spirituality >> Torah portion
Soul
Searching
At The
Seder
i se"--4/4"' • /** ■
Shabbat Pesach: Exodus 12:21-12:51,
Numbers 28:16-28:25; Joshua 5:2 - 6:1.
M
a Nishtanah?
The Four Questions are
a highlight at nearly every
seder.
First, they are recited by undoubt-
edly one of the cutest attendees: the
youngest child in atten-
dance.
Second, the Ma
Nishtanah is one of the
most familiar parts of the
seder. Even if you know
no other song or passage,
you can probably sing Ma
nishtanah ha'laylah ha'zeh
mi'kol ha'lei'lot?
Third, even in the most
abbreviated of seders, this
is one section that is never,
ever, left out. Simply put,
asking the question, "Why
is this night different from all other
nights" encapsulates the meaning and
message of the seder itself, and holds
within it a challenge for each and
every one of us, young and old alike.
Months ago, on Rosh Hashanah,
we promised to change, to strive to
become the highest version of our-
selves. We swore to improve poor
behaviors and build upon positive
attributes. In short, we made a vow
that we would be different.
As we sit down for our seder meals,
we should hear the Ma Nishtanah as
a personal question asked to each and
every one of us. After a few months of
opportunity to make improvements,
to pursue inner transformation, how
would you now answer the question:
Ma Nishtanah? What is different?
We don't often see Passover as
a time to do a cheshbon nefesh, an
accounting of our souls. But I would
argue that it is the best time, perhaps
even more so than the Yamim Noraim
(Days of Awe), because, at this time
of year, if we took our vows on Rosh
Hashanah and Yom Kippur seriously,
we are deep in the process of change
and actively becoming different, in the
best possible way.
If we promised to be kinder to oth-
ers, I pray we are opening doors and
smiling at strangers. If we vowed to
take better care of ourselves, I hope we
are meeting at the gym and catching
up over salads. If we swore
to give more to charity,
either through the gift of
time or the gift of money, I
imagine we have assembled
care packages together or
planted trees in someone's
memory or honor. If some-
one asked us on seder night
Ma Nishtanah? By now, we
should all have a lot to say.
Change is never easy. We
are more attached to our
routines than we are will-
ing to admit. It's not easy
to adopt new habits and embrace a
new and different way of being in this
world. But if we don't, we run the risk
of becoming stagnant and enslaved to
bad habits and negative patterns.
Passover reminds us that seeing the
world in a new and different way and
becoming a new and different person
can be very positive and rewarding.
It is, after all, the time for rebirth, for
spring, for change.
I challenge us all to take the ques-
tion Ma Nishtanah? personally this
year. If we find that we haven't made
any change since the high holidays,
then we must make sure that we have
done our cheshbon nefesh by the time
Rosh Hashanah comes in the fall, and
we are asked to consider our year in
review. Will we say that we did the
hard work of making change?
I pray that this year, and in years
to come, when someone asks you,
Nu? Ma Nishtanah? That the answer
ignites a fire within all of us to make
meaningful, significant and sacred
change.
WALK FOR
ip t !SR AEL
ATI
CELEBRATING
Ru
YEAR S
SAVE THE DATE
Sunday, May 17, 2015
www.walkforisrael.org
New Time!
Walk Starts at 1:30pm
7 44* *
RUN FOR
ISRAEL
❑
Jennifer Kaluzny is a rabbi at Temple Israel
in West Bloomfield.
Design Donated by: jbrooksdesign
Walk 500570511s 0 507 1,73 007777700,77
10 l 5
1994780
April 2 • 2015
55