Passover In The Dark
This year, from April 5-April 13, Jews around the world celebrated Passover. Every spring, as the weather starts getting nicer and the trees start budding, you may notice that the Jews start to behave very strangely. The cleaning supplies are sold out everywhere, the kosher meat is totally out of stock, and yet nobody seems to be buying any flour. This is Passover, an 8 day holiday that is held all over the world, bringing happiness to some, stress to most, and lack of nutrients to everybody.
Approximately 3000 years ago, hundreds of thousands of Jews were being held in Egypt as slaves. They were forced to do backbreaking labor all day and to meet quotas that were virtually impossible. They thought that they would be forced to live this life forever. That is until one fateful day, when a Jewish woman gave birth to a little boy, and decided that, to save him, she would give him up. He was found by the daughter of the Pharaoh and raised as Moses, the Prince of Egypt. Once he grew up, he eventually discovered his heritage and ran away. He lived his life as a shepherd with his wife and sons, until God told him that he had to go back and rescue the Jews.
Long story short, he went back, there were some tests, 10 plagues, and a lot of “let my people go’s”. The Pharaoh wasn’t really into it, but when his firstborn son died, he realized that he didn’t really have much of a choice. The Jews were rushed out of their homes in the middle of the night, with their bread not even having enough time to rise! They left, a sea split, and they were finally granted freedom from their oppressors of 210 years.
Today, this event is celebrated through a very long holiday, where leavened bread and grains are STRICTLY forbidden, hence the overwhelming flour supply. The first two nights, April 5 and 6 this year, are pretty intense, with dinner held as a 15 step program, and, as the story is read in detail, different foods are eaten ceremoniously as reminders of what exactly happened all those years ago. There’s a lot of wine, a significant amount of lettuce, and way too much unleavened bread, also known as matzah.
This year, as mentioned, Passover started on April 5. Now, we all know what happened this year on that day: the ice storm. Many, many people lost power and the devastation was felt by almost everyone. But the stress felt by the Jewish community was overwhelming.
After cooking for a month and preparing to have up to 20 people over for dinner, having the power cut out and the food ruined was probably the worst possible outcome that anyone could have imagined. The first night of Passover is one of the most important in the Jewish calendar, with preparation sometimes starting as early as February.
Keep in mind, as per the laws of Passover, that electricity is already not allowed for the first 2-3 days of the holiday. This means that Jewish families have already thought ahead and set their ovens and lights on timers. Their guests were invited very far in advance, and the whole day was spent setting up while it was still allowed. Everyone was prepared for a few days without electricity, but nobody was prepared for what actually happened. The law against electricity meant that phone calls to ask for help were forbidden, and nobody could drive anywhere to stay for a few days. Despite this, the 15 step dinner still had to be done.
This meant that the Jewish community was forced to get creative. Hundreds of dollars of food were bought for the holiday, and to prevent it from going bad, people could be seen all over Montreal storing their food in suitcases in the snow. Candles were placed all over the place, cold food was eaten, and the show had to go on. The laws against electricity lasted from Wednesday night until Saturday night, which meant that some people were forced to be alone in their cold houses for 3 days, completely cut off from their friends and family.
However, the strength and unity of the Jewish community shone that day. Synagogues opened their doors to anybody who needed water, hot food, or even a place to stay. Families without power were invited in to share meals, shower, and sleep at houses of Jews whose electricity was back. Through word of mouth alone, the community was able to guarantee the comfort of those who needed it most on this incredibly important day.
The absolute epitome of care and kindness was what was done by the organization in Monsey New York called Chaverim, the Hebrew word for friends. Once the news of the situation in Montreal reached the Jewish community of Monsey, they instantly knew what needed to be done. Somehow, while still maintaining the laws of Passover, Chaverim was able to organize the shipment of generators across the border to Montreal. These were sent to homes with babies, elderly, or sick people, who would have otherwise suffered from the cold.
It is crazy how these incredible people were able to get together, pass customs in the matter of a day or two, while still upholding the sacred laws of Passover. Yet, if the feeling of community and unity is strong enough, it would seem that anything is possible.
In short, this holiday was a hard one. Not only for the Jews, but for everyone. Almost every citizen of Montreal suffered somehow during the ice storm, whether directly or indirectly.
It is safe to say that April 2023, specifically Passover 2023, will be one for the history books.
