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Finding (a different sort of) freedom
Pesach is arguably one of my favourite holidays. After an often hectic first term of school, the holidays allow me to recover.
DANI SACK
Most importantly, it’s the first proper yom tov (Jewish holiday) of the year – two nights where my extended family and friends raid my home and fill it with laughter, warmth, and love.
I was particularly excited about the Pesach holidays this year. I would have just finished exams, and would get to spend time with my loved ones as a reward. And then, COVID-19 hit. President Cyril Ramaphosa announced the 21-day lockdown, and dreams of our perfect holiday came crashing down.
On Pesach, we are obligated to see ourselves as if we are the ones leaving Egypt in the shadow of our ancestors. But how am I to experience the feeling of the exodus when I’m bound by the walls of my home?
Rabbi Naphtali Hoff says that we do this mitzvah “so as to better internalise our ancestors’ struggles as well as their deliverance. In so doing, we come to truly appreciate G-d’s miraculous intervention.”
Rabbi Aron Moss of Sydney, Australia, says, “Wash your hands well. And every time you do, remember whose hands you are in.” These ideas are the basis of my outlook on Pesach this year.
At first, I resented the thought of sitting with only my parents and sister (good company, but I’ve seen a lot of them lately). But, this lockdown Pesach is a well of opportunity. If you’re like my mother and sister, you can use it to focus on your health – physical and mental. If you’re like my dad, you can use it to go back to your childhood. Rediscover some of your old favourite music, play sport and games, or find an “oldie but goodie” book.
If you’re like me, you can use it to reconnect. Talk to friends who’ve emigrated, and find out new things about those closest to you.
Whether you’re like one of us or not like us at all, the lockdown enables us to rejuvenate. Our normal daily lives are so full of running around, working, and stress.
Pesach can often be stressful for those who have to cook, clean, and plan elaborate yamim tovim (Jewish holidays). But this year, there are no fancy table settings or excess amounts of food to be prepared.
A direct sign of the regeneration that lockdown can bring is the earth’s slow repair of itself. Usually murky canals in Venice are clearing, and a blue sky is being seen in Beijing for the first time in years.
Hashem clearly has a plan for this lockdown, and I can’t help but think it involves a rebirth of sorts. A rebirth of the environment, a rebirth of relationships, a rebirth of the individual.