Shabbat Pesach

This dvar is excerpted from a dvar I received for distribution by Rabbi Gustavo Surazski, the Masorti rabbi of Kehillat Netzach Israel, Ashkelon.  I hope you will enjoy it.  Next year may we all celebrate in Israel together.  Shabbat shalom.

Rabbi Jennifer Gorman

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“Every year, my daughter asks me which of [the Hagim] is my favourite. My immediate response is always, “Pesach.” I know…. when Seder night arrives, we are left with almost no energy. We cleaned. We arranged closets. We worked around the clock preparing holiday meals. Yet my response remains firm. My favorite holiday among all of the Jewish festivals is Pesach. The reason is that nothing about this holiday should be taken for granted.

The Haggadah opens with “Why is this night different…” and concludes with “Who Knows One?” At the beginning of the Seder, the child asks and the father answers. At the end, the father is the one who asks and the child answers.

When I claim that nothing concerning this holiday should be taken for granted, I mean to say: It shouldn't be taken for granted, especially in our day, that when a child asks a question, the father will respond, nor that when the father asks a question, the child will respond. It shouldn't be taken for granted that the parent will tell his children a story before they go to sleep. Nor can it be assumed that the children will wait until the meal is completed to get up from the table. I find it curious that in this age of communication, where at the touch of a button we can make contact with friends that live across the ocean (and even see them on our screens), it is so difficult to hold a conversation with the members of our family who live under the same roof.

A member of my congregation told me that, a few days ago, her adolescent daughter invited a friend to stay over. Upon entering her daughter’s room, she found both of the girls sitting separately; one was surfing Facebook and the other playing a game on her i-phone. “A total lack of connection”, she told me. She gently took away the phones and said with a motherly smile, "Now, talk!".

This happens in almost every household with children. One child is with an i-phone, another child is on the computer. Mother is checking emails, father is sitting in front of the television.

Let’s suppose that Moses were to come down today from Mt. Sinai with the word of God in his hands. Naturally, he wouldn’t bring two tablets of stone, rather one could assume that he would bring two 5th generation i-pads in his hands. Moses would descend, and instead of hearing sounds of shouting from the camp, he would hear silence. The golden calf at the outskirts of the camp would be left alone, and all of the children of Israel would be in their tents with their smartphones in their hands, communicating with the world, but disconnected from their families and their people.

I am convinced that Moses would still break his Tablets…

In this new reality, “Telling your son” (Ve-Higadta Le-Bincha) is a mitzvah that takes on a new significance. We are not just speaking of passing on a tradition from one generation to another. We are simply speaking of strengthening and improving communication within the family so that there can be dialogue, a table set and orderly, a family dinner that begins and concludes at the same time for all the members of the family.

My heart fills with gladness at the sight of my daughters getting up from the table at the end of the Seder, running to search for a thin rectangle that isn’t the i-phone, rather the Afikoman. Pesach is my favorite holiday because it provides us with rare quality family time.