Last updated 6:45 a.m. ET on 26 March 2000.

Why We Love Pesach

Joan:

I love Pesach for lots of reasons. The pace of our lives is a little calmer - we are usually all at home every evening because our community doesn't schedule meetings during Pesach.

I enjoy having to be aware virtually every moment that I am a Jew and I am observing Pesach. This feeling came home one year when I was working full time and having a particularly busy day. It was mid-afternoon, my lunch was long gone, and I needed to meet with someone who hadn't eaten yet. We walked down to the little cafeteria in the basement, talking all the way, we stood in line together, and without giving it a second's thought, I ordered a sandwich, picked it up, paid for it, and carried it to a table, talking with my co-worker the entire time.

As I was about to bite into the sandwich, it hit me. It was Pesach! I couldn't eat this sandwich. I couldn't drink the corn-syrup-sweetened soda I had bought. And all of a sudden I was really hungry. I went back up to the counter, but they had sold all their fruit already and there was nothing else there that I could eat without compromising my Pesach observance. As I sat there and sipped some water, I tried to explain to my by-now-curious co-worker just why I couldn't eat the sandwich or drink the soda. It was a defining moment in my development as a Jew.

But the main reason I really love Pesach is this: We do no food preparation until we have completely changed the kitchen for Pesach. Before we change dishes, we completely clean the house, and especially the kitchen. Then we bring up the Pesach dishes, cover the counters, fill the cabinets. When we're done, we start cooking because the first seder is less than 24 hours away and we have to prepare enough food for at least two days.

But there's one moment that occurs every year between these two frenetic activities of changing the kitchen and preparing Pesach food that makes Pesach so special for me. I stand there in our kitchen and every dish is clean, every utensil, every surface. The whole house is as clean as I can make it. It's hard to explain why I love this moment so much, but every year I stretch it out as long as I can. Then I get out a big pot and start cooking eggs.

Miriam:

I love Pesach because it comes in the Spring and everything is fresh and new and starting to turn green.

Simon:

I love Pesach because it is a time when Jews come together to celebrate leaving Egypt. I also like that we are required to mourn the Egyptians who died when we left Egypt.

Eli:

I love Pesach because I like to look for the afikomen.

Nathan:

I love Pesach because I get to see my friends.

Chana (a response to our question below):

Though there is a lot of work, there is some sort of energizing excitement about the whole thing. I've just finished scouring part of my stove-top. It's beginning to shine again!

I especially love the singing and discussing at the Seder. We have a number of friends over and we really get a feeling of the extendedness of our Jewish family.

I would say our most memorable Seder occurred before we were observant. We had it with some good friends who lived in an apartment near the lake here. We went early so that we would have some time to learn about their computer - this was in the early days when the first Macintoshes were out.

Things were beginning to smell good as they started heating up, when a big thunderstorm came across the lake. We unplugged the computer, and shortly thereafter the power went out. The turkey wasn't cooked, the soup was still frozen. We really related to the "bread of affliction" that year since that, gefilte fish, salad and dessert was all we had!

The children were somewhat frightened be the dark. (We did the whole Haggadah by candlelight.) We explained to them that 100 years ago, this was probably how our ancestors celebrated it (except for the cold food).

Why do YOU Love Pesach?

We'll post your reasons within 24 hours of receiving them!

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