The real world and the virtual world

Every year, traditional Jewish families spend the month before Pesach (Passover) cleaning their homes in preparation for the holiday. Pesach is the strictest Jewish holiday when it comes to food. For eight days, Jews traditionally avoid eating or even owning what is known as “chometz.” Chometz may be defined as the resultant product of the fermentation of one of the five grains: wheat, barley, rye, spelt, and oats, after its combination with water. Many people use the opportunity to do a full-blown spring cleaning, but the important focus is on ensuring the removal of any traces of chometz from our homes and offices.

One of the many annual pre-Pesach rituals is cleaning out the car. After all, who does not eat in the car? Families with young children usually have a car full of Cheerios, and even we adults will snack on bagels or pretzels during car trips.

Last spring, we cleaned out the car before Pesach. But during the past year we have used the car only to travel to medical and dental appointments. We drive so seldom that once a week or so Barry takes the car out just to keep it running! So it goes without saying that we have not eaten anything at all in the car during the past year. I guess we should be glad that, this year, ridding the car of chometz is a rather minimal task. Yet somehow it is very sad, a stark reminder of all the disappointments of this year of Covid in this very real world. 

At the same time, all of us now exist in a virtual world as well. A day or two ago, we started having trouble with one of our television sets. We could watch things we had recorded on the DVR but could not watch live TV on that set. Barry called Verizon FIOS and, without his even speaking to a human being, they were able to diagnose and fix the problem. It is a little scary when you think about it. But at the same time, it was a big relief because we are reluctant to have anyone in our real-world house, so we would have just had to live without that set.

Meanwhile, stay healthy.

Love,                                                          

Rebecca