It all tastes like Passover.
You know exactly what I mean. The potato chips taste like the pretend cereal which tastes like the pretend yogurt which tastes like the pretend chocolate chip cookies. It all tastes the same. Bland, flavorless, trying so hard to be something it’s not. It all tastes like Passover.
Which is unfortunate. Passover is a bright, vibrant holiday with rich meaning, significance and story. It is our holiday of freedom and reminds us to connect with the oppressed and the silenced. So why do we let the food consume the messages of persistence and determination?
But practically, it’s difficult convincing anyone who is hungry for pizza that eating matza pizza will bring us closer to understanding the narrative of the Jews hurrying out of Egypt. While many might be creative with their culinary talents and create delicious meals for their families, most count down the days until Passover has…passed us by.
But maybe that isn’t such a bad technique. To empathize with the exodus story means to also emerge and grasp on to the privileges of freedom. Enslavement should not last forever. In our wishing the holiday to cease, perhaps we are better able to understand that others can’t wish their story away.
The food could be better. We can’t help but complain. The salad dressing is pretty bad. But that all ends soon. And we should thank our lucky stars. For most, freedom is real. Freedom is ours to taste. And that is a meal I can’t wait to eat.
