This Passover was different from all others. This Passover we were confined into our homes, with just ourselves, our husbands and kids living with us. This Passover we did not get to hug our mothers, and grandmothers, cousins and siblings, fathers and grandfathers in the way we used to.
This Passover the whole world felt kind of shut, on its knees, quieted from the noise of transporting ourselves from place to place. Our synagogues closed, our parks shut off, and our gatherings cancelled.
Yet this Passover we were called to revisit again and reenact our slavery in Egypt. We had to eat again the matza, the bread of our affliction. We ate again the bitter herbs, symbolizing the hardships we had to go through as a people towards our exodus to freedom. We had to be humbled yet again, and this time with the coronavirus closing all of us in, it was humbling big time.
This Passover we were shaken to our bone. In Israel especially, but all over the world where Passover “seders” were held, we were called upon to revisit the hardships we had to go through toward reaching our “Promised Land.”
We paused, collectively, each into their home and saw the Promised Land we have created here together. We saw many good things that we cherish. But we also asked many questions as is the custom on the seder night:
Is Israel a “Promised Land” for all of its citizens? Does it offer equal opportunities? Does it take care of its land hand in hand with its economy? Is its economic system a fair one? Is there enough food for all tonight and on all other nights? Is there education for all? Is it safe for all to be living here? Are the ecosystems we are part of, honored and respected in the “promised land?”
It seems to me that this Passover brings with it a shift. It signals to us that we can no longer pass over the good of the children, the women and the elderly in our midst. We can no longer pass over people who don’t believe in our God.
These are times of seismic changes. Awakening us to collectively move away from the old patriarchal exploitative system that disrespects the earth and each other, to a new paradigm were all are included; Respected and honored, young and old, women and men, poor and rich, black and white, able and disabled, human hand in hand with the land, seas and their living organisms.
These are times of cosmic changes.
Now we are asked to start creating the new paradigm of cooperation for the good of all.
A time when we will all put to use our skills and knowledge, our respective abilities and wisdom towards co-building the new inclusive and ecologically sustainable societies.
Architects and city planners will be planning homes that blend in to the ecosystem and do not pollute it with their waste. Transportation experts will be inventing new modes of transport that are not hazardous to the air we breathe and medical experts and healers will cooperate towards finding new ways of being healthy and balanced to an old age.
Farmers and growers will cooperate with mayors and municipalities towards creating accessible food gardens, teaching citizens how to grow their food locally in their backyards.
Museums, schools and gyms, will create new ways of transmitting knowledge and recreation to their clients and pupils and their curricula will mirror the way forward. Teaching partnership and cooperation, promoting ingenuity, creativity, and down to earth problem solving will now become a priority.
I am trying to put in words how it feels to be living now. To me it feels as if an external force has come and shook us all living on this planet well. We feel dizzy at first from the intense shaking and feel like it is hard to get back on our feet. However, we do get up on our feet. As we stand tall we now see the devastation and inequality our old ways have resulted in. We pause to “digest” it and commit to creating a pro-life society that honors the earth and each other. The time is ripe.
We start meeting in new ways, where the wisdom of all is included as we plan our steps forward.
We now learn to include the wisdom of the mothers and grandmothers, who hold the archetype of love for all of their children.
With the wisdom of the mothers and grandmothers taking its rightful place, we return to rebuild a world that makes room for all of its children, a world where unless we all succeed we have failed, a world of caring for each other; choosing to be our brothers’ and sisters’ keepers.
In our envisioned promised lands, governed by motherly love, our societies cater to health care for all, food for all, shelter for all, education for all. Our new societies yearn for peace and brotherhood among us.
In our new promised lands we exit the “me,” “mine,” ego trip sticks we had climbed on and descend down to the earth, to cooperation, to the mother who cares for all of her children, to the we, to the all, to the good of all.
We descend collectively to the pro-life, loving and nurturing way of the mothers, and once we get there we rise and thrive as one, as a whole.
Thank you for these words. AHO !