Passover Resources and Virtual Opportunities to Connect

Dear Friends,

As we gather around our tables and screens next week for Passover we will think about the meaning of all of the items on our seder plate - the Matzo, the roasted egg, the maror (bitter herbs), charoset, and the shank bone. The bone, called the pesach in Hebrew, might be the most foreign to us. After making the Passover sacrifice, the Israelites put blood on their doors so that God would pass-over their homes during the tenth and final plague - the death of the first born. The pesach is a symbol of protection and faith.

Heading into our third week of physical-distancing, we seek protection and faith more than ever - protection from the virus, but also from despair, fear, and loneliness. Like the ancient Israelites, we can find this protection in our faith. Faith in God and also in the faith that we are making the best decisions we can to help protect everyone in our community. Faith that when we reach out to others, someone will answer our call, faith that this will soon end and we can resume our lives in close proximity to one another.

We can find this faith together as a community when we gather for our second night seder (free, registration required). Even if you just stop in for a few minutes to hear Cantor Giglio singing the beautiful songs or just to see friendly faces, we hope that you can make it. We have also found community when we gather virtually for Shabbat, Torah Study, Religious School and also through the connections that our Chesed team has made checking in on everyone in our community. This can be a great time to reach out to new and old friends to build relationships and share your unique stories during this time.

Connection to community serves as our shank bone all year round. Both are a sign of protection and faith especially during tough times. May we all be blessed with blessings of strength, health, and peace as we traverse the unknown together.

Shabbat Shalom and Chag Sameach,

Rabbi Immerman