In the midst of this painful coronavirus we are about to celebrate Passover. As we prepare for the Seder, we, as do other religious communities, experience two different emotions: anxiety and sadness at the devastation of the pandemic as well as anticipation of celebration. Should we stay with our sadness? Would it be right to rejoice? Rather then make a choice we can honor these conflicting emotions and thus follow a Jewish tradition of the two eternal pockets that are sewn into the fabric of life. What are these two pockets about? The Hassidic Rabbi Simcha Bunam tells us that the two pockets are there so that each one of us can reach into them and retrieve in one pocket, “For my sake was the world was created,” and in the other, “I am but dust and ashes.” While firmly stitched in Jewish tradition, the pockets are a universal human experience like this virus moment in our life. Right now I have in one pocket a note with the fragrance of rich spices saying, “Celebrate this Seder with joy,” and in the other, smudged with tears the note says, “We remember those touched by the coronavirus, those who are ill, and those who lost loved ones.” The coronavirus has forced spatial separation in places of worship and in families that cannot be together at the Seder table. Yet Zoom has opened up a getting together in celebration, to bless and be blessed, giving us a communal opportunity to tell and retell the meaning of freedom then, and now in our days.
