Chol Hamoed Pesach
People often ask me why some celebrate seven days of
Passover and others eight. Should we eat
matzah for seven days or eight, celebrate one seder or two? The Torah specifies that Passover be
celebrated for seven days. “Seven days
you shall eat unleavened bread…” (Exodus 12:15)
In Israel the holiday is observed for seven days. In diaspora communities such as our own it is
celebrated for eight days with two seders.
Why the difference?
Millennia ago when the rabbis were establishing the calendar
they insisted the new month be attested to by witnesses. Despite the fact that they had already
developed mathematical calculations to make this determination, they asked for
witnesses to come before the Sanhedrin in Jerusalem. “Where did you see the new moon?” they asked
a witness. (Mishnah Rosh Hashanah
2:6) Once they were satisfied by the
testimony they declared the next day Rosh Hodesh, the first of the Hebrew
month. Beacon fires were set on hilltops
to declare the news throughout the Jewish diaspora, which at this time
stretched throughout the Middle East.
But even then the Jewish people did not get along with each
other and the Samaritan sect for example began to light the signal fires at the
wrong time in order to sow confusion. So
the rabbis resorted to sending messengers to even such far away Jewish
communities as those in Egypt and Babylonia.
But obviously a messenger takes much longer to deliver this message of a
new month.
Thus the rabbis established “yom tov sheni shel galuyot—a
second holiday day for the diaspora.”
Those living outside of the land of Israel were told to observe two days
of holidays. In essence this ruling was a safety measure to ensure that people
were observing the holiday on its proper day.
This custom persisted even after the calendar became fixed and was no
longer dependent on the testimony of witnesses or a declaration from
Jerusalem.
Centuries later the Reform movement argued that two days of
the holiday no longer made sense.
Especially in an age of computers when we can determine with
extraordinary accuracy and speed the dates for holidays this custom should be
cast aside as a relic of the past.
And yet the Jewish tradition has always viewed the land of
Israel and the city of Jerusalem as the ideal place for a Jew to live. These were always the places associated with
our Jewish dreams. Despite one’s
judgments about present realities there in Israel this dream has remained
unchanged. It was from Jerusalem that
our holidays were proclaimed. It is the
land of Israel’s seasons that continue to dictate our prayers for rain or for
that matter the logic of a new year for trees in the middle of our New York
winter.
About this as well the early Reform rabbis argued that
America is our new Zion. They sought to
replace the ancient Jewish dream with a new one that revolved around where they
presently found themselves. But for all
my love of America I am hesitant to let go of the age-old Jewish dream. Too often we seek to change our dreams and
ideals so that they match with our current practices and lives. Why?
In order to better achieve self-fulfillment we let go of past
dreams. We are advised to adjust our
goals so that we can find satisfaction and contentment.
I prefer instead to hold on to my dreams, even those I
suspect I will never achieve. I observe
Passover for eight days if for no other reason that it reminds me that my
dreams should never remain mine alone.
My Jewish dreams must always be tied to others. The ideal place is the land of Israel. The city of our dreams is Jerusalem. This is my people’s dream.