On Passover

We celebrate Passover at our house.

It's something that I go back and forth with myself on, because it is OH so important to me that our kids are Christians.  However, in the end it is also important to me that they understand their father's heritage (and theirs, too) and the origins of our faith.  Beyond which, I've come to believe that the reason that children stray is because they are curious.  So, if I answer their questions and don't make Judaism taboo in our home, they won't wander towards the mysterious faith of their father.  I know that probably sounds terrible to read, but when we had Riley, we determined that I really cared and Austin not so much, about what religion our kids were.

Over the years I have really struggled with how we balance our family.  There are a lot of websites and organizations out there supporting interfaith families that make Jewish choices and support completely ignoring the other parent's religion- but that's not really a balance.  For me, what we do now is much more a model of cooperation based on what our religions mean to each other.  We celebrate Passover with Daddy.  Mommy stresses out and cooks all day and sets a nice table and we pack our backpacks with what we would take if we had to go on a journey across the desert.  We eat macaroons and pavlova and charoset and bitter herbs.  We tell the story of how the angel of death passed over the houses covered in the blood of the lamb.  We talk about how Great our God is and how much he wanted the Hebrews to be free from bondage. How our Great God rolled back the waters of the Red Sea. We hunt for the afikomen (and inevitably someone cheats). We go to bed happy.

And then, we wake up and it's Holy Week.  We talk about how Great our God is.  We tell the story of how death passes over those of us who are covered in the blood of the Lamb.  But this time, the Lamb is Jesus, the perfect sacrifice.  We talk about how God has had a plan of salvation all along, through the Hebrews and the Israelites.  How much He loves us and wants us to be free from the bondage of sin.  How our Great God rolled back the stone from the cave that no longer held our Risen Lord.

Because it's the same story.  It's our story.  It's the story of a Great God who loves His People so much that He would go to any length to free them.  And I'm glad my children have that knowledge, even if I wish their daddy shared our faith, I'm so glad that we are able to give them more ways to know God.

Good Pesach.