There is a well know and well-loved Israeli Pesach song which goes 鈥淪imcha raba, simcha raba, aviv higiya, Pesach ba!鈥� which translates as 鈥淕reat happiness, great happiness, spring has arrived, Pesach is coming!鈥�

Needless to say, this was written for the Israeli and Northern Hemisphere Pesach time when the thrill of spring is beginning and Summer approaches. Here in Perth, as our glorious summer comes to an end and the rain and cold of autumn are almost upon us, it seems odd to think of Pesach as 鈥淐hag Ha鈥檃viv鈥�, the spring Festival. This is one of the Biblical names for Pesach, where the month of Nissan is referred to as 鈥榯he month of spring鈥� (Deuteronomy/ Devarim 16:1).听 Pesach and spring are inter-connected, in fact so much so, that in a Jewish leap year (which we will have next year), we manipulate the Jewish lunar calendar to fit in with the Gregorian solar calendar by adding in a month in order to ensure that Pesach always falls in the spring. The Rabbis give us a number of reasons why Pesach and the spring season are inter-connected which include the need for the omer barley offering to be brought at this harvest time, as well as a number of kabbalistic reasons connected to the signs of the zodiac plus the obvious one 鈥� the Pesach story happened at this time of year!

I would like to pick up on a further reason provided by the 19^th century scholar, the 鈥楴etziv鈥� in his work 鈥楬a鈥橢mek Davar鈥�. He points out that just as the springtime is an opportunity for seeds to regenerate and regrow, so too is the month of Nissan and our Pesach festival, the time for the Jewish people to regenerate and regrow. Pesach is the time of freedom, of redemption, of growth and regeneration. Pesach is a time for us to consider the rebirth of our nation at the Exodus which culminated in the giving of the Torah seven weeks later. Thus, for each and every one of us, it should be a time to consider our own regrowth as Jews, our own regeneration as members of our Jewish community and to see how we can free ourselves up to be more interconnected to our faith and people.听 Let us all take on this spirit of regeneration and regrowth and take some steps towards regrowth and regeneration of our precious Judaism.

And finally, let us recall that;

Many years ago, we were in Egypt

Last year, we were in isolation in our homes

This year, please God, we will be with our Perth friends and family in our homes

Next year 鈥�. In Jerusalem!

Le鈥橲hana Haba鈥檃 Bi鈥橸erushalayim Ha鈥檅enuya!

Wishing a Happy and Kosher Pesach to all Carmel families and dear friends.

Simon Lawrence

Director of Jewish Studies