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April 12, 2025 - 15 Nisan 5785 Parashat Tzav - Backward, Forward, and Here
Dear Friends, Ritual moments are intended to ground us in the present moment. At their best, they celebrate and acknowledge all of what preceded and led to a moment, as well as direct us towards our future, perhaps as a watershed moment between the two. Another thing about ritual moments: I find it virtually impossible to do and explain them simultaneously. If you are teaching about what happens at a ritual moment, then you're not doing it. If you're focused on creating moments of holiness - like under the Chuppah with a wedding couple or on the Bimah with a Bnai Mitzvah student - you can't also be explaining it. Each has its place and time, but I would argue that the two are mutually exclusive. With one exception: the Passover Seder. The transcendent magic of the Passover Seder is precisely that it somehow encapsulates all of these elements, into a celebration that is both ancient and timeless, classical and yet renewed with each generation. The Seder reflects backwards through our people's story, retells the triumphs of divine intervention and tales of human courage, that brought us our redemption from 430 years of slavery. At the same time, the Seder shifts our focus to the problems, plagues and slaveries of the present day, asking us what we will do the days and weeks after our Seder to eradicate, if not lessen, each of them. And the way to execute the ritual is to teach, to explain everything we are doing, eating, and drinking. The explaining is the ritual, the ritual is the explaining. That is exactly how we make these ritual moments happen, in sharing and understanding what is behind our traditions. That is how ritual bridges the past to the future, all the while tethered in the holiness of the present. This weekend, as we sit down with family and friends, gathered from all over the country and world, to celebrate and be grateful for the gifts of our freedom, let us remember the 59 Israeli hostages still captive in Gaza. Let us be mindful of and pray for those 59 families, those 59 interlocked circles of friends, who have no idea where their loved ones are, no idea whether they are even still alive. And let us bring them into our homes, around our seder tables. If you are able to, I invite you to do as my family will be doing, and leave one seat at your Seder table empty, sharing the name and story of just one of our 59 brothers and sisters still in Gaza, more than a year and a half after their horrific kidnapping. When we are gathered together in gratitude, let us offer prayers, like this one, for the safe and speedy return of all of them to their homes. From our family to yours, we wish you a Zissen (sweet) and meaningful Pesach, and we look forward to celebrating with so many of you on Sunday evening and throughout the holiday. Shabbat Shalom and Chag Pesach Sameach, Rabbi Joshua Strom
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