient meaning laced well with compassion and understanding. We must never leave our fellow human beings alone, forsaken and lost. Finally, we must have hope, that life will return, and the land will refresh itself. That is Passover.
Please note that tomorrow and Sunday there will be no new blog posting due to the holiday. You are more than welcome to take advantage and read entries you were not able to before.
Enjoy your holiday.
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