Passover, A Lesson In Unity

by Jerry Waxman

It is Erev Shabbat and the second day of the Passover holiday.  Much has occurred lately to remind us of how we, Jews, are consistently singled out for “special” treatment. 

Barack Obama and his family hosted a Passover Seder in the White House.  This is encouraging to Jews everywhere.  The president even remarked that  the story of the Jews’ Passover flight from Egypt was “among the most powerful stories of suffering and redemption in human history.”  Furthermore, he said, “As part of a larger global community, we all must work to ensure that our brothers and sisters of every race, religious culture and nationallity are free from bondage and repression, and are able to live in peace.”

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These are nice words.  But we have to wonder who he’s talking about.  In his recent pronouncements, he has joined the world community in calling for Israel to abide by the Saudi plan.  He has said the current situation is unacceptable, and there is only one solution – the Saudi plan.  Aside from the fact that “only one solution” betrays a very limited imagination, has anyone in the world leadership community ever bothered to ask, “What interest do the Saudis have in making a plan for Israel?”

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Anybody can have a Passover seder. But the only ones who can possibly identify with the story are those whom the story is about.  Us.  No other nation on earth has a similar history. In every generation since we left Egypt, there has always been someone or some ones who have threatened to destroy us completely. That threat is very real today, but we cannot expect any of the world leaders to comprehend that threat as we do. 

We cannot fault President Barack Obama for thinking as he does.  We cannot even fault former President Bush for orchestrating some serious mistakes which Obama is about to repeat.  The responsibility lies with us.  The Jewish people only survive, let alone thrive, when they act in unity. 

That is what the story of Passover is about.  We all left Egypt together, as one people with a common purpose.  We all were headed to our own homeland together.  There was always room for differences in opinion.  But when it came to preserving ourselves as a nation, we were all in agreement that that was a worthy cause.

Today we are not only scattered geographically, we have severe conflicts amongst ourselves as to whether we deserve to exist or not.  Or whether we even should  have a homeland of our own.  Too many Jews have become apathetic and don’t even see the threat that is present today. Too many Jews have “forgotten.”

In case you’re wondering what threat I’m talking about, Iran is only part of the problem.  There are some 23 countries, most larger in area and population than Israel, that would like to wipe the Jewish state off the map.  A pro-Palestinian media (and propaganda) campaign has succeeded in getting much of the world – including scholars at major universities – to think like the leaders of those 23 countries. 

I may have the advantage of perspective. I live in this tiny land mass that all our neighbors want to take us out of.  Here we have front row seats to what happens when we go along with the whims of world leaders:

Recently, under pressure from the European Union, the U.N., and the United States, Israel took down some checkpoints and relaxed security in many areas. Last week, an Arab came into a Jewish town, and killed a 13 year old boy with an axe.  He tried to kill a 7 year old as well, but that boy survived and is in stable condition. Most agree that this attack would have been much less possible had security not been relaxed.

The sad thing is, we know that incidents like the above rise whenever Israel makes concessions.  Another sad thing is that many people don’t realize who the targets of these attacks are.  It is not just the people who live in Israel, it is the Jewish people wherever they live. 

There is always good news! We always win in the end, somehow.  That’s what it says in the Haggadah.  We always get saved.  But it is never by magic.  We only get saved when we all decide to save ourselves. 

And that is another message of the Passover Seder, I think.  We preserve our nation by preserving our customs.  We preserve our customs by handing them down from generation to generation. At the Seder we remind ourselves and the next generation of how our customs got started; and why we make this occasion different from all other nights.

Remarkably, I think, the majority of Jews in the world, regardless of their affiliation or their personal beliefs, like to join a Passover seder.  In Israel, it appears that most who are not religious by any means, refrain from eating chametz for the entire holiday. Why? Maybe they identify with being Jews.

Maybe that is what will save us this generation, the realization of who we are; the realization that we are separate from the other nations, not because we try to be; but because that just happens to be the way the world sees us.  So, yes, we can gladly join the global community and “work to ensure that our brothers and sisters of every race …. are able to live in peace.”  But we also understand that the global community has never welcomed us with open arms, and we have the responsibility of working to ensure that we continue to survive as a nation.  And that comes when we unify and live in peace amongst ourselves. 

Shabbat Shalom and Chag Sameach to all, including all who live or work in the White House. 

 

 

 

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