Tikkun Olam

I can't believe Pesach 5772 has ended.  Didn't it just start? All that intense preparation warrants a longer chag, don't you think (see previous post)? I always have had difficulty in separating from a chag, especially the Shalosh Regalim , Pesach, Sukkot and Shavu'ot.  This year, it was no different; my daughter left on Wednesday, during chol ha-mo'ed, the intermediate days, so we were 'alone' for the rest of the chag.  Don't get me wrong: Thursday night, the 7th night, we went to our friends and neighbors, the F. family-and we split the cooking (some were leftovers).  The next night, Friday night, last night of Pesach and also, auspiciously, Shabbat, they came to us.  More food, more leftovers, but it was delicious.  Then Shabbat lunch, just today, after davening, we and another family came to their house and we all blessed and ate and talked and sang the Birchat Hamazon together. But we were still 'alone.'  No family.  In the late afternoon,...

So it's been suggested by a fellow blogger (hat tip, Norma ) that I write about what I find while cleaning for Pesach (anyway, that's my interpretation!) Pesach cleaning often becomes a very emotional event for me--I'm not referring to the kitchen cabinets and dishes--they're just fine. I'm referring to the bedroom closets (top, back shelves), the innards of my desk drawers, my metal free-standing, two-tiered desk inbox/outbox (which was piled high with... stuff ), and various and sundry boxes which we haven't unpacked in six years, because I always want to look through everything and think about it . So I never get to it. And if I ever do get to some of it, I can never seem to get rid of anything: I always find a reason to save IT (whatever "IT" may be, at the time). I'm a packrat. Interestingly enough, D. H. is just the opposite; at this stage in his life, he wants to downsize and throw everything out the window, except what will fit in his b...