PESACH RESOURCES 5775

Chaverim nichbadim - Dear friends:

It’s almost time for Pesach! You know, the “Festival of Freedom”, the holiday on which we celebrate our release from slavery to Pharaoh in Egypt by abiding by the very strict dietary and ritual rules created by the Rabbis and Jewish Tradition, including eating the hardtack called matzah for eight days. Freedom, you say? God said, “Send forth My people, so they may serve me.” That’s how it is typically translated. But the Hebrew word for “so they may serve me”, “v’ya’avduni”, might easily be translated as “so they will slave for Me”. The root for “serve”, “avad”, is also the root for “eved” – “slave”. So, how do you manage Pesach in such a way as to avoid complete slavery?

Here are some simple rules:

1. Accept that you are not perfect – and neither is anyone else! You don’t have to do it all!

2. Prepare the house by cleaning and removing the chametz. A short but very useful guide to kashering your kitchen and home and identifying foods that are or are not kosher for Passover can be found at: http://rabbinicalassembly.org/pesach-guide

3. Prepare the food for the Seder.

4. Prepare the food for the remainder of the holiday by shopping for it before Pesach.

5. Prepare yourself and your family spiritually.

6. Prepare yourself and your family intellectually.

7. Do not drive yourself or anyone else crazy – see number rule #1.

8. Remember that Pesach really is about freedom; freedom is fun; have fun! See rule #7.

9. Any questions? Ask a rabbi!

Are you looking for ways to make your seder more meaningful, more accessible, more involving for children, more interesting, shorter, etc.? Then check out these resources on-line:

a. A downloadable, brief and very accessible Haggadah can be found at:

http://jewishboston.com/279-jewishboston-com/blogs/1771-jewishboston-com-s-the-wandering-is-over-haggadah-free-pdf-download   (there's also a free mobile app version from Google, Apple and Amazon)

b. Lots of great seder resources, including song sheets and do-it-yourself haggadot, are available at:

http://www.jewishfreeware.org/downloads/folder.2006-01-07.0640323187/

c. Jewish Freeware has a downloadable haggadah in PDF that allows you to print/copy only the pages you want to use for your seder, found at:

http://jewishfreeware.org/downloads/folder.2006-01-07.0640323187/5770COMPLETEMASTERHaggadahPaginated3-8-10WITHOUT%20SONGS.pdf

d. MyJewishLearning.com is, IMVHO, the best Jewish educational resource on the web, and has material on virtually everything you might ever want to know about Judaism, but don't know how or whom to ask. The homepage is easily navigable. For Pesach, go to this page:

http://www.myjewishlearning.com/holidays/Jewish_Holidays/Passover.shtml

e. The Conservative Yeshiva, in Jerusalem, has a number of text resources for study before the holiday and for discussion at the Seder. See the following:

http://www.conservativeyeshiva.org/wp-content/uploads/Going-from-Observer-to-Participant.pdf

http://www.conservativeyeshiva.org/rich-matzah-poor-matzah

http://www.conservativeyeshiva.org/the-social-side-of-pesach

http://www.conservativeyeshiva.org/passover-cleaning-out-hametz

http://www.conservativeyeshiva.org/who-really-split-the-sea

f. Passover Gateway, a Pesach resource from an Orthodox perspective, also with good general Jewish resources on its main page:

http://www.beingjewish.com/yomtov/passover

g. Passover according to Chabad in a straightforward manner. Follow the links on this page:

http://www.chabad.org/holidays/passover/default_cdo/aid/109747/jewish/Passover.htm

h. Especially good for beginners, National Jewish Outreach Program’s extensive and accessible collection of how-to’s, background materials and videos, from the folks who bring you Shabbat Across America and Jewish Treats webzine (also has Shabbat and other holiday resources):

http://njop.org/resources/holidays/complete-guide-to-holidays/passover/

One of my seminary teachers suggested that, in addition to whichever Haggadah of choice you use for your Seder, you should every year acquire a new Haggadah with commentary and illustrations to help you prepare and make your Seder more enjoyable. Ask your local Jewish bookseller, consult with a rabbi, explore the web – there are beautiful and accessible Haggadot available. Here are some of my favorites:

1. Passover Haggadah – The Feast of Freedom. The Rabbinical Assembly, 1982. Clear spiritual commentary.

2. A Passover Haggadah – Go Forth and Learn. Rabbi David Silver. Jewish Publication Society, 2011. A new classic.

3. The Haggadah Treasury. Rabbi Nosson Scherman. Artscroll, 1978. Midrash and traditional teachings.

4. From Bondage to Freedom – The Passover Haggadah. Rabbi Abraham J. Twerski, M.D. Shaar Press, 1995. Tradition blended with insights relating to addiction and dependency.

5. A Different Night – The Family Participation Haggadah. Noam Zion and David Dishon. Shalom Hartman Institute, 1997. Difficult to use at the seder, but lots of great ideas - especially in the leader's guide.

6. Studies on the Haggadah from the Teachings of Nechama Leibowitz. Urim Publications, 2002. Deep Torah from a great scholar.

7. The Hirsch Haggadah. Samson Raphael Hirsch. Feldheim Publishers, 1993. The 19th century voice of Orthodoxy.

8. A Feast of History. Chaim Raphael. Steimatzky’s, 1972. (Out of print but available used) The lengthy historical essay is interesting and useful.

9. The Origins of the Seder. Baruch Bokser. JTS Press, 2002 (Paperback edition). Not a Haggadah, but for those interested in an academic treatise that opens the eyes to history.

10. Passover – The Family Guide to Spiritual Celebration. Dr. Ron Wolfson. Jewish Lights Publishing, 2010 (2d edition) A straight-forward how-to guide with explanations and insights for the table.

  

Some other important reminders about Pesach and the lead-up to the holy days:

1. All first-borns are obliged to engage in a fast, called Ta’anit B’chorot, from pre-dawn until the seder on the 14th of Nisan, this year on Friday, April 3, in recognition of the 10th plague. To avoid the fast, the custom has become for the firstborn to engage in Torah study and then have a festive "meal" (a siyyum) at the completion of their study. I will be hosting Torah study and siyyum (complete with the last chametz you will eat until the end of Pesach) on Friday, April 3, at 8:00 am at Congregation Beth Meier (CBM). All are welcome, not just first-borns. If you wish to join us, please let me know by e-mail to ravflom@sbcglobal.net by Thursday evening, April 2, so I will have enough coffee and Krispy Kreme donuts. :)

2. CBM is holding a Community Second Seder on Saturday, April 4, beginning at 8:00 pm. Reservations are due no later than 3:00 pm, Wednesday, March 25, by leaving a phone message at the CBM office - (818) 769-0515. We need to order from the caterer no later than March 27. Sorry, late reservations cannot be accommodated.

3. CBM calendar updates/reminders for the next few weeks are available at my blog:

http://rav-rich.blogspot.com/2015/03/upcoming-events-congregation-beth-meier.html

I guess it's time to start thinking about Pesach!

Wishing you a Chag Pesach Sameach, Kasher v’Mashma’uti – A Passover that is Happy, Kosher and Meaningful!

Rabbi Richard A. Flom
Congregation Beth Meier
Studio City, CA
http://www.bethmeier.org/
http://rav-rich.blogspot.com

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