Pesach in Jerusalem

In Jerusalem for Passover!  WOW!!!!!!!!!

As I expressed in earlier posts, Passover here in Jerusalem is like no place else. People have been busy preparing for the last one to two weeks, some even more than that.

Our own preparations included a thorough cleaning of the entire apartment, koshering the cooking utensils and silverware, koshering the sink and searching for and removing all chametz from the apartment.

On Monday, prior to the onset of Passover at sundown, I went to the mikvah (ritual bath). This was an entirely new experience for me, and left me feeling spiritually elevated and clean. I had perceived during meditation a couple weeks ago that I was supposed to do this, but had not done so yet. My dunk in the mikvah allowed me to fulfill that obligation, and I felt extremely good about doing it.

I went to a friend’s apartment here in Jerusalem for the Passover Seder. While walking there I heard the sound of young children singing the four questions coming from a Seder there were obviously already in progress. If I hadn’t been in the mood before, that by itself would have done it.

Our Seder started about 35 minutes after I arrived, and was very much the same in many ways as any Seder I have ever been to. The atmosphere was extremely jovial, and I was surrounded by people that I knew. Most of these friends have significantly more religious training than I do, so the conversations were interesting and quite lively. The Seder ended a little after midnight, which is early for Jerusalem. I understand that the Seder my flat-mate went to did not end until 4:30 AM!!!

While I was walking back to the apartment I heard the sounds of large groups singing Passover songs as they were approaching the end of their Seders. The sounds made me smile, and I was quite content.