Friday night, April 22, was the first night of Passover, which celebrates the liberation of the Israelites from slavery. This is a sacred holiday of remembrance, good food, family, friends and community. It is a holiday that teaches us and challenges us.
Passover is a story that began in a narrow, dark land where we knew our names but forgot who we were. It’s a story of how we lost our way and fell until we reached a place where we could no longer speak. A place where we couldn’t stay where we were, but didn’t yet know how to leave. It’s a story about last minute hope. About a faith that pulled us forward and helped us take that first step toward freedom. It’s a story about how God picked us up and brought us from despair to joy, from darkness to light, from chaos to meaning. It’s a story that continues to evolve today because our stories don’t end. They are passed from generation to generation, and each of us adds our own part of hope, redemption and learning how to grow beyond yesterday’s narrow space.
At Passover we need to:
1. Learn how to ask. Most great achievements in life begin with a question. Be curious. Speak up. Ask! Ask about the salt water and the parsley. About the matzah and the pillows on our chairs. Ask about the Seder plate with the bitter herbs that bring tears to our eyes. Do not hesitate to ask. How can we find answers if we do not begin with questions?
2. Responsibility for each other. We invite all who are hungry to come and eat because we are responsible for one another. Some people are hungry for food, while others are hungry for wisdom. Whatever we have we should share as much as we can.
3. Embrace challenges. On our Seder table is salt water which represents the tears of slaves both from times past and from today. And there are bitter herbs that we will eat to remember the suffering we endured and other continue to endure. We speak of our challenges and remember our tears because we can see now how they transformed us, how they moved us, how they taught us how to yearn for freedom. Embrace challenges. Learn from them. Remember them. They brought us to this place today.
4. Take action. Thinking and preparing for change are important steps but what matters in the end is following through with our actions. Matzah teaches us the importance of acting quickly when we know something is the right thing to do. When we had the opportunity to escape enslavement, we fled. Like the Syrians and other refugees today, we had no time to wait for bread to rise, so we eat unleavened bread to remind us to move, to do, to run towards our goal.
5. Practice Jewish gratitude. During the Seder (the traditional meal) we sing a song called Dayenu (It would have been enough). It would have been enough for us if all we did was wake up this morning, but You gave us water. And that would have been enough but in Your great kindness You gave us food, and sight and hearing and legs and hands. This is the kind of gratitude that teaches us during the hardest of days that we have so much to be thankful for. That all of life is a precious gift.
6. The meaning of freedom. Some people think freedom means being able to do what we want whenever we want to. But the Jewish definition of freedom is the ability to create a meaningful life with authentic values and to create a close connection with our Creator. Freedom is living a life of constant growth and striving to live up to our potential. Freedom is the understanding that until all people are free, none can truly be free.
Geography and family history may change the setting and even some of the food. But the essence of the Passover story does not change. The challenge for all of us is to not just say the words and celebrate the holiday, but to incorporate the lessons we learned and begin the process of making ourselves, our families, our communities, our nation and the world a better and safer place.
• Chava Lee is the president of Congregation Sukkat Shalom.
