Passover Part II:
A Look To The Future
By now we
are almost “Passovered-out.” We have practiced the restriction “not to eat
leavened bread … for seven days”(Deut.
16:3) - one of the longest restrictions in all of Judaism. We have celebrated
two nights of Seder. Our kids were home from their Jewish Day Schools. Some of
us even took some time off work. And all that why? This week’s reading provides
the answer, succinct and clear:
“So that you remember the day of
your departure from the Land of Egypt as long as you shall live.” (Id.)
At first glance, the text seems to
be confused (at best). “I have never been to Egypt,” the reader may think, “how
can I ‘remember’ something that never happened to me?” To this, our Haggadah
has a perfect answer: “In each generation and generation, every person must see
him or herself if they left Egypt in person.” Simply put, we should put
ourselves, every year, in the shoes (sandals?) of our forefathers who left
Egypt in haste to follow their God. More broadly, however, we should consider,
each and every year, our own process of moving from slavery to freedom; from
forced decisions to self-made ones; and from coerced actions to ones initiated
by our own free will. In that way, we could truly reflect – we have a full week
to do so – on the changes we underwent since last year’s Seder. We also have
ample time to consider the changes we would like to achieve by next year.
Now that the week is over, what’s
next? “Seven weeks you will count … and you shall celebrate the holiday of
Sha’vu’ot” the text tells us (Deut. 16:9). Seven weeks we are instructed to
count, during which no weddings are allowed
- short of one day, “Lag Ba’Omer,” the 33rd day of the 49-day
count. Other than weddings, this special day is also marked in Israel by
“Me’du’root” – camp fires lit throughout the country by kids of all ages.
Indeed, as a kid growing in the ‘70s, Lag Ba’Omer was the biggest day of the
year: Our parents would leave us alone around the campfire before 10:00 pm, and
we would stay out all night, grilling potatoes and union on the campfire… These
were the days.
Once the seven-week count is over,
we finally celebrate Sha’vu’ot – the holiday of Receiving the Torah. And that
is indeed fitting: First we celebrate the leaving of Egypt, with the many
miracles that allowed us to move from slavery to Freedom. Then we reflect on
this move, and we wait – much like our forefathers, who walked in the desert
for quite some time before receiving the Ten Commandments. Then we mark that
event as well. Indeed, we are no longer a band of ex-slaves awaiting redemption
by miracles, but a unified people ready to receive its laws from the One God we
acknowledge.
Shabbat Shalom.
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