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April 19, 2024 - 11 Nisan 5784 Parashat Metzora - Paradoxical Preparation for Pesach
I hope you had a good week and that your preparations for Pesach are going well. Please join us for Shabbat services this Saturday at 10:00 am in our newly renovated sanctuary and stay for the Kiddush. We have flipped our kitchen to the appropriate Pesach standards, so the Kiddush will be light but enjoyable, so please consider it an early Kosher for Pesach snack! We extend gratitude to our devoted custodian and handyman, Juan, for his magnificent work to help get us ready for the Yuntif (holiday). Friends, this year, our anticipation of Pesach will be mixed with heartbreak and a profound heaviness that we simply can’t shake. As Chancellor Shuly Schwarz, of the Jewish Theological Seminary, shared in a recent email, “Israel has been traumatized by the massacre of October 7. Israeli hostages remain in captivity. The country is at war—with the bombardment from Iran freshest in our minds—and we remain fearful for what may come next. The humanitarian crisis in Gaza tears at our hearts as well. Moreover, we’ve experienced a dramatic rise in antisemitism in North America and worldwide, leaving us feeling vulnerable and concerned. We may also feel anxious about how varying perspectives will impact our own family’s Seder experience.” To keep the hostages at the forefront of our minds, I want to share with you a meaningful example of ritual innovation. The above photo is of a “Lo B’Seder” Table. The word Seder means “in order.” The Hebrew phrase B’Seder means “all is okay.” The word Lo means “no.” So, the Lo B’Seder table tells us that on so many levels, all is not even close to right in this morally confused universe. The Lo B’Seder Table is covered by placemats, which share pictures and biographies of a number of our brothers and sisters who, we believe, are still alive and held by Hamas. As I read through the personal backgrounds of these poor souls, I was struck by the preponderance of young people between the ages of twenty and thirty. These young Jews have been held in unimaginable circumstances after being cut off from their lives, their passions, and their families. Reading about those who enjoy music, dance, photography, movies, reading, studying, and who contribute to Israeli society as social workers, teachers, computer technicians, and medical assistants, is heartbreaking beyond words. At the same time, the Lo B’Seder Table has a place card with a blessing that reads, “Praised are You O Lord Our God, Ruler of the Universe, who has released those bound.” We thank God that there is a list of names of those who have been returned to the loving embrace of their families and will be home for Pesach. In addition, the Lo B’Seder Table also features a copy of the Book of Psalms. Theologians have viewed the Psalms as expressions of man’s thirst for moral, ethical, and spiritual grounding and humanity’s search for a guiding faith, all of which amounts essentially, in theological terms, to man’s pursuit of God. “In the Torah and the [books of the] Prophets,” wrote biblical scholar Nahum Sarna in his trenchant study of representative Psalms, aptly titled Songs of the Heart, “Humankind reaches out to the Divine. Reciting Psalms, especially during times of crisis, is a generations-old vehicle to access Hashem’s favorable and compassionate response.” As we enter this Pesach, a holiday typically overflowing with joy, song, family, friends, and celebration, we are all confused, conflicted, and traumatized. How can I possibly rejoice during such times of Lo B’Seder? From a Kabbalistic perspective, recall that the Jewish community is one living entity. We may be comprised of separate physical bodies, but we are spiritually united. "The people of Israel among the nations is like the heart in the body,” writes Rabbi Judah Halevi, the medieval Spanish poet and philosopher. “The heart is sensitive to the slightest trauma [of the limbs].” The Jewish heart is acutely aware of the well-being of the rest of the body. Pondering the interconnectedness of Am Yisrael (the Jewish people), I suggest that the above teaching may provide the impetus for encouraging us to celebrate this year’s Pesach, Chag HaAviv (spring festival), and Z’man Cheiruteinu (time of freedom) with, ironically, enhanced joy, enthusiasm, and Ruach (spirit). In the spirit of Yehuda Halevi’s teaching, if we are connected and feel the pain of others, the opposite must also be true. Those suffering are similarly connected to both you and me, and as such, they are spiritually and cosmically uplifted by our joy, song, and Simcha (celebration). In a world of Lo B’Seder, our obligation as we enter Shabbat and Pesach is to revel in our Judaism, celebrate our faith, sing our songs, share our vision, and ensure that vision of the last line of the Haggada comes true for all of the people of Israel: L”Shana Haba’a BiYerushalyim (next year in Jerusalem)! Shabbat Shalom and Chag Kasher V’Sameach, Rabbi Eric L. Wasser, EdD, Hon.DM
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