I’ve always thought that Passover was a crumby holiday. Indeed, the floor is now littered with shards of matzah as I write this quarterly message on Day 6. I love the family aspects of the seder and the opportunity to see dishes and utensils that have been patiently waiting out the year in the garage as well as friends and relatives (this year, brother Ted) whom we’ve not seen for nearly as long.
This go-around, however, I found that a powerful message of Pesach came in the preparatory weeks leading up to the big day. Beverly and (to a much, MUCH lesser extent) I used the time after Purim to do some spring cleaning. Amidst various items on shelves rarely inspected, Beverly came across a cracked charoset bowl, a gift from whom I have absolutely no idea, inexpertly glued decades ago by yours truly using a possibly toxic and almost certainly not kosher-for-Pesach epoxy. “Do we really need to keep this?” Beverly asked. My automatic response was to say “Of course,” and then I realized that I was wrong. Holding on to broken pieces of our past is counter to the message of Passover. With each observance of the holiday, we can begin anew, choosing to shed our enslavement to elements in our childhood or adulthood that hold us back from achieving our full potential. Just because we used to do things one way doesn’t mean that we always need to repeat the process. So, into the trash went the bowl, and with it I hope, went some of the sadness, frustration, and grievances I’ve clung to over the years.
I prepared for Pesach in many rabbinic ways as well this year. Along with leading several Friday night services in Los Alamos and sharing the bima with Hazzan Cindy at HaMakom on Saturday mornings and other Friday nights, I led or co-led Tu Bi-Shevat seders at both shuls, helped in a spirited reading of the Megillah for Purim, and shared responsibility for a practice seder for kids and parents in Santa Fe. By way of engagement with the broader community, I had occasion this past quarter once again to deliver the opening prayer to the New Mexico State Senate and to present a talk in the Los Alamos Lenten Series at the Episcopal Church entitled “Hungering for Jewish Wisdom: The Classic Jewish Texts and Their Insights Into Hunger.” I also was a signatory to an open letter in support of refugees and immigrants prepared by the New Mexico Chapter of the Anti-Defamation League and read material from this organization at a candlelight vigil at the Los Alamos Jewish Center after the multiple bomb threats targeting Jewish Community Centers and other institutions around the country.
Beverly and I were in New Orleans on my mom’s first Yahrzeit, and I shared a brief teaching at the early morning service arranged so graciously by Shir Chadash in nearby Metairie. At HaMakom, I organized a discussion utilizing 19 different haggadot on Shabbat HaGadol, and all these events culminated in my leadership role at two community seders, first in Santa Fe and then in Los Alamos.
Though squeezed into my free time, I was able to escape into many books listed below. An asterisk indicates a particularly high enjoyment level for me, and I’m happy to correspond with those who’d like additional details. I’ve even included a movie, both because I found it hilarious and because it is one I’d recommend that you see before Purim next year. Right after watching it, you should begin your spring cleaning, and if you are wondering whether or not I still have the charoset bowl you gifted me, please let me know.
B’shalom,
Rabbi Jack
Ostend: Stefan Zweig, Joseph Roth, and the Summer Before the Dark – Volker Weidermann*
Poyln: My Life within Jewish Life in Poland, Sketches and Images – Yehiel Yeshaia Trunk*
Studying the Torah: A Guide to In-Depth Interpretation – Avigdor Bonchek
Kabbalat Shabbat – Debra Band*
The Acrophile – Yoram Kaniuk
Bar-Kokhba – Yigael Yadin
Four Alsatian Jewish Families Shape Albuquerque – Noel Pugach
Yosele – Jacob Dinezon
Prayer After the Slaughter – Kurt Tucholsky
Lunar Savings Time – Alex Epstein
Come and Hug Me – Michal Snunit
Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind – Harari
Rashi – Avraham Grossman
The Divine Feminine in Biblical Wisdom Literature – Rami Shapiro
The Betrayers – David Bezmozgis*
Two She-Bears – Meir Shalev*
Best. State. Ever. – Dave Barry – (no Jewish content, but it helped me prep for the next entry)
For This We Left Egypt? – Dave Barry, et.al.
Moods – Yoel Hoffmann
The Jews of Vienna in the Age of Franz Joseph – Robert Wistrich*
The Medieval Haggadah: Art, Narrative & Religious Imagination – Marc Michael Epstein
Never Again?: The Threat of the New Anti-Semitism – Abraham Foxman
Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea – Charles Seife (really a math book, but some interesting ideas about religious attitudes toward zero, including Jewish ones)
Movie recommendation: For Your Consideration