In this week’s Torah portion, Bo (Hebrew for “Come”), God sends the eighth and ninth plagues. Before sending the tenth plague, God commands the Israelites to mark their homes with lamb’s blood to protect their firstborns. We learn about marking time, with Aviv being the first month of the Hebrew calendar, the first month of freedom. We learn about Pesach (Passover), about not eating leavened bread and the obligation to teach our children, “It is because of what the Eternal did for ME when I went free from Egypt (Exodus 13:8).” Sitting on the precipice of freedom, the parsha ends with Pharoah telling Moses to take the people and their flocks, and to leave, and a recapping of key events in our story this week.

While we read about the Pesach rituals now as part of our annual Torah reading and the importance of our personal connection to the story, Pesach is still four months away. And yet, I have been thinking a lot about what it means to be free and how Jewish rituals ground us, especially in times of uncertainty. Ritual is one way we hold on to our Jewish identities and express both pride and connection. Ritual links us to the Jewish People, with those who came before us and those who will come after. Hostages who were freed from Hamas captivity this week talked about rituals they clung to for 481 days, including how they observed Yom Kippur and the refusal to eat bread during Pesach.

This Shabbat is an opportunity to pause to reflect on the story of our freedom – the freedom we will read about next week and the freedom that we will, God willing, continue to witness as those in captivity are released. What does freedom mean to you? How does ritual ground you during “regular” moments and in times of uncertainty and how might it connect you to Jewish Peoplehood?  

Jewish life is rich with ritual as a way to mark time, make meaning, and infuse our daily lives with a connection to the divine. As we reflect on the Passover rituals presented in this week’s parsha, we are reminded of all the ways we do this here at the Tucson J. Each day our campus bustles with children in our ECE, JCare and youth sports and rec programs, adults come to build community and enhance their quality of life with Wellness and Healthy Aging programs, and we engage in arts and culture  offerings that spark dialogue, inspire creativity, and bring us closer to ourselves and one another. Every year we rejoice in Camp season, celebrate holidays and milestones, and enjoy legacy events like our Signature Series and Tucson J International Film Festival. 

CHALLAH ORDERSMembers can pre-order challah for $6 each week in advance of Shabbat. Orders must be made by 10pm on Monday. Orders may be picked up from 5am-6pm at the Front Desk and/or Sports + Wellness Desk on Thursday and Friday. If you have a child/dependent in one of the J’s childcare programs or Taglit, we can send your Challah order home with them.  Contact Member Services at membership@tucsonjcc.org or mark the boxes on our online order form to set up a standing order or to purchase a new 10 pass for weekly challah at a discounted rate of $55.