Today I tried to explain some of the Passover rules to a non-Jewish person, and yes, she was perplexed.

“Well, you see, the prohibition is on leaven, and there are these five traditional grains that will puff up if they are exposed to water and air, so we can’t eat any of their products unless they’ve been baked in less than 18 minutes after being made wet …”

Put like that, without context, it’s not just perplexing, it’s freakin’ insane. And I haven’t even got into kitniyot, which I am slowly incorporating into our Pesach life, thanks to the recent ruling by the Conservative movement, allowing us to eat them. I still don’t see rice on the Seder table, but there may be halva on our matzah this year, and possibly green beans on the plates as well. It feels very weird, but liberating.

What else is perplexing this time of year? The weather is very moody, the river is still trying to decide whether to overflow its banks or not, and Pesach will come whether we are ready or not.

Deep breaths, people, deep breaths.

What is perplexing you today?