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| Sun, 22 Dec 2024 01:49:52 -0600 — |
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Thoughts On Passover
by Michael Goldstein Saturday, April 27, 2024 |
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The Passover story is a universal one of overcoming oppression and striving for freedom. It is also the source of three core Judaic beliefs: The obligation to care for strangers; The requirement to worship a monotheistic deity that cannot be heard, seen, or touched; That every person is made in the image of God.
Today, we watch in horror as yet another devastating war unfolds in the Promised Land. Its consequences threaten Jews everywhere, even here in our own nation. It is important now to reflect on and consider the three messages of Passover: Freedom; Love; Justice. One; Freedom: In Exodus, God commands Moses to tell Pharaoh, "So said the Lord, Let My people go out and serve Me.” So this is not only about freedom from troubles. It is also about freedom to serve. God's covenant with Abraham marked the Jews as God's chosen people, but chosen has nothing to do with having special privileges. It has to do with having special responsibilities. We Jews are charged with making the world better… tikkun olam, repairing the world. That is what chosen means. Two; Love: Every year the litany is the same: "You shall love the stranger because we were strangers in Egypt." All Jewish children have it seared into their brains again and again so they will always feel it in their heart of hearts. It doesn't matter if we were never slaves in Egypt. That’s not the point. The point is that we are obligated to empathize with the suffering of others and to do something about it. I believe that Judaism's single greatest contribution to civilization is that every human being is sacred and is worthy of dignity and respect. Three; Justice: The Passover story remains a central tenant of Judaic social justice. Moses grows outraged by the cruelty he sees and kills an overseer who is beating a slave. He flees to Midian. He then gets his calling from a burning bush, and becomes the world's first abolitionist. Ever since, we Jews have been commanded to be moral in our dealings. Forty years in the desert burned it into our heads. Many of us question whether anything we read in the Haggadah ever happened at all. It doesn't matter. What matters is the message. Passover reminds us that we must stand for all those who cannot stand for themselves; the enslaved, the poor, the addicted, the infirm… others, no matter the reason. In Genesis, the angel tells Jacob: “Your name shall no longer be Jacob, but Israel, for you have wrestled with God and with men, and have prevailed.” We should use our freedom to wrestle with the crises in the Middle East and with injustice and oppression around the world. The covenant of Abraham demands it. Let us not disappoint. One Golden Calf was certainly enough. Chag Pesach Sameach. Happy Passover. Michael Goldstein |
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