I hope you had a liberating and enjoyable Pesach! But, what now?

 

Coming off the high of the spiritual liberation of the Seders, the extra calories from the Matzah, where do we go from here and what now?

 

In the Chabad practice after Pesach we bless and wish each other a “Gezunten Zumer” – a healthy summer.  Perhaps in this blessing there is a messaging for “what now?”.

 

The time of year we are entering into now is rich with earthy energy.  The trees are in full bloom, the warmer weather feels like it is here to stay, the birds chirp a little louder in the morning, people are out and about, summer plans are locked down, kids are excited for the end of school, in short it is a very physical time.

 

We need the energy of Pesach to infuse these next earthy months with purpose and meaning.  The liberation and connection we experienced on Pesach has the power to carry us until the winds of a New Year begin to blow.

 

Pesach is all about finding our core and liberating it.  It is further developed when we relive the crossing of the sea, and that which is hidden becomes revealed.  It culminates on the final day of the holiday and the Moshiach meal where we digest (literally and figuratively) the full impact of the spiritual energy of the holiday and in doing so we expose and become empowered to actualize the Divinity contained inside of us and the physical world around us.

 

Reciting the Shema is a part of our daily prayer as well as part of the Jewish bedtime ritual.  As we enter into this pulsating time of year, perhaps we can keep the messaging of Pesach strong by taking a few moments in the third chapter of the shema to reflect on the exodus. After all, “in every generation we are obligated to see ourselves as if we ourselves left Egypt” (from the Haggadah and the Mishna). 

 

Have a Gezunten Zummer and a great Shabbos!