“No leaven shall be found in your houses for seven days. For whoever eats what is leavened, that person…shall be cut off from the community of Israel.” (Exodus 12:19) “The Egyptians urged the people on, impatient to have them leave the country, for they said, “We shall all be dead.” So the people took their dough before it was leavened, their kneading bowls wrapped in their cloaks upon their shoulders.” (12:33-34) Long before the Israelites left Egypt (14 verses) they were instructed in the laws of Passover and in particular the requirement of making and eating matzah. Long before the exodus, God was already framing the story of the exodus. The nature of our people is to tell the story of our nationhood over and over again. Sometimes we consciously change elements and sometimes we subconsciously alter elements of the story. Sometimes the modifications occur immediately and sometimes they creep in over time. Sometimes people are recast and places become confused. For the Jew, the details are not as important as the lesson. Who did what to whom is significant but the impact the story has on us is indispensable. The personal transformation that results from the story is far more valuable.
Join me tonight for a discussion for Adults with Aging Parents. Look, no one is going anywhere tonight. The roads are icy, the temperatures are dropping. Grab a glass of wine, log on and whine a little. I'm listening and so are others going through the exact same thing. 8:00 pm on zoom. The link is righthere.
Greenburgh Hebrew Center rabbistein@ghcny.org 515 Broadway Dobbs Ferry, NY 10522 914-693-4260 office@ghcny.org www.ghcny.org
