Old ritual, new setting
It should come as no surprise to most of my readers that I'm not particularly religious. Certainly, I'm Jewish, and I take great pride in my heritage. I went to a private Jewish elementary school and high school, and learned a number of things there that I still consider useful and helpful. I am in the process of reading the entire Bible, cover-to-cover, and writing op-eds every few chapters. But, despite the knowledge, I am not particularly religious.
I should say, rather, that I don't practice my Judaism, at least not really. I don't keep kosher, obey the sabbath, or go to synagogue. In fact, I do almost none of the commandments that are listed in the Bible. If Jews believed in a hell for sinners, my compass would probably be firmly pointed there.
On the other hand, there are two rituals I try to observe every year without fail: fasting on Yom Kippur, and celebrating the Seder at Passover. Admittedly, there have been a few years where (for whatever reason) I have not managed to fast during Yom Kippur. Therefore, the Passover seder is the only Jewish ritual I have observed every single year of my life. It is the one ritual of my people I can say, unequivocally, that I celebrate regularly, without fail.
You can imagine my surprise, then, when this year neither my mother nor my father were planning on celebrating the seder. I scrambled to find somewhere to go, and discovered that Marc's family was looking for people to join them. So I sighed a sigh of relief that I'd have a seder to attend this year. In the last two weeks, both my parents have decided to hold seders as well, but my plans have been set for longer. So this year I'll be celebrating with Marc's family and sending my condolences to my own. It's a highly unusual situation, but I've been assured by both parents that they're ok with it. *shrugs* Next year with family, perhaps.
In any event, that's what I've been thinking about today. Marc should be here within the hour, and I suppose I should get dressed in better clothes at some point in the intervening time.
For some entertainment value, marginally related to all this, my friend Eric has posted a short play of what things might have looked like when the angel of death came to collect the firstborn sons of Egypt. I find it amusing: http://ericsjournal.livejournal.com/87816.html
I should say, rather, that I don't practice my Judaism, at least not really. I don't keep kosher, obey the sabbath, or go to synagogue. In fact, I do almost none of the commandments that are listed in the Bible. If Jews believed in a hell for sinners, my compass would probably be firmly pointed there.
On the other hand, there are two rituals I try to observe every year without fail: fasting on Yom Kippur, and celebrating the Seder at Passover. Admittedly, there have been a few years where (for whatever reason) I have not managed to fast during Yom Kippur. Therefore, the Passover seder is the only Jewish ritual I have observed every single year of my life. It is the one ritual of my people I can say, unequivocally, that I celebrate regularly, without fail.
You can imagine my surprise, then, when this year neither my mother nor my father were planning on celebrating the seder. I scrambled to find somewhere to go, and discovered that Marc's family was looking for people to join them. So I sighed a sigh of relief that I'd have a seder to attend this year. In the last two weeks, both my parents have decided to hold seders as well, but my plans have been set for longer. So this year I'll be celebrating with Marc's family and sending my condolences to my own. It's a highly unusual situation, but I've been assured by both parents that they're ok with it. *shrugs* Next year with family, perhaps.
In any event, that's what I've been thinking about today. Marc should be here within the hour, and I suppose I should get dressed in better clothes at some point in the intervening time.
For some entertainment value, marginally related to all this, my friend Eric has posted a short play of what things might have looked like when the angel of death came to collect the firstborn sons of Egypt. I find it amusing: http://ericsjournal.livejournal.com/87816.html