Next Year (a Sedar in Quarantine)
During this strange time of Covid-19 quarantine, we, like many, had to celebrate in innovative ways. My son's first birthday was just the 4 of us sharing cake and happy birthday. My birthday was highlighted by a drive-by of honking, sign totting friends in minivans. In this midst of what celebrations have been lost or modified, we have gained more than expected. We have rediscovered lost family traditions and simpler pleasures - meals together, growing flowers and vegetables, board games, and family bike rides. After this is all done, I hope and pray these things endure.
In thinking about family traditions, I am brought back to some of my earliest memories around a large table draped in white linens in Upper Saddle River, NJ. Each year at Thanksgiving and Passover we would meet together as family and celebrate. My parents were raised in different worlds, my mother a midwestern Protestant Christian and my father a New Jersey Jew. I had the privilege of having experiences in both of these worlds and learned to appreciate the differences and also recognize the common ground.
I view my mixed faith upbringing as a tremendous gift as I have grown in my personal faith as an adult. I see the common thread of a long and enduring love story, God's pursuit of us. The week of Easter is my favorite week of the year. It brings together the stories of the Old Testament, stories of my ancestors, with the Christian faith I now have.
This year I wanted to share Passover Seder, albeit a modified quarantine version of one, with my husband and kids whom have never experienced one. Passover Seder is a rememberence, a story of God's chosen people, escaping death and slavery with the hope of a promised land with peace and plenty. Is there any better time than now to tell this story?
I think Jews are some great storytellers. My grandfather had a real flair to the way he told stories- lots of gesturing, huge buildups, perfectly delivered punchlines, all with a cadence and intonation that is shared by Jewish grandfathers everywhere, one that whispers in my own dad.
In the opening prayer, following the Haggadah*, we thank God and remember why we are gathered -to commemorate the departure from Egypt. We thanks God saying, "Blessed are You, God, our God, King of the universe, who has granted us life, sustained us, and enabled us to reach this occasion." Following this we break the middle matzoh and retell the Passover story, "This is the bread of affliction that our fathers ate in the land of Egypt. Whoever is hungry, let him come and eat; whoever is in need, let him come and conduct the Seder of Passover. This year [we are] here; next year in the land of Israel. This year [we are] slaves; next year [we will be] free people." Hope next year will be better.
Now the oldest child asks "Mah Nishtana?" (What makes this night different from all [other] nights?) This question cracks me up considering the current circumstances. How is tonight different? Oye! Where do I start?
But in the story we retell, we remember God saw the suffering, took them out of Egypt, spared them, provided for their daily needs for 40 years, and brought them into Israel.
So I leave you with this from Psalm 126, which is recited after the meal. Psalm 126 is one of the Psalms of Ascents, Psalms 120-134, and it is believed that these Psalms were sung as they sojourned to Jerusalem for annual Jewish festivals.
"When the Lord restored the fortunes of Zion, we were like those who dreamed. Our mouths were filled with laughter, our tongues with songs of joy. Then it was said among the nations, “The Lord has done great things for them.” The Lord has done great things for us, and we are filled with joy. Restore our fortunes, Lord, like streams in the Negev. Those who sow with tears will reap with songs of joy. Those who go out weeping, carrying seed to sow, will return with songs of joy, carrying sheaves with them."
The very last part of the Seder meal is saying together, "NEXT YEAR IN JERUSALEM!" For us, I just hope we are together wherever we are.
*Haggadah:The text recited at the Seder on the first two nights of the Jewish Passover, including a narrative of the Exodus. A legend, parable, or anecdote used to illustrate a point of the Law in the Talmud.
In thinking about family traditions, I am brought back to some of my earliest memories around a large table draped in white linens in Upper Saddle River, NJ. Each year at Thanksgiving and Passover we would meet together as family and celebrate. My parents were raised in different worlds, my mother a midwestern Protestant Christian and my father a New Jersey Jew. I had the privilege of having experiences in both of these worlds and learned to appreciate the differences and also recognize the common ground.
I view my mixed faith upbringing as a tremendous gift as I have grown in my personal faith as an adult. I see the common thread of a long and enduring love story, God's pursuit of us. The week of Easter is my favorite week of the year. It brings together the stories of the Old Testament, stories of my ancestors, with the Christian faith I now have.
This year I wanted to share Passover Seder, albeit a modified quarantine version of one, with my husband and kids whom have never experienced one. Passover Seder is a rememberence, a story of God's chosen people, escaping death and slavery with the hope of a promised land with peace and plenty. Is there any better time than now to tell this story?
I think Jews are some great storytellers. My grandfather had a real flair to the way he told stories- lots of gesturing, huge buildups, perfectly delivered punchlines, all with a cadence and intonation that is shared by Jewish grandfathers everywhere, one that whispers in my own dad.
In the opening prayer, following the Haggadah*, we thank God and remember why we are gathered -to commemorate the departure from Egypt. We thanks God saying, "Blessed are You, God, our God, King of the universe, who has granted us life, sustained us, and enabled us to reach this occasion." Following this we break the middle matzoh and retell the Passover story, "This is the bread of affliction that our fathers ate in the land of Egypt. Whoever is hungry, let him come and eat; whoever is in need, let him come and conduct the Seder of Passover. This year [we are] here; next year in the land of Israel. This year [we are] slaves; next year [we will be] free people." Hope next year will be better.
Now the oldest child asks "Mah Nishtana?" (What makes this night different from all [other] nights?) This question cracks me up considering the current circumstances. How is tonight different? Oye! Where do I start?
But in the story we retell, we remember God saw the suffering, took them out of Egypt, spared them, provided for their daily needs for 40 years, and brought them into Israel.
So I leave you with this from Psalm 126, which is recited after the meal. Psalm 126 is one of the Psalms of Ascents, Psalms 120-134, and it is believed that these Psalms were sung as they sojourned to Jerusalem for annual Jewish festivals.
"When the Lord restored the fortunes of Zion, we were like those who dreamed. Our mouths were filled with laughter, our tongues with songs of joy. Then it was said among the nations, “The Lord has done great things for them.” The Lord has done great things for us, and we are filled with joy. Restore our fortunes, Lord, like streams in the Negev. Those who sow with tears will reap with songs of joy. Those who go out weeping, carrying seed to sow, will return with songs of joy, carrying sheaves with them."
The very last part of the Seder meal is saying together, "NEXT YEAR IN JERUSALEM!" For us, I just hope we are together wherever we are.
*Haggadah:The text recited at the Seder on the first two nights of the Jewish Passover, including a narrative of the Exodus. A legend, parable, or anecdote used to illustrate a point of the Law in the Talmud.
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