Passover Seder 2005 (5765)
Last night I had the pleasure of attending, along with about 20 other guests, a Passover Seder at a friend’s house. Included in this group were not only my friend’s immediate and extended family, but a Rabbi, a Roman Catholic Priest, and a Methodist Minister. It was a wonderful, congenial group, who all took part in the Seder service, read from the Passover Haggadah, and enjoyed the meal that followed. The giving thanks prayers and songs that followed the sumptuous meal were enjoyed by all. All in all it was an ecumenical group that came to celebrate the freedom of the Jewish people in ancient times.
This freedom from the tyranny of slavery, put upon them by their Egyptian masters, was God’s first covenant with the Jews as a people, as opposed to the individual covenants given to the patriarchs of the Hebrew Bible. The Supreme Being confirmed this important freedom when granting the Ten Commandments to Moses at Sinai, and gave the first commandment to read, “I am the Lord thy God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.” That covenant and that commandment continue to exist today, thousands of years later, and are at the basic core of the celebration of Passover.
Each year Jews throughout the world celebrate this freedom and retell the story of the Exodus as commanded by the rabbis of ancient times. It is not meant to be an historic telling of slavery and freedom that happened to our forebearers, but rather a retelling of what happened to “us.” The Haggadah says, “For ‘we’ were slaves in Egypt, but the Lord our God took ‘us’ out from there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm.” That ‘we’ is the key that ties us together as a people that has lived through the atrocities of destruction of the Temple by the Romans; the killings of Jews throughout Europe and the Holy Land by the Crusades; the Inquisitions of Spain, Portugal, and Italy; the expulsions of Jews at one time or the other from just about all European countries, the opening and restrictions of ghettos (the first being in Italy); the burning of Torahs and Talmuds by order of the Church; the murder of 6,000,000 Jews in Nazi German concentration camps; and on and on and on. It didn’t happen to ‘them’ but rather to ‘us’ and it binds ‘us’ down to the depth of our souls.
But ‘we’ don’t forget, and never will forget, the freedom granted by God to ‘us’ and people of all races, nationalities and religions who celebrate that freedom with us. That was the beauty of last night’s Seder. You could not help but feel the warmth, understanding, and respect that filled the air, from people of good will, who go forward without a feeling of prejudice.
I guess that’s why ‘we’, the Jewish people, are still around after thousands of years. Not only because ‘we’ won’t forget slavery, but also because you can always find people of all faiths who are part of that ‘we’, and celebrate freedom.
This freedom from the tyranny of slavery, put upon them by their Egyptian masters, was God’s first covenant with the Jews as a people, as opposed to the individual covenants given to the patriarchs of the Hebrew Bible. The Supreme Being confirmed this important freedom when granting the Ten Commandments to Moses at Sinai, and gave the first commandment to read, “I am the Lord thy God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.” That covenant and that commandment continue to exist today, thousands of years later, and are at the basic core of the celebration of Passover.
Each year Jews throughout the world celebrate this freedom and retell the story of the Exodus as commanded by the rabbis of ancient times. It is not meant to be an historic telling of slavery and freedom that happened to our forebearers, but rather a retelling of what happened to “us.” The Haggadah says, “For ‘we’ were slaves in Egypt, but the Lord our God took ‘us’ out from there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm.” That ‘we’ is the key that ties us together as a people that has lived through the atrocities of destruction of the Temple by the Romans; the killings of Jews throughout Europe and the Holy Land by the Crusades; the Inquisitions of Spain, Portugal, and Italy; the expulsions of Jews at one time or the other from just about all European countries, the opening and restrictions of ghettos (the first being in Italy); the burning of Torahs and Talmuds by order of the Church; the murder of 6,000,000 Jews in Nazi German concentration camps; and on and on and on. It didn’t happen to ‘them’ but rather to ‘us’ and it binds ‘us’ down to the depth of our souls.
But ‘we’ don’t forget, and never will forget, the freedom granted by God to ‘us’ and people of all races, nationalities and religions who celebrate that freedom with us. That was the beauty of last night’s Seder. You could not help but feel the warmth, understanding, and respect that filled the air, from people of good will, who go forward without a feeling of prejudice.
I guess that’s why ‘we’, the Jewish people, are still around after thousands of years. Not only because ‘we’ won’t forget slavery, but also because you can always find people of all faiths who are part of that ‘we’, and celebrate freedom.
posted by Sam Schoolsky | 12:21 PM
1 Comments:
Sam--I enjoy the choices you make to write about. Very poignant that several religions were represented at the seder. I agree about the celebration of freedom. Thanks for sharing your seder event.
Post a Comment
<< Home