On Passover the Jewish people are instructed to envision that they are experiencing the Exodus from Egypt. During the Passover seder (meal) we reenact—through sacred memory animated by ritual—the passage from bondage to slavery.
The Torah tells us that the Jews left Egypt with the spoils of their oppressors—compensation for 400 years of cruelty. Thus, I’ve always had this Mel Brooks vision of Jewish women frantically shopping for the best shoes in which to make the journey to the land of Israel.
Today, fashion dictates footwear that might not be all that appropriate for a forty year shlep through the wilderness, but pure joy animates the best designs of the season and joy is the operative word for Passover.
