Day 188
Passover is just around the corner.
I do not say that lightly.
I certainly do not say that to frighten you.
I say it to myself, so I can get into the proper frame of mind.
A little secret.
I have a bit of Passover Paranoia.
Let me explain.
When my parents married they moved to Tokyo, Japan where they lived for five years.
Talk about living in exile.
My newly married mother barely knew how to boil an egg.
She was way ahead of her time and was the editor of a science newspaper.
So cooking was not her forte.
She went on to become a fabulous chef, but that came later.
Making Passover in Tokyo was full of challenges, but my Mom prevailed.
My Father zl, was so impressed with her efforts and promised her that once they returned stateside, she would not have to make Passover again until she volunteered.
She never volunteered!
So for my entire childhood and until we had our 4th child (on Passover) we went to a hotel for the holiday.
When you observe preparations from a young age, they become second nature and deeply ingrained.
But I never saw my Mom make Passover.
Therefore, doing all the Passover prep as an adult has always left me a bit anxious.
I have to remind myself that
a. I can do this
b. It is well worth the effort
c. I can make it a positive experience.
These are some of the steps I need to take to get in the right head space and take on the challenge with joy.

Lessons from the war:
An older woman who has been displaced from her home in the North, shared with Rabbanit Yemima Mizrachi, that for the first time in 64 years she will not be able to clean her home and prepare for Passover within her house. She lamented that it was a privilege to do so and her hands are shaking from the lack of activity.
That really put things on the proper perspective!
But there is another piece of the Passover puzzle.
Gd can still redeem us even with a house that is not Passover ready.
Because getting ready for Passover and participating in the Seder is not only about the physical preparation, but also the spiritual work.
It’s about finding hope in hopeless times.
When things look so bleak and unredeemable, the Seder and the holiday of Passover reminds us that we are in the middle of the story, and the final redemption is going to come, eventually.
At last night’s JWCAtlanta Passover program we had the opportunity to discuss the 14 steps of the Seder Serb through the language of redemption.
When Gd took the Jewish people out of Egypt Gd used four expressions of redemption to detail the process.
These expressions are verses that we recite at the Seder. The first one is
…and I shall take you out from under the burdens of Egypt…”
Exodus 6:6
This language of redemption is referenced in the words “I shall take you out”.
This refers to the fact that we can achieve freedom because we are not stuck. We are not just a human being controlled by the circumstances of life, but we are a soul which has the ability to transcend or “go out” of the conditions in which we find ourselves.
How do we transcend?
By making choices.
The choice to do right in a difficult situation,
the choice to be loving to a challenging person,
the choice to see the good in a situation,
the choices unshackle us.
The first language of freedom in the Seder, “to go out” is the step of unfettering ourselves.
We have the power to exit the turn of events in which we find ourselves and catapult ourselves into a different reality.
That is what the Jewish women did when they were slaves in Egypt.
Their bodies were enslaved, but their souls were free.
That is why when Miriam told them to create tambourines to celebrate the coming redemption they didn’t look at her as though she was crazy. They too realized that there is an exit strategy and they created those tambourines knowing they would use them.
And use them they did!
The hopeless times they lived in did not define them.
There is no more timely lesson.
Shelly ShemTov mother of hostage Omer ShemTov stated in an interview that she gave this week that she will be celebrating the Passover Seder with Omer.
She is firm in her hope.
That is how she is exiting her grief, holding on to the hope of his redemption!
Passover begins a week from this coming Monday evening.
Until then I will work on exiting from my personal exile of Passover Paranoia and remind myself of the choices at my disposal.
That will be my first step to redemption!
Shabbat Shalom and so much love!