Picture this, a bottle of kosher for Passover ketchup, a gift this year from one of my congregants. Something I have to have every year, because as my daughter points out, every year, that’s how I raised her. What makes kosher for Passover ketchup, kosher? Or kosher for Passover Coke—a former must have? It is the lack of corn syrup. Long before the health nuts have tried to get corn syrup banned, it was not permissible for Passover. But we will get back to that.
And picture this. The phone rings. It is a 91 year old dynamo. Someone who thinks she can solve poverty in Elgin–and she probably can–who has decided that this year she needs a new hagaddah. Something fresh, that explores modern issues. What could I tell her about one she found online, from Evanston? (I actually think my parents wrote the pre-cursor to that one and I have the original but that is another story.) We went through my collection and she selected one, ordered it from amazon and is giving one to each attendee of her seder. It is her legacy. That level of engagement is how we make the Passover story our own.
This past Shabbat was Shabbat Hagadol, one of two Shabbatot rabbis would give a sermon. This Shabbat I am supposed to tell you all the ways to prepare for Passover, a complicated task in many households, one that ideally we Kleins begin the day after Purim. But some years not.
The Torah, and the Hagaddah, tell us that we are to see ourselves as if we were all slaves in the land of Egypt and that we are to tell our children on that day—which day? Next Friday night, the 15th of Nissan—what the Lord did for us, when G-d led us out of Egypt with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm. Not those people back then. Us. Each one of us today. So think for a moment what narrow place you have been brought out of? What difficulty have you overcome? When have you felt G-d’s redemptive power?
Because Egypt, Mitzrayim in Hebrew means narrow place.
In some families, the telling of that story rivals that of the “Maggid” the telling of the Passover story, at the seder. In some families, some Sephardic families they re-enact the Exodus. They might whip each other with green onions or they might tie a piece of matzah on their backs and walk around the table, a kind of Exodus musical chairs. In our family we might play a children’s game, I am leaving Egypt and I am taking with me…an apple…a bottle of water…a camera, etc.
This year, some of us have been meeting to learn with the Chai Mitzvah program. In their Passover lesson, there is a poem by Rabbi Lynn Gottleib that is so relevant for today as we prepare:
Spring Cleaning Ritual on the Eve of the Full Moon Nisan
Removing the Hametz In the month of nisan with the death of winter and the coming of spring our ancient mothers cleaned out their houses.
They gathered brooms, mops, brushes, rags, stones, and lime
they washed down walls
swept floors
beat rugs
scoured pots
changed over all the dishes in the house.
They opened windows to the sun
hung lines for the airing out of blankets and covers using fire
air
and water
in the cleaning.
In the month of nisan
before the parting seas
called them out of the old life
our ancient mothers
went down to the river
they went down to the river
to prepare their garments for the spring.
Hands pounded rock voices drummed out song there is new life inside us Shekhinah
prepares for Her birth.
So we labor all women cleaning and washing
now with our brothers
now with our sons cleaning the inner house through the moon of nisan.
On the eve of the full moon we search our houses
by the light of a candle
for the last trace of winter
for the last crumbs grown stale inside us for the last darkness still in our hearts.
Washing our hands
we say a blessing
over water…
We light a candle
and search in the listening silence search the high places
and the low places
inside you
search the attic and the basement the crevices and crannies
the corners of unused rooms.
Look in your pockets
and the pockets of those around you for the traces of Mitzrayim.
Some use a feather some use a knife
to enter the hard places.
Some destroy Hametz with fire others throw it to the wind others toss it to the sea.
Look deep for the Hametz which still gives you pleasure and cast it to the burning.
When the looking is done we say:
All that rises up bitter
All that rises up prideful
All that rises up in old ways no longer fruitful All Hametz still in my possession
but unknown to me
which I have not seen
nor disposed of
may it find common grave
with the dust of the earth
amen amen
selah . . .(—Rabbi Lynn Gottlieb)
I knew this poem for a long time, but I like Chai Mitzvah’s questions. Too often we read poems and don’t think about them deeply enough. Four questions:
- What line/s in the poem resonates with you as you begin to think about your own preparation for Passover?
- What does it mean to “search the high places and low places inside you”? What are we searching for as we prepare for Passover?
- What do you think the poet means when she asks us to look in our pockets for “traces of Mitzrayim?
- According to the poet, what renews us during Passover?
Ultimately she is asking, How do we leave Mitzrayim and enter the Promised Land? How does each of us do this from within our own narrative, our own story, our own maggid. And for me, that is why the poem works. It is the spiritual preparation I need as I do the real physical, back-breaking work of preparing for Passover.
My mother, the proud, classical Reform Jew that she was, honored our own celebration of Passover. That first year, after we had been married just two short weeks, dishes arrived. They were our Passover meat set and we still use them. Another year when Sarah was quite young, she sent Sarah a set of plastic play dishes so she could change her dishes over too. Yes, that’s how I raised her.
So every year, we have a debate. It starts the day after Purim. What are we going to do about kitinyot this year. I’ve read the responsas, the teshuvot. I understand why the ban was put in place—to make a fence around the Torah, so that we could not possibly make a mistake and violate the prohibition of eating chametz. I know better than ever that it is even possible to make corn bread and during the SNAP Challenge Simon made bean bread. Yet, I understand why even 800 years ago the rabbis objected to the ban on kitinyot. I know that Simon’s family, with a great grandmother who was born in Italy and lived in Spain for a time, can claim Sephardic heritage.
Yet the ban has persisted. It is hard to throw away 800 years of history—and Sarah’s contention that it is not Passover without the Kosher for Passover ketchup. After all, all of Passover is designed to teach our children. My child!
Several years ago, Rabbi David Golinkin ruled about this for Masorti Jews living in Israel. http://www.cjvoices.org/article/the-kitniyot-dilemma/
This past November, the Committee on Jewish Law and Standards for the Conservative Movement ruled on kitanyot. They have decided in a well-thought out, well reasoned document that the 800 year ban for Ashkanasi Jews should be lifted. And I support them 100%. I read the document from the bimah. The introduction and the conclusion about what it actually means practically for families. https://www.rabbinicalassembly.org/sites/default/files/public/halakhah/teshuvot/2011-2020/Levin-Reisner-Kitniyot.pdf
What it means for the synagogue, since we span a full range of observance, is we will continue to observe the ban on kitniyot.
What it means for the Klein household is contained in the very last sentence. “Even those who continue to observe the Ashkenazic custom of eschewing kitniyot during Pesah may eat from Pesah dishes, utensils and cooking vessels that have come into contact with kitniyot and may consume kitniyot derivatives like oil.” We have always worried that every Jew should be able to find a welcome place in our home. That is one of the prime drivers for keeping kosher home. So we will continue to buy kosher for Passover ketchup—because it has meaning (and taste) for Sarah, even if Sarah is not coming home, because it is tradition. We will observe the ban for the first two nights so that everyone feels welcome in our home. And we will not worry as much for the last six nights—because the dishes cannot be “traifed.” It is a well reasoned position that I and Sarah can live with.
Because ultimately, this goes back to teaching our children on that day what the Lord did for me when I went forth from Egypt, out of the narrow places.
So the next question—how do we make Passover relevant today? Every year, organizations send me various Hagaddah supplements. Every year you can find new music, new videos that try to capture the spirit of the holidays—that you can either use in your seders or use to help you prepare.
Here is the best of this year’s crop:
Perhaps my favorite piece of preparation was some learning that happened with our youngest students. There were four of them in class. So we talked about the Four Questions, the Four Cups of Wine or Grape Juice or even milk and then the Four Children. The wise, the wicked, the simple and the one who doesn’t know how to ask. And we agreed that we could each be all of those people at some point. One girl said she is wise when she goes to Chinese class (and she does). One said he was bad when he argues and fights with his brother. All of them agreed that babies are the ones who do not know how to ask. We filmed it. It’s coming.
American Jewish World Service, has produced a Global Justice Haggadah, https://ajws.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/AJWS-Passover-Supplement.pdf Filled with beautiful, four color pictures that explore a very diverse world, it has been so popular, they are out of the first print run (I am lucky to have a couple of copies that we will use to supplement our own seder), it is available for download from the link above. Separate from the Hagaddah, they also have a message this year from Mandy Patimkin!
HIAS, the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society, which works still with immigrants, Jewish and non-Jewish, published these resources about refugees: http://www.hias.org/passover2016
I particularly like their opening the door for Elijah.
Our students, as part of the SNAP Challenge participated in a Hunger Seder. Just matzah, marror, charoset and apple juice (we have one student allergic to grapes!) http://www.jewishpublicaffairs.org/Hagaddah/HungerSederHagaddah.pdf We are all ready to perform the mitzvah of “Let all who are hungry come and eat.”
JTA collected five of them here: http://www.jta.org/2016/04/17/life-religion/5-seder-supplements-to-make-your-passover-relevant-this-year
They include one from Keshet on LGBTQ issues, one on Black Lives Matter, one on human trafficking from the Religious Action Center, one on sexual assault on campus from Hillel International and the HIAS one.
Last year, T’ruah, the American organization of Rabbis for Human Rights, published this Hagaddah against modern day slavery: http://www.truah.org/images/OTHER-SIDE-OF-THE-SEA-web-rev16.pdf
The Washington Post did a great job of assessing some of the newest parodies. Looking for Hamilton—it’s here! https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/acts-of-faith/wp/2016/04/18/adele-bieber-michael-jackson-hamilton-the-best-2016-passover-parodies/
I admit I have a soft spot for Debbie Friedman (And the women dancing with their timbrels) and the Maccabeats (Dayenu https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CZgDNPGZ9Sg and Les Mis https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qmthKpnTHYQ ) as music to enrich seders.
All of this is how we teach our children on THIS DAY. Enjoy the preparations. Don’t feel burdened by them. Don’t become enslaved to them. Remember, no services at CKI on Friday night. I am hoping each of you is enjoying a seder somewhere. Maybe in a tent on the floor, or with Dr. Seuss, or with the stories of your own narratives. Let us know what are the most meaningful parts of the seder to you. And yes, enjoy the ketchup.