A word of Torah: 
        I am writing this on Sunday March 14^th, which is also the first day of the month of Nisan. The tradition says: just as we were redeemed from Egypt on Passover, the future redemption will also take place in Nisan. This time feels like a moment of redemption as it seems that the plagues of darkness that have affected the world and our country may be coming to an end. There is as well the hope that springs eternal with the coming of Spring. The holiday of Passover is heralded by the special additional Torah reading of last Shabbat—Parshat ha-hodesh, taken from the book of Exodus, chapter 12. God tells the people to prepare for the Exodus by saying that this month shall be the first of all months. The Hebrew word for month is hodesh, from the root meaning new. Like the moon and its cycles, we are reminded that renewal is always a possibility.
        For the Sefat Emet (19th century Hasidic master, comment on Parshat ha-hodesh 5645) the Torah is about always striving for renewal. He understands Exodus chapter 12 as a call to us to leave all the chains and enslavements of Egypt behind and create a new and better future. This process of exile and redemption is ongoing in our personal and communal lives. Whatever exile and suffering we experience; we need to remember that the Torah and redemption is waiting and ready. In many of his teachings, the Sefat Emet quotes this line from the liturgy: God renews every day the works of creation (me-hadesh be-tuvo be-khol yom tamid ma’asei bereishit). While he acknowledges that God sometimes makes manifest that redemption, he suggests that we can discover the power of renewal on our own as well.
        He describes how God established the laws of nature thereby creating cyclical time. I think he is also suggesting that we and the Torah can impose our own structure on nature. We turn the seventh day into Shabbat. We state that the fifteenth day of the month of Nisan is Passover. We superimpose our calendar on the cycles of nature. Ultimately, as much as we are limited by being mortal, we have the power to choose and create. That power can hurt other people and this planet and can also heal people and create a vaccine.
        We read the book of Song of Songs during Passover, usually understood because of the book’s reference to the flowering of spring and its images of love. I think there is another reason as well. One of its most powerful lines in the book is “Love is stronger than death” (Song of Songs 8:6). Love and connection to others is an important component of renewal, which we especially appreciate after a year of isolation. Our ability to change, to create and connect means that ultimately we are not limited by our mortality; only by our commitment to renewal.