Painlessly feed the hungry. As you clean out your pantry or cupboard of nearly expired crackers or cereal because Passover is approaching, feed the hungry. Take your non-perishables to any GOODWILL and tell them it is for the FEEDING THE GULFCOAST (new name for Bay Area Food Bank).
It’s funny and weird that we eat Matzah on Pesach. At the center of a feast of freedom is the requirement to eat nearly inedible bread. The irony is extreme. It drives home the point that we escaped slavery and are still on the path to making a life of freedom. Nobody ever assured us that living freely would be simple. Maintaining a free society requires great effort. We must vigilantly guard against external threats of dictators and internal threats of corruption, simplistic ideologies, xenophobia and racism-all of which would contribute to the erosion of our freedoms. Profoundly and nearly prophetically, Pesach challenges us to remain loyal to God in order that we to carve out freedom in a world 3,300 years after Moses.
Our world today is beset by a great many threats. Our holiday of Passover celebrates the transformation of a ragtag group of ex-slaves into a people committed to Godly values, ethical treatment of friend and stranger and determination to live freely in a sacred homeland. Remember the values and the sense of commanded-ness which the Children of Israel eternally bear; transforming the modern world’s psyche and spirit. Thomas Cahill (The Gifts of the Jews) views our tradition, Torah ,outlook and philosophy as contributing to the ethos of the civilized world.
As you seek that last box of Matzah meal double-check your Passover checklist:
*Have I invited someone new in town for Seder? (CALL RABBI TO OFFER)
**Did I send some Tzedakah to a Jewish organization?
--- to feed the hungry of the world-Mazon (www.Mazon.org).
---to support our American servicemen and servicewomen in the military.
----to feed hungry Jews in impoverished countries & provide disaster relief to all peoples throughout the world (“ The Joint”- http://www.jdc.org).
***Do I have Haggadot?
*Am I prepared to offer a new question to supplement the Four questions?
**Is Miriam’s cup on the table? (Research this)
***Would Elijah find my home welcoming because of how we have our Seder or would he not enter?
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