During Passover, we discussed the meaning of placing a roasted egg on the Seder plate. A burnt egg can be interpreted to represent the suffering endured by the Hebrews during slavery in Egypt. The roasted egg also has a broken shell. This can demonstrate the fragility of life and hopefully inspire an appreciation for the blessed moments we’re given. At this year’s Seder, a friend who had never celebrated Passover asked me an interesting question: Do you boil the egg before it is roasted, or is it raw?  It raised the thought:  Are you raw or are you ready? Let’s explore the egg – in its broken form.

There is a context to whether or not a broken egg is good or bad. If you have a raw egg in the kitchen and you drop it, the egg shell breaks and the egg is lost. It is forever broken. You cannot simply gather the yolk and white and put it back in the broken shell. (As the nursery rhyme goes, Humpty Dumpty cannot be put back together again!)

However, there is another context when the broken egg shell is the not the end of life, but rather the beginning of life! If it is a baby bird hatching from its shell it is a beginning. A bird hatching is a truly celebrated event marking the evolution of life.

Adults: Are you in a raw state where your shell is delicate and needs full protection and security? Or are you ready? Ready to break out of your shell and enter the next phase of your life to encounter the world without a protective barrier.

Kids: What is something new that you think you’re ready to try this year?

Passover is the story of the children of Israel seeking freedom, wandering in the Wilderness, and reaching freedom in the Promised Land. What are you a slave to today? Why?

We are all slaves to something today. Not physical slaves but slaves in our own mind.

Kids: What do you think about the most? You may be a slave to electronics, video games, or your favorite television show.

Adults: Are we slaves to our past? Or maybe slaves to worry, work, financial pressure, or scheduling?

This gallery of photos is from Andy’s mother, Myra Yellin Outwater (of blessed memory), from her book, Judaica as well as other items from Andy’s personal memorabilia collections.

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Abracadabra: This familiar word, the ultimate phrase for a magical transformation, comes from the word Bara, to create and Dibare, to speak. Literally Abracadabra means: “I create as I speak.”

Eretz Zavat Chalav U’dvash: Land of Milk and Honey, the Promised Land.

Evrit: Hebrew. Literally, “one who crossed over from the other side”, as in crossing the Red Sea and the Wilderness.

Haggadah: The book that contains the prayers, the rituals and specifies the order of the Seder service.

Israel: He who wrestles with God and man, and survives. The first Israelite was Jacob, who became known as “Israel.”

Israelites: Those who wrestle with God and man, and survives.

Juif: French word for Jew, from the Medieval term for Yehudi, tribe of Judah. The word Jew is not a Hebrew word at all.

Matzo: Literally, to drain out. Traditional unleavened bread of Passover, and “narrow” Passover food. Matzo also has another nuanced meaning. We expand our food as we expand ourselves during the Journey of Passover, the Exodus from Egypt.

Mitzraim: Egypt, a Narrow Place. Referring to the proximity of population to Nile. In ancient Hebrew, Egypt is referred to as Mitrzaim. “The narrow place,” because most the population lived in a narrow region around the banks of the Nile.

Midbar: In Hebrew, Wilderness is Midbar, which means “Dibare” to speak. God spoke to Jews when they wandered in the Wilderness.

Moses: Drawn out of water. We don’t know Moses’ real name, we only know him as the “one who was drawn out of the water.”

Seder: Order. The order of the Passover service, as described in the Haggadah.

Passover, even a virtual one, can be viewed as an opportunity for a spring cleaning for the soul. The ritual of Passover spring cleaning can involve both the scouring of our kitchen and a careful examination of our souls.

• What do you want to cleanse or remove from your life this Passover?
• What do you want to make space for in your life?

Every year we clean our homes, removing all leavened products from our midst, replacing them with matzo and other Kosher-for-Passover foods. Matzo is the most basic of foods, with none of the extra ingredients in most breads, cakes, and cookies.

• What are the basics in our lives?
• What are the extras?

Passover is a spring holiday celebrating the renewal of the natural world and the rebirth of the Israelites as a free people. Both of these processes of transformation include the shedding of different elements from the past in order to prepare for a better future.

The annual ritual of “spring cleaning” associated with Passover offers us a unique opportunity to examine our physical surroundings and our inner selves. Passover has a fun tradition that embodies this idea: it is called “the search for chametz.” Chametz means leavened bread. During Passover, we give up all leavened products, eating matzo instead of these “puffy” foods. The word matzo derives from the Hebrew term for “drain out,” and consists of just flour, salt, and oil. Chametz, however, includes all of the extras—yeast, sugar, eggs, etc. Giving up chametz and eating matzo helps us focus on the basics in our lives and reflect on our ongoing journeys from slavery to freedom.

• What are the “extras” in our lives?
• What can we give up or clean out to help us be more present to the true gifts in our lives?
  • For example, Are we chained to our personal electronic devices, enslaved by our professional ambitions, or embittered by unhealthy eating habits?

If we can focus on the basics—on what truly matters to us—we can begin to live more unencumbered in the present. This is the promise of Passover and the ritual of spring cleaning in preparation for this festival of liberation and renewal.

The Ritual Search for Chametz:

The search for chametz takes place the night before the first Seder. Following the outlines of the traditional practice, I hide ten pieces of bread (chametz) in the kitchen (you might want to wrap them in a napkin or saran wrap). My children each have different roles in this sacred game of hide-and-seek: One child uses a candle to shine light on the pieces of chametz, while the other uses a feather to brush the pieces of chametz onto a wooden spoon. After collecting all ten pieces of bread in a paper bag, the search is complete!

The next morning, we burn the 10 pieces of chametz to symbolically articulate our readiness to give up eating chametz for the 8 Days of the Passover holiday. 

Prayers for the Chametz Rituals:

Before the search and burning, we recite the following:

Blessed are you, Adonai our God, Ruler of the Universe, who sanctified us by commanding us to remove all chametz. 

After the search and burning, we recite the following:

All chametz in my possession, whether I have seen it or not and whether I have removed it or not, shall be nullified and ownerless as the dust on the earth. 

For centuries, families have gathered together to celebrate Passover. The Passover Seder is a time of faith, fun, and family – a highlight of the year. An unprecedented pandemic has resulted in many families being unable to celebrate Passover together in the fashion to which they are accustomed. Even though we must celebrate the apart, it doesn’t mean we have to celebrate alone. Here are some resources to help you and your family navigate this important holiday during times when you can’t be together.

Alma has written an in-depth guide on hosting a socially-distanced Seder that is still connected and meaningful. You can find it here.

Nosher has a how-to guide on cooking for Passover during the Coronavirus crisis. You can read it here.

A community google doc has been created so that anyone can share their thoughts and suggestions for hosting Seders during this time. This living document can be accessed here.

Another community google document has been set up to share ideas on throwing a solo Seder. You can access it here.

The New York Jewish Week published an article with tips for hosting or attending a virtual Seder. You can read it here.

Kosher.com wrote a guide on preparing for Passover while in quarantine. It can be found here.

ReformJudaism.org has put together a piece about how to hold a Seder during this time of social isolation. It can be read here.

Here is a Passover story that Chabad wrote with an uplifting message meant to put the current crisis in perspective. You can read it here.