Pesach Perspectives

Cleaning and preparing for Pesach, Passover, is A LOT of work. If you've ever done it, you know what I mean. It's something you dread all year, something you prepare for months in advance. Cleaning every tiny corner in your house, scrubbing, wiping, vacuuming, walls, couches, ceilings, furniture, EVERYTHING to make sure that there isn't any Chometz around for Pesach. And then you have to change your dishes, cover your countertops, re-kasher your sink and oven and stove.... you get thie idea. It's A LOT of work.

And it's worse when your shoulder hurts. But, it has to get done, and yesterday evening I cleaned my kitchen for HOURS! And all month I've been grumbling about cleaning, pulling our 2000something books off of the shelves and cleaning the shelves and putting the books back up, and washing and vacuuming, and all that jazz. Last night I was grumbling too, but then I remembered what my Rabbi had said about cleaning for Passover. About how we can bring some holiness into our everyday lives by fulfilling the mitzvahs and the rituals of Passover. About how the Hebrews had very different types of preparations to make for Pesach, and how we can commemorate and make it special and holy by making our own Passover preparations. And then I thought about how thousands of Jews around the world were at the same time preparing for Passover. And the about how thousands of Jews around the world have prepared for Passover every Spring for thousands of years. Doing the same cleaning, the same covering, the same grumbling. It made it all feel more connected, more special, more holy. And while I was working hard and my shoulder was achy, I felt betterer.

So now, as I finish up, my kitchen is covered in aluminum foil and looking like something out of a 1950's SciFi movie. We move out the bread, and move in the Matzah. We change our dishes, and somehow end up changing our perspective on the world, our souls and our holiness. It's a pretty busy time, and yet a peaceful one as well. I think I'm going to like Pesach much better this year than in the past. Not because Pesach has changed, but somehow I'm looking at it differently.

I wish you all a Chag V'Kasher V'Sameach. A Happy and Kosher Holiday.