We have never understood why so close to Pesach everyone is busy sending mishloach manot that is smack full of chometz. Really is it necessary—pasta, cookies, cakes and tons of grocery items that cannot be used during Pesach. What is this all about? Wouldn’t it be smart to start a new trend and fill Purim baskets with Pesachdik items? There have to be macaroons already on the shelves of our favorite stores—candy bars that we look forward to each year that we only find for Pesach—and if necessary for those that use it there are even Pesachdik noodles available! In fact what can you not find for Pesach anymore? We in fact take advantage of the week of Pesach to fill up as much as possible on fresh fruits and vegetables—who needs all of this processed stuff?
It brings to mind the affinity we all have with getting rid of things in general and what we think that we cannot do without. Moving is the perfect time to throw out and dispose of whatever you think you no longer need. It sounds easy but when you start looking through your worldly belongings, as we did, you begin to realize that each person in a home has a different idea of what is important to keep and what makes no difference to anyone.
During our “grande move” two of our daughters came to Montreal to help us to decide what was necessary and what was not. While Nina was away at work they managed to put together about 20 bags from our basement of what they thought was totally unnecessary for us to hold on to. Nina went into panic mode and was absolutely furious that such decisions regarding her precious possessions could be decided by someone other than herself. It was too late to lament the situation as they in their devotion to do the right thing immediately drove the bags of contention to the Salvation Army and Nina never got to look inside them. Now two years later we still have no idea of what was in those bags but we admit do not seem to be missing anything. Nevertheless it was a painful experience.
At this point in our new home we realize that we have many things that we have no idea of what use they will ever be to anyone else. Will that famous dumpster show up in our driveway one day?
Nina does not want to give up her father’s woolen undershirt that he wore as a very little infant and has travelled over the ocean many years ago from Berlin. She does not know what to do with the bill from her parents honeymoon at the Claridge Hotel in 1932. Should she still hold on to the menu from her wedding?
Recently with married grandchildren visiting we took up tons of old pictures for everyone to look at. This activity usually takes place at a shiva home where you see people looking over old pictures. What is going to happen to all of these old photos? Eventually and even already no one knows who anyone is. If we can barely make out who some of the characters are in the photos that we are looking at it is absolute that our children will never recognize who they are. Should we just dump these photos? Isn’t that what will happen anyway? What about Nina’s mother’s rolling pin and her hand chopper? Will anyone really want these? Decisions, decisions, decisions—slightly sad to think about.
Back to mishloach manot perhaps we could redefine what we should be sending next year. Although we have had the discussion with others of so much chametz arriving each year so close to Pesach, no one seems to do anything about it. This year we opted for Yad Sarah cards and Kosher Troops cards. We felt that we were contributing much more to organizations that could practically use the money than to families that are overwhelmed with junk and the stress of finding a good theme for what their mishloach manot should signify. Perhaps the theme in the future should be no more waste and especially no more chometz in the mishloach manot.
By Rabbi Modechai and Nina Glick
