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| Sat, 26 Apr 2025 10:18:24 -0500 — |
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Thoughts On Passover
by Michael Goldstein Saturday, April 12, 2025 |
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Chag Pesach Sameach!
Tonight, Jewish children all over the world will hear the story of Passover, some for the first time. For many of them, their education into Judaism… its culture, its traditions, its heritage… begins tonight. I still remember when I was 5 years old, my maternal grandfather, an orthodox alta cocker who laid tefillin twice a day, grabbed me by my shoulders at the Seder, shook me, and said, "Remember, you were a stranger in Egypt, the House of Bondage." That seemed a bit strange to me since I didn’t think I had ever been to Egypt and nobody ever tied me up where we lived in Brooklyn, except maybe my older sister, but I was five and he was who knew how old, so I just nodded my head and listened as my mother breathed a sigh of relief. It scares me a little that that was 81 Passovers ago, and now I’m the alta cocker. By the way, in Scripture, Egypt is described as the House of Bondage more than ten times… at least eight of which are in the Torah. As time went on I learned more about our Judaic heritage, as I hope today’s children will. Yes, I was a bar mitzvah in the orthodox synagogue to which my grandfather belonged, but after that I pretty much avoided going to services except to get out of duty on Friday nights during Basic Training at Fort Knox. Although I have been an atheist for more than 70 years, I continue to treasure my heritage as a Jew… our heritage. Every year at the Seder we say, "We were slaves to Pharaoh in Egypt." This is our family story. We look at the matzah and we say, "This is the bread of affliction our ancestors ate in Egypt." It doesn’t matter whether or not it happened or whether or not we believe it happened… the telling of it is one of our treasured traditions. We must never fail to tell those who follow us about it. All of us know the phrase "the Jews are God’s chosen people." As a kid who knew about the Nazi horror, I said, "if we’re God’s chosen, what were we chosen for?" Then I learned about Tikkun Olam, a Hebrew phrase meaning "repairing the world." That is what the Jews were chosen for… chosen to do. Tikkun Olam is a core concept in Judaism, perhaps the core concept. It refers to our responsibility to work towards making the world a better place, encompassing social justice, environmentalism, and other forms of positive action. Like you, I’ve tried to live my life helping to repair the world just a little. For me, other Judaic core concepts include humility, honesty, and benevolence. Next month will mark the 80th anniversary of V E Day. The tears of joy that were shed on that day were mixed with the bitter tears of inexpressible grief and the hell beyond hell that had been visited upon Jews. Passover is a celebration of freedom. It calls to all of us to not forget our heritage. Amnesia is a frightening illness. It can happen to an individual, and it can happen to a people. More than a hundred years ago, Asher Ginsberg, the founder of Cultural Zionism, said, "It is not the Jews who have kept the Sabbath, but the Sabbath that has kept the Jews." There are far too many Jews today who choose to not identify with… or to simply ignore… their heritage and do not participate in its customs and traditions. Let us all try to do what we can, even within our own circles of friends, to reduce that number. We Jews welcome serious commentary within our community. We see the value of multiple perspectives. We remember the past and we hope for the future, all while finding happiness and purpose in the present. Have a zitsen Pesach. Michael Goldstein |
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April 13, 2025
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