Beth Israel Synagogue, Aruba
Now the feverish preparations and the celebration of the Seder are over. We have spent several days deprived of leavened food and this Shabbat, halfway through Pesach, might be the right moment for a thought on the holiday.
Pesach might be the most popular holiday of our calendar. It doesn’t matter how much a Jew has strayed from their tradition, on Pesach they will find a way to a Seder. Although they surely don’t observe any of our dietary restrictions the rest of the year, they will find a box of matzot and may even abstain from bread. It is curious how these people, usual not observant, worry about the precise rules of Pesach, frequently burdening the Rabbis with their questions about what is prohibited and permitted, and never stop explaining the consequences of consuming matza on their digestive tract and their anxiety for the return of bread to their tables.
The first mitzva is fulfilled eating pieces of matza during the Seder or in both Sedarim. It is not necessary - unless you like – to stuff yourself with matza all week.
Concerning the prohibition of anything leavened, some things are obvious and for those that are not, it is not necessary to consult a rabbi. Simply, in case of doubt, abstain.
Because, finally, the spirit of the holiday and the abstention of leavened food is to subject ourselves to voluntary privations that permit us to identify with our ancestors who were slaves in Egypt and their privations, both in Egypt as well as on the path to liberty.
Another thing is that modern marketing harasses us with a multitude of products that are Kasher le Pesach that appeal to us to not only not abstain but also to consume products that are not usually on our tables throughout the rest of the year. In addition to the bread that many of us have prohibited - all year - as much by the nutritionist as by the doctor.
More than the curiosities of our conduct, the richness, spirituality and pedagogical symbolism of the Seder give us, year after year, new topics to think about.
For this Shabbat Hol Hamoed I have chosen the following: we all know and enthusiastically sing “Dayeinu,” it would have been enough. It reflects our gratitude for the kindnesses received, implying that even if they would have been less, they would still be deserving of celebration and joy.
But the last verse is noteworthy: Had He brought us to Mount Sinai and not given us the Torah, Dayeinu, it would have been enough for us.
How’s that? What reason would we have had to congregate in front of the mountain if there were to be no Revelation?
A verse from Exodus (19:2) might shed some light on this question.
“And when they departed from Rephidim and were come to the wilderness of Sinai, they encamped in the wilderness; and there Israel encamped before the mount.”
In the same verse the act of camping appears first in plural and then, redundantly, in singular.
I think that implicit message is that those that arrived, a multitude of individuals, camped. However, during this act, the sum of each person was converted into a unit; a people conscious of their origin and certain about their common destiny. From this comes the redundancy and from there the statement that “it would have been enough for us.”
To distinguish our people from the masses was – and still is – a miracle as extraordinary, and a goal as appealing as the same Revelation that would happen afterwards.
And this is my reflection for this Shabbat Hol Hamoed: how good it would be if today we could free ourselves from our byzantine discussions about what is permitted and what is prohibited concerning rice or grains on Pesach, and the no less byzantine discussions about orthodox and reform, about the participation of women in synagogue life, and many other topics that divide us.
For a change, to opt for the unity of the Jewish people; not to ignore but to enrich the individual, which is the expression of our identity and the certainty of our common destiny.
Chag ha Pesach Kasher veSameach.
Shabbat Shalom
No hay comentarios:
Publicar un comentario