Tonight is the start of Passover, the oldest of the Jewish holidays. It celebrates the story of how God set the Jewish people free from slavery in Egypt. Passover begins on the fourteenth day of the Jewish month of Nisan, which is the night of the first full moon after the equinox.
1. Clean the kitchen:
To prepare for Passover, Jewish families clean their homes very thoroughly and remove all leftover foods from the house so that no leavened products are left. Today I will clean the kitchen floor and counters.
2. Reflect on freedom:
The highlight of Passover is the Seder, a ceremonial meal that begins at sunset on the first night. The Seder focuses on the traditional symbolic foods that are used to help remember the Passover story. The whole family gets involved, each taking turns reading out of the haggadah (Hebrew for “narration”). The youngest person chants the Four Questions which ask why Passover is observed the way it is. After the initial ceremony the family shares a feast, then one final part of the Seder, and finally singing and poetry.
I don't hold a Passover Seder because I couldn't do it justice. Instead, I honor the start of Passover with some thought and discussion on the themes, and some Hebrew prayers.
To prepare for Passover, Jewish families clean their homes very thoroughly and remove all leftover foods from the house so that no leavened products are left. Today I will clean the kitchen floor and counters.
2. Reflect on freedom:
The highlight of Passover is the Seder, a ceremonial meal that begins at sunset on the first night. The Seder focuses on the traditional symbolic foods that are used to help remember the Passover story. The whole family gets involved, each taking turns reading out of the haggadah (Hebrew for “narration”). The youngest person chants the Four Questions which ask why Passover is observed the way it is. After the initial ceremony the family shares a feast, then one final part of the Seder, and finally singing and poetry.
I don't hold a Passover Seder because I couldn't do it justice. Instead, I honor the start of Passover with some thought and discussion on the themes, and some Hebrew prayers.
Passover is about freedom from slavery, oppression, and confinement, but Judaism defines true freedom as the ability to express who you really are. If something in my heart and soul has not had the opportunity to be expressed, then I am not yet free.
What is waiting inside me to be expressed out loud?What projects or images do I need to create to be made free?
3. Passover blessing:
Barukh atah AdonAI, eloHAYnu melekh ha’olam, hazan et ha’olam kull O betuvo, bechen bechesed uvrachamin.
Blessed art Thou, our God of the Universe, who nourishes the universe in goodness, with grace, kindness, and compassion.
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