STILL CRAZY AFTER ALL THESE YEARS
Rabbi Yehudah was one brilliant sage. By creating the mnemonic D’tzach, Adash, B’achav, he provided an excellent way for all to be able to recount the ten plagues (D’tzach is comprised of three letters, representing three words: dam – blood, tzfardaya – frogs, kinim – lice. The same hold true for Adash and B’achav). Far be it for me to place myself in the league of Rabbi Yehudah, but I too would like to offer a mnemonic device – three actually, to help us recall the very essence of Passover:
From slavery to bravery. Meaning no disrespect, but the very first Passover? A success story, it wasn’t! While it is true that our ancestors successfully left Egypt, Egypt never successfully left them. For the cynics among us, the generation that was led out of Egypt exchanged being enslaved to Pharaoh for being enslaved to their own human foibles. Had that generation not lacked faith in HaShem, as well as in itself, it could have easily made the journey to the Promised Land in a matter of months at most. But because those who left Egypt could not shake off the slavery and because they possessed not even a scintilla of bravery, they ended up taking the long way home. If any generation could lay claim to the “lower forty” (as in years), they could. Unfortunately, “from slavery to bravery” was not within their grasp.
Grain causes pain. Story has it that we are living in an era where eating healthy has become synonymous with life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. We are cautioned against trans fats, triglycerides, and a whole host of other harmful foods Americans ingest. Despite what you see on the supermarket shelves, diet-wise, Pesach is truly the most wonderful time of the year. Forget the burgeoning food products that Jewish homes just have to have for an eight day period of time. I am no nutritionist, but even I know that staples such as: chicken, beef, fish, fresh fruitm and vegetables make for a healthy diet. Interestingly enough, not one of these foods requires Kosher for Passover certification. Believe it or not, we humans can manage quite nicely for the time period of Passover without cake and cookies, as well as other baked delicacies. Other than the Seder night, there is no requirement to eat matzah! Humor me and sit down to a meal of broiled salmon, a baked potato, steamed broccoli, freshly tossed salad and wash it down with a glass of freshly squeezed orange juice. You too can survive eating a meal on Pesach that requires no kosher for Passover certification.
History is mystery. Why should an event – however earthshaking it may have been – that took place over three millennia ago continue to have such an impact on Jews throughout the world? What’s more, the amount of hagaddahs with new translations, interpretations and explanations that continue to be published each year is simply mind boggling. Add to that the burgeoning of Kosher for Passover products that are introduced into the already flooded market and it seems that Pesach continues to grow, rather than diminish in importance each and every year. It’s simply beyond me why Passover affects so many in so many ways. No puns intended, but Chanukah doesn’t even hold a candle to Pesach, regardless of how many families from the nominally Jewish to the highly observant light up the dark winter nights. Nor does our appetite for observing Yom Kippur come close to what takes place on Pesach. The irony of it all is that upon being commissioned by HaShem, Moshe doubted he would have any impact on the people of that generation. However well founded Moshe’s doubt may have been, in no way could Moshe foresee the impact he would have generations later. Here we are over three millennia later, still crazy (in the most positive fashion) about a festival that commemorates our peoples exodus from Egypt.
