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Dayenu By the Liviem Family
Contributed by Yeshiva Har Torah

  • TOP HAGGADAHS FOR 2023

VENAHAFOCHU

 

As I run through the seder in my mind, I think of our uniquely Persian traditions.  Yes, the green onion beating at “Dayenu” time will be cathartic, to say the least.  But another unique custom has me deeply reflective.  During the recital of the plagues, Persian Jews have the tradition to cover their entire table on top (plates, cups, seder plate, etc.) with a table cloth (this correlates to the Ashkenazi tradition is to drip droplets of wine while reciting each plague). A cloth barrier divides between what is holy and what is horrible, between taharah (pure) and tumah (impure). One cannot help but think of how we now cover our mouths and hands with similar barriers, as we gather our essentials outside the home, in this age of Corona.

 

In hopeful moments, my neshama is lifted when I’ve read our recent Torah portions.  Hashem brought great miracles upon the time of the dedication of the mishkan – hundreds of thousands of Jewish souls amazingly fitting into a courtyard meant for a much smaller capacity.  A burning ner tamid (eternal flame) that never dies is also described in the parshiot, and yet Jews are commanded to tend it nevertheless. For me, these symbols represent the boundless good in the virtual spaces online that YHT has constructed since our physical space has been taken from us. There is room for all.  The “eternal flame” is the passion of our educators, administrators, and staff – determined to meet the mission statement of “Better Together,” even though we are apart, and never satisfied with the bare minimum.

We have also read in the parshiot leading up to Pesach about the thanksgiving offering, which today translates to Brikat HaGomel.  We have been in the desert of quarantine, some of us at the bedside of our sick loved ones (or sick ourselves), feeling jailed in our homes, or bound to a mothership called home on an endless, treacherous voyage, with no shore in sight.  These scenarios (ocean voyages, desert crossings, recovery from illness, and freedom from jail) prompted such offerings in the Torah.   It is no coincidence to me that we read of this in these weeks of Corona.  It is my sincere hope that we can collectively do a Brikat HaGomel in our synagogues after these dangerous trials are behind us.

 

With Hashem’s help, it is my deep and profound wish, that by next year, this is all a far-flung memory.  By next year, we should be recounting Pesach 5780/202,0 “The Year of Pesach and Corona,” from the safety and security of our seder tables in Yerushalim, in flawless health and joy, with parnissa tova, and our loved ones at our sides.

In an instant, just as like when Purim was coming to a close, the world can go venahafochu again – but this time, right-side up, and not upside-down.  It’s all in Hashem’s compassionate hands.

Chag kasher v’Samayach to all,

The Liviem Family
haggadah Section: -- Cup #2 & Dayenu

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