Dunking Rachael: Countdown to Passover

Monday, February 23, 2009

Countdown to Passover

Last year at this time I was engulfed in the planning of my wedding. "Passover?.....I'll clean later...." well the experience of coming home from my wedding (We took a cab, came home and walked the dog....lol....) and within a day having to do crazy cleaning to make the deadline; made an impression on me. I vowed not to let that happen again... so a year ago I set various reminders into my Blackberry....the first of which came up yesterday......

"No more food shopping...eat all in the cabinet."

(Actual picture of food cabinet at the time of this posting...

I am too embarassed to show the freezer......)

Last year I "sold" it all to the Rabbi....it is my goal this year to not have to pack up so much stuff and drag it to my basement!....I am really interested in knowing how people do this holiday....the timing and planning appears to be key. I get embarrassed having to ask about the most mundane and simple events. But with no family history, relatives or experiences it can be difficult figuring it out. But I am determined to make it work better this year than last.

3 comments:

Melissa said...: Karen,

I will be in the same spot you are in. It will be my first Passover as well.

I am really looking forward to it, and plan on calling the rebbetzin quite a bit for help.

Good luck to both of us.

Shalom!

Melissa; February 24, 2009 at 2:37 PM
Karen Zampa Katz said...: It is a wonderful ride!...smile...
will your family be joining in with a seder?; February 24, 2009 at 5:34 PM
Melissa said...: Well I have never had a seder before, so I might be a little lost on my first one. I do think my family would be happy to attend though.

I was thinking I might start this year with cleaning of the chametz.

I have to tell you. I am so excited. I went shopping on my lunch hour and actually found kosher bread. This is a miracle. I found it in a specialty shoppe. I also found some kosher cheese. Another biggie.

I wish you a good Shabbos.

Melissa; February 27, 2009 at 4:53 PM

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Beit Din test Question #22 "If you were to join the Jewish people......."

22) If you were to join the Jewish people, what considerations would guide you to that decision? How did your course help you to recognize some meaningful ideas to Judaism? Are there some things you have learned in the course that you find difficult to accept into your life?

I have been a thinker and a seeker for most of my life. I have explored many faiths, been involved in and have a keen interest in philosophy and psychology. I was raised in an Irish/Italian Catholic home. I lived as a Buddhist/Unitarian Universalist for most of my adult life and previously was married for 20 years to a Jewish man who did not practice his faith of origin. At the birth of my child, now 19, I sought to learn as much as I could about Judaism in order to expose this child to the faith of part of her ancestors. So I come to this new point in my life with all my experiences, knowledge and aspirations.

But the question remains how did I come to consider conversion? It is though love that the door of conversion was opened. I fell in love with a Jewish man who participates in his religion, yet he did not require me to convert, pressure me, or in any way attempt to persuade or force me. This exploration of faith was of my choosing, my volition, nurtured by love.

Clearly I am not dogmatically tied to my faith of origin, seeing that the religious expressions which dominated my adult life have been mostly non-theistic. The major change/challenge for me is in the consideration/acceptance of a theistic understanding of existence. Through explorations with my sponsoring Rabbi, reading, (lots of reading!) and the Hillel class I have come to an understanding of the divine, a place of relationship with a theistic point of view that resonates within me.

To help to articulate this I refer to the work of existentialist thinker and Jewish educator Franz Rosenzweig.

“The function of religion, according to Rosenzweig, is not to erect theological systems or establish universal truths, but to lead to experience of God, starting from one's own personal existence. He "commends 'the Pharisees of the Talmud and the saints of the Church' for knowing that 'man's understanding extends only so far as his doing.' Religious observance is, in effect, the doing of one's religious convictions; the two cannot be separated."
“(Time Magizine Monday, Jan. 01, 1951 , http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,814185,00.html)

For Rosenzweig the written word was to be less important than the living exchange, for it is in the doing that the relationship to God will manifest. This idea blends well with my own mindfulness practices. These practices express that it is in the awareness of the moment, the only moment we truly have, where peace and divinity can be experienced.
Through my answers on this exam, my participation in the class and my meetings with my sponsoring Rabbi, I believe I clearly present that I am coming to know, and hopefully I am beginning to understand the meaningful ideas in relationship to Judaism. Clearly there is so much to learn, and experience.

I am most taken by the direct experience of the divine associated with taking on the laws and practices of this ancient faith. I have aspirations to practice in this tradition, but once again they can be best articulated through Rosenzweig:
“Rosenzweig’s approach was subjective also in connection with the mitzvot, Jewish observances. He did think that he would one day become a fully observant Jew, but believed in the gradual approach in which the observances slowly made their impact by “ringing a bell” for him. Typical of this approach is Rosenzweig’s answer to someone who asked him whether he wore tefillin [phylacteries]: “Not yet,” he replied.”
(My Jewish Learning.com http://www.myjewishlearning.com/history_community/Modern/IntellectualTO/Rosenzweig.htm)

Like the bell of mindfulness practice, the mitzvot, the mindfulness practice of Judaism, will take time to incorporated and to resonate within. Like the ringing of the mindfulness bell, or the sounding of the Shofar, the act of doing Judaic practices pierces the daily, the mundane and hopefully will help to awaken me to an even richer and more connective relationship with the Jewish people and the divine.