PESACH RESOURCES – 5781 PANDEMIC EDITION

 PESACH RESOURCES – 5781 PANDEMIC EDITION
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Chaverim yekarim - Dear friends:
 
Well, 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! You can’t 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: 

https://www.rabbinicalassembly.org/sites/default/files/2021-02/Pesah%20Guide%205781.pdf   

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!

We are marking the second Pesach of the COVID-19 pandemic. The most important thing to remember: your health, and the health of your loved ones, friends, neighbors, and community, is more valuable than the laws concerning Pesach. We are permitted to be lenient regarding virtually any mitzvah when it comes to preserving life and health. This includes Pesach! There will be another Pesach! But there will never be another you! You do the best you can under the circumstances you face - period!

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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. The Rabbinical Assembly’s Pesach Guide 5781 can be read and downloaded at the following site: 

https://www.rabbinicalassembly.org/sites/default/files/2021-02/Pesah%20Guide%205781.pdf      

 
b. Additional Pesach kashrut resources from the Rabbinical Assembly may be found at: 

https://www.rabbinicalassembly.org/story/kashrut-subcommittee-recommendations-pesah-5781 

c. Pesach kitchen kashering from a strictly Orthodox perspective can be found at:
 
https://artscroll.files.wordpress.com/2010/03/kosher-kitchen_ch-15.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, explore this page:
 
https://www.myjewishlearning.com/category/celebrate/passover/
 
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 many Passover links at:
 
https://www.conservativeyeshiva.org/learn/holidays/pilgrimage/ 
 
f. Passover according to Chabad in a straightforward manner. Follow the links on this page:
 
https://www.chabad.org/holidays/passover/default_cdo/aid/109747/jewish/Passover.htm
 
g. 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 (also has Shabbat and other holiday resources):
 
http://njop.org/resources/holidays/complete-guide-to-holidays/passover/passover-seder-101-web-series/

h. How about a downloadable Haggadah? Including  do-it-yourself cut and paste versions? Check out:

https://jewishfreeware.org/downloads/folder.2006-01-07.0640323187/ 
 
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 for getting ready:
 
For our virtual Community Second Seder this year, Sunday, March 28 at 6:30 pm, we’ll be using a new, abbreviated Haggadah, available at:
https://expresshaggadah.com
 
One complimentary copy per TBH/CBM Chaver household attending the Community Seder will be available for pickup at the synagogue in the week before Pesach.
 
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 (except Levi’im and Kohanim) are obliged to engage in a fast, called Ta’anit B’chorot, from pre-dawn until the seder on the 14th of Nisan, occurring one day earlier this year on Thursday, March 25, 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 on-line hosting Torah study and siyyum on March 25, at 8:30 am, streaming at: https://www.facebook.com/BnaiHayim/ and via Zoom - Zoom details will be given to those who contact me via e-mail to: ravflom@sbcglobal.net by Wednesday evening, March 24.
 
2. As noted above, we will be streaming a second seder on Sunday, March 28, at 6:30 pm.

3.  DON’T FORGET TO REMOVE AND SELL CHAMETZ – AUTHORIZE RABBI FLOM TO DO SO ON YOUR BEHALF NO LATER THAN 5:00 pm, Thursday, March 25, 2021.

 
A downloadable, fillable authorization form which you can email to me (and retain a copy of) is available here:
 
https://rav-rich.blogspot.com/2021/03/shtar-mechirat-chametz-authorization-to.html  

A fillable on-line form (no copy) is available here: 

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1lYKeEojG2h7pNRzCbgh7xV8HJ_tGsRQopQVpbssNoHM/ 
 
4. Kitniyot (beans, rice, corn) on Pesach? Yes! ESPECIALLY THIS YEAR WHEN SUPPLIES AND SHOPPING OPPORTUNITIES MAY BE LIMITED! Read the latest from the Rabbinical Assembly at:
 
http://www.rabbinicalassembly.org/sites/default/files/public/halakhah/teshuvot/2011-2020/Levin-Reisner-Kitniyot.pdf
 
I guess it's time to start thinking about Pesach!
 
Wishing you a Chag Pesach Sameach, Kasher U’Mashma’uti – A Passover that is Happy, Kosher and Meaningful!
 
Rabbi Richard A. Flom