By: Bethany Friedlander
PJ Library Manager
Once a year, PJ Library hosts their annual International Conference. PJ Library professionals and partners gather in Western Massachusetts, home of Harold Grinspoon and Dr. Seuss, for two and a half days of collaboration, sharing, dreaming, crafting, singing, and, of course, reading all the latest PJ Library book offers. Four Colorado delegates participated in this ritual last week, and we are quite ready to continue providing PJ Library from books to gatherings.
Ever since I can remember, just after Purim, our family would begin our own ritual of saying goodbye to the hamantaschen and chametz, cleaning out the freezer, gathering the matzah, and feeding the kids all the junk food that was hiding in the corners of the cupboards.
I grew up in a one-level, ranch-style home – this is important for the story. A few days before Passover, my mom would put all the chametz in a few boxes, and my brother and I would be in charge of racing those boxes down the hall and to the back of the house, pushing them underneath the table where it would be covered up for just over a week.
Since I have had my own kids, it looked a little different, but the ritual is pretty much the same. The hamantaschen get eaten, the freezer gets emptied, and the pantry gets a makeover. My kids get to carry the boxes up and down the stairs (not as fun as racing, but if the boxes are light, they can be slid down the stairs). This year, we stopped by Bubbie and Zadie’s house to help carry up the heavy stuff from the basement. Bubbie and Zadie had the chametz waiting to be eaten by the teenagers as “payment” for their work.
This week’s parsha, Tzav, talks a lot about ritual: The ritual of the burnt offering, the ritual of homage, the ritual of the guilt offering, ritual sacrifice…These ritual offerings can feel very far away and ancient, hard to understand, and out of the context of our day-to-day. However, they were certainly very important and very significant to the Israelite community who had just recently left Egypt as free people. These rituals helped to shape a culture and bring a community together. They gave boundaries and reasons to celebrate, ways to repent and ways to praise.
What are those rituals that you have that ground you in yourself, your family, your friends, your community and to the greater world? It is easy to get lost in the tiny details of daily routine, but it can be grounding to find those rituals that have meaning and give us space to be present.
We could hop on Zooms all year round and be connected to our PJ Library colleagues in an instant, but we are given the yearly ritual and the space to convene in person to pause, celebrate, create, and hug together. It is an opportunity to find rejuvenation and creativity in a different space with uninterrupted time to focus on our roles in our communities.
In our house, we could use the other freezer, tape up our cupboards, and find a spot on the counter for matzah. It would work, but instead, we find the boxes, place the pasta and granola bars inside, and race them downstairs. It solidifies the concept that Passover is coming. It reminds us that it is time to create space to celebrate, spend time with family and friends, eat differently, and be free.
Passover, as is parsha Tzav, is replete with rituals. These rituals can become burdensome and overwhelming, masking one of the central parts of this holiday – Freedom. What is that one ritual that creates the space you need to experience Passover with joy, intent, and of course, freedom? I’ve got an extra box if anyone needs…and some strong teenagers looking for chametz crumbs.
Please email Bethany Friedlander at bfriedlander@jewishcolorado.org with questions or comments.