Clergy Blog

Shabbat Shalom,

If someone unfamiliar with Passover walked into Shoprite this week, they’d notice a few strange things: The produce aisle would be out of parsley, the butcher would be selling hundreds of lamb shank bones with no meat on them, and everyone, myself included, would have shopping carts filled to the brim with off-brand potato chips. 

This too, is Judaism. 

Jewish life is not just where we pray, what we read, or how we learn. It’s what we eat, where we shop, how we talk. It’s the everyday choices that both align and distinguish us from our neighbors. 

This may be heresy coming from a congregational rabbi, but being Jewish, being a “good Jew” (that phrase needs to be retired by the way), is not about how often one comes to Temple (though I hope it is often). It’s about the ways in which we live our lives according to the values, customs, and traditions of our people. And there is no greater holiday than Passover to remind us that Jewish practice is expansive, from the reading table on the bimah to your seder table at home. 

The main message of the Hagaddah is that we are not yet a free people. Yes our ancestors were led from slavery to freedom, yes many of us live, thank God, stable and supported lives here in 2025, but if the past few years have taught us anything, it’s that the world, and our place in it as Jews, can change on a dime. 

Coming back to these same texts, year after year, is what gives us collective stability. It’s the mechanism that puts us in conversation with the generations that came before us. And I’m not just talking about the generation that left Egypt. I’m talking about parents, grandparents, great grandparents, the uncle who always took very seriously the mitzvah of the 4 cups, the kids table scheming about the Afikoman’s hiding place, the roar of Dayenu and that combination of matzah crumbs and Manischewitz that stains our plate as we recall the 10 plagues.  

This too, is Judaism.  And those memories are our spiritual cornerstone.

The seder, at its best, should give us the wisdom to know that we’ve been here before, and the courage to know that our story does ultimately end with liberation.

Chag Sameach & Shabbat Shalom 

Have a wonderful holiday,

Max