When we sit down at the Seder this year and recite the Ma Nishtana, Why is this night different from all others? – it won’t be because of the matzah, or the bitter herbs, the dipping, or the reclining. In fact, those rituals will likely be familiar and comforting. What will be different this year is who will be there. For many, our moms, dads, children, grandchildren, favorite great-aunts, and once-a-year Seder friends won’t be there with us – painful medicine in the war against COVID-19.
So, how are we to find joy and celebrate this most happy of Jewish holidays? Rabbi Chaim Steinmetz of KJ has a good suggestion. He will be mentally sharing his Seder with the Soviet refuseniks who celebrated Passover even though it was illegal. He will be sharing his Seder with the Jews of pogroms and Inquisitions who celebrated in secret. And he will be celebrating with his mother who escaped Auschwitz with her sister. All these Jews continued to feel God’s presence in the most difficult times and celebrated the festival of freedom when they were anything but free.
I will invite my parents and grandparents because they will appreciate how much my Seder looks and feels like theirs. I will invite those special teachers whose voices guide me today and every day. And because the Seder focuses so clearly on Jewish continuity, in my mind’s eye, I will invite my grandchildren’s children and grandchildren to my Seder. I hope they like it. Inviting all these people to my Seder will make it special.
One other element that will make my Seder special is the AMIT Haggadah. It is a book of 35 Divrei Torah, interpretations of various passages in the Haggadah, put together by 35 different AMIT students from our middle and high schools, junior colleges, and technical schools. Ariel Heffer of the Gwen Straus School of Science ties the commandment of “Be watchful of yourselves” -ונשמרתם מאוד לנפשותיכם- to the coronavirus today. Noam Maori of the Sutker Modi’in Boys School talks about the need for each of us to, even for just this one night, view the Torah, “as children see it, as a miracle, with a sense of renewal and wonder … and allow it to surprise us … as if we just received it from Sinai.” I could go on and on, but I hope that instead, each of you will make your own discoveries.
In creating this book, AMIT students are saying, you may be physically alone, but you are not alone. We will be there to share ideas and deepen our collective Seder experience. I hope you feel that message.
My best wishes for a happy Passover with good health and many, many phone calls on WhatsApp and Zoom meetings with loved ones.
