DON'T YELL "CHALLAH!" IN A CROWDED MATZAH BAKERY
Of all of the Jewish holidays, one of the most widely celebrated is Passover. Jews whose biggest connection to religion is that their grandparents say “Oy,” once in a while nevertheless get together for a Seder every year. Everyone loves Pesach. Yet, at the same time, everyone dreads Pesach. There are very few things in life that you both love and dread at the same time. Your in-laws, for example. Also, Black Friday.
Pesach is very exciting. We have a spiritual, meaningful Seder, as well as a bunch of fun rituals such as throwing our carbs into a bonfire and holding our afikoman for ransom, plus we get to spend time with our relatives. But on the other hand, there's the weeks of cleaning and cooking, and abstaining from foods that we love and know how to make in favor of foods that we have no idea how to prepare properly, and don't even taste right if we do. Plus we have to spend time with our relatives. (In the old days, everyone lived with their whole extended family, and the average life expectancy was a lot shorter. This cannot be a coincidence.)
The problem is that the spiritual and exciting aspects of the holiday are often overshadowed by the parts that make us nervous - the parts that, heaven forbid, lead us to believe that while Pesach is a reminder of our freedom, the weeks before Pesach are a reminder of our slavery.
But do we have to see it that way? Do we have to see it as two different sides of the coin - the good parts of Pesach and the bad parts of Pesach? What if we saw them all as the good parts of Pesach? What if we can find a way to look at the hard work that we have to do in a new light - to see the humor in what we put ourselves through, and to know that we are not alone? And what if we take this bit of humor with us on the job and become a little less stressed?
When something doesn't happen the way we want it to, some part of us knows that some day, after all this is over, we will look back on it and laugh. But you don't need to laugh after Pesach. After Pesach is Sefirah. You need to laugh right NOW, before you lose it.
And maybe, just maybe, if you turn around after two weeks of cleaning the house and find that the entire time your two year old has been following right behind you and leaving a trail of Cheerios so he can find his way back to civilization, then instead of having a heart attack, your immediate reaction will be to laugh, because it will remind you of a joke.
This book will help.
Or maybe not. Who knows?
You can buy it here.
Or, if you'd like to buy autographed copies from me directly, call 973-473-1771 or email MSchmutter@gmail.com .