Nothing compares to the hubbub surrounding Passover.
From the preparation involved, which undoubtedly lasts longer than the eight-day holiday itself, to the dietary laws the Torah commands us to follow, Passover (or Pesach, as it’s called in Hebrew) isn’t the easiest holiday to observe.
Rule number one of Passover, which my friends and I have always been very careful to observe, is to not disturb our mothers during the two weeks leading up to it.
Between having to clean the entire house so that it’s free of even the smallest breadcrumbs, to purchasing eight days worth of kosher-for-Passover products and then preparing for the Passover Seder (a traditional dinner gathering on the first two nights that involve following specific rituals), it’s just best not to ask mom for a ride to the mall for a couple of weeks.
Once the actual holiday begins, we are commanded to eat matzah, unleavened bread, to commemorate the exodus of the Jews from Egypt when there wasn’t enough time to wait for the bread dough to rise.
In addition, separate sets of dishes and cutlery must be used during the holiday and a strict process must be adhered to in order to make an oven and other kitchen appliances kosher-for-Passover.
Given the stress and workload involved in meeting all these restrictions, it seems almost ironic that Passover celebrates the freedom of the Jewish people. This concept of freedom seems questionable at best.
Since leaving Egypt, which rabbinic scholars and historians believe happened over 3,000 years ago, can we really say that Jewish people are free?
On one hand, it has been almost 70 years since the Holocaust, one of the most catastrophic tragedies in history.
Since then, Jews have immersed themselves in society. Jews are free to live almost anywhere in the world with equal rights. They have had success in virtually every professional field, such as medicine, business, law, journalism, finance, sports, entertainment and more.
But on the flip side, it’s extremely naïve and unrealistic to think anti-Semitism has vanished.
Take France, for instance, where some would say the situation is as bad as ever. Just over two weeks ago, the world was shocked to find out that a gunman had murdered a rabbi and three young children at the Ozar Hatorah Jewish school in Toulouse.
Sure, one could argue that this was a single, isolated incident. Yet five days later, the Jerusalem Post reported that 30 Jewish graves had been vandalized in the southern French city of Nice. And less than half a week after that, a 12-year-old Jewish boy was beaten up by a bunch of other children reciting anti-Semitic slogans, near a Jewish school in Paris, according to the Washington Post.
Is this true freedom? Can Jewish parents around the world, whether in France or Canada, feel free to drop their children off at Jewish schools without the fear that something like this could happen again? In my mind, the answer is, unfortunately, no.
But the freedom we continue to celebrate on Passover is still evident. This freedom is represented by the ability of the Jewish people to rise up and take a stand against these monstrous acts.
While anti-Semitism will never fully disappear, the same can be said about the resilience and the will of Jews around the world to stay strong against those who seek to promote hatred.
Ultimately, this determination is one of the reasons why the Jewish people have survived time and time again in the wake of so many horrifying tragedies — be it the attacks in Toulouse, the Holocaust, or even our slavery in Egypt.
Passover is set to begin April 6 at sundown, and many Jewish families will gather together to take part in the first Seder. Despite the lack of bread and the tired mothers who will be present, I know we will all be celebrating freely.
