Liberation Food for thought

Okay, so eating for Passover certainly makes me think a great deal about what I eat.

It's impossible not to be incredibly cognizant of food intake during this holiday. We have been suprised and impressed about how good the kids have been in not complaining about what they can't eat; I think they've been better than we have!

Passover marks our liberation from Egyptian bondage, but it is also tied to the agricultural cycle. While it has been unseasonably cold here and around the country, in the past week, and promises to remain so, it is the time for new growth in the fields-- a time when anxious farmers wait to see the early signs of whether it'll be a good harvest year or not. I like that we as Jews have a tradition of counting the days between Passover and Shavuot-- it for me serves as a reminder of our connection-- no matter how tenuous these days-- to the land. No doubt in a more agrarian society, this is a time of counting each day, examining so careful the growth of new sprouts, the quantity of water that falls, and so on.

We can see a microcosom of this on our windowsill; two weeks ago, the boys and I planted tomato, carrot, bush bean, and flower seeds in pots, and they've all bursted through the soil. We've taken to calling the bush beans "Audrey," because they look suspiciously like the plant in Little Shop of Horrors. We have a small appreciation, through these plants, of what it must be like for Farmer Rich to be watching his fields each day.

Speaking of Farmer Rich, we have been talking to folks about signing up for the community supported farm we bought a share of last year. I think that 15 families or more that we've spoken to are buying shares, which is terrific! There'll be a drop off at our synagogue, so people can pick up their veggies very conveniently. We're very proud of this small effort to encourage people to eat locally and organically.