Sunday, March 24, 2013

Passover- Interfaith style

Monday night is the first night of Passover, and I'm having a seder dinner at the house. My brother told me about this great book Being Jewish, and I ordered it on Amazon. It was easy to read, and I can navigate one section at a time according to what's going on in our family. I thought to myself that if I'm still figuring out my religious beliefs (I don't feel I can altogether check off just one box at this point), I should still show my children the cultural traditions of Judaism . Thus, where I am today.

I had great plans of buying matzoh, but come to find, its not easy to locate here (I will check out a couple more stores this afternoon). One store claimed to have everything needed for Passover, yet the matzoh, and other Jewish foods were not kosher for it. It defeats the purpose of sacrificing bread and grain if the stuff you eat is comprised of it.

Let me back up a step and go over why we celebrate the holiday, and the meaning of matzoh will make sense. Passover is the commemoration of when the Israelites were emancipated from slavery in Egypt. They had to walk for eight days across a desert for their freedom, and were saved by G-d. Chabad.org gave a wonderful lay-man's term of the holiday here.

That said, it is my plan to forgo grains and bread during the eight days. Robert is on board with my showing the kids my history, and we're going to attempt to stay away from bread/grains as a family. I have low expectations for the children (and Robert). This is more important for me in remembering my culture and heritage than it used to be, so I still plan on doing it myself. I have clean eating suggestions, whole food menu plans, and other resources at my fingertips. It comes down to making a personal sacrifice, and understanding the true meaning of the holiday.

I look forward to sharing our journey during the next eight days.

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