Tuesday, April 29, 2008

Omer 5768 - Day 9; 1 week & 2 days

Today is Gevurah she b'Gevurah - a day of strength in a week of strength.

In the food realm, transitioning out from Passover has its own flow that is very different than the transition in. Going into Pesach, you eat bread and other hametz and then you don't. There's the rush of tasting all the foods you only eat at this time coupled with the excitement of getting together with friends and family at the seders. Coming out of Pesach, you reacquaint yourself with items such as bread and beer--usually combined in some sort of pizza bash. You put away the Passover dishes and utensils, but the matzah and macaroons remain as snacks.

I don't eat an inordinate amount of matzah during the week of Pesach so while I'm glad to be able to have a sandwich on leavened bread, I haven't reached my fill of matzah. I still find myself reaching for the box of matzahs in the morning to have with some butter and jam.

The contrast of going from eating bread to eating matzah is stark--you jump across a defined line from one to the other. You need to leave all your hametz on one side as you go to the other. The preparation takes time, but the transfer happens in a day. Coming back is more of a blur. You can keep eating one while you add back the other. And the time frame is opposite. You transfer the dishes and utensils in a day, but change in eating habits happens over a couple of weeks.

I could weave a spiritual teaching around this, but I'm not going to at this moment. I'd rather leave this observation for you to ponder.......or not.

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