Why is This Passover Different From All Other Passovers?

Shalom Shiraniks!

I hope that all of you are having a wonderful Passover week, and that you all had a chance to participate in some or all of the activities associated with this holiday, despite "hunkering down" at home.  It sure was strange for me not to have the 30 or so members of my Jew Crew (as we call our havurah) at my house for the first night of Passover.  We didn't even have a Zoom seder, and frankly, I was feeling pretty down.  For over 20 years, I have hosted Passover, spending days prepping and cooking, moving furniture and bringing in tables, setting the seder plates and planning the activities for the night.  (Mr. Bloom says I "go a little nuts" over Pesach, but he enjoys it too!)  During the seder, we all thought it was funny that here we were, thanking God for surviving one plague while we were sheltering in place to survive another one!  But this too shall pass and life will resume again.  In the meantime, though, the mere fact that we are staying home to keep others safe is a mitzvah!

Preparing to join a second night "Zoom seder" yesterday, it occurred to me that one of the best things about being Jewish is that we have a "home based" religion.  Really!  We don't need to go anywhere to "be" or "do" our Jewishness (except going to JQuest, of course!).  For example, while it is traditional to pray with your community in a synagogue, it is not required.  Also, our holidays are all centered around activities in the home. Lighting the Shabbat candles, having a Passover or Tu Bishvat seder, building and enjoying time in the sukkah are all examples of ways in which we are commanded to celebrate the big events in the Jewish annual calendar.  So, in light of the fact that we are "stuck" at home, we can be joyful about Judaism's built-in "homey-ness" (is that a word?).

God commands us to celebrate with family, to appreciate all that we have and to enjoy the natural world around us.  What better time to complete all of these mitzvot than when we are "commanded" by events in the secular world to shelter-in-place?  Because of the holiday, we were not able to see each other on our weekly JQuest meeting, however next week we will return to discuss and share our own homegrown Passover stories.  In the meantime, stay busy, stay connected and stay safe.

Chag Pesach Sameach!!

PS:  Next week, we will be sharing some music together, so between now and then, try to find something that you can bring to the class to play music on!  (Hint:  if you don't have an instrument, you can find a household item that can be used as an instrument!)