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| www.emberspdx.net |
| The Embers Online Magazine |
Passover from a Non-Jewish Perspective Passover 2005 – Living with 2 Jewish people and observing their customs and traditions has been a very enlightening experience. Learning about the customs and traditions surrounding their faith has been exciting for me. Knowing that Passover was approaching, I decided to do some research via the web. Two wonderful websites were recommended to me: www.aish.com and www.chabad.org. Both websites were filled with very detailed information regarding the story of Passover and the traditions. Being of a mixed background (I am Irish, Scottish, German and Jewish), I had never celebrated anything with relation to my Jewish heritage. While surfing the websites, I can across some valuable insights into what Passover meant to the Jews, why it was celebrated, and began to fully understand the plight of my ancestors. As Passover approached, I took an active part in cleaning the house and getting things ready for the 8 days that were coming up. Now, I have to admit, I’m the ‘carb queen’ so the thought of not eating leavened bread products for 8 days threw me into a minor panic. What was I going to do? How would I survive no bread for 8 days? Then I remember what I had read…how my ancestors had struggled and fought for their lives…that put the whole experience into perspective. Once Passover began, I do admit that I was a little weary about the whole celebration but I kept going over the information that I had read about to draw on when things became confusing on my part. I also read an article about the ‘spiritual cleansing’ that can be incorporated into Passover. Getting rid of your demons that haunt your daily life, getting rid of the ‘baggage’ that we all carry around with us, getting in touch with our souls…all things that I took to heart. The other part of Passover (at least from my perspective) that was very eye opening, was really getting in touch with my body and my mind. Thinking about everything that I ate, how was it affecting my body, was it just ‘junk’ that I was used to eating or was it really nourishing my body and my mind. The first few days were rough, since I did not truly understand what I could and could not do was not easy but having 2 wonderful people who graciously answered my questions made it a lot easier. We did have a Sader with our family and friends. Being a part of a wonderful celebration and bringing what I had learned to life was magical. It was very ritualistic. From the Sader plate to the casting out of the 7 plagues, a certain sense of belonging came over me. I think the most interesting thing about Passover and the whole process to me was imparting information to people. I became the ‘Jewish Resource’ at my job. If they had questions, they would ask me. If I did not have an answer for them, I would either point them to one of my resources or find out from my family and relay the information to them. It made me feel empowered to know that I was not only learning but also teaching people about something that they may not have known or asked about otherwise. I know can look to my ancestry with a better understanding of their struggles, their triumphs, and see how my life is changed and influenced by it all. |
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| TRUE CONFESSIONS by Krystal Belle Rose |
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