What Passover Keeps Teaching Me

On tradition, symbolism, discernment, and why the miracle rarely comes before the choice.

Passover … a holiday of liberation.

From who? From what?
A good question to ponder, right?!

If you celebrate, I’m wishing you a liberating, healthy, and meaningful Passover. For those celebrating anything around this time (or any time, really), I’m wishing you a real sense of spring … a continued opening toward freedom and peace, and a clearer understanding of what actually matters in your life.

Passover inspired me to share this with you. I believe that sometimes we need permission to do holidays in a way that feels honest and aligned … not inherited without thought or performed for the sake of appearance.

That applies to holidays … and applies to life.

To me, holidays are not about getting it “right” by someone else’s standards or following every rule. They are about participating in something meaningful and honouring tradition in a way that reflects who you are … and where you are. I make my grandmother’s recipes, set the table with objects inherited … from candlesticks to wine glasses. I love to bring those that forged traditions and created meaningful memories to my table.

^ my son, Ryan Storm and my 102.9 year old grandmother at this years first night Seder

I also love bringing my own things to the table … ideas, for sure. I love symbolism and see it as something functional … something we can return to and something that can guide and remind us what we are choosing … and why it matters.

I recently re-shared this quote by Danielle Shai on Instagram because it struck me deeply, and it feels connected and to how we live our lives every day.

“The sea did not split before they moved. It split when they were already in it. They did not wait for proof. They moved, and the proof followed. Freedom did not begin with miracles. It began with a decision.”

What a reminder.

We are not here to wait for everything to make sense. When could that even happen?! We also cannot wait for (or count on) certainty. We move … and in that movement, something opens. Count on it.

That is where change happens and where freedom begins.

Not after the miracle or the clarity … not after the approval or the proof … but with our choices.

That is part of what I love about Passover.

We gather, share stories, love, laughter, memory, discomfort, truth, song, and a beautiful meal. And in the centre of it all is the Seder Plate. It is rooted in tradition, honours the story of Passover, and, in our home, it is shaped by what feels true for us here and now.

Every year it evolves … I want to share ours with you.

Our Seder Plate, This Year

Haroset
Haroset symbolizes building, creation, vision, hope, and renewal. We make ours with raw shredded apples, lemon juice, spring’s maple syrup, hemp hearts, and real cinnamon. It is simple, alive, and intentional. Traditionally made with nuts, we omit them as we cater to everyone we love around the table … especially when there is a life-threatening allergy.

Pickle Brine
Salty living water represents tears. As we acknowledge new life and renewal, we also remember those who have suffered, struggled, and those who are suffering and struggling now. All of us in some ways.

Israeli Dates
This represents natural sweetness plus endurance and sacredness. Grown in desert conditions, dates reflect resilience and depth. They can remind us that truth and meaning are not undone by noise, ignorance, or misplaced hatred.

Roasted Beets
These deep coloured roasted roots reflect choice. They represent the understanding that we are allowed to eat in a way that supports our individual body (and spirit), while recognizing that sacrifice has been made all along the supply chain for us to enjoy what is here now for us.

Fresh Radish Sprouts
These sprouts and horseradish represent bitterness … both past and present. They remind us that discomfort can strengthen us and add intense flavour. They are about us moving forward together with awareness … not avoidance.

Greens
Our greens this year included celery, pea shoots, kale microgreens, various pickles, parsley, and cucumbers reflecting spring, growth, renewal, and Kind Food. They help us celebrate local farmers, food makers, and the possibility of regeneration through our everyday choices … including every single ingredient we enjoy in our shared meal.

Avocado … or Avocado Pit
Always have to have something representing the cycle of life … there will always be milestones to celebrate, even in the chaos. Take the time.

Onion
Oh, the layers. We bring attention to our complexity and differences … we are layered, and compassion is necessary. For ourselves and for each other.

A Whole Head of Garlic
Not all garlic is created equal. Our local and organic garlic represents strength and clarity. Our homegrown garlic is unmistakable and impossible to tone down. It reminds us to be fully ourselves without shrinking or reshaping to fit spaces that are not meant for us. It reinforces that belonging comes from honesty, not from becoming more palatable.

Olives
No matter the variety, olives represent peace … along with discernment. They remind us that we can stand for peace while refusing harm, and that we can make conscious choices about where we place our support and what we choose to participate in or amplify.

Our Passover dinner reflects the same approach.
Food is meant to nourish us … and our shared world.

It is not about perfection … we are all perfectly imperfect … or imperfectly perfect. It IS about participation thought … ours individually and collectively.

Over the years, our menus have evolved based on what feels good, what is available locally, our choices, and our lifestyle. That, to me, is not a lesser version of tradition. It is an alive one. Permission to be our ever-evolving selves.

Passover asks us to consider what we are carrying forward, what we are ready to release, and where freedom is actually asking us to move in our own lives right now.

That is not a small question and it is not only a holiday question.

The miracle does not come first.
Our choices do.

Wishing you a Passover and a spring that feels real, grounded, and fully your own. And full of your your meaningful choices honouring all and who comes before you.

I also wish us all to have more reason to gather with those we love and love us, more courage to choose what is true, and more moments of freedom that begin even before anything outward has changed.