Pesach 5769

Pesach 5769

I have been reflecting a lot lately about the idea of a “window of opportunity.” A window of opportunity is a process in time during which something goes from being impossible to being possible to slipping back into impossibility. Some times that process is very quick-- blink and its gone, other times it’s much more generous-- you can take your time, wander a bit, the opportunity will still be there, waiting for you when you arrive. The trick, of course, is to distinguish one type from the other.

Matzah, the central food of this Passover season, is all about a “window of opportunity.” According to Jewish law, the whole process of making matzah-- from mixing the dough to placing the finished sheet in the oven-- must be completed in under 18 minutes. If it goes one second over the allotted time, the matzah become chametz and is forbidden to be eaten on Passover. My teacher, Reb Mimi Feigelson, explains matzah as a metaphor for the moments in our lives that we have to grab with both hands, because if we delay for even an instant they will spoil.

Another window of opportunity: Wednesday morning is a very special Jewish ritual, Birchat ha-Chama, the Blessing of the Sun, which happens once every 28 years. The custom comes from the Talmud and is based on the ancient astrological idea that the sun moves in cycles and that every 28 years it comes into the position that it was in at the moment of Creation. In honor of such an auspicious occasion, I plan to get up at 5:30 AM to head up to the Tayelet boardwalk overlooking Jerusalem to watch the sunrise and recite the special words. If I sleep in and forget to say the blessing tomorrow, I will miss the chance to fulfill a ritual obligation that I can’t do again until I am 52 years old. Talk about grabbing a narrow window of opportunity!

I am coming near to the end of my year in Israel-- only two months remain of this precious and challenging experience. I realize now that I have to make a choice-- will I seize my window of opportunity in this country, to do this things that I have been meaning to do, to solidify forming relationships and forge new ones, to learn the last pieces of Torah that I came here to learn, or will I let the last two months slip away? When put that way, the right answer seems obvious-- but as with so many things, the practice is much harder than the theory. Recognizing that time is fleeting and making the most of it is a spiritual practice that takes conscious, daily work.

In Jewish tradition, Pesach is seen as a parallel New Years to Rosh Ha’Shanah-- so it seems right that this too should be a season of self-examination and re-committing to our higher values. As we meditate on what it means to be free, we should also take the time to reflect on what we are doing with our freedom-- whether we are using it wisely, seizing every precious opportunity, before the window slips shut.