The Passover you'd like to pass over? Not this year....

Some days, you just want the day to be over and done with. In 2020, more and more people are saying this is the year they'd like to be done with. I am in that category. I am afraid to ever say “just when you think it can't get any worse” again. But, there is light at the end of every tunnel.

Many of us will be alone or with limited family this year for Pesach. It particularly breaks my heart. This has always been my favorite family holiday. I was looking forward to again seeing all of the cousins that are growing up so quickly. The little ones in the family that we are passing all of the love, tradition and yes, recipes, from this wonderful holiday to. The littlest one is so excited to tell me each year how much they have practiced, so that they can recite the four questions. As they grow older, eventually they learn them in Hebrew and it starts again. I can still recite them in the Hebrew the way my Father did, but I can't do the Yiddish he learned from my Great Uncle Charlie. I wish now I had learned it.

We need traditions. We need holidays. We need something to look forward to. Sometimes, I think that's why there are so many Jewish holidays. Perhaps we have needed something to look forward to more often than some. This year, although it is challenging, let's try to look forward to Passover. We can hope that again, like in history, all of the sickness and death that is making all of us so anxious will pass us by.

There is a wonderful website called: www.myjewishlearning.com. It is loaded with information. There is a special page www.myjewishlearning.com/category/celebrate/passover/. On that page there are a number of videos and articles that give information, tradition, music, recipes and cooking tips, and history about Passover. Do you have children or grandchildren that you aren't spending the holiday with? Perhaps you can watch the same videos and talk about them about it, sharing your memories and stories and hearing theirs. Maybe you are able to make your own video to share with them so they will have that piece of history. Send them a recipe a day. Need some? Email us and we'll send you our Jewish Pavilion Cookbook, with over 100 recipes and pictures.

We need something to focus on that's positive right now. We can choose to make it Passover. Let's not pass over the traditions and foods that we remember and love from our childhood. This virus isn't a reason to forgo our holidays, it's a reason to savor them. Even if it means sitting and watching The Ten Commandments on TV, remember this year that it doesn't need to be Chanukkah for miracles. For many of us, we see miracles every day. Getting through the next few months will be miraculous. Celebrate life. Celebrate our heritage. Celebrate our resilience. Celebrate Passover. Find the light. Create the light.....I don't have to be in Jerusalem next year, but I"ll look forward to being with my family.

Happy Passover.

We need something to focus on that's positive right now. We can choose to make it Passover. Let's not pass over the traditions and foods that we remember and love from our childhood. This virus isn't a reason to forgo our holidays, it's a reason to savor them. Even if it means sitting and watching The Ten Commandments on TV, remember this year that it doesn't need to be Chanukkah for miracles. For many of us, we see miracles every day. Getting through the next few months will be miraculous. Celebrate life. Celebrate our heritage. Celebrate our resilience. Celebrate Passover.