Passover Greeting

The moon reminds me

that the cycles of the Earth continue

no matter what is happening

in the incomprehensible human world.

The flowers remind me

to allow myself to a moment of joy

no matter what is happening

in the complexities of my personal life.

The trees remind me

to remember to look up

no matter how dreary the day may feel

as I read the morning, mid-day, or evening news.

The dew reminds me

to allow myself rest on Shabbat

no matter how urgent

the pressures in life may feel.

The flowering crabapples remind me

to allow myself the journey from bondage to freedom

no matter how many kinds of enslavement

may be churning within and around me.

The matzah, maror, and charoset,

the parsley, the egg, and the wine,

the candles, salt water, and beet in-place-of-a-bone,

the story we tell and the ones we don’t,

the songs we sing, whether off key or on,

the people I love both present and absent

remind me

to never give up,

to remember that the sea will part once more,

to know that freedom will be given,

when we are least expecting the gift.

Chag sameach, Happy Passover,

Rabbi Katy