CBH Blog

Hag Sameach! I wish you a very joyful and meaningful Passover.  

Passover is a holiday that requires a great deal of preparation; whether it be hosting a seder, changing the way we eat for 8 days or cleaning our homes. These physical tasks represent the inner work that Passover also invites.

One such step is to start the season with a question. One question that I use to prepare myself is to ask, "Where am I this year in the Passover story?" Am I stuck in the narrow place of Mitzrayim? Am I being daring for justice like the midwives? Am I angry like Moses at the injustice? Am I BatYah an unknown vessel to redemption? Or a parent like Yocheved thinking of the losses I must face for my own survival? Am I seeking for signs of purpose like Moses before the bush? Is my heart hardened like Pharaoh? Am I singing my freedom song in praise of the miraculous? Am I filled with hope in the face of an unknown future? 

This year as I experience the first Seder without my father, I find myself unsure of how to fully move forward? I feel like Serach and Miriam who according to midrash felt the call to ensure that the bones of Joseph travel with them. How do I bring the memory of my father into this new season? I have never been in this place before.  

And so whether it is before the Seders begin or during the Seders themselves, step into the question of "Where am I in the Passover story this year?" And the beauty is that we can be in more than one place.

And the best thing for me is that as a community, we can all be in the story together.

Rabbi Joshua Lesser