Yup, the Ps are coming

What I'm about to write may be Painful for some People or Perhaps Puzzling (amazing how many P words English Produces). Now that January 1 has come and gone I've taken a look at my Purim and Pesach lists and made the decision as to which items should not under any circumstances be left to do immediately before those holidays. The time to do them is now, when, relatively speaking, I have time for them.


So much of the panic that ensues in the time period between pre-Purim and Pesach is totally and completely avoidable. If we become frazzled during that time, the cause is ourselves.

So, do you have some idea about where you will be having Purim Seudah? If it's going to be in your home a bit of thinking now saves a lot of aggravation erev Purim. Are you going to be serving on china or using disposables? If disposables, buy them now and put them away. No reason to make that a trip when you are going to be busy cooking. Do you know to whom you are going to be sending Shalach Monos? Why not? Talk to your family now, type up the list, put it in a file in the computer and breathe easier when it's the week of Purim. [And if that shalach monos list seems to resemble the population roll of a small urban city, you might want to give some thought to reducing that list.]

As for Pesach, take a deep breath and think of all the work that you do every year right before the holiday. How much of it really needs to be done then? Probably a lot less than you figure. Do you wash your bedroom curtains every year for Pesach? Why? Or polish and clean your chandelier? Or rearrange your linen closet? Or alphabetize your bookshelves? (never mind removing all those books and cleaning and polishing all the shelves) Do you find yourself up on a step ladder peering into the uppermost regions of storage areas whose contents have not seen the light of day for years? Do all the windows in the house require washing only when Pesach is imminent? Ladies, we are guilty of producing some of that pre-Pesach hysteria, and there's no reason for it.

As I'm writing this the bedroom curtains are merrily twirling in the washing machine. They have nothing to do with having a kosher Pesach and a lot to do with housekeeping madness. They are getting done now, not when they become yet one more item on an impossible to do list. And no, I'm not calling these cleaning chores Pesach preparation. They have zero, zip, nada to do with Pesach, except where we have somehow inscribed them in our minds as being "necessary" for having a Kosher Pesach.

So yes, I'm recommending a P word--planning. And I'm also recommending another P word--purging, such as in purging from your erev Yom Tov lists those items that can be done at some other time, waaaaay in advance of the holiday, or long after it is over.

Perhaps if people would Plan ahead they might find themselves experiencing another P word that some balabustas never get to--Pleasure in the holiday.