At the end of the Passover Seder, when we are theoretically feeling happy (four cups of wine), satisfied (so much matza and food), and proud (because we made it through to the end), there is a somewhat self congratulatory statement: We have completed the ritual in full, and its purposes have been revealed. The Seder is over. Once again we have relived the saga of our journey from slavery to freedom, from ignorance to enlightenment. We allow ourselves a sigh of relief.

And so it is with synagogue life as well. This month the school year will come to an end. Confirmation will be celebrated. With a self-satisfied sigh we will allow ourselves to slip into summer. The time of vacations, relaxation, sun tans and the various markets here in Santa Fe will have come. However, just as the end of the Seder does not mark the end of our awareness of the struggle for freedom, so the end of the school year does not mean that all the issues which occupy us during the year suddenly evaporate, or even take a vacation.

Just because school is out, the slaughter in Darfur will not come to an end. The need for food in the local food banks will not be met by manna falling from heaven. Just because it is warm does not mean that Friday night will not mark the beginning of Shabbat for the months of June, July and August.

None of this is meant to make you feel guilty about having the good fortune to be able to travel this summer, or do those projects around the house, or take a Sunday afternoon snooze in the hammock (while listening to the Red Sox pummel the Yankees or vice versa). Rather you should appreciate and rejoice in the blessings which life has brought your way.

On the other hand, to someone who has virtually nothing, what would a donation of 3% of your vacation budget mean? A night without hunger pangs for a family on the edge of starvation? A pair of shoes? A tent for protection from the cold desert night?

Mazon, The Jewish Response to Hunger, asks that we donate just 3% of the cost of a party or celebration to them to further their work of Tikkun Olam (Repair of the World). So I ask you to join me and Janet, and pick a charity of your choice and donate 3% of your vacation spending so that others in the world may also have a respite from the plagues that surround them this summer.

B’shalom,
Rabbi Marvin Schwab