Shelves lined with Chocolate Bunnies, Marshmallow Peeps, and Cadbury Eggs – It can only mean ONE Thing! Passover is almost here!!!!!

Why is it that we know months in advance when a non-Jewish holiday is coming?  When the retailer’s color motif is orange and black, Halloween is just around the corner. When malls are decked in red and green, and incessant seasonal tunes echo in our ears, we know Christmas is near. When CVS and Walgreens are awash with red and pink, could Valentine’s Day be far away?

But JEWISH holidays sneak up on you. Unless you live where the supermarket puts a large display of Kosher l’Pesach Matzah and Gefilite Fish at the front of the store, or a rack of Hagaddahs near the Maxwell House coffee, you wouldn’t have a clue!

So let me help you out. Passover begins this year on Monday night, April 14^th at sunset.  Don’t panic, but you only have a little over two weeks to think about it and make Seder plans!

Ah, but what about those chocolate bunnies? What about Easter? If you have an inter-faith family, you can relax a little. This year Easter falls on Sunday, April 20^th.  Last year Passover and Easter coincided, no doubt causing stress at many levels. Easter and Passover share several obvious things, “greens”, “eggs”, “lamb” “wine” and a “cracker.”  But both holidays have, at their core, an element of “reaffirmation of membership in the tribe.”  Both have themes of “communion” or “unity” at the center of their observance.  This can be felt as a spiritual union, or in a more secular view as a relational one, as simply a close association with the group.

If you come from a traditional Jewish background, you probably did not have Gentiles at your Passover Seder, and wondered why.  If you are Gentile, you probably weren’t invited, and wondered why. Looking back, it was probably as perplexing to the Jew as the Gentile.  Was this a “custom” or a “law?” Simply put, the Torah says we were not to share the roasted paschal lamb with those who are uncircumcised. This law only existed in Temple times, when sacrifices were made. A Gentile eating of that lamb would be equivalent to a Jew being given a communion wafer at Easter.

But here we are in America, in 2014. If we went by this antiquated custom today, our Seder Table would have many empty place settings! Nearly half of all Jewish families today are to some extent interfaith families, and with that figure comes adjustments and compromise for both partners in a marriage. All holidays, Jewish or Gentile, carry with them some innate stress. Be it good stress or bad stress, psychologists will tell you “stress is stress.” That is why the writers of movies and ‘sit coms’ love Thanksgiving.  It gives them a chance to portray both the ideal AND the dysfunctional American family at holiday time!

In planning your “Spring Holidays” here are four Jewish concepts to keep in mind as you reflect on making your Passover comfortable and inclusive:

Mipnei Darkei Shalom - Mishum Eiva: Literally, “to walk in ways of peace or: to prevent animosity”, that is to foster a positive relationship between religions and people.

Mishum Kiruv: Bringing people close

Mishum K'vod Horim: Respecting one's parents, honoring a non-Jewish parent.

Mishum Chinuch : Educating those who attend.

Passover is meant to be a time when we reaffirm our Jewish Identity; how much more so when we share our Seder and our story with family and friends of all faiths.

Shabbat Shalom,

Rabbi Rose