Keeping Passover Tradition While Managing Lupus

 

As a Lupus patient, the Jewish holiday of Passover (which this year starts on the night of April 18) is one that resonates with me. It is the holiday that retells the biblical story of Exodus where the Jewish slaves overthrew the Egyptian pharaoh. Moses led the Jews on a journey through the desert that took 40 years. The struggle to survive in the desert raises many complex spiritual themes, ranging from one’s relationship with God to the nature of freedom and the ways that we enslave ourselves.

Living with Lupus is a constant struggle for me to find the balance between managing to create a life and not being “enslaved” by “my Lupus”. It is during the Passover Seder (the festive meal, when we read the Haggadah (Passover story and prayer book), that I am truly grateful that I have lived to see another Passover. Whether I am healthy or not, the holiday will be celebrated and I have learned over the years that I can’t do it all alone. My family participates by bringing food, wine and ritual items that are used during the Seder. My grandfather was the one who taught me the values and the historical significance of Passover is remembered every time we recite his favorite passages.

My 96-year old grandmother taught me her recipes and I have been making them on my own for the past few years.

The tastes and smells of a kitchen prepping for the meal is as much a part of the holiday itself. Though a few sacrifices will be made, I will not be spending every hour of the holiday in the kitchen. Not everything will be homemade, no one will mind too much if I serve the store-bought gefilte fish, and I have learned to forgo the Jewish guilt. The real meaning of the holiday is in the ritual of celebrating a festive holiday with family and friends.

 

Article written by Staff Writer, Amanda Greene

Amanda is finding the joys of Lupus. She was diagnosed with Lupus and APS at 15 years old, now as”LA Lupus Lady” is an advocate for Lupus Research and Wellness. Amanda enjoys proving that Lupus Awareness is fun! Find her on Twitter @LALupusLady or at www.lalupuslady.com

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  • Sharon Antes

    Peace and good health to all of you who are celebrating passover….Our family will be celebrating Easter this year at a nice restaurant with someone else waiting on us……and then sharing the day with our new granddaughter…..What a wonderful world we live in that we all can share our backgrounds…..Peace to all!

  • I am still cooking… and reading all of the wonderful comments has inspired me to make it through the big push before all of my family and guests arrive.

    Happy Passover!

  • Deb

    oh my goodness — this is EXACTLY what i needed to read today!!! I was chatting with some Jewish friends about how hard the holidays are for me (especially Pesach) when you want to do the “womanly” thing and make a beautiful holiday for your family .. and you just cant!!!! I was crying last night feeling so terrible that i was sitting on the couch and my hubby was the one in the kitchen.

    This morning, when i got online – i thought to myself “id love to see how the BYDLS members handle holidays?” and lo and behold – this article pops up in my email !!!! I’m considering it a message from G-d 🙂 🙂

    Thank you for writing this and specifically today when i needed it the most.

    Have a wonderful Chag !!!!

  • Carol

    Chag Sameach!!

    I finally gave in and now it takes me 2 days to do the cooking for the first seder. My back is killing me but I think I might have a spoon or two left. I’ve haven’t cleaned and it’s the first year I couldn’t.

    What saddens me is the fact that this year my parents (they are in the states and I’m in England) won’t be holding a seder. Both are in their 80s and it’s too much for mom to do on her own (dad is worse than she is healthwise). They actually bought gefilte fish in a jar!! Unheard of.

    I wish you all a happy and healthy Pesach!!

  • Amy

    I hope all Jews worldwide have a blessed Pesach. Daily, I pray for the peace of Jerusalem & for the day to come when God shows the world how much He loves His people & how angry He is at the way they have been treated, especially by people who claim falsely to be Christian (anyone who hates Israel & the Jewish people is NOT a Christian, no matter what they claim, because a Christian can see clear Biblical statements in the old & new Testaments indicating that we are to pray for Israel & love God’s chosen people). I pray those in Israel will be able to celebrate the Seder without vicious attacks; that anti-Semitism in areas where Jews are oppressed will be held at bay for at least this Passover. I will rejoice even more when no Jew has to hear a threat, regardless of where they are, against them because of their heritage & faith.

    I also pray for all my fellow invisible illness sufferers to be in remission from their illnesses & be able to celebrate the Seder without pain or fatigue; for this holiday, if for no other, that the illnesses will stay at bay.

  • Ashley Morgan

    Amanda – wonderful, wonderful, wonderful! We’re doing our Sedar at our friend’s house (we’re a bunch of families with no immediate families of origin in our area) thus we do our holidays together. I’m bringing the grape juice & salad.

    Chag Pesach Sameach!

  • Lillian

    Amanda – Hear Hear!! I just finished my Pesach baking – thankfully I am not *required* to bring anything to my cousin’s Seder,… but I do like to bring something. So I made three easy things – took me just under two hours. Go you! and Happy Pesach!!!

  • Dorie B

    Thank you for the reminder about being a slave to our illnesses. I don’t have lupus, but I do suffer with a chronic illness. And I have been letting my situation enslave me. As I eat my matzah, I will find freedom.

    Chag sameach!