L’Chaim (newsletter) article, March, 2021 - L’Shanah Ha-Ba’ah... where?

 Rabbi’s Corner, March, 2021: L’Shanah Ha-ba’ah… where?

Every year, at the Passover Seder, towards the end of the evening, we sing together, “L’Shanah Ha-Ba’ah Birushalayim!” - “Next Year in Jerusalem.” At last year’s Seder, it felt weird saying that, because it was the first holiday that was truly impacted by the coronavirus pandemic. We still sang this line… but I think in our minds we were really just thinking, “Next year, let us just be out of quarantine!” Sadly, that has not come to fruition.

It is strange to be coming around the corner to another Passover, and to still be talking about Zoom Seders and socially distanced holiday celebrations. We didn’t believe it would take this long (or longer), and we certainly hoped and prayed it would be a bizarre and unpleasant memory that we’d already be ready to leave behind us. And yet, this particular “plague” has not ended yet, and we still feel enslaved to our face masks, our hand sanitizers, and yes, our zoom gatherings.

And yet, a lot has indeed changed in a year. The government has gone through a massive change, to be sure, but also our own abilities to persevere through hardship have proven quite strong. We can do this. A year ago, the frightening prospects of what the pandemic would bring were hard to fathom, yet we have adjusted. Life has gone on, and while this is sometimes excruciatingly hard, we CAN do this. There are vaccines now, and more yet to come. Treatments have improved, protective equipment is more readily accessible, and we know now how much we are reliant on one another to follow the guidelines and rally together to protect our community. 

I would like to say that at least THIS year we can confidently say the pandemic will be in our rearview mirror by next Pesach! But you and I both know we can’t say that and be sure it’ll happen. We pray that it will, and we will do everything in our collective power to make it so. But we don’t know what “Shanah Ha-ba’ah,” “next year” will bring. That is daunting, certainly, and it is absolutely true that we are tired of the quarantine, the distancing, and the restrictions. But please, please always know that your community is here for you through all of this. We have one another, we have resources to help us endure and persevere, and we will face whatever this year and next year have in store for us united!

I’m still going to sing “L’Shanah Ha-ba’ah Birushalayim” at this year’s Zoom Seders. Because it isn’t really about Jerusalem, and it isn’t about KNOWING where I’ll be next year at all. It is about hope, optimism, and faith, no matter what lies ahead. Friends, we can do this. We can. No matter what.

Warmest regards,

Rabbi Gerber