Passover 2011 begins Monday evening, April 18. And whether you are Jewish or not, whether you will be at a seder this year or not, the value of telling the story of liberation has never been greater.
Who doesn't long for greater freedom? Passover provides an opportunity to reconnect not only to the longing for liberation, but to a way of attaining it for ourselves, and for others as well.
"In every generation each person should see themselves as if they personally were part of the exodus from Egypt." So says the Talmud (Pesachim 116b), but what does that really mean? Is it possible to do as most classical commentaries suggest -- engage in a psycho-spiritual transformation which crosses the boundaries of time and space, to actually see ourselves as if we are leaving Egypt?
Recognizing the difficulty of such radical empathy, other commentators suggest that we need not see ourselves as the actual people leaving Egypt. Instead, they teach that we should present ourselves as those people by reenacting what they did -- hence many of the practices of the seder such as eating matzo and bitter herbs. Following a classically Jewish approach, we focus on practice, doing as our ancestors did and leave feeling as they felt to forces beyond our immediate control.
More recently, many have taken inspiration from the fact the Hebrew word for Egypt, Mitzrayim, literally means "tight spots." The challenge of seeing ourselves leaving Egypt is not going back in time, but confronting the tight spots in our own personal lives, seeing a path out of them and celebrating the first steps taken on that path. But, like so much else in our increasingly atomized culture, this approach loses the collective or communal intensity of a shared Exodus.
Sometimes though there are specific historic events in which we really can see ourselves -- in which we can readily feel ourselves as being among those who have left a place of slavery and begun the march toward greater freedom and dignity. This is one of those years -- a year when Americans are privileged to celebrate two Exodus stories, one ancient and the other quite modern.
Fifty years ago this spring, as Jews around the world celebrated leaving Egypt, America was setting out on a new exodus of its own. Like the Jewish people of old, Americans were striking out for new reality, one for which, in many ways, they were unprepared. But as in the earlier exodus, there was a sense that the time had come for a new journey to freedom. The possibility of fulfilling long held dreams gave people the courage to set out. This year we can celebrate both of those journeys, and build a better future by doing so.
In May 1961, the first Freedom Riders left Washington, D.C., for New Orleans, La. Of course, long before there were Freedom Riders, there were "Freedom Walkers" -- our ancestors who left Egypt and celebrated the first Passover. We can walk in our ancestors' steps and ride in our parents and grandparents seats, if we dare to dream as big as they did. And when we do, we really will see ourselves as those leaving Egypt.
Passover is a time of hopes and dreams. They need not be fully understood and their realization may be far off, as was the case for both the Freedom Riders and "Freedom Walkers," but that is what distinguishes a dream from a plan. But by articulating our hopes and dreams, and taking the first steps toward them, we can liberate ourselves and improve our world. That, too, is proved by the lives of those who walked and rode before us.
Like the thousands who boarded buses all over America in the 1960s, the ancient Israelites and those who joined them were animated by dreams -- of better lives, greater freedom and the realization of their nation's full potential. Passover is our chance to join their journeys by adding our dreams to theirs.
Whether at a formal seder or simply over the dinner which will become a seder as you imagine how to liberate yourself and others in need of liberation, consider the following questions:
What were the dreams of the ancient Israelites who the Bible portrays leaving Egypt? What dreams empowered a people who had been enslaved for hundreds of years to take those first steps into freedom?
What dreams filed the hearts of the daring souls who rode buses through the south?
How do dreams provide courage and motivate action against seemingly insurmountable odds? When else in human history has that happened?
Perhaps most importantly, take a moment to articulate, even if only to yourself, one liberation dream you have -- for yourself, for your community, for America or for the world. If it's likely to be accomplished any time soon, try dreaming bigger.
Finally, articulate one concrete step you can take to realize your dream. When you do, you will be walking with ancient Israelites and riding with American heroes. You will see yourself as one leaving Egypt because you will be.
Follow Brad Hirschfield on Twitter: www.twitter.com/bradhirschfield
Passover 2011 - Pesach - Jewish Holidays
Kashrut.com - PASSOVER 2011 INFORMATION
Give up eating that awful dried up and stale crap we call matzo.
Is this the Passover message? A noble thought maybe, but it seems to be a bit off track.
In 70 AD the temple in Jerusalem was destroyed by the Romans where the Jewish people brought animals to be slain for a blood sacrifice for the atonement for sin. Since then the temple has not been rebuilt. Where is the blood sacrifice for the atonement of sin?
As Passover is celebrated and its meaning gets muddled through thousands of years waiting for the Messiah it might behoove us to dwell on what G-d’s meaning for Passover truly is and not what we’d like it to be.
Exodus 12:21 Then Moses called for all the elders of Israel, and said unto them, Draw out and take you a lamb according to your families, and kill the passover.
23 For the LORD will pass through to smite the Egyptians; and when he seeth the blood upon the lintel, and on the two side posts, the LORD will pass over the door, and will not suffer the destroyer to come in unto your houses to smite you.
It is the blood atonement that saves us from destruction.
The problem with your comment, with all due respect, is that you're trying to put a Christian spin on a Jewish concept. In Judaism, it's not about the blood. Animals represented prosperity and wealth, and sacrificing those (a) was a sign of giving up some of that prosperity, either out of thanks or atonement, and (b) to feed the priests of the temple who owned no property and depended on eating the sacrifices for sustenance. After all, people who couldn't afford to sacrifice animals were allowed to bring offerings of flour instead, which didn't require blood.
I have no problem with your own beliefs, but it's quite insulting to redefine other people's beliefs.
11. But if he cannot afford two turtle doves or two young doves, then he shall bring as his sacrifice for his sin one tenth of an ephah of fine flour for a sin offering. He shall not put oil over it, nor shall he place frankincense upon it, for it is a sin offering.
12. He shall bring it to the kohen, and the kohen shall scoop out a fistful as its reminder, and cause it to [go up in] smoke on the altar, upon the fires of the Lord. It is a sin offering.
Again, it's not about the blood. It's about giving up something of value.
If it's not about blood, then why did G-d require blood to be placed on the lintels and side posts of the homes of the Israelites in Egypt as stated in the book of Exodus? I dare say wealth and prosperity had nothing to do with it.
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Certainlyfolks livinginGazado