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Many of you are familiar with the Five Stages of Grief as theorized by Kübler-Ross: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. People experiencing grief typically go through these five stages, and I thought that they can be applied to the current coronavirus situation and Pesach.
Our first reaction may be Denial: “No way, this is not possibly happening! It’s impossible to even think about a Seder without my family”.
Then comes the Anger: “Why does this happen to me? Why do I need to stay locked in my house? How can I not do Seder with my family?”
This can be followed by Depression: “This is awful. The Seder is going to be sad… I should maybe not bother to make a Seder this year…”
Some may try to Bargain: “Maybe we can flex the rules a bit. Maybe we can still get together and take precautions…” (If you are thinking about it, please reconsider. The most important value in Judaism is life, and we need to protect it at all costs).
The final stage is Acceptance and moving on, and some may get to it sooner, others later, and some may get directly there without going through all the stages. We can tell ourselves: “This is the current situation for all of us and there is a reason that this is happening, even if I don’t understand it. Let me find creative ways to celebrate a proper and meaningful Pesach even with the present limitations. Let me join the millions of Jews who will celebrate this year a Seder different from previous years."
We wish you Pesach Kasher Vesameach,
Rabbi Mendel and Nehama Hendel