Pesach is all about story telling! You heard that right.

There is so much stress that goes into the preparation for Pesach…

Making sure we get rid of all the Chametz, turning the kitchen over at the right time so that we don’t have to have 3 extra weeks of Pesach, and at the same time knowing that we have enough time to get all the food prep done in time for the Chag.

There is buying all the ingredients that we need to make all the food that’s Kosher L’Pesach. (So much of which we will never use again after these eight days.)

Then there is the balance between Pesach preparation and spring cleaning. Although it’s nice to have the house spic and span without a speck of dust to be found, it’s important to remember the distinction between the two, and what we NEED to get done versus what we WANT to get done.

At the end of the day, (quite literally) we all come into the same Pesach, no matter how overwhelming or calm your Pesach preparation was.

We go to shul to Daven, and then as we all know so well, WE RUSH HOME to put on our Kittel and start the Seder. Once we all sit down for the seder, THAT’S WHEN THE STORY TELLING STARTS.

The Pesach Seder is not about Tefilah (Though connecting and talking to Hashem is always important) The Seder is about VEHIGADITA LEVINCHA. A father telling over to his son (Sippur Yetzias Mitzrayim).

The Seder is supposed to be interactive. In fact, almost everything we do at the Seder is to keep the kids asking questions. We want them to be engaged and curious as we talk about all of the Nissim we experience.

The Hagadah talks about the four sons. The Wise, the Wicked, the Simple, and the One Who Does Not Know How to Ask. A message that’s important to remember is that we are supposed to tell it over to ALL FOUR SONS.

No matter where our sons are emotionally or spiritually. No matter their struggles in life, so much so, that they can be a Tzadik or a Rashah (In our eyes, because who are we to truly judge a person and their journey.) they should all be at our Seder, and we should be telling them ALL about the miracles.

The Seder is a lot about UNITY AND ACCEPTANCE.

Let’s not get caught up in if we approve every choice and decision that our sons have made.
Let’s not make the focus of the Seder about saying every word of the Hagadah (like a kinnus and turning Pesach into Tisha B’Av)
LET’S TELL OVER THE STORY
LET’S TALK ABOUT ALL THE MIRACLES
LET’S COME TOGETHER AS A FAMILY
Let’s create traditions that our sons can give over to their sons. Ones in which they look forward to Pesach as it comes up, and they look forward to PASSING OVER to the generations to come.

Wishing you all a Chag Kosher V’Sameach
Eli Weinreb, LCSW