It’s been a whirlwind week in preparation for Passover.

When Pesach begins on a Saturday night, it’s an especially daunting logistical operation, but we are almost at the finish line, as we are just hours away from the seventy-two blissful hours of Yom Tov. Three days off the grid, immersed in family, tradition, community, meaning and unity, is so very special. Yesterday, as we were cleaning the yard, I asked Menny, “What should I write in my weekly email?”, He said “write that preparing for Pesach is hard, but if we all work together, it gets done”.

Out of the mouths of babes.

One of my favorite Seder moments is the Dayenu song. It lifts us up to a place of joyous gratitude, allowing us to focus on every act of kindness that G-d shows us from the time of the exodus from Egypt until we arrived in our homeland Israel. In one of the Dayenu stanzas we sing, “Had He brought us to Mount Sinai and not given us His Torah, Dayenu, we would’ve been full of gratitude”. The commentaries wonder: what would “Sinai” do for us without the gift of Torah? The Rebbe of blessed memory explains that the oneness that the Jewish people experienced at Sinai was so powerful, so unique, that it would be worthy, even if the Torah wasn’t gifted to us.

At Daniel Rothman’s Bar Mitzvah that I merited to attend last week in New York, I was gifted a new Haggadah with teachings of the famed Israeli inspiration Reb Meilach Biderman. In it, he writes as follows: At Sinai we turned to face G-d for the giving of the Torah and simultaneously turned our backs to the world, distancing ourselves from societal peer pressure and influence. At Sinai we internalized our ability as a Jew to be beholden to G-d, to the exclusion of all else. Had we experienced this monumental moment, even without getting the Torah, that too would have done wonders for our survival and spiritual wellbeing.

This Pesach may we accept G-d’s intervention, allowing Him to flow into our lives, and let’s celebrate the gift of courage, ignoring the haters, naysayers, pontificators and the “neutral” enablers. It’s the Pesach gift of freedom; the liberty to do what’s right, walking with G-d, and ignoring the noise on the outside.

Free at last, free at last, Thank  G-d almighty we are free at last!

May G-d guard our brethren in Israel and the world over from harm and send us Mashiach speedily. May G-d protect the armed forces of Israel and the United States wherever they may be!

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Fear. Uncertainty. Gratitude.

On Tuesday, Zeesy experienced a neurological episode that caused a severe migraine and paralysis on her left side. As Chavie was celebrating at my niece Chana Leah’s Bas Mitzvah in New York, I was home alone with her when it happened, and it was frightening. Lifting this beautiful growing girl, carrying her to the car, and getting her to the ER within minutes, was not easy, but we gotter done. There is no medical understanding of why this happens to patients with Glut-1; we just wait until it passes without bigger ramifications. I am grateful to Dr. Martin and her team at Bozeman Health, along with Dr. Binder in Denver, for holding our hands through this experience. I am also grateful to Ada and Robert who showed up for a family big time on such short notice.

Baruch Hashem, Zeesy is back home and back to normal, and for that we are eternally grateful to the Creator. His kindness is everlasting.

In this week’s Torah portion, Vayikra, we begin the formal discussion about sacrificial offerings. The Korban Todah, Thanksgiving offering, is brought to G-d when one gives birth, crosses the sea, travels through a desert, is released from captivity, or is healed from severe illness. It imparts in us the importance of pausing to thank Hashem for the healing, instead of complaining about the illness. Only G-d knows why our dear Zeesy, and millions of other children, must struggle, I certainly don’t. Yet, our focus is on the good, the blessing, the miracles, the healing.

On Wednesday we will mark the Rebbe’s 123rd birthday. It is the Rebbe of Blessed Memory who trained me and Chavie to remain optimistic, despite all odds.  On Shemini Atzeres, 1977, the Rebbe suffered a serious heart attack. Two days later, he insisted on giving a talk, as he had done on that day for the previous 38 years. “You must take care of your health,” the doctor demanded. “If not, there is a 25 percent chance of a relapse.” The doctor asked if the Rebbe understood what he had said. “Oh, yes,” said the Rebbe with a smile. “You said that even if I don’t take care of my health—which, I assure you, I will—there is a 75 percent chance that there won’t be a relapse.”

The cup is more than half full!

May G-d guard our brethren in Israel and the world over from harm and send us Mashiach speedily. May G-d protect the armed forces of Israel and the United States wherever they may be!