A Pesach Poem: "Thank You, God, for Chametz"

By Rabbi Menachem Creditor. Printed February 7, 2012, SeventyFaces.com

When I slither on my belly with my children,
looking for the Chametz I myself hid,
I am aware that deep ritual involves both gravitas and silliness.

When I stand with my family,
watching the Chametz burn,
I am transported.
I smell, I feel, my sacrifice burning.

When I recite the Aramaic formula
which nullifies any remaining Chametz,
I experience a Jewish affirmation moment,
a liturgical recitation which translates into:

"I did my best, and that is good enough.
I am part of this moment, of this holy day.
I am worthy of freedom, of redemption."

When I sell my community's Chametz to a dear friend,
I see where trust and tradition meet.

Thank You, God, for Chametz.
Thank You, God, for Pesach.

Jerusalem5767b

Rabbi Menachem Creditor

Joined: September 20, 2007

A prolific writer, musician, and leader in the Conservative Movement, Menachem Creditor’s rabbinate has taken him from coast to coast. For the first 5 years of his rabbinate he served as the assistant Rabbi of Temple Israel in Sharon, Massacusets. His work within that community lead to meeting Rabbi David Paskin, with whom Rabbi Creditor created Shirav and recorded two albums. Their album Deeper & Deeper contains the track Olam, which has become a spiritual anthem in the Renewal, Reform, and Masorti world. Rabbi Creditor's first solo album "Within" was released in 2011. Described as “a vocal proponent of gay and women’s rights”, Rabbi Creditor co-founded Keshet Rabbis, the alliance of gay friendly conservative rabbis and recently, Rabbi Creditor became the international co-chair of Rabbis For Women of the Wall. Since becoming Rabbi of Netivot Shalom in Berkeley, CA in 2007, the synagogue’s membership has swelled, the participatory nature of the synagogue has flourished, and the outreach programs generated, including Bay Area Masorti, which Rabbi Creditor currently chairs, have achieved regional, national, and international recognition. Rabbi Creditor currently serves on the Executive Council of the Rabbinical Assembly, the Board of Trustees of the UC Berkeley Hillel, and on the Rabbinic Advisory Committee of Shalom Bayit. Rabbi Creditor’s writings have appeared in The Wall Street Journal, The Forward, The Jewish Week, J. Weekly, The Jewish Advocate, The Boston Globe, Kolot: Voices of CJ, JewsbyChoice.org, Conservative Judaism, and in several Jewish anthologies, including the recently published Paths of Torah. Rabbi Creditor has been called a "power-blogger" and his rabbinate is a constant vehicle for Jewish connection within social media. He blogs at rabbicreditor.blogspot.com.