Passover 5778

Passover Message from Rabbi Pont

Passover is approaching! Attached are materials which will guide you in your preparations, including a form to sell Hameitz through MJC and a sheet that lists holiday Service Times. For additional information, you can download the Rabbinical Assembly Pesach Guide at www.rabbinicalassembly.org/pesah-guide. We will have copies of the Pesach Guide for you in the main office. As always, feel free to call me if you have any questions.

Please note that the "Siyyum B'chorim" - "Service of the First Born," on Friday morning, March 30th will be held at 7:00 AM, which exempts all who are first born from their required fast before Passover. It is held at this early hour to help out many of our folks who need to go to work.

What better way to enter the holiday than by doing tzedakah?

• First, sell your Hameitz through the synagogue (form enclosed: "Sale of Hameitz for Pesach") so that you will not transgress the law which requires you not to own any Hameitz during Pesach. Please return it to the office with a voluntary "Maot Hittin" contribution designated to the MJC Steinkohl Social Action Fund.
• Second, please contribute to our Social Action Committee's Passover Kosher Meals-On-Wheels (KMOW) project which provides kosher-for-Passover meals for the Jewish home-bound. You can sponsor, pack, and deliver meals; see flyer for details.
• Third, please donate to either MJC's Tikkun Olam Fund or Steinkohl Social Action Fund. It is a great mitzvah to put food on the table for families who cannot cover their bills due to financial hardship. Our Social Action Fund also depends on donations for its entire budget. They reach out to help those beyond our congregation and could use your support.

Pesach is a wonderful time for families to gather and to reconnect to their Jewish roots. The Haggadah takes us back to our past; our Seder discussions bring us forward to the present. Enjoy your time with friends and family and celebrate the holidays with your synagogue family as well! Let us know if you are looking for a Seder or if you can host guests looking for a Seder, so we can facilitate a match. Torah readers, please contact the Cantor immediately if you would like to read Torah during services. I look forward to seeing you and I wish you and your loved ones a very happy and healthy Passover!