Pesach seems to be a better time than ever to revamp my regular blogging…don’t ask me why.

Today, which marks the fifth day of the Omer, and consequently the sixth day of Pesach, puts us right in the middle of our Holiday (and at the very beginning of our seven-week-beard-fest). Of the eight days of Passover (in galut; seven in Israel), the first and last two days are designated as yom tov’s, or days of rest, where like Shabbat, all creative work is prohibited. The middle four days of the holiday, on the other hand, we refer to as chol hamoed, during which less stringent work is allowed, until sundown tonight, of course.

I always find myself re-energized as a Jew around Passover (which in retrospect answers this posts opening line). Our seders afford us opportunities to be around friends and family, recounting the exodus of our ancestors from mitzrayim into the desert. We eat Matzah to remember our haste, we count the omer and refrain from shaving, to recount the seven weeks in which the Jews walked towards Sinai.

It’s tough. Our digestion gets thrown out of whack. Challah will never be missed more than on this erev Shabbos.

But we learn, and are reminded, that Jews have never had it easy. We remain hungry – never quite filled by matzah – to remember the longing of the Jews, for physical, and religious sustenance. And so too, in the light of this holiday, must Jews always be longing for the redemptive qualities of our religion and faith.

Conversations I have had with a valued mentor, who also happens to be an Orthodox Rabbi, are beginning to click in my head these days: that what each of us longs for in a sense of God or Judaism is best met and achieved via prayer and observance. The Jews longed in the desert for fulfillment, and they received, after 49 days, the Torah from har Sinai. If ever we were looking for a justification, or an impetus to fulfill God’s commandments, then what better reason to start than the deliverance of those very mitzvot.

This is, I believe, truly what I needed. I haven’t, as of late, been feeling the call to Judaism I often felt in the past, and this has honestly left me disappointed. I have too often taken the easy road in calling myself a Jew – which is not to criticize others perceptions of their Judaism, but my own. I believe a persons image of their Judaism, in practice and thought, should be representative of the standards that person sets for themselves. My standards have not been high enough for the commitment I now feel so ready for, so I am raising the bar.

Just as God raised the bar – for the Jews: making us his chosen people, but also mandating that as the chosen, we live our lives by His set of rules. Judaism’s daily challenge is to uphold and connect with those rules, that we might find redemption at the end of Pesach not only through a return to carbohydrates, but also in the ultimate gift of Torah.

Today, being chol hamoed, this work can get started. Tonight, though, we rest. Welcoming into our homes and hearts the Sabbath bride, and ushering out, with her, another Pesach. These have been the way of the Jews for too many thousands of years to not uphold such traditions. This religion, and its customs, are our connections to the past, and to the future, and should be upheld and respected as such. It is my goal to do so – perhaps it would benefit you, too?

שַׁבָּת שָׁלוֹם