I'm reposting this entry from many years ago, because it is one of my favorite stories about Pesach and about my Robbie. Just in case you never met him... here he is in his prime:
A more noble and beautiful canine never drew breath.
This year, there is no Robbie to help me with my Passover preparations. I can have no guests. It will just be me. From a Jewish perspective this is really like being in the Twilight Zone.
But yesterday morning, I got some inspiration from a higher Source.
It suddenly occurred to me that the stand ins for my guests this year will be all my favorite books that I learn from. They will each have a places of honor at my table. The Torah, Tanach, a volume of the Zohar, Nefesh HaChaim by R. Chaim Volozhin, Innerspace by R. Aryeh Kaplan, and Beyond Kabbalah by R. Bakst.
This idea alone gave me the courage and strength to begin to prepare my seder with a measure of joy that I didn't think was going to be possible.
Update: Here's my table :-)
May we ALL come out of the narrow places of bondage this year my friends, and come under the shadow of His wings.
