Participating in Pesach

Is Pesach the ‘festival of freedom’ or the ‘festival of slavery’? Pesach is supposed to be a celebration of our ancestors’ liberation from slavery, but it’s not just the hard work associated with preparing for it that can make us feel rather burdened by it. Anticipating Pesach can make many Jews today feel very uncomfortable for a variety of reasons: Because Pesach can be a very expensive business; because we don’t have family around to share it with; because we’re not sure how to go about preparing for it – or how to lead a seder. Up to about the middle of the last century, Pesach was a huge family affair; everyone knew the script by heart and what role they were going to play. In recent years, families have become scattered, and ‘the knowledge’ of the how/what/when/who/why has been lost.In part, the vacuum has been filled by communal sederim, creating opportunities for celebrating with others, while someone with expertise (usually, the rabbi), runs the show. Particularly, if the communal seder is held on the first night, as our is, it really can be a blessing for many people.

But coming together as a community is only a partial solution. As a rabbi, I feel it’s my responsibility to enable others to participate in Jewish life. And so, this year, in addition to leading the communal seder, I’m also going to be leading seven different adult study sessions during March aimed at enabling people to actively participate in Pesach, and to organise home sederim (on the second night, of course!):

	Finding your way around the Haggadah (Avodat HaLev, 10-10.45am) - 2nd
	Meeting the ‘Four children’ (Divrei Torah, 10-10.45am) - 9th
	Access to Pesach (including Hebrew, 7.15-9.45pm) - 14th
	How to conduct a seder (Mah La’asot, 10-10.45am) - 16th
	Access to Haggadah Hebrew (two Tuesdays, 11am-12.30pm) - 19th & 26th
	Access to the Haggadah (including Hebrew, 7.15-9.45pm) - 21st

I realise that not everyone is in a position either to attend these classes, or to organise a seder in their own homes. How about those who are willing and able, bringing a small group of people together to share in the celebration? On the 2nd we will be celebrating the Bar Mitzvah of Ron Gould exactly fifty years after Ron turned thirteen! Like Hans Levy, who celebrated his second Bar Mitzvah at the beginning of February, Ron is a living example of the importance of life-long Jewish learning. It’s never too late to begin or to continue Jewish education. It’s never too late to learn or to re-learn how to celebrate Pesach.

Chag Sameiach!

© Rabbi Elizabeth Tikvah Sarah
March 2002