On Passover we celebrate freedom and the holiness of the family celebration. We may have time alone and time with family, or attention for our spiritual selves and the physical world. We might even develop our sense of spirituality and a commitment to actions of repair.
The celebration of Passover brings us together with our families and friends. Let us find new and old ways to enjoy being together. Amid all of that, we might find a moment for personal reflection, and take care of our inner selves.
We may be more the “people of food,” than the “people of books,” and Passover proves it! Let us take note of more than our ingredients and ritual foods this year, and notice the impact of food on our bodies, minds, and the earth itself. Eat and be conscious of the impact of consuming.
Every year I follow up Passover with my own observance of the Counting of the Omer, during which I refrain from shaving or cutting my hair for the first 33 days of the Counting. This year, I am starting the spring off with a totally clean pate. I joined 72 other rabbis, including past TBE rabbi, Rabbi Micah Streiffer, in a “shave for the brave.” On April 1, at the Central Conference of American Rabbis convention in Chicago, 54 of us, men and women, shaved our heads in solidarity with children battling cancer and to raise money for St. Baldrick’s, the largest private foundation dedicated to conquering childhood cancers.
Check out the details here:
http://www.stbaldricks.org/participants/mypage/682150/2014.
Passover inspires us to use our freedom wisely.
Take heart from the spring, listen to our hearts, and change the world a little at a time!
Before…and after…
