This year promises to be the strangest Pesach we have ever celebrated!
We will be alone in our homes with just those who live under our roofs. We will share the seder, if at all, only virtually, through the magic of FaceTime or Zoom. We may not have been able to get all of the necessary foods to properly observe the holiday.
There are those who point to the irony of sitting at the seder table enumerating Ten Plagues when in reality, what we are dealing with - this pandemic - can in fact be described as a plague - the eleventh plague, if you will. Perhaps we should remove an additional drop of wine in recognition of today’s plague.
There are those who, when they read about the Four Sons (or in our more enlightened era, the Four Children,) have the custom of adding a reading about a fifth child - the one who is not even present at the table. Perhaps it is because of estrangement, perhaps it is because of illness, perhaps it is because of death (God forbid.) The truth is that for so many of us, there will be no children (or grandchildren) gracing our table this year.
And yet, rather than dwelling on what we will be missing this year, let me suggest that we focus instead on that which we do have: our good health, reflected in our being able to observe the thousands-year old tradition of the seder; the blessing of technology which will enable so many of us the be with our family and friends, even if only virtually; the freedom which we enjoy in a free society - notwithstanding the very real restrictions with which we are coping at this time; the opportunity to truly connect with those closest to us - our parents, spouses, children, siblings and friends in a way which perhaps we have never done before.
So I challenge you to look at this year’s Passover observance not as a negative, but rather as an opportunity to celebrate in new and different ways; to connect with loved ones in new and different ways; to pray in new and different ways; and to cherish the blessings in your life in new and different ways.
When we say Ma nishtanah halaila haze mikol haleilot - why is this night different from all other nights - I hope that you will be able to articulate in your heart those differences which deserve to be celebrated.
My best wishes to you for a Chag Kasher V’sameach - a sweet and kosher Pesach!