From The Rabbi's Desk

Rabbi Geoffrey L Shisler

I don't know about you, but I can hardly believe that it's nearly Pesach again! The years just seem to fly by, and once more we're looking forward to one of the most joyful of all celebrations in the Jewish calendar.

Pesach is a Yom Tov with so many different facets.

First and foremost it's our holiday of freedom, our independence day. On Pesach we celebrate the fact that Gd took us out of the land of Egypt and made us a people. It's the festival when we celebrate the beginning of the nation of Israel and we renew our faith in Gd, reflecting the way that the first Israelites placed their trust in the Almighty when He took them out of the house of slavery.

Pesach is also a highly tangible holiday. Of all the festive days in the calendar, it has the most distinctive smells and tastes of the special foods that are associated with it - Charoset, Maror, even the Matzah itself. (If you were to suggest to someone who didn't know, that boiled egg in salt water is actually quite pleasant as an hors d'oeuvre, I'm sure you'd get an odd look!)

It's a time when we lay emphasis on the importance of the family, and in wider society, the 'Jewish Family' is frequently held up as the example of what family life should really be like.

And for most people Pesach certainly demonstrates this. Many families who have little contact throughout the year make it a rule that, at least at Pesach, for a Seder, they will spend time together.

At the Seder we come together to celebrate and to teach the next generation. As we sit around our Seder tables, we show by example what it means to be a family. We recite the ancient words and prayers of the Haggadah together. We teach one another, we learn together, we eat together, and after the meal we enjoy ourselves as a family by singing songs that have become rooted in our very beings.

The shame is that, for many of us, we don't do this more frequently!

There's nothing that says that we're only allowed to be together with our parents, grandparents, uncles, aunts, brothers, sisters and children, at a Seder. There's no reason why we can't replicate that same lovely family atmosphere on other occasions during the year as well. We don't have to wait for happy occasions, and sad occasions, and Pesach.

However joyous your Sedarim have been in the past, may this year's be the most meaningful and most enjoyable ever, and may they inspire you to meet with your family more often in harmony and love.

Anne and I wish you all a Chag Kasher VeSameiach.