Order in the Middle of Chaos: A Pesach (Passover) Resource Guide

February 11, 2021

What Is Passover?

Passover is coming! Despite the limited meal options, so many of us eagerly look forward to this annual festival and re-enactment of the exodus story, our tradition’s central narrative. There’s a particular magic around this holiday—it’s a time of endless possibilities, new beginnings, and miraculous tales of liberation! A time of matzo ball soup and whipping leeks and Mimouna celebrations.

In the haggadah (the Seder ritual text), we read that we are obligated to see ourselves as if we were personally liberated from Egypt. Each of us has our own particular story of suffering and redemption, bringing this story to life in new and unique ways each year. This year, however, we have a shared global experience of plague, affliction, and confinement. COVID-19 has certainly forced us into a place of narrowness. We have experienced tremendous suffering and loss. We’ve been stuck in our homes, separated from our loved ones, and the luxuries we once took for granted feel like faraway memories now. Our redemption story is still unfolding. The sea is splitting ahead of us—with freedom, health, and togetherness waiting on the other side. For now, let’s cozy up in our homes, plan a Prince of Egypt movie night, and always remember that there can be miracles when you believe.

Pesach 2021 starts at sundown on Saturday, March 27th, and ends at sundown on Sunday, April 4th.

Why Now?

Passover is most well known for marking the Exodus of the Israelites from Egypt, which the Torah records as happening on the 15th of Nissan. However, there is also agricultural significance in nature’s cycles to the timing of Passover. Another name for Passover in the Torah is Hag Ha’Aviv (The Spring Festival), as this was when the barley harvest began in ancient Israel. On Passover, we begin counting the seven weeks of the omer, which marks the time between the barley harvest and the wheat harvest celebrated on Shavuot. In this way, Passover is a celebration both of the Exodus as well the onset of the spring harvest season.

How?

While the Passover Seder is generally a larger communal celebration, we know this is a different year than most. For safety reasons, many of us will be having much smaller gatherings, virtual seders, or solo seders. This can be difficult, and it can also be an opportunity to get creative and lean into the essence of the holiday. Check out these Moishe House resources and tips for virtual Passover programs, and explore these guides:

Sign up for Moishe House’s Virtual Learning Experience, What’s On Your Plate? Virtual Seder Prep 2021 (March 7th and 14th). Together, we will explore the ins and outs of the holiday, new content and perspectives that will enhance your Seder, and virtual facilitation techniques that will turn your Seder into an all-star virtual experience.
Look into these powerful suggestions for a meaningful solo Passover Seder: dress up for the occasion, make your space beautiful with ritual objects and mood-setting decor, and sing sing sing!
Seder as Salon: “Ask every participant to bring some art or poem or reading or reflection they’d like to share, and then have folks perform or do it during the seder itself.”
Incorporate music into your Seder: create a playlist on your favorite music platform, divvy up the songs beforehand if you want to sing together over zoom, or embrace the cacophony that comes with singing together unmuted!
Plan a virtual or at-home escape room for the Afikomen portion of your evening: have the group solve a series of riddles and puzzles!

Program Ideas

+ - Chametz Meditation

Before Passover begins, we physically and ritually clean our homes of chametz (leavened food). This process is known as bedikat chametz and is traditionally done with a candle and feather.

Visit the Jewish Institute of Spirituality for a cleansing chametz meditation: “Part of the practice of clearing out hametz is linked to this sense of beginning, of new possibilities – clearing out the old, to make room for the new. In many Hasidic interpretations, hametz is understood as internal obstacles and negativity, and we take this week of Passover to clear out as much of this as we can. So another possible focus is some kind of intentional “clearing out” of those internal tendencies—selfishness; greed; excessive pride; negativity towards self or others—that are getting in the way of our own liberation.” Just as we search the dark corners of our homes for breadcrumbs, let’s also search the corners of our hearts.

+ - The Stories We Tell

The exodus from Egypt is Judaism’s central narrative. It’s a story of oppression and liberation, of homelessness and wandering, of fantastical miracles, of faith, leadership, and community. Every year at the Passover seder, each of us is obligated to see ourselves as having been taken out of Egypt. Come together as a community for a Moth style evening of storytelling and poetry! Tap into your creative side as you explore where themes of the exodus narrative show up in your lives. You’re welcome to share your story and/or play the important role of active listener and enthusiastic attendee!

Below are a few writing prompts:

What are the central stories of your life?
What’s your exodus story?
Where do you see or experience enslavement in your world?
Where do you see or experience liberation in your world?

+ - Tikkun Olam Conversations

Passover is a great time to dig into Tikkun Olam learning with your community. On Passover, we are called not only to celebrate our own liberation, but also to ensure that we can help achieve the liberation of others. This value lies at the very core of the Torah. Connect the Passover story and today’s refugee crisis with the haggadah created by HIAS, which provides essential humanitarian aid and assistance to refugees and asylum seekers.

Two additional great starting points for these conversations are the AJWS Global Justice Haggadah and these Passover resources from T’ruah. Alternatively, read and discuss this essay by Rabbi Aryeh Bernstein of Avodah to explore the question of reparations through a lens of Passover.

+ - Omer Journal

The seven weeks between Passover and Shavuot mark an important time for reflection and personal growth. There is a daily ritual known as “counting the Omer” in which we mark each day, one day at a time. This year, counting of the Omer begins the evening of Sunday, March 28. Gather with community members online and reflect together on how you would like to make the most of this time period this year. One way of doing so is committing to an Omer journal, in which you check in with yourself each day. Create a program around the start of the Omer, and take time to introspect/journal before reflecting together with community members.

+ - Mimouna Baking Party

First celebrated in Morocco, Mimouna is unique as the only Jewish holiday that is intentionally an interfaith celebration. Learn more about this fascinating holiday celebrated by Jews and their Muslim neighbors at the conclusion of Passover. Don’t miss this amazing recipe for muffuletta pancakes, which has spread from North Africa throughout the world! Share the recipe with community members in advance, and bake together over Zoom!

+ - Additional Resources

Haggadot.com is the largest online resource for the Passover haggadah with thousands of options for blessings, artwork, translations, songs, activities and more! You could create your own custom haggadah or have an event where the community comes together to create one. Haggadot.com has everything you could ever want in a haggadah and you can pull from different sources to create one that fits your needs.
Repair the World offers a new seder supplement on the 10 Plagues of Housing Injustice.
Check out all previous MH Passover resources here.