The Shabbat before Passover is known as Shabbat HaGadol, the Great Shabbat. It was known as a day when a Big Sermon was given. In part, because it was one of the few Shabbats when the whole community came together for services. And in part, because the rabbi would be giving last minute advice for kashering for Passover, and leading a Seder.
The preparation for Passover is supposed to begin before Purim, which is part of why there is a series of special Shabbats leading up to Passover. (Including the importance of the half shekel, the idea that we are all equally responsible for our communal wellbeing and therefore each responsible for continuously supporting our communal institutions financially.)
Word on the street is that the Safeway on South Shore has the most food available on the island particularly for Passover.
In terms of preparing for our seders, there’s a few levels to that: How do we ensure our guests have a meaningful experience? How do we ensure we ourselves find meaning? Can we focus on the timeless story central to Passover, or do we have to say something about this particular moment in Jewish history? What’s the point of the counting of the Omer?
We discussed these things at our first Thursday noon class. This adult education series is about Passover & Counting the Omer. It’s about making space for questions and finding personal meaning in the journey, even (and especially because) none of us have all the answers.
Here are some resources that helped me prepare for our discussion today:
“Seder - Relax and Enjoy,” an essay by my beloved teacher, Rabbi Haim Ovadia
The 15 Steps of Seder actually, you don’t need a book. You just need a good meal and the decision to have a discussion that uses these fifteen steps to walk from slavery to freedom. Many scholars believe the seder tradition was a way of infusing a Hellenistic celebratory meal with deep meaning.
“Like an Orange on a Seder Plate: Balancing Tradition and Innovation,” by Rabbi Elisa F. Koppel.
“The Exodus as a Tool to Understand Our Personal Journeys,” by David Paskin
Leading the Passover Journey: The Seder’s Meaning Revealed, the Haggadah’s Story Retold, by Rabbi Nathan Laufer
The Exodus: How it Happened and Why it Matters, by Richard Elliot Friedman
If you can, please join us in person at Temple Israel next Thursday, April 25 for our discussion of Chesed, the focus of the first week of the Counting of the Omer.
We count the Omer beginning on the second night of Passover (Tuesday, April 23). Read my blog post on How to Count the Omer. Every day for forty-nine days, I will post about the permutation of the Omer count and its corresponding Divine elements / emanations of G!d that we can reach towards / embody for the day. Here’s my post from the beginning of the Omer last year, “Enveloped in Grace.”
And remember: we won’t be meeting for Kabbalat Shabbat service tomorrow night. Instead, we will gather at 10:30am on Saturday for a morning service followed by a kiddush luncheon. And if you’re available on Sunday at 9:30am, our Iyyun circle, “Spiritual Practices for Real Life,” will resume then.
Temple Israel of Alameda 3183 Mecartney Rd. Alameda, CA 94502
