Instead of Cleaning…

As we near the final few days before Pesach, every Jew I know is doing one thing and one thing only.

Cleaning.

Except for those who go away for all of Pesach. Whether its enjoying time at a resort or staying with family for all eight days, it’s really not a bad idea. That is if you can make it work.
Jenna Weissman-Joselit explores, in the Forward, the growing phenomenon of Passover vacationing:

Going away for Pesach has as much to do with religious practice as it does with economic matters. Heightened attentiveness to the minutiae of ritual observance has no doubt prompted many families to abandon their homes for the duration of the holiday, lest their efforts at housecleaning, at eliminating every trace of hametz, fail to pass muster.

And that’s just the half of it. Add to the mix changes in family structure and dynamic — more and more working women; more and more families living at great distances from one another; more and more children of divorce — and going away for Passover looks more and more appealing by degrees.  (MORE)