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Happy Passover

Every year our family gathers to celebrate Passover. I spent the better part of this past weekend cleaning out my kitchen from top to bottom. I went through ALL of my cabinets and got rid of the forgotten stuff hidden way in the back and wiped down all the insides. I cleaned my oven and all the counters and appliances. I emptied out the entire refrigerator and cleaned that out as well. I banished the toaster from the kitchen because we won’t be needing it for the next week. I set aside one whole cabinet just for the foods permitted to be eaten during this holiday, and the other cabinets will not be touched.

And this day shall become a memorial for you, and you shall observe it as a festival for the L-RD, for your generations, as an eternal decree shall you observe it. For seven days you shall eat unleavened bread, but on the first day you shall remove the leaven from your homes … you shall guard the unleavened bread, because on this very day I will take you out of the land of Egypt; you shall observe this day for your generations as an eternal decree. – Exodus 12:14-17

 

Passover Seder, military photo Brandon L. Saunders

Passover Seder, military photo Brandon L. Saunders

We are not Orthodox Jewish, but we do our best in the spirit of the holiday. So for the duration of the holiday we will only eat those foods that are permitted. That means nothing with leavening, and no beans, no rice, no grains, no corn, no pasta (It’s kind of Paleo- eh?). I will instead use special flour made from matzah – which is an unleavened bread. I’ll also use potatoes and yams. There will be lots of fresh fruits and vegetables and wonderful family recipes handed down from my mother and her mother and her mother, as well as those from my mother-in-law and her family.

Aside from the religious aspect of getting rid of “chometz” (that is anything with forbidden ingredients for Passover) it is for me a ritual of Spring cleaning. It’s a lot of work but I actually look forward to having this time to go through everything in my kitchen and clean, purge, and rearrange. I feel a real sense of accomplishment when it is done. Besides the kitchen, the whole house gets cleaned and for me there is such a sense of renewal and beginning a new season.

Today (Monday) I will spend the entire day cooking. All of the holiday foods are yummy and spur memories of years past. When we begin the Seder tonight we will read through the Haggadah and relive the Exodus from Egypt. We laugh, we sing and we converse and discuss. We talk about Freedom and Liberty, since the Exodus was about being freed from bondage.

Passover for our family is always a wonderful family observance. The above picture was our Seder plate which has all of the symbols of the meal. The holiday table always looks so beautiful. More beautiful though, are the family members who sit around it, and those who could not be with us because of long distance or because they are no longer with us are certainly there in spirit.

If you observe this holiday I wish you a Happy Passover.  May it give you time and space to pause and ponder the things which enslave you in your life..

We can be slaves to those to whom we owe something.
We can be slaves to our past.
We can be slaves to our own bad habits and vices.
We can be slaves to our impulses.
We can be slaves to time and technology.
We can be slaves to our bank account or our credit card bills.
We can be slaves to our wants and desires.
We can be slaves to the taxes we are forced to pay.
We can be slaves to the debts we have accrued.
We can be slaves to laws which we establish, be they just or unjust.

Passover gives us a space and some time to think about what we must do to make our own personal Exodus from the things that enslave us.

For everyone else who calls this “Holy Week”, may you also share the joy of family and good food, and a chance to renew the spirit and to take the time to thank our Creator for bringing us all to this season in our lives.
After all, this is what it is really about isn’t it?

About the Author

lives with her husband Michael in CT. They have three grown children who were homeschooled and are now successfully pursuing careers. Judy earned her Bachelor’s degree in Economics, Magna Cum Laude, with minors in Business Administration and Computer Science from the State University of New York at New Paltz.

Judy has been involved in politics for over 15 years. Judy has written many articles on various aspects of education at home and in public and private schools. She has been published in magazines and online, and has been interviewed on radio and in print.

She served as Vice President of Connecticut Homeschool Network (CHN) and was their legislative liaison. She now serves as Research Director for National Home Education Legal Defense (NHELD) providing parents across the nation with important information on legislative issues concerning parental rights and education.

 

 

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About the Author

- Judy Aron is the author of the Libertarian Blog "Consent of the Governed" Judy has been involved in politics for over 15 years. Judy has written many articles on various aspects of education at home and in public and private schools. She has been published in magazines and online, and has been interviewed on radio and in print.

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  1. CHRISTOPHER ALLEN HORTON says:

    Judy Aron,

    NO OFFENSE, MA’AM – YOUR VALUES ARE YOUR BUSINESS.

    BUT, MORE THAN SIXTY PERCENT OF Global Dispatch’s articles ARE ABOUT SO-CALLED “terrors” OF ISLAM. SO, SINCE JOURNALISTS CLAIM THEY VALUE NEUTRALITY AND THEIR SOLE MISSION IS TO REPORT NEWS IN THE MANNER OF WHICH IT ACTUALLY HAPPENED, IT IS NOT A GOOD IDEA FOR AMERICAN JOURNALISTS TO HIGHLIGHT HEBREW CULTURE – AMERICANS WHO ARE NOT HEBREW, NOR, ISLAMIC ARE ABLE TO DETECT THIS CLEAR BIAS.

    CHRISTOPHER ALLEN HORTON

    • CHRISTOPHER ALLEN HORTON says:

      AFTER MAKING THE ABOVE COMMENTARY, I FEEL COMPELLED TO EXPLAIN.

      MANY PEOPLE BELIEVE I AM CAUCASIAN; SO, Ms. Aron, IF YOU TRULY BELIEVE I AM NEGRO I WILL TELL YOU HOW I FEEL ABOUT, “Hebrews.”

      Ms. Aron, I FULLY ACKNOWLEDGE I AM ANTI-HEBREW; AND, I FULLY ACKNOWLEDGE I CONSIDER THE SO-CALLED Nazi “holocaust” TO BE PROPAGANDA ….. PERIOD.

      IN UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, NEGROES BELONG TO THE ONLY MINORITY GROUP WHICH CAN PROVE BEING VICTIMS OF LEGAL TERROR AND DISCRIMINATION.

      I USED TO BE A FAN OF Arts&Entertainment- AND History Channels. BUT, I BECAME TIRED OF CONSTANTLY VIEWING BLACK&WHITE FILM-FOOTAGE OF MALNOURISHED HEBREWS BEING “SENT-OFF” TO OVENS, MASS GRAVES, ETC. NOW, THE MEDIA SHOWS ELDERLY CAUCASIANS WITH SERIAL-NUMBER TATTOOS ON THEIR ARMS [allegedly, acquired at concentration camps].

      YET, AS A NEGRO MALE, IT IS QUITE OFFENSIVE TO BE TOLD HEBREWS AND NEGROES ARE “buddy-buddy” BECAUSE HEBREWS SUPPOSEDLY GAVE NEGROES AID/COMFORT DURING SLAVERY/”Jim Crow.”

      AND, AS A MALE HOMOSEXUAL, I AM WITNESSING THE PAIN CAUSED BY THE HEBREW PRACTICE OF CIRCUMCISION. MANY CAUCASIAN MALE-HOMOSEXUALS ARE SO TRAUMATIZED BY THE LOSS OF THEIR FORESKINS THAT THEY ARE SEEKING DRASTIC MEASURES LIKE, FORESKIN-RESTORATION SURGERY. THAT IS SAD.

      CATHOLICS AND PROTESTANTS ARE “TOP-DAWGS” IN THIS NATION; HEBREWS BELONG TO THE CATEGORY OF LESS-ACCEPTED FAITHS (INCLUDING, MORMONISM).

      CHRISTOPHER ALLEN HORTON

    • Brandon Jones says:

      This can serve as your official warning.

      We do NOT support Holocaust deniers. I personally was mentored by a school teacher who is the only survivor from her family and dealt with the emotional scars of the incidents in Germany even in her later life when she taught at my school.

      I saw the tattoo.

      I saw the missing fingers.

      I saw the pain.

      We don’t care that your are black, homosexual, love calling the President a Kenyan, but we do care that you troll the site to contribute useful and productive comments or they will no longer be approved.

      I do not wish this to be the case, but we will hold you to your own standards in this post:

      Mr. Horton ‘Your Values are Your Business’ and that is expressed in your comments/contributions to The Global Dispatch – act accordingly.

      • CHRISTOPHER ALLEN HORTON says:

        Brandon Jones,

        THANKS FOR THE REPLY. SO, Mr. Jones, I WILL BE FRANK. SIR, I THOUGHT YOU ARE NEGRO BECAUSE I AM USED TO COMING ACROSS NEGROES WITH FIRST NAMES WHICH ARE TOTALLY CAUCASIAN OR COULD GO “EITHER WAY” BEING PAIRED WITH LAST NAMES WHICH HAVE MANY NEGRO ADHERENTS. BUT, BECAUSE OF YOUR REPLY, IT SEEMS I SHOULD VIEW YOUR LAST NAME AS ORIGINALLY BEING THE GERMAN, “Jone,” WITH AN ANGLO-CIZED “s,” ADDED.

        NOW, Mr. Jones – YOUR SITE, YOUR RULES; BUT, YOUR STATEMENT, “We do NOT support Holocaust deniers.,” PLACES YOU IN A QUANDRY AS A JOURNALIST. IF TAMPA IS HEADQUARTERS FOR Global Dispatch, YOU SHOULD KNOW HEBREWS “DO NOT PLAY WELL” HERE, IN THE SOUTH. NORTHERN, COLLEGE-EDUCATED CAUCASIANS ARE THE ONES WHO ARE AFRAID TO STEP-ON HEBREWS’ TOES.

        OF COURSE, Mr. Jones, I AM NO FOOL – I ASSUME I JUST “blew” MY “official warning.” BUT, AFTER YOU “TOLD” ME WHAT I MUST BELIEVE, I FEEL COMPELLED TO SPEAK MY MIND.

        [By-the-way, Mr. Jones, if I were you I would delete this comment after reading it; this site has several articles “bad-mouthing” Islam. By taking this strong stance of support for Hebrews, you are TELLING your readers why there are so many negative Islam-articles on this site].

        CHRISTOPHER ALLEN HORTON

        • CHRISTOPHER ALLEN HORTON says:

          Brandon Jones,

          SIR – BELIEVE IT, OR, NOT – THIS COMMENTARY IS BEING MADE AS A COURTESY TO YOU. BECAUSE I HAVE PARTICIPATED ON YOUR SITE, Mr. Jones, I FEEL A NEED TO TYPE SOMETHING – WHILE NOT, IN A STATE OF ANGER.

          SINCE YOU HAVE NOT DELETED MY COMMENTARY [26 JUNE; 11:43 AM], THAT TELLS ME YOU HAVE NOT BANNED ME FROM YOUR SITE. BUT, Mr. Jones, YOU “TIED-MY-HANDS” BY MAKING MY ANTI-HEBREW VIEWS A FOCAL-POINT OF CONTENTION BETWEEN US. I WILL NOT ABANDON MY VALUES IN ORDER TO PARTICIPATE ON YOUR SITE. AS I TYPED, IT IS NOT MY GOAL TO OFFEND Judy Aron; Mr. Jones, YOU SHOULD HAVE ALLOWED Ms. Aron TO FIGHT HER OWN BATTLE. IF United States Supreme Court IS PONDERING A NEED FOR ANTIQUATED VOTER-RIGHTS LAWS, THEN SURELY, Mr. Jones, YOU KNOW PEOPLE WHO CARE ABOUT THE “holocaust” [IN 2013] ARE DYING ON A DAILY BASIS.

          I READ Global Dispatch’s articles THIS MORNING ON Supreme Court’s “DOMA-” AND “Prop 8-” decisions. I INTENTIONALLY DID NOT MAKE COMMENTARY BECAUSE OF THIS SITUATION BETWEEN US.

          ANYWAY, Mr. Jones, I WANTED TO MAKE THIS COMMENTARY WHILE IN A CALM STATE.

          I LIKE, Global Dispatch – THAT IS NOT A LIE.

          CHRISTOPHER ALLEN HORTON

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