Pesach was spectacular.

Amazing Seders, five morning Minyans, four Priestly Blessings, an uplifting Mashiach Meal Finale, Chavie’s gourmet cooking throughout, my sister Mushkie and her family with us for the holiday, and an overall atmosphere of Jewish pride, empowerment and perseverance. Yizkor is always a reflective service when we remember our loved ones, thinking about what they have given us and pledging to do good in their memory. Saying Yizkor with my sister close by in Shul had its own special touch and felt good in a strange way.

This week’s Torah portion, Shemini, shares the tale of Aaron’s sons Nadav and Avihu dying after an unsanctioned entry into the Holy of Holies. Aaron mourns deeply, he lost two sons on the greatest day of his life when chosen to be High Priest and inaugurate the service in the Tabernacle, and while he remains silent and refrains from public grieving, the pain, and sadness, that he lived with in the aftermath was great. La Familia is real, and nothing can fill that space. It is true that family can be challenging, but having Mushkie and crew with us for Yom Tov, reminded me how much I love my family, miss having them close by, and how much they mean to me.

Earlier this week, Chaya headed back to school in Chicago. She’s enjoying High School, growing up beautifully, but it’s very hard being away from home at the age of 15. Just before takeoff in Bozeman, she texted me “No videos :(“. I realized that she was seeking a distraction on the three-hour flight, because leaving home, leaving the loving cradle of warmth and love, even if chaotic at times, is never easy, no matter how many times we do it. Sometimes we realize how much we love our family when they are gone; my goal is to ensure that my family knows how much I love them while they are alive and well.

Thank you Mushkie and Chanochie; come back soon!

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!

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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