I am from Hungary. Today is a particularly painful day for me because of the people who were murdered as a result of antisemitism and hate-based violence during the Second World War in Hungary. Most of the murders were carried out by the fascist Arrow Cross Militia. When I think of that, I feel ashamed.
I also know that in order to heal, we must forgive and let go. We must find compassion in our hearts for ourselves and for others.
Tonight and tomorrow we Remember by lighting a candle and moving our focus from paint to peace and loving.We acknowledge the painful losses and we move our attention towards healing and Oneness. What we focus on is what we get.
It is time to heal. It is time to bring Peace and Loving to the places where it hurts. I would like to invite you to spend the day focusing into and contemplating on lifting our consciousness out of the sphere of separation that wants retribution and revenge into Oneness that carries Compassion for all.
It is time to heal, it is time to forgive, it is time to Love through Compassion for self and others.
Never again can only be reached through love and compassion, not by blame and hatred.
When is Yom HaShoah?
Yom HaShoah is observed on the 28th of Nisan in the Hebrew calendar, which usually falls in April or May in the Gregorian calendar. In 2024, Yom HaShoah is honored from sundown on May 5 through sundown on May 6.
Observing Yom HaShoah
Yom HaShoah gives the Jewish community and others space to reflect together on the immeasurable loss wrought by the Holocaust. Many communities observe Yom HaShoah with presentations from Holocaust survivors or their children, and—through their stories—living reminders of the exclamation, “Never again.”
The Shoes on the Danube Bank Memorial in Budapest, for the thinking and tenderhearted person, is also one of those places that will stir the heart to the very soul. You see, this memorial was created to honor the Jews who were killed by fascist Arrow Cross militiamen during World War II.
Jews were ordered to take off their shoes and to stand at the edge of the river. The evildoers then shot the Jews in the head and their bodies fell into the river where the current carried their bodies away.
Not unlike the German Nazis, the Arrow Cross Party was a highly nationalistic party whose objectives were to purge Hungary of those who were not descended from the region’s ancient Magyar tribes. Between the Arrow Cross Party, and later the invading Nazis, it is estimated that up to 600,000 Jews lost their lives through outright murder in Hungary, or later being shipped to German concentration camps.
The meaning of PASS-OVER comes from the story of the plague that took all the first born babies in town but those children whose house were marked – by lamb’s blood painted on their doorstop – and thereby saved from the plague. The plague passed over these houses.
Let’s imagine for a moment that this story is a parable of the soul’s journey. What do you think PASSOVER means in terms of our spiritual journey in spirit?
To remember the story, you can watch this clip from the Prince of Egypt.
READ MORE
Over 3,000 years ago, a group of Jewish people called the Israelites were being kept in slavery by the ruler of Egypt called Pharaoh.
A man called Moses went to see Pharaoh many times to ask him to let them go, but Pharaoh refused.
Moses told him that if he did not release them, God would make plagues happen to the Egyptians. But Pharaoh did not listen, so the plagues came.
These ten plagues included the River Nile turning to blood, frogs covering the land, insect infestations, animals dying, the Egyptians getting skin diseases, complete darkness for three days and the first-born child in Egyptian families being killed by the angel of death.
God is said to have told Moses to tell the Israelites to paint lamb’s blood on their doorposts.
This way, the angel would know that Jewish people lived there. It would pass over that house and not kill the first-born child.
This is where the name Passover comes from.
For the last plague, even Pharaoh’s own son was killed. He summoned Moses and told him to take the Israelites out of Egypt immediately.
Finally, after more than 200 years of slavery, the Jewish people were free.
As a minister I find it essential to walk my talk so to speak. So I am goin to post here my 8-day Passover Journey through the various TASKS I put out for you.
TASK1
Watch the extract from ‘The Prince of Egypt’ below. Then, I would like to invite you to give the story a new meaning by adapting it to your life and circumstances.
What is it that has enslaved you so far and you want to become free from?
How are you going to part the ‘red sea’ of you fears (or what enslaves you)?
How are you going to call upon the Divine to support you to become free?
What are you going to do during the next 8 days to support yourself to get free?
My answers
I see the parting sea as God’s Grace..
7 Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: 8 For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.
Matthew 7:7-8;
King James Version
I ask to be released and I am given. But I must be persistent and humble in my asking. I am also protected from my own fears and demons who appear like the pharaoh’s army always chasing me and ragging me back down. But as long as I focus, I meditate and I pray I am led out of my own misery.
What is it that has enslaved you so far and you want to become free from?
A sense of unexplainable guilt and obligation. I often feel that there is a sense of obligation behind my altruistic actions. I would like to serve freely or not serve at all.
How are you going to part the ‘red sea’ of you fears (or what enslaves you)?
My fear is that I would be punished if I do not meet my obligations. I often assume more obligations that is truly mine and I still fear punishment. I will consciously keep on stepping back and wait to be called upon instead of stepping in assuming obligation.
How are you going to call upon the Divine to support you to become free?
I have spent some time in meditation today consciously releasing my sense of guilt and obligations back to the nothingness asking God to lift me higher so I can become free of them.
What are you going to do during the next 8 days to support yourself to get free?
I will keep on meditating and praying for forgiveness and release, and will keep on stepping back releasing the assumption that it is all my duty.
Passover is a week-long (8 days) reminder of hard-earnt freedom. We are asked to contemplate on the meaning of FREEDOM for us. When do you feel FREE? What makes you feel FREE? This week can be an opportunity to contemplate how you can support yourself to be freer in who you are as a unique expression of the Divine.
Below is a list of various activities that people do during the week of Passover. As mentioned before, the first two night (evenings) are spend with contemplating on the ‘passing over the red sea’, a parable from the Old Testament in the Bible. Yesterday, I invited you to contemplate on the metaphysical meaning of the story and answer questions around the meaning of ‘freedom’ for you.
Today, I want to invite you to chose a ‘task’ for each day of Passover from the list below. I would like to encourage you to bring an element of the spiritual to each of the task you do by which you can support yourself to move into greater freedom in yourself.
Cleaning
During Passover Jews refrain from eating chametz, food with leavening such as bread, cookies, or pasta. Before Passover begins, families will clean their homes to clear out the chametz. (Jews refer to leavened items, which must be discarded from the home before Passover, by the Hebrew term “chametz” (pronounced “HA-metz” and also spelled “chometz.”) It includes anything made with grains like wheat, oats, rye barley and spelt.)
Clean your house off leavened items can be seen as cleaning our consciousness of ‘thoughts’ that fester. What thoughts and emotions do you allow to fester in your consciousness that causes you fear or harm? Is there something you often worry about? Eliminate these thoughts by giving them up to God (the Divine), consciously releasing them by affirming that
“I release you into the nothingness where you came from! I stop worrying about … now. I am grateful for your service but now I am OK without you! I love you and release you. I am at peace knowing that I am centered in the Care of the Divine Presence.”
Eating Matzah
During Passover, you’ll probably eat matzah, a cracker-like bread substitute representing the bread that didn’t have time to rise when the Jews fled Egypt. Learn to make your own matzah (CLICK).
How about making some plain food over the week? How about not indulging in heavy dishes and just keeping your food simple and basic. We often eat process food that are full of chemicals because they go through a complicated laboratory-like system before it gets on your table. Make your own food this week. Bless your food this week. There were times when food was scarce and every bite was a grace-filled blessing of nourishment. Make eating your food a spiritual event 🙂 during Passover and see what happens.
“I bless with food so it can nourish my body and keep it healthy and strong. I release all condemning thoughts that I harbour about my body’s imperfections. I love my body with this food.”
The Seder
The seder, held on the first one or two nights of the holiday, consists of a festive meal, the retelling of the Exodus story, and several other rituals and traditions, like finding the afikomen (a piece of matzah hidden during the ceremony), singing songs like “Dayenu,” and opening the door symbolically for the prophet Elijah.
Provocative questions on relevant topics to help bring your Seder to life.
The Haggadah tells us to adapt our Seder to the various attitudes of the people we find present around the table. The “wise son” receives wisdom, the “evil son” receives sharp confrontation, the “simple son” is taught the ABC’s of Judaism, and the “one who doesn’t know how to ask” is engaged in dialogue that will open him up.
Questions that provoke discussion about relevant topics can help bring your Seder to life. Here are some questions for your Seder table that you can pose yourself or discuss with others over the week.
When dipping the Karpas into salt water: Has anything ever happened to you which seemed bitter at the time but later turned out to be sweet?
When breaking the middle matzah and hiding it for later: What is a “hidden” aspiration that you have, i.e. something that you have postponed for later in life but you plan/aspire to one day get to?
When speaking about how the Jewish people were sent down to Egypt: How have the hardships in your life helped you become a more compassionate person?
When speaking about the harsh slavery: In our day-to-day lives, do we really love what we do or are we more like slaves to our work or lifestyle?
The word Mitzrayim (Egypt) resembles the Hebrew word for constriction. What is your personal Mitzrayim? What is holding you back the most?
When speaking about the plagues: Are there signs in our life pushing us to change that we are just refusing to see?
Are there signs around us that God exists? What are they?
If you knew for certain that God would help you succeed, even through miracles, what new endeavor would you take on?
When speaking about jumping in the Red Sea: What have you done recently that defied your fears and you stepped out of your comfort zone?
When singing Dayneu: What are the gifts in our life that make it all worth it?
When reciting Hallel: If you could fully express gratitude to someone in your past who really made a difference in your life, who would it be?
When eating matzah: If you could eradicate laziness from your life and live with complete discipline, what could you accomplish?
During the seder, families will read from the Haggadahto tell the story of Passover and pass down the traditions and lessons of the story to their children, relatives, and friends. In Hebrew, Haggadah means “telling.” This book is basically a guide for the seder and includes prayers, blessings, songs, and information for how the seder should be performed. Families everywhere add their own personal touches to make the script of the Haggadah their own.
MAKE YOUR OWN HAGGADAH
What is a Haggadah?
The word haggadah comes from the same root as “to tell” in Hebrew. The haggadah is meant as a guide to the entire Seder. A good one will serve as a follow-along reader for you and your guests, taking them through each step with instructions, explanations, talking points, ideas for further reflection, and, of course, all of the texts you will be reading, singing, or discussing.
Why should I make my own haggadah?
As you can see from the above, there is nothing at all unusual about authoring custom-made haggadot. The whole objective of the Seder both as a didactic and an experiential endeavor is to get people to participate, ask questions, formulate opinions, and generally interact with the Seder experience. Another wonderful aspect of making your own haggadah is that the copies you use at the Seder can double as Passover gifts for your guests to take with them as both a memory of the special time you will have spent together, as well as for future use for years to come.
If you are not Jewish, you can create the Haggadah around any themes that are meaningful to you. The main message of Passover is ‘Freedom from Slavery’. You can choose any story around this message from the Bible or any other source that inspires you and make a Haggadah.
Haggadah is a booklet that you make yourself using pictures, text, colouring, writing, painting. Haggadah can be seen as a reminder of the Passover story as you interpret it. (you can chose another story, if you like). The questions above can guide you and you are invited to contemplate on the meaning of ‘freedom’ for you as you create your own Haggadah.
Opening the Door for Elijah
On each table there is a goblet of wine called “Elijah’s Cup.” During the meal someone will open the door to welcome the prophet Elijah, exemplifying the line from the Haggadah “Let all who are hungry, come and eat.”
Every Passover, Jews set an extra cup of wine on the dinner table and open the door for the enigmatic prophet Elijah, hoping he will enter. An evolving symbol of hope and redemption in Judaism over the centuries, Elijah’s return is said to mark the Messiah’s earthly arrival.
What does the Bible tell us about Elijah?
He first appears as a zealous prophet for God. There’s something wild and primeval about him. He’s totally committed to monotheism. [Elijah’s name means “Yahweh is my God” in Hebrew.]
In that period, [9th century BCE], a good number of the Israelites were wavering in their faith. King Ahab of Israel really wanted to have it both ways, worshiping the Israelite God and [the Canaanite god] Baal.
So Elijah was out to defeat idolatry, but he didn’t entirely succeed. Dejected, he asked God to take his life. He went to Mount Sinai where he had an encounter with God, and God said, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”
In the Book of Kings, Elijah is taken up to heaven in a whirlwind, in a fiery chariot. In the book of Malachi [the final prophetic book in the Bible], it later says Elijah’s going to announce the End of Days. So, the rabbis assume that he’s taken alive to heaven. But, for the rabbis, he’s too extreme. So, he gradually becomes depicted in rabbinical texts as a compassionate hero. He’s still zealous, but now he’s zealous to right wrongs. He’s zealous to help the poor. He can’t stay away from Earth when somebody is in trouble.
We all need a version of Elijah at your ‘table’ or in our life. Zeal – dedication and enthusiasm – is a quality we all need in order to move through life’s challenges. You are encouraged to invite or, if you already have them, enhance these qualities in your life. What can you do to become more zealous and enthusiastic? What changes do you need to make and where? Apart from being a zealous prophet, Elijah is also a symbol of hope and redemption. In my observation, we all have areas of our life where we can do with more hope. In meditation, invite God/the Divine Presence to fill that area of your life with Hope and Love. Visualize pouring these qualities in and feeling you up. Observe the sensation and ensure that you take these with you all day, every day.
We become freer by releasing what does not work or what does not serve us any longer.
Singing “Dayenu”
Many families will sing “Dayenu” during their seder. The word dayenu means “it would have been enough.” This joyous tune celebrates the many blessings God bestowed upon the Jewish people during their exodus from Egypt in ancient times.
While listening to this fun song, I invite you remind yourself of the wonderful things that are present in your life. Be grateful and celebrate the many blessings that are present and by doing that you will shift your focus from lack to abundance. Focusing into abundance of blessings and goodness frees us from worry about lack and drama.
In Unity we chose to celebrate, integrate and welcome people from all faith. Personally, as a minister, I like celebrating along with different traditions because I believe that each spiritual tradition, custom or celebration offer an opportunity for us all to look to the Divine Presence and move into deeper communion with IT.
From the 22nd to the 29th of April we are celebrating Passover or Pesach. I would like to invite you to walk this 8-day Passover journey with me doing something different each day – see my next post on the possible activities list – that may support your spiritual unfolding and build a deeper sense of awareness of your connectedness to the Divine Presence.
Today, I am going to introduce what Pesach is… (read more below)
Then, I would like to invite you to watch this clip from the animated film called The Prince of Egypt and/or read the passage in the Bible about the freeing of the Jews.
Then, I would like to invite you to give the story a new meaning by adapting it to your life and circumstances.
What is it that has enslaved you so far and you want to become free from?
How are you going to part the ‘red sea’ of you fears (or what enslaves you)?
How are you going to call upon the Divine to support you to become free?
What are you going to do during the next 8 days to support yourself to get free?
Tomorrow, I will post a few activities that you can do over the next 8 days to support yourself in your ‘Passover transformation’.
Pesach starting on the Evening Of Mon, Apr 22, 2024 till Mon, Apr 29, 2024
SHORT INTRODUCTION
Passover falls on the 14th day of the Hebrew month of Nisan (late March or April). Depending on your tradition, you might celebrate Passover for seven days, while others observe the holiday for eight days.
Passover is both agricultural and historical in origin. Also known as Chag haAviv, the “Festival of the Spring,” it reminds us of the early spring harvest in the former land of Canaan, now Israel. Much more commonly recognized for its historical significance, Passover is also known as Zman Cheruteynu, “The Season of Our Freedom.”
The name Passover is symbolic of the Angel of Death “passing over” the Jewish homes while killing the first born of the Egyptians, the last of the Ten Plagues before Pharaoh let the Jews go.
What is Pesach?
Pesach, or Passover, is an 8-day Jewish holiday during the Jewish month of Nissan- at the beginning of spring. ‘Pesach’ means to pass over, commemorating the miracle God performed for the Jewish people enslaved in Egypt, where He passed over their homes during the 10th plague that killed the firstborn of every Egyptian home.
Any chometz (food made of flour and water that was allowed to rise) is removed from the home, and matzah (flat, unleavened bread) is eaten instead. Maror (bitter herbs) is eaten to remember the brutal conditions that the Jews lived in.
The history of Pesach
The celebration of Pesach is based on the story of Exodus, when God saved the Jewish people from the cruel Egyptian rule and ultimately brought them to the Land of Israel. The story begins when the Egyptians enslaved the Jewish people, forcing the women, men, and children to perform back-breaking labor every day. They were vicious and cruel, enacting new laws to make the lives of the Jews increasingly miserable.
The king of Egypt, Pharaoh, even decreed to kill every Jewish male newborn when he had a dream that a Jewish man would redeem the Jews from their bondage. Ironically, his own daughter Princess Batya saved Moses, a Jewish baby floating in the Nile river, and brought him to her father’s palace.
Batya raised Moses in the palace of his greatest enemy until he ran away. One day, God revealed himself to Moses in a thornbush and sent him as a messenger to Pharaoh, ordering him in the name of G-d to let the Jewish people go. Pharaoh refused, so G-d inflicted the people of Egypt with the first plague- all the water in the land turned to blood for a week.
Pharoah begged Moses to end the plague, promising to release the Jewish people. But as soon as the plague ended, Pharaoh changed his mind and did not relent. So God brought the second plague – millions of frogs all over Egypt. This repeated itself 10 times, with each plague lasting a week). Here are the ten plagues: blood, frogs, lice, wild animals, death of the animals, boils, hail, grasshoppers, darkness, and the death of every firstborn.
Pharoah suddenly realized that he was the firstborn of his family and would therefore die imminently. He ran to find Moses in the middle of the night and ordered him to round up all the Jews in Egypt and leave the country immediately. Thus, the Jewish people were released from their decades of cruel slavery and ultimately were appointed as God’s chosen nation at Mount Sinai in the desert.
How is Pesach celebrated?
For the entire 8 days of Pesach, Jews may not own or consume any chometz. This is because when Pharoah urged the Jewish people to leave Egypt, they were in the middle of baking bread. They flung their doughs over their shoulders and hastily walked out of the land. The bread jostled on their backs as they walked in the hot sun, which didn’t allow them to rise. The dough resulted in matzah, which Jews eat instead of bread during Pesach.
Today, the homes are cleaned extensively to ensure no trace of chometz. Many people use the opportunity of Pesach cleaning to ‘spring clean’ the house simultaneously. There is a special ceremony on the day before Pesach where the final search for chometz takes place, and all remaining foods are burnt.
On the first two nights of Pesach, the family hosts a ‘seder,’ where the Haggadah – the story of the Exodus from Egypt- is read. Several rituals during the seder include eating the maror, eating matzah, drinking four cups of wine or grape juice, and discussing the story in great depth.
In my understanding Purim celebrates two things: overcoming and gratitude. I look at the Bible as a source of inspiration the teachings behind the stories. The stories in the Bible happened so long ago that nobody knows how much of it had actually happened.
In Unity, we interpret the stories and take the learnings from them.
Esther’s story for me is about knowing that God is always at work: as we face our challenges, stand up for oneself in the face of dire circumstances, and overcome inner challenges, we can start seeing God’s ever present support. Finally, we can move into gratitude for the support we have received.
How to use celebrating Purim for your benefit?
Similar to celebrations from other traditions, we can simply take the time to contemplate on the messages and teachings, we can spend some time in the silence to become aware of inner errors, ‘fight them’ which means let go of them, and become grateful for triumphing over our own challenges.
Most of all however, we can use the time to become consciously aware of God’s Presence in our life, the way we are supported from behind the scenes; and we can express our gratitude to the Divine Presence for His never ceasing Love and Care for us.
What am I going to do?
I will spend the evening to meditate and contemplate on areas of my life where I feel unsupported by God, where I feel I am being let down and left to my own divides. I will also look at where I am in error, why I feel this way. Finally, I will spend the day to observe the ‘behind the scene’ support God provides me with. Finally, I will move into Prayer on Gratitude for all the ‘hidden’ support and guidance I receive that I am be oblivious of.
What is Purim?
Shushan Purim is a unique day in the cycle of Jewish holidays. Purim is the only holiday whose date depends on where you happen to celebrate it. For most of the world, Purim occurs on the 14th of Adar. However, if you happen to reside in Jerusalem or the city of Shushan (where the story of Purim took place), or any walled city, Purim is on the 15th of Adar. Therefore, the observance is called “Shushan Purim.”
Queen Esther then instituted the holiday of Purim for the day after the Jews were permitted to defend themselves. It is an important distinction for the holiday. Purim does not celebrate a military triumph. It celebrates the day of “rejoicing and feasting” that followed. That is why Purim is on the fourteenth day of Adar, not the thirteenth.
We must be careful to be clear about why we are celebrating. Real joy is not about triumphalism. We do not rejoice over the death of Haman. Rather, our best celebrations are always about gratitude. We wait a day after our temporal victory and rejoice. We celebrate by laying down our weapons and taking a bag of cookies over to our neighbors’ homes.
As you can see below the Fast of Esther revolves around Esther success as a result of fasting. Please the story of Esther below.
This time we are observing numerous ‘fasting’ traditions in the Christian, Jewish and Muslim traditions. Probably not by accident.
We seem to be asked, from every angle, to retreat from life events and move into the silence. Fasting is rarely about food, though most traditions focus on the physical aspects of spiritual observations.
In my view, most significant spiritual teacher requested their followers to ‘fast’ on being engaged in daily activates and spend more time with the Divine in silent contemplation. The Fast of Esther seems to be one of these times with a specific focus on ‘overcoming challenges’ as a result of fasting.
Today, I would like to invite you to spend some time in silent contemplation on what challenges would you wish God to support you to overcome?
Spending time is the silence or in silent contemplation will result in receiving inner guidance of what to do next or it may reveal some aspects of self that needs to be released in order to ‘succeed’.
Read about Ester’s story
Esther is a prominent figure in the Old Testament. In the Bible, Esther was the Jewish wife of the Persian king, and risked her own life to save her people from an antisemitic royal advisor. The Jewish holiday of Purim celebrates Queen Esther’s story… Source
Book of Esther, book of the Hebrew Bible and the Christian Old Testament. It belongs to the third section of the Judaic canon, known as the Ketuvim, or “Writings.” In the Jewish Bible, Esther follows Ecclesiastes and Lamentations and is read on the festival of Purim, which commemorates the rescue of the Jews from Haman’s plottings. The Book of Esther is one of the Megillot, five scrolls read on stated Jewish religious holidays. In the Protestant canon, Esther appears between Nehemiah and Job. In the Roman Catholic canon, Esther appears between Judith and Job and includes six chapters that are considered apocryphal in the Jewish and Protestant traditions.
The book purports to explain how the feast of Purim came to be celebrated by the Jews. Esther, the beautiful Jewish wife of the Persian king Ahasuerus (Xerxes I), and her cousin Mordecai persuade the king to retract an order for the general annihilation of Jews throughout the empire. The massacre had been plotted by the king’s chief minister, Haman, and the date decided by casting lots (purim). Instead, Haman was hanged on the gallows he built for Mordecai, and, on the day planned for their annihilation, the Jews destroyed their enemies. According to the Book of Esther, the feast of Purim was established to celebrate that day …
Fasting is associated with some pivotal moments in the Purim narrative. One such moment is when Esther approached King Ahasuerus without permission in an effort to intercede on behalf of the Jewish people. Before she went to the king, she fasted for three days, and asked that all the Jews fast as well.
Another dramatic turnaround occurred on Adar 13 (the default date for the Fast of Esther), the date that Haman had set aside for killing the Jews. Instead the Jewish people soundly trounced their enemies. This triumph was accomplished while the Jews were fasting, as they prayed to G‑d that they be successful.
