Black Widow Has The Last Word

In compiling this Haggadah, one thing became clear; when it came to our pop culture heroes, there were lots of memes with fun catchphrases like "I could do this all day," and "live long and prosper" and "I'm Batman." But not so much when it comes to the women who share hero status with their male counterparts. Wonder Woman GIFs feature spinning, or amored ass-kicking, or diving into a lagoon. Most Natasha Romanoff GIFs are without any dialogue, just showing her dropping into a crouched position (a.k.a. "the Pose") or doing a backflip. Both are cool, but illustrate a challenge in terms of giving these women their words.

But we wanted to give these powerful women some balance in this Haggadah compilation, at the same time, giving some balance to the role that Jewish women have played in "making Passover happen." Of course, this is a gender binary statement; not all Passovers are made by women, not all men absent themselves from the preparation. But in many homes, prep and cleanup may fall disproportionally, when it comes to gender. Or as Nat might have said, "I'm always picking up after you boys." We've always thought that Natasha Romanoff might have Jewish ancestry; she's certainly embodying the self-sacrifice and martyrdom that many of us may associate with our Jewish mothers.

So whatever the balance of work is in your house over Passovers past, take a look around and notice who's picking up after whom. And, regardless of what you see, lend a helping hand or two. Remember how powerful a team is when it assembles to fight for justice and equality.

Next year in Jerusalem, a city whose name embodies fullness, completeness, wholeness.


haggadah Section: Conclusion
Source: Esther Kustanowitz