The Great Tu B’shevat Blizzard of 2016

Jews pray for geshem – rain, and for tal – dew, for Israel... each in its season.  Jews do not pray for sheleg - snow...ever... and certainly not on Tu B’shevat. 

And SNOW, whether prayed for or not, came to Tu B’shevat this year in the guise of Winter Storm Jonas. Frenzied storm preparations, blizzard warnings, and non-stop news coverage and ground coverage of snow swiftly overwhelmed our lives, eclipsing scheduled Tu B’shevat celebrations up and down the Middle Atlantic States.  Shabbat services were cancelled, Sunday school didn’t meet, seedlings were not planted by pre-school families at local garden centers, and synagogues were unable to hold their Tu B’shevat Seders.

To the uninitiated, “Tu B’shevat” derives its name from it’s date on the lunar calendar, “TU” =15  in the Hebrew month of Shevat. The 15^th of every Hebrew month is the full moon. Our holidays of Sukkot, Purim, and Passover also fall on the full moon. Though not mentioned in the Torah per se, we find in Leviticus 1:23-25 the following:

“When you come to the land and you plant any tree, you shall treat its fruit as forbidden; for three years it will be forbidden and not eaten.  In the fourth year, all of its fruit shall be sanctified to praise the Lord.  In the fifth year, you may eat its fruit.”

And so, the 15^th of Shevat became a practical means of calculating the “birthday” of trees for tithing. (Example:  I planted 100 trees last February, 100 in July and 100 on the 14^th of Shevat.  On Tu B’shevat, all 300 trees become “one year old.”)  This is how, in Hebrew Schools around the globe, Tu B’shevat  became known as “the birthday of the trees.”

This “birthday of the trees,” its agricultural and legal roots lost in time and purpose, has become a “fluid” and ever-changing holiday, re-shaped in every generation to fit the moment. It gained a “modern” foothold in the16^th century when Kabbalists, mystics living up in Sfat, created a Tu B’shevat Seder, a celebration of seasonal rebirth, during which are eaten the Seven Species found in abundance in the Holy Land, as mentioned in Deuteronomy.

The Tu B’shevat Blizzard of 2016 not only left motorists stranded...  it left countless Jewish venues stranded as well... with copious amounts of traditional Tu B’shevat Seder foods: olives, dates, figs, pomegranates, wheat and barley products, grapes, almonds, Fig Newtons, along with gallons of Kosher wine and grape juice. 

Ritually, we didn’t hear  much about Tu B’shevat from the 16^th century until the 1940’s when Tu’bshevat was resurrected as Jews celebrated the rebirth of our national homeland, the newly minted State of Israel. There were swamps to be drained and thousands of trees to be planted. Israel would make the desert bloom. (Remember those JNF tree certificates from Sunday school?)

TBS morphed into Jewish Arbor Day in the 1950s. In the 70’s & 80’s it was Jewish Earth Day, a kind of Tree Hugging festival, vilifying those who destroy forests for profit, and calling attention to water and air pollution. More recently, it has taken on Global Concerns such as genetically modified seeds, use of pesticides in agriculture, organic, locally sourced produce, factory farming, and preserving nature for future generations. At the turn of the millennium, it drew attention to renewable energy, recycling, composting, the disappearance of bees (global swarming), and, dare I mention it, Global Warming!

It was only a month ago that those who are Christmas observant were waxing nostalgic on the subject of snow. In DC, Maryland and Virginia there was a collective sigh of regret at the lack of “white stuff” for the holidays. And, everywhere we were bombarded by snow-centric lyrics. Well folks, you got your wish.

In Israel, however, Tu B’shevat song lyrics speak of springtime, pink blooms on almond trees, and the chirping of birds.

In the U.S. Tu B’shevat has its own anthem laced with irony; lyrics by Joni Mitchell:

“They took all the trees
And put them in a tree museum
Then they charged the people
A dollar and a half just to see 'em”

“Don’t it always seem to go that you don’t know what you’ve got ‘til it’s gone. They paved paradise and put up a parking lot.”

“Hey farmer, farmer
Put away that DDT now
Give me spots on my apples
But LEAVE me the birds and the bees”

This past Sunday night, weather event or not, Tu b’Shevat arrived at sunset, as it does every year, on the 15^th of Shevat. After a long and exhausting day of shoveling and tunneling out to our cars, night descended. My husband said, “Come look at the moon!”  Stepping out onto the porch, looking out over our streams and woods, the brilliant full moon illuminated the night, reflecting off water and filtering through forest, the harbinger of springtime (in Israel).  The high snowdrifts and hilly terrain surrounding our home shimmered and glistened. The winds stopped.  We were doing what Jews everywhere have done for millennia; gaging the passing of seasons by the shape of the moon. It was a moment of peace, with my husband’s arm around my shoulder.

Going back inside we noshed on a few raisins, a handful of almonds, some wheat thins, a taste of olive oil, an orange, and a little Manischewitz blackberry wine. We put some money in the Jewish National Fund Box and made a mental note to empty the contents of our pushkas (tzedahkah boxes) and write a check to JNF .

Jews pray for rain and Jews pray for dew... and maybe, just maybe, Jews DO, in their hearts, pray for snow. Irving Berlin gave us “I’m Dreaming of a White Christmas,” Sammy Cahn & Jule Styne, “Let it Snow, Let it Snow,” Mel Torme wrote “Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire,” Jay Livingston and Ray Evans, “Silver Bells,” Walter Kent and Kim Gannon, “I’ll be Home for Christmas.” All “nice Jewish boys.” And maybe, just maybe their lyrics and music fashioned the bizarrely romantic way American’s think about snow, if you catch my “drift.”

Sitting here, in my warm office, looking out at the snow, I recall Tu B’shevat in Israel, with its promise of renewal and abundance.  As it is written in D’varim, the Book of Deuteronomy:

“And it shall com to pass, if ye shall hearken diligently unto My commandments which I command you this day, to love the Lord your God, and serve Him with all your heart and with all your soul, that I will give the rain of your land in its season, the former rain and the latter rain, that thou may gather in thy grain and thy wine and thine oil.  And I will give grass in thy fields for thy cattle, and thou shalt eat and be satisfied.”

Just A Bit Snowed In

Dear Friends,

 

We are not yet able to leave our little home in the snow.  The fellow who plows us out has been unable to plow HIMSELF out... due to the high drifts... he has no where to PUT the snow.

 

I dug a trench (think World War I) out to the most promising vehicle... 4-wheel drive, Ford 250...  Gary then got the snow off of it, started it... and got a good 30 feet before he realized the snow was so high all he was doing was pushing snow in front of the truck... and blocking himself in!

 

The Virginia Department of Transportation has been pushing snow around on the road that we turn onto... leaving a 4 ft wall of compacted snow.

 

I lost my balance in the high snow.... actually a dip in the road that had filled up with LOTS MORE SNOW.  I went down.... but everything around me was so soft and deep I couldn't brace myself to get up.  So, I dug a nest in the snow around me and waited until Gary realized I was missing.  When he finally saw me, at a distance... he thought I was making "snow angels".....  we almost needed a block and tackle to get me off the ground.  I felt like I was preparing for a sequel to The REVENANT.  Kudos to Leonardo DiCaprio.... for his endurance.

We won't have above freezing temps until Tuesday.... but at least we have ELECTRICITY!!!!

Chocolate, A D’var Torah

And God made Chocolate, two kinds did God make.  And God tasted them, and they were good.

Havdil... the Hebrew word for separation.  Just as God separated heaven from earth and sacred from profane... He made two kinds of chocolate... milk chocolate and dark chocolate.

Biblical scholars believe that chocolate was created shortly after the expulsion from the Garden of Eden.  Just as the rainbow was created after the Flood to give hope, so did God give chocolate to Adam and Eve as solace after their exit from Gan Eden: Dark chocolate to remind them of the paradise they had lost and milk chocolate to give them hope for the Olam Habah....the World to Come.

This side of hope, the gift of chocolate is a symbol of Hope for all people.  It is the hope of lovers who bring it as an offering.  It is the hope of peace for the soldier who finds the lone bar in his rations.  It is a glimpse of childhood and hope for the future when tossed to a child trapped in the misery of war or revolution.

In every yeshiva, yeshiva bochers have contemplated what chocolate means to the Jewish People, and kol ha-goyim, all the other nations... for even at the Tower of Babel, the one word they all shared and could understand was Chocolate.

Religious scholars have reached several conclusions.  First, Chocolate is a metaphor for the Jewish People.  Whether it comes wrapped in gold, like Godiva chocolates at a glitzy Bar Mitzvah or as a component of the simplest shiva basket at the poorest home... once the piece of chocolate is unwrapped and on the tongue, the “tam” (the taste) is still the same...just as the essence of Judaism never changes.

Second, as the scholars point out, the chocolate can be melted and formed into any shape...Chanukah gelt, hearts, kisses...just as Jews, throughout their Diaspora experiences have melted into many different shapes... Ethiopian, Russian, Israeli, American, and they have formed themselves into Orthodox, Ultra-Orthodox, Conservative, Secular, Reform, Reconstructionist... the shape doesn’t matter... for the essence never changes

So please, enjoy this Heaven sent gift without guilt, remembering the divine source of chocolate every day.  Keep a little in your desk at work to remind you of Shabbat, the Day of Rest that gives us a glimmer of the Olam Habah, the World to Come.  Give your children a piece now and then...watch their faces, but at the same time, remember those children for whom a square of chocolate may be the only happiness they know.  In times of sorrow, bring chocolate brownies to console the mourner.  In times of joy, invite the bride and groom and serve chocolate for dessert.  For as it is written, “God tasted the chocolate, and it was good.”

Racial Identity? Which Box Should She Check?

“Which box should I check?” The 17 -year -old Junior was filling out college applications.  Straight- A student.  Student Council President.  Salutatorian. Community Service Hours for wonderful causes and a delight to have in class.

Which box.  White or Hispanic.  Which box would get her into the best school?  Which box might get her a scholarship?  Which box should she play... it was like betting in Vegas...

There was no Jewish box.  But it wasn’t too long ago that universities had Jewish quotas, especially for Medical School Admissions. There certainly was no box for a girl whose family of Sephardic Jews had left Turkey for Greece... only to escape to Cuba during World War II.  In Florida, this made her a “Jewban”... a rare breed of Jew only found on Miami’s South Beach, and there was no box for that either.  She wasn’t White.  She wasn’t Hispanic.  She was Jewish, which doesn’t seem to be a “race” unless you are playing the race card, as in the “Jewish Race” a.k.a. “Anti-Semitism.

As a white Jewish girl from Miami with a straight A average, she was just one more applicant.  But as an Hispanic Refugee from Cuba with a straight A average... she became extremely “hot” in the world of top 10 university freshman class profiles.

I could only offer one suggestion.  Check Hispanic.

Shalom,

Rabbi Rose Lyn Jacob

Communication Is A Two Way Street

Our patterns of communication have changed radically since God spoke directly to Moses. They had FACETIME before it was a computer application.  Panim al Panim, face-to-face. It was just a hop-skip and a jump from there to Guttenberg’s press, to Morse Code, on to satellite communication... and if you are lucky... digital cable, and the penultimate means of communication, the “selfie.”  So many ways to communicate....

We have a home phone number, two cell phone numbers that FORWARD to our home phone, (for when we are out of cell phone range). We also have the RABBINICAL HOTLINE, a phone number that rings me at any of four different locations in the event of Rabbinical Emergencies! It is kind of like the original “BAT PHONE.”

With all the new and improved modes of communication it should be easy to get busy adult children to “dash off an email” or text, or Skype, or call, somewhere in between commuting to the office, earning a living, exercise, pre-school enrichment and diaper changes. But, as it has been since the beginning of time, our children are busy with their own lives... and communication is cut down to a tweet full of content. 

When conventional email, voice mail and phone calls don't work... sometimes you need another approach!   This one worked for me after numerous modes of communication failed to elicit a response to the question, “What does Claire, my granddaughter, want for her third birthday?”  With the date rapidly approaching, I sat down at 2:00 AM to give it one more try and sent the following e-mail.

“Hello.  Just checking in as time is growing short until Claire's birthday.  I was thinking of getting her an EXTREMELY LARGE DOG THAT DROOLS... and a lovely saddle so she can ride him around the house... alternatively, you can hitch him to a three wheel stroller and he can take baby Charles out for a trot.

I guess if I don't hear from either of you... I will just have to go ahead and have him delivered.  Just wanted to give you time to pick out a name for him.  I am partial to the name "GARTH."  I spoke with the breeder and he assures me that GLUTEN FREE dog chow is available... so you won't need to worry about the Gluten dust.

If, however, you have OTHER ideas about what to get Claire for her birthday, just let me know in a timely manner.

Love, Mom

PS, did I mention that "GARTH" sheds a lot?”

It worked.  Even with a time zone difference, at dawn, there was a response with a list of birthday wants and/or needs... in two e-mails. 

I’m not sure that Moses would have ever gotten the Children of Israel to the Promised Land if he had to wait a really LONG time to get a response from God.  But they worked it out.  They kept the lines of communication open.  Judaism is founded on a personal relationship with God.  We are held accountable for our actions, but we are encouraged at every opportunity to engage with God, and to be God’s partner in healing the world.  Moses and God didn’t have FACEBOOK and other asynchronous forms of communication. They kept actively in touch with each other. Moses didn’t need to “friend” God to know what was going on.  He was always “tuned in.”

So remember to keep those lines of communications open. Don’t just send out a signal... leave yourself open to reception.

Shabbat Shalom,

Bringing (Part of) The Book Of Numbers To Life

B’ha-ah-lo-te-cha

This week’s Torah portion comes from the Book of Numbers, chapters 8 thru 12.  It contains more plot lines, twists and turns than an HBO series.  It is the ultimate “cliff hanger.”

Now, if we perceive parts of the Torah as overly dramatic, yet strangely familiar, there is a logical reason: having been read by Shakespeare and every western playwright, poet, author, and literature major for over 5,000 years, its stories, structure, cadences and narrative-form gave shape to Western thought, writing and literature.  And, perhaps even more relevant to our lives today, the Torah is where Hollywood gets its blockbuster material, and has, since before Cecil B. DeMille parted the Red Sea.

In this week’s portion, or episode, B’ha-ah-lo-t’cha, Moses literally gets his marching orders... from God. Moses explains to the people that during the day, the Tabernacle will be covered with a cloud, and at night, by a pillar of fire.  Whenever the cloud lifts, it is a sign to get underway. On a sign from the Lord they make camp, and on a sign from the Lord they break camp.

To bring you up to speed on the story, it is the second year after the Exodus from Egypt. Moses has received the 2 Tablets from God at Mt. Sinai and brought them to the Israelites where they are now housed in the Ark of the Covenant.  The portable Tabernacle has been cleverly and artistically designed to be assembled and then disassembled for the journey to the Promised Land, using only one Allen wrench. Two silver trumpets are hammered out and, using a system of blasts, they can summon the entire community, or just its chieftains, or signal the multitude to march or stop.

The multitude marches out tribe by tribe in formation around the Ark of the Covenant; please visualize this very Cecil B. DeMille moment; six-hundred-thousand men and their families and livestock; each tribe under its own flag... the tribe of Judah is the first to step out; along with the tribes of Issachar, and Zebulun. The next division to set out consists of Ruben, Simeon and Gad.  The next division to head out was led by Ephraim, along with the forces of Manasseh and Benjamin and behind the Ark, the rear guard was composed of the tribes of Dan, Asher and Naphtali. Each time the Tabernacle was underway, Moses would utter these words

“Advance, O Lord!

May Your enemies be scattered,

And may Your foes flee before You!”

And when it halted, he would say:

Return, O Lord,

You who are Israel’s myriads of thousands!

WOW, you can almost hear the SOUNDTRACK!

And these very words are spoken during every Torah service, till this day!

Well, it isn’t too long into the journey that God hears grumbling from the people... again.  The Israelites and the mixed multitude have been complaining ever since Moses showed up to free them by God’s hand.

Just like children who don’t get into trouble as long as they have something to do...the Israelites didn’t complain as long as they were occupied by manufacturing the structure and utensils and decorative materials of the Tabernacle, Tent of Meeting, and the Priestly Garments.

  Now we can’t proceed in the story until we truly take a moment to understand an important Jewish word.  KVETCHING.... can everyone try that?  KVETCHING.  KVETCHING, a uniquely Jewish word, is defined as the noise made by Jews when they whine and complain simultaneously in a very aggrieved manner, to anyone who will listen.  God hears the KVETCHING of the people and is incensed by their behavior and failure to appreciate all He has done for them so far. God’s anger blazes up, literally, and he sends fire to burn up the people on the periphery of the camp. The people cry out to Moses who intercedes with God, once again, and…in an act of compassion,  God extinguishes the fire.   

But the Kvetching doesn’t stop. Next we are introduced to HUNGRY JEWS with ATTITUDE.

When the Jews left Egypt, they worried that there wouldn’t be enough to eat on their journey… so God ensured a steady flow of manna fresh daily with a double delivery on Friday morning in time for Shabbos… Manna, we STILL don’t know what it was, but I’m thinking freeze-dried tofu from the sky. The Torah says it was like coriander seed and it was the color of FAT.  They’ve been eating it for two years now… grinding it, boiling it, baking it…and it tasted like rich cream.  When the dew fell on the camp at night, the manna would fall upon it. 

Even after providing for them, the kvetching doesn’t stop.... it continues, as certain more gluttonous Israelites complain to Moses. “OH that we had meat to eat! Then, with twisted nostalgia for the “good old days of slavery they say, “We remember the fish we ate in Egypt that cost nothing, the cucumbers, the melons, the leeks, the onions, and the garlic. Now our gullets are shriveled.  There is nothing at all!  Nothing but this manna to look to!”  Why did you take us out of Egypt… sure we had to eat in haste… but at LEAST there was a little VARIETY.  WE WANT MEAT!!!!! 

By this point, Moses has run out of Patience and VALIUM.  The Israelites have been kvetching since leaving Egypt. Over and over again they are referred to by God and Moses as “A STIFF NECKED PEOPLE.”   They are a  difficult people to lead.  Moses has tended to their needs, interceded on their behalf with God, grown from the reluctant, soft spoken leader chosen by God to lead them to promised land ....to THIS!!!!!! An aggrieved and totally FED UP LEADER who never wanted the job in the first place! He shakes a verbal fist at the Lord!

“Why have You dealt ill with Your servant, and why have I not enjoyed Your favor, that You have laid the burden of all this people upon me?  Did I conceive all this people, did I bear them, that You should say to me, “Carry them in your bosom as a nurse carries and infant,” to the land that You have promised on oath to their fathers?  Where am I to get meat to give to all this people when they whine before me and say, “Give us meat to eat,”  I cannot carry all this people by myself, for it is too much for me.  If You would deal thus with me, kill me rather, I beg You, and let me see no more of my wretchedness!” Just for the record, Moses isn’t the only leader of the Jews who asked for death… So did Elijah, Jeremiah and Jonah!  As I’ve said, Jews are not so easy to lead!

God peels Moses off the ceiling for a little counseling... tells him to chose 70 of Israel’s elders who are experienced as elders and officers of the people.  They are to go to the Tent of Meeting with Moses... at which time God hovers over them and draws upon the spirit that is on Moses, and puts it upon them; saying to Moses, “They shall share the burden of the people with you, and you shall not bear it alone.”  And, as the song says, We ALL NEED somebody to lean on.

As for those who kvetched and whined about not having meat!  God instructs Moses to say to them: “Purify yourselves, for tomorrow and you shall eat meat, for you have kept whining before the Lord and saying “If only we had meat to eat!  Indeed, we were better off in Egypt!  The Lord will give you meat and you shall eat.  You shall eat not one day, not two, not even five days or ten or twenty, but a whole month, until it comes out of your nostrils and becomes loathsome to you.  For you have rejected the Lord who is among you, by whining before Him and saying, ‘oh, why did we ever leave Egypt!”  Moses is incredulous...and questions God’s plan for feeding 600,000 plus people for a month. The Lord answers Moses, “Is there a limit to the Lord’s power?  You shall soon see whether what I have said happens to you or not!”

By now you would have thought Moses would believe anything God said!

A wind whips up, sweeps quail from the sea, strews them over the camp and for a distance of a day’s journey in each direction. They were two cubits deep in quail carcasses. A cubit is 18 inches.. so we’ve got 36 inches of DEAD POULTRY.  People gathered them day and night for two days.  YUM.. or so they thought.  The meat was still between their teeth when God’s anger blazed once again... and the people were struck by a very sever plague.   As an aside, quail can be poisonous to humans.  On their migratory route they can ingest seeds that are NOT poisonous to them, but ARE poisonous to humans, causing them to develop vertigo, seizures and/or death.

Isn’t this a little harsh?  Come on… the, the Israelites are only a THREE DAY WALK from the Promised Land.  All this kvetching and moaning over the small stuff convinces God that this generation of former slaves is way too weak to fight the battles ahead necessary to conquer and settle the new land. It is euphemistic to say God GAVE them the land.... they were going to have to take it from the current inhabitants. No. To prepare for the fight, It will take a full forty years from the departure from Egypt for that generation to die out, and bring a new, strong generation of Israelites unencumbered by the mental yoke that slavery had put on their parents.

The Drama Continues with a sub-plot

Moses has a little trouble from his siblings, Aaron and Miriam.  They say to Moses, HEY… you aren’t the ONLY ONE God talks to around here.  God talks to US TOO!  Moses sets them straight…letting them know that, whatever their claims toward prophet-ness… God spoke FACE TO FACE with HIM, Moses… God chose HIM to be prophet. Got it?  God talks to ME directly…I am the MAIN MAN.   (This from a guy who could only stutter at the beginning of the story, and who needed Aaron as his mouth piece!)   And then the sibling tension gets even uglier involving an episode of l’shon Hara, speaking ill of someone, and its consequences.

You see Moses has chosen a new wife. Miriam and Aaron chide him on his choice of an Ethiopian.  Moses’ new wife is not an Israelite.  For SURE God didn’t like Miriam’s attitude about her sister-in-law… and as you may know from our readings in Leviticus, God’s number one punishment for speaking ill of someone is… LEPROSY!  After voicing her criticism, Miriam literally turns white. White and scaly,  and is sent out of the camp for a seven day cleansing.  Both her brothers, Aaron and Moses were extremely worried that God would strike her dead, but God was compassionate once again. Why? Well, it seems one good turn deserves another. I am referring to Miriam’s role in placing the baby basket with Moses in it into the Nil. Miriam didn’t just launch her brother in the basket, she stood by until Moses was drawn from the water by the princess.  Miriam WAITED. She didn’t just send him down the river.  After a week in rehabilitation, both spiritual and physical, the leprosy goes away and Miriam is permitted back into the camp.

So there you have it.  Moses continues to gain insight, develop leadership skills, and gets even tighter with God.  Now, as they undertake the journey, he has to work harder and harder to keep the reins of leadership, not for his own aggrandizement but because he is growing into his leadership position. Moses is the archetype of the Public Servant.  Unlike kings, pharaohs and potentates who are served BY the people, for their own aggrandizement, the anachronistic term Public Servant harkens back to a day and age when men of great character worked on behalf of the people. Moses is NOT served by the people.  He is a servant OF the people. He has taken on the responsibility of carrying out God’s primary mission.  Returning the Israelites to the land of Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebecca, and Jacob, Rachel and Leah.  In addition to the Ark of the Covenant, they are carrying Joseph’s bones, bones that have waited 400 years to return.

In case you are wondering, no, you can’t download the next episodes ahead of time, but I hope you will read ahead in the book of Numbers, when, in two weeks Moses is challenged again in his leadership role, but this time God opens the earth and swallows all the kvetchers!

Shabbat Shalom!

The Physics of Passover

Passover 2015

Rabbi Rose Lyn Jacob

Can you feel the excitement in the air? It’s SPRING! The forsythia is in bloom.  The armies of Chocolate Easter Bunnies and Marshmallow Peeps have deployed!  These are harbingers of just one thing. PASSOVER.

What? Passover already? Just like Rosh Hashanah and Chanukah, Passover also comes either “early” or “late” on the secular calendar.  However on the Jewish calendar our holidays come at just the right time, keeping the rhythm of our lunar calendar.

In 2015 the first Seder falls on Friday night, April 3rd, the second Seder on Saturday night, April 4^th, with Easter Sunday on April 5^th.  For multi-faith extended families, “mazel tov”... you’ve hit the Trifecta!

The Passover Seder, guided by its fifteen-point script called the Haggadah, has evolved into a long but riveting recounting of the Jews’ Exodus from Egypt; filled with symbolic foods, singing, passages in Aramaic, Hebrew, and, if you are lucky, English.

But just like Thanksgiving, Christmas, or any holiday where friends and family gather, you know there is an intangible dynamic; an aura that permeates the air. This invisible force is called TENSION!  Yes, reach back in time to PHYSICS 101, and let’s apply some of those basic definitions to understand  “The Physics of Passover.”

Relativity:                          Whose relatives are we having Seder with?  Yours, or MINE?

Distance:                           How far you’ll need to shlep to get to the first Seder!

Speed:                                How fast you’ll need to drive the next day to get to the second Seder by 5:00 pm.

Thermal Capacity:            The point at which you can no longer shove even one more aluminum pan into the oven.

Air Pressure:                     The pressure in the air when both your mother and your mother-in-law enter your kitchen at the same moment.

Stress:                                Calculating the weight and distribution of brisket laden platters to prevent the table from buckling.

Binding Energy:                The number of prunes necessary to counteract the binding effect of eating matzah, matzah kugel, matzah balls, and chocolate covered matzah.

Plasticity:                          The property that allows, ground carp, onion, and matzah meal to be formed into gefilte fish.

Surface Tension:               The property that causes a thin layer of chicken fat to float on the top of your soup.

Buoyant Force:                 The upward force on matzah balls immersed in chicken soup.

Law of Conservation of Energy:   Energy can neither be created nor destroyed, only transformed from one form to another. Why matzah, matzah balls, matzah farfel and afore mentioned chocolate covered matzah go directly to your hips.

Density:                              Used to determine how many people can uncomfortably fit at the Seder table.

Radiant Energy:                Glow emitted by your Cousin Rachel who is eight months pregnant.

Inertia:                               The property of a body to resist a change in its state of rest, used to explain why your teenage children can’t get up and help serve the food.

First Law of Thermo-Dynamics:                   All hot food will be cold by the time it reaches you.

Kinetic Energy:                 The amount of shpilkis produced by children who are bored, and too old to ask the Four Questions, while waiting to search for the Afikomen.

Projectile:                          Item thrown during the recounting of the 10 Plagues. Often, but not limited to, plastic frogs, locust, and ping-pong hail.

Acceleration:                    The rate of change of velocity with respect to time.  Example: Do you have to go through the whole Haggadah? This can be translated into the formula “Nu? Couldn’t you speed things up a little? The turkey is drying out in the oven!”

After the Afikomen is found, and Chad Gadya is sung, and before the final words of the Seder, there are two very serious physics terms to apply to the evening you have just shared with family and friends.

The first is Reverberation.  When we tell the Passover story, the words we say and the melodies we sing echo, prolonging the sound of our forbearers long after the source of their voices has ceased. This is why we diligently  enact the ritual as instructed, so that future generations, God willing, will echo our voices, and their Seders will reverberate... sending the message further into the future.

Our final Passover Physics term is Reflection.  As we finish the Seder, we intone the words that have sustained us and given us hope throughout our history, “Next Year in Jerusalem.”  No matter how your Seder has been conducted, be it thirty minutes or three hours, walk away with the knowledge that it is our obligation, our sacred duty, our responsibility, to reflect on the long Journey of the Jews. God took us from Egypt “with a strong arm and with miracles and signs,” God delivered us from Slavery to Freedom, so that Jews who come after us, our children, our children’s children will know that God continues to hold faith with the Jewish people, even as we journey into an unknowable and perhaps uncertain future.

Rabbi Rose Lyn Jacob