A friend and colleague here on the Upper East Side texted me this week: “There’s a Jew in Stavropol [a small town in Russia] who needs matzah for Pesach. What can we do? Can you connect me to someone in Russia who can deliver some handmade shemurah matzah to him?”
I immediately texted my cousin in Odessa. Even though he’s in Ukraine, I figured he’d know the best person to reach out to, and indeed, within 5 minutes I had the contact information of someone in Russia who could help.
Three days later I received a text with a picture of shemurah matzah, meat, and wine that this person had brought to the Jew in need in Stavropol—who was of course overjoyed and grateful that he could now fulfill the mitzvah of eating matzah on Pesach.
I found this story incredibly inspiring, but not for the reasons you might think. Yes, it was amazing that a Jew in Manhattan contacted me, and I contacted my cousin, who used his Russian contact to locate a remote Jew and deliver Pesach supplies.
But what truly inspired me was that Jew living in Stavropol in 2023 is thinking about and trying to track down shemurah matzah for Pesach! Surely he, like all of us, has significant problems, needs, desires, and worries.
We’re living in unprecedented times. Social and political turmoil all over the world. AI simultaneously making jobs obsolete and opening up vast new vistas of possibility …
And then there are all the day-to-day things we think about. When’s the next vacation? Where should we go tonight? Which bottle of wine should we open? Which movie should we watch?
But to be worried about shemurah matzah, to the extent that people all over the world are set into motion to get you some … that inspires me.
This is the power of our people.
The Seder is the most observed Jewish ritual. In fact, it’s a historical event! This is the 3334th time we’re marking our freedom from Egypt and the formation of our nation.
But who are we? Who is this nation of Jewish people? What defines us? What identifies us as Jews?
That desire for shemurah matzah. That longing to connect to G-d and commemorate our freedom, despite all our differences and imperfections.
We may argue, we may fight, we may have strong opinions and stray from Hashem and His Torah temporarily. But look deeper at a Jew and you will see someone who, at their core, cares deeply about shemurah matzah. That’s what we should see, and that’s what Hashem sees.
So as we sit around the Seder table, let’s remember that this is our true essence and a mitzvah that is observed by more Jews than any other. It binds us.
Wishing you a happy and kosher Pesach.