#blogExodus 4: Rise

Rise up...

When you're living on your knees, you rise up

Tell your brother that he's got to rise up

Tell your sister that she's got to rise up

(Lin-Manuel Miranda, Hamilton)

Revolutions and rebellions have always looked to our Exodus story for motivation.

It never fails to inspire.

Want to join in? We're sharing #BlogExodus for the 2 weeks leading up to Passover. All you have to do is use the hashtag and there are suggested prompts on the graphic above (feel free to grab it). Maybe you just want to post on your Facebook or Twitter about these topics...or maybe you want to try #Exodusgram, posting photos related to these themes? I'll be posting my #blogExodus posts here, at this blog, my #Exodusgram pictures on my Instagram and also my tumblr site, imabima.tumblr.com, and who knows what else!? It's going to be a busy fortnight!

#blogExodus 3: Cleanse

We go through a lot of different kinds of cleaning for Passover.

Of course, there's the pre-holiday cleaning. Some of us take it verrrry seriously. Some of us less so. Some people go all out.

I recently read a suggestion for a personal, physical cleanse, like a cleansing diet, that one would go through before the Passover holiday. To be honest, I usually want one afterwards, when it feels like I've only eaten sugar and junk food for the whole week.

But there's something that feels incredibly holy about this period of cleansing. Much like the month preceding the High Holy Days, these days of preparation and cleaning, of cleansing both physically and spiritually, help to get us in the spirit of celebration, remind us what we're doing, and encourage us along the path toward freedom.

How are you getting ready for the holiday of Passover?


Want to join in? We're sharing #BlogExodus for the 2 weeks leading up to Passover. All you have to do is use the hashtag and there are suggested prompts on the graphic above (feel free to grab it). Maybe you just want to post on your Facebook or Twitter about these topics...or maybe you want to try #Exodusgram, posting photos related to these themes? I'll be posting my #blogExodus posts here, at this blog, my #Exodusgram pictures on my Instagram and also my tumblr site, imabima.tumblr.com, and who knows what else!? It's going to be a busy fortnight!

#blogExodus 2: Exalt

To exalt:
-hold (someone or something) in very high regard; think or speak very highly of.
-raise to a higher rank or a position of greater power.

We exalt God for the miracles wrought at Passover, but we do so with the matzah, which is basically the opposite of exaltation. Instead of something that is uplifted and full of pride, matzah is flat and unassuming. It takes up so little space, it asks so little of us. God needs exaltation, but we need to be reminded to be humble.

The study in contrasts is a part of Pesach, isn't it? We temper each sense with another one. We eat the bitter herb with the sweet charoset. We take away our wine in sadness for the plagues. We remember the salty tears of slavery as we recline like royalty.

Exalt, yes. And always remember how we got here.

Want to join in? We're sharing #BlogExodus for the 2 weeks leading up to Passover. All you have to do is use the hashtag and there are suggested prompts on the graphic above (feel free to grab it). Maybe you just want to post on your Facebook or Twitter about these topics...or maybe you want to try #Exodusgram, posting photos related to these themes? I'll be posting my #blogExodus posts here, at this blog, my #Exodusgram pictures on my Instagram and also my tumblr site, imabima.tumblr.com, and who knows what else!? It's going to be a busy fortnight!

#blogExodus 1: Launch

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It's a countdown to Passover.

We Jews are great at counting, aren't we?
It's almost like the anticipation is....dare I say it....better than the event.
The launch.
The beginning.
Here it comes.
Let's launch into Nisan....and fly all the way to Pesach!

Want to join in? We're sharing #BlogExodus for the 2 weeks leading up to Passover. All you have to do is use the hashtag and there are suggested prompts on the graphic above (feel free to grab it). Maybe you just want to post on your Facebook or Twitter about these topics...or maybe you want to try #Exodusgram, posting photos related to these themes? I'll be posting my #blogExodus posts here, at this blog, my #Exodusgram pictures on my Instagram and also my tumblr site, imabima.tumblr.com, and who knows what else!? It's going to be a busy fortnight!

#BlogExodus and #Exodusgram 5777

Rosh Chodesh Nisan, the first of the month of Nisan, is March 28, 2017.

Which means that Passover is JUST around the corner. While most people are busy making brisket and matzo balls, I'm over here busily setting up #blogExodus and #exodusgram!

This year's topics, like last year's, are based loosely on the steps of the Seder.

So what is this really about? #BlogExodus is really what you want to make of it. I've provided topics for the first 14 days of the month of Nisan. What you do with it is up to you -- write a blog post, tweet, Facebook, tumblr, or something that I haven't even thought of yet! Use the hashtag to share your post (I put it into the title of each post). It's a great way to kickstart a blog or rejuvenate your languishing blog or just get yourself ready for the holiday of Passover! I will be posting my #blogExodus posts here on this blog and I will tweet them out at @imabima. There aren't any rules, so maybe you don't like the order of the topics? Maybe you want to write on only a few of them? It doesn't matter. It is what you make of it.

#Exodusgram is a little more interpretive. While I love Instagram (I'm imabima, of course), I know some people don't. So maybe you want to share Exodus-themed photos via Facebook, Twitter, tumblr, Pinterest or....whatever! My #Exodusgram posts will go up on Instagram and then be shared to my tumblr, imabima.tumblr.com. Whatever you do, don't forget to tag with #Exodusgram so we can all share. (Note for some of my colleagues: this might make a fun teen project, maybe not done over the two weeks but instead over one class period...who's up for #SnapTheExodus?)

The themes are really up for your own interpretation. I was thinking broadly and openly about what makes Passover special and interesting to me. I hope it will translate into creative and inspirational posts from all of us!

Are you going to join in? Leave me a comment here or send me a tweet or just...jump in! I will try to retweet all the #BlogExodus and #Exodusgram posts through Twitter via @imabima. If I miss your posts, let me know so I can go back and be inspired by what YOU have to say!

*Yes, I know that I put the Shabbat dates there. I don't blog/tweet/Facebook on Shabbat but I will post on Fridays before Shabbat and on Saturdays after Shabbat is over. You can, of course, do it any way you like!

BlogExodus Topics 2017/5777
 1 Nisan - Launch 
 2 Nisan - Exalt 
 3 Nisan - Cleanse 
 4 Nisan - Rise 
 5 Nisan - Seek 
 6 Nisan - Retell 
 7 Nisan - Read 
 8 Nisan - Expand 
 9 Nisan - Perplex 
 10 Nisan - Join 
 11 Nisan - Celebrate 
 12 Nisan - Reveal 
 13 Nisan - Welcome
14 Nisan - Thank