Mar 27th 2009, 00:00

   The history of April Fool's Day or All Fool's Day is uncertain, but the current thinking is that it began around 1582 in France with the reform of the calendar under Charles IX. The Gregorian Calendar was introduced, and New Year's Day was moved from March 25-April 1 (new year's week) to January 1.

   It is interesting to think that our secular new year’s celebration at one time occurred at the cusp of the spring season. Spring is the beginning of life for many species, and we as Jews celebrate Passover (also known as Chag Ha’Aviv – the Holiday of the Spring) - in terms of the beginning of our quest for the Promised Land.

   This year, April 1/April Fool’s Day will fall on the last session of Religious/Hebrew School before we begin our Spring Break. We will spend that day having our annual pre-Passover seder. By popular request, we will have a “Chocolate Seder,” and there will be lots of fooling around during the course of our “meal.” If you’ve never attended a chocolate seder, you are more than welcome to join us (ok, even if you’ve attended one, you are still welcome!). While this is normally a day that our youngest students don’t attend, we hope they will join us to celebrate.

   Passover brings to the surface the memories of the past as well as the anticipation of the future. I remember from my childhood the annual cleaning of the kitchen that preceded the cooking that my mother did for the holiday. My sister and I would get new dresses to be worn at our seder, and there was the setting of the table with the best china and silverware that only came out that one time a year. The house smelled special with the blending of the ingredients that would become our Passover meal. No other  holiday had that combination of smells, and to this day I hold onto the tradition of making the charoset, no matter where I spend the first night seder (cinnamon is one of those spices that permeates my Passover cooking!).

   In our school, the children are anticipating the passing of the year ahead, from this Passover to the next, when we hopefully will see the completion of Project Legacy. This spring, we hope to clean out closets and book shelves in our classrooms so that things can be stored during construction. The children are definitely eager to move into new classrooms that provide an environment for positive Jewish learning and social connections!

   Parents will not be left behind in this process of getting ready for the “Exodus” from our old classrooms. We will need lots of help to pack everything up – watch your email and future issues of The Scroll for the date of our ”packing party.”

   I want to wish you and your loved ones a happy and healthy Passover. May this year’s holiday be one of freedom for you and may your Promised Land be close at hand.