Tonight begins the holiday of Passover. Other than Rosh Hashana and Yom Kipur, this is the one holiday that most Jews celebrate. (According to a study, while less than 1/4 of all Jews regularly [that means once a month, not once a week or once a day] attend synagogue, more than 70% attend a Pesach Seder.) Oh, Chanuka comes close, but most folks still don’t light the menora.
Even those Jews that don’t keep kosher all gather with their families and friends to re-tell the story of our release from Egypt. Oh, wait. Not this year.
No, this year, almost all of us are required to be locked up in our homes. Waiting to be released from the most current of plagues- Covid-19. So, when the youngest among us asks tonight,
מה נשתנה הלילה הזה מכל הלילות
Why is this night different from all other nights?
it will be far less rhetorical than in previous years. No, than in previous millennia.
Many of us (yes- even many of the Orthodox, since the practice has been approved by 14 very respected religious authorities) Jews will convene our seders alone. But, not really, We will rely on Zoom, Webex, GotoMeeting, or Microsoft Teams to share ourselves, our prayers, our songs, and our kibbitzing. Just not a meal. (I, for one, am most disappointed. This holiday is the highlight of my year- since my children, their spouses, and my grandson all share my table as we celebrate.) To make it easier for us to celebrate together- but apart- I prepared our own hagada; the special book of 15 steps or stages (the same number that were climbed to reach the Great Temple [Bet Hamikdash] on the Temple Mount) that we use to re-enact our release from Egypt, to analyze our history, and to extol Hashem, the Supreme Being for letting us celebrate this wonderful holiday.
The English name for this holiday reminds one that the Supreme Being passed over the houses of those that had the courage to place the blood of the paschal lamb on their doorpost. (This is the reason that Jewish homes have a mezuza on their doors- to remind us that we are willing to be counted, to ask Hashem to protect us from the vagaries of life.)
The lamb was one of the deities of the Egyptians. So, slaying the lamb and using it’s blood as a marker on the door clearly defied the common beliefs. Only those that were willing to do so were protected from the death of their first born.
It also should be obvious that the Pharaoh must have killed his older brother to take control of the kingdom. Because he was not among those killed that night. (The power of the kingdom in dynasties always transfers to the first-born, if they are still living.)
And, because of this tenth plague, the Egyptians allowed the Jews to leave, ostensibly on their three day holiday to praise Hashem. But, the Jews knew they would never return- instead returning to their land, the land of milk and honey, Eretz Yisrael…
And, as all of us will say tonight as we sing, pray, and learn (some of us until the crow reminds it is already the next morning)…
Next year in Jerusalem…
May you all celebrate this holiday of Spring, this holiday of Freedom, this holiday that we build anew…
And, may our freedom come soon.
