Polish Passover

My dear Friends
This is Passover Week. Passover is an eight day Festival and, along with the Jewish New Year and the Day of Atonement, the most important. Passover is the herald of Spring and full of Joy. Celebrating the Exodus of the Children of Israel from Egypt and their flight through the Red Sea, it is full of meaning and connected to the Paschal Mystery celebrated at Easter.

This Passover is a little unusual as the Jewish and Christian Festivals usually co-incide. but there is an extra month, like a leap year, in the Jewish calendar this year, and so it is a 'month ahead.' Someone told me that this will not occur again for another 150 years. The cycles of the moon are indeed complicated!

My own personal celebration of Seder night, the commemoration of the Exodus, was at the home of my Polish friend, Ania, in Cambridge. From a beautiful silver candlebra we lit the candles to begin the celebration, the three of us, myself, Ania and Asha covering our heads in the traditional Jewish way, according to the custom of many centuries. I sang the blessing in Hebrew. We had wine, including laying out a large glass for Elijah the prophet. Elijah is the herald of the Messiah and at a certain point the door is opened to allow the Messiah to come in.What we can't see with our eyes, we believe in faith!

When Father Piotr, the Polish priest came in, not realising that he was joining a Seder meal, I recounted for the second time a vivid memory from my childhood. Looking at Elijah's glass, filled with wine, with my eyes of a five year-old, I suddenly saw the level of the wine in the glass go down. I shouted 'It's a miracle!' Only then did I notice a very tiny hole in the bottom of the glass, but it remains a miracle in my mind to this day.

Ania, our hostess, was struck by the similarity of traditions, and we reflected how they had 'come apart' in the minds of both Jews and Christians up to the present day. Asha said how happy she was to sit round the table with people from different religions and traditions-isn't this how it should be?

On Monday morning I went to the Synagogue in Thompson's Lane in Cambridge and enjoyed the very beautiful and joyful liturgy . One of the readings described how, if you are a farmer, you must leave the 'corners of the field for the poor to glean.' I will describe this more in my next Blog, as here is a profound connection to the Logo of The Little Sisters of Joy.

Chag Sameach lePesach!
Happy Passover Feast!
Shalom from
Sister Gila