PESACH SEDER FIRST NIGHT: ON ZOOM: We will be holding our Pesach Seder First Night, March 27th, Saturday night, invitation sent separately. 6 pm – 8:30. Some people have asked for some basic instructions about preparations this year (please contact Kolot Mayim if you would like an invitation):
First night is Saturday night so we have a few complications to understand as we proceed with our preparations:
· If doing Bedikat Chametz, (searching for chametz), it must be done Thursday night (March 25th). Keep track of where you have hidden chametz, so you find it all!
· Biyur Chametz (destroying chametz, usually by lighting a small fire outside and burning last of the chametz that has been set aside) is done Friday morning.
· All preparations for Shabbat and Seder meal should be done on Friday, including preparation of Seder Plate elements that require cooking/roasting.
· Preparation of Seder plate completed on Friday – roasting of bone/parsnip and egg. Seder plate can be completed with parsley, charoset, and maror (bitter herbs) before Seder.
· Challah eaten for Shabbat: If your kitchen is Pesadikke, then you will want to eat it in a place that is not Pesach-ready – such as outside or over a paper plate so no crumbs spill.
· You will want to make charoset. See: https://www.thespruceeats.com/charoset-recipes-from-around-the-world-4031811
· As we are on Zoom and not at a communal table you will want to have your Seder plate, Matzah, charoset, wine/juice and wine glass, parsley, and salt water all at the ready, nearby your computer screen.
· We will be using an on-screen Haggadah, but you might want to bring your own Haggadah to your table to follow singing the order – the font is a little small. Otherwise this is a wonderful resource from the publishing wing of the Reform movement: CCAR.
· Have a cover for the matzah – if not a matzah cover then a cloth napkin.
· Have a basin and cup and small towel so you can wash hands (for ritual washing).
· You may want to prepare a small plate of appetizers – vegetables, hard cooked egg, pickles – just not matzah – yet!
· We will pause for eating our meal for 30 minutes and then resume our Seder. We will be joining each other in 3 different breakout rooms during the meal to visit and shmooze.
· Matzah, chrain (horseradish) and other Pesach supplies are available at Aubergine and at Fairway markets.
· We will be reciting Havdalah after making the blessing on the first cup of wine; we use the candles lit for YomTov as Havdalah candles. No spices needed.
Shemini
April 9, 2023 by Rabbi Lynn Greenhough • From the Rabbi's Desk Tags: chesed, omer, pesach, shavuot, shemini •
We are in a very special season these days between Pesach and Shavuot – and no, not tax season, though taxes do loom!!
We are counting the 7 x 7 days and weeks between these two Festivals, between leaving Egypt and arriving at Sinai, preparing ourselves to receive Torah. Here is a link where you can about this practice and maybe begin to consider some of the more mystical/practical intentions this practice provides: https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/276672/jewish/Daily-Spiritual-Guide.htm
Shemini, our Torah reading this week, begins with what will happen on the 8th day. We love counting, we love all things numbers, even including counting songs at our Seder. We have a system called gematria which indicates through numerical value associations between words, so for example, aleph = 1, bet = 2, etc.
“Much of gematria focuses on the various names of God and the powers of these names. The name Elohim adds up to the number 86, which equals the value of the word ha’teva (Nature). This equivalence leads to the conclusion that Elohim refers to the divine presence as it manifests in the physical world, as opposed to the name YHVH, which connects to the heavenly universe.” See: https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/gematria/
Numbers, letters, calculations and verses – all lead us to a deeper understanding not only of God, but of ourselves. May be written and counted with many acts of chesed, throughout our lives. And may our tax bills be light.
Kol tuv,
Rabbi Lynn