April 7, 1944
13
DETROIT JEWISH CHRONICLE and The Legal Chronicle
TRILOGY
read the Haggadah while the tinues to have a message which
rest of the company, especially is at once dynamic and contem-
the youthful element, maintain porary.
(Continued from Page 4)
a raucous fire of pseudo-witti-
The First Lesson
The first lesson of Passover is
tions as the youngest in the cisms and banalities.
Strangely enough, these young ORGANIZATION.
group.
Perhaps aged Jews in their men and women who assert that
The passionate response of the
c eremonial finery provide a pic- they attend the Seder for the yOung Egyptian noble, Moses, in
turesque setting. on-Jews receive sake of "the old folks" are in slaying a taskmaster over the
the impression that only a dying many instances the same individ- Hebrews, is an abortive, futile
- generation adheres to the prac• uals who (leery the lack of beau- escape.
tices of our people. And many ty in Jewish life, and erect
The Bible utilizes it merely to
.Jews would second that belief. Christmas trees in their homes so propel Moses into exile.
The Seder crystallizes the er that the children may enjoy
The Biblical account does not
tire attitude of the Jewish tradi- them.
suggest that this isolated activity
tion toward the home. Just as
A consciousness of the historic stimulated collective rebellion.
the rabbi is not a priest, so too continuity of Jewish life would We are reminded, in this con-
the synagogue is not a church. advise these persons, "For cen- nection, of a remarkable passage
The learned Jewish layman may allies before you were born, the in "Living My Life," the auto-
perform the functions, and the Jew has celebrated the Passover. biography of that impassioned
synagogue does not have a mo- For centuries and millenia after iconoclast, Emma Goldman, in
nopoly on Jewish ceremonialism. you have been returned to the which she writes:
The blessing of the Sabbath oblivion from whence you came,
"There is a mistaken notion in
lights, the Kiddush, the Hay- Jews will continue to observe some quarters . . . that organi-
dalah, and a host of other cus- the Passover. Whether you will zation does not foster individual
toms are concentrated on the it or not, you are identified with freedom; that, on the contrary,
Jewish home. Especially on Pass- the Marrano of Spain, the Chas- it means the decay of individual-
over, when the father of the sid of Rumania, the Talmudist ity. In reality, however, the true
house is king at the Seder table, of Lithuania. Make use of this function of organization is to
does the Jewish home become a opportunity to identify yourself aid the development and growth
with this tradition, for it will of personality. Just as the animal
sanctified institution.
Just Another Meal
lend your own existence historic cells, by mutual cooperation, ex-
We have good reason to in- significance." press their latent powers in the
quire, however, whether in too
There are census-Jews in Amer- formation of complete organism,
many American Jewish homes the ica who logically cannot be so does the individuality, by co-
Seder has not degenerated into counted within the Jewish coin- operative effort with other indi-
just another meal, an elaborate munity. Perhaps their number vidualities, attain its highest form
meal, to be sure, but devoid of will continue, and the Seder ta- of development. An organization,
any peculiarly Jewish significance. ble will grow smaller. But the in the true sense, cannot result
Too common is the scene at observance of the Passover will from the combination of mere
the Seder where one or two of continue. Not only because it nonentities. It must be composed
the older generation endeavor to marks a great revival from salve- of self-conscious, intelligent in-
or into freedom. Not only because dividualities. Indeed, the total of
it is a prelude to the monumen- the possibilities and activities of
tal establishment of the Deco- an organization is represented in
Passover Greetings to All!
logue; not only because it re- the expression of individual ener-
establishes our historic right to gies."
a Homeland. The Seder will sue-
Not until Moses acts in an or-
vive as long as man continues to ganized manner, motivated by
aspire to the heights, for "- a the national deity, does the =-
thing of beauty is a joy for-
ever!"
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mentum of the Exodus gain that human freedom exacts a
strong measure of discipline.
strength.
This is the third lesson of
This is the first lesson of Pass-
over-0 R G A N I Z A T I 0 N or Passover—Discipline.
This is the dynamic message of
DUTY.
Passover through the ages.
The Second Lesson
Within it is contained the for-
The second lesson of Passover
mula for Jewish creative sur-
is RESPONSIBILITY.
The Bible is by implication vival.
Within it is contained the for-
none too reverent of the Moses
who seeks to escape his historic -mula for human redemption.
mission.
ORGANIZATION — RESPON-
"And the anger of the Eternal SIBILITY — DISCIPLINE. Their
was kindled against Moses," sum total is human freedom and
Moses who questioned the nature the creation of social forms by
of the imperative, who asked for which men may free themselves
guarantees of effectiveness, who for the enslavement of hate,
sought exemption on the ground greed, tyranny, inequity.
of physical disability, who sought
But one element more must be
to transfer his obligation to an- added. For these three compo-
nents may be utilized for evil,
other.
This is the second lesson of also. Fascism has made maximum
Passover—RESPONSIBILITY.
use for evil of highly effective
The Third Lesson
Organization, Responsibility and
The third lesson of Passover i s Di sc i pli ne.
DISCIPLINE, the discipline of
To these three must be added
freedom.
the fourth element—the impera-
The entire chronicle of the Ex-
odus is repeatedly occupied with used
bye which
assures
that for
they
be
for good
and not
evil.
the stern molding of the slaves,
Call it Infinite Spirit, Cosmic
50115 of slaves.
They hesitated before the Red Change,
Process, Doing Good.
Call it God.
Sea.
Responsibility,
Organization,
They yearned after the flesh-
Discipline—under God.
pots of Egyptian serfdom.
They viewed divine providence This is the supreme message of
as unreliable, even for manna the Passover, arising out of the
and water. majestic cavalcade of Israel En-
Finally—with blood, sweat and slaved, Israel Struggling—Israel
tears—their children were taught Free.
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III. Passover—Discipline
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The miracle of Jewish survival,
creative survival, is not due to
external causes, specifically to
the pressure of a society which
makes for separatism.
Historic anti-Semitism could
not possibly have resulted in
creative continuity.
Such it negative process could
only produce a kind of suspended
animation, a vegetable existence.
This cannot be confused with ra-
tional life, just as post-mortem
reflexes preceding rigor mortis
cannot be mistaken for the elan
vital of the human personality.
A classic and immediate exam-
ple of this observation may be
found in that large body of Jew-
ry which has been prodded these
past years by Hitlerism into sem-
blances of life, just as the dis-
sected frog can be stimulated
by the Biology I novice into ac-
tivity by tickling the nerve end-
ings.
In the historical perspective,
those Jews who are vociferous
and organized today merely on
the basis of self-defense and com-
mon protection, are not creative
Jews if they act and move in-
dependent of Jewish tradition,
discipline and aspirations.
The miracle of Jewish survival
is due to the remarkable vitality
of Jewish experience, having
meaning which transcends space
and time limitations.
The concrete expressions of
these historical experiences of
the 'Jewish people are to be found
in the Jewish holy days and
feast days.
Among these, Passover con-
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REST WISHES FOR A HAPPY PASSOVER
J. M. LEFKOFSKY
PASSOVER
GREETINGS
• With deep gratitude in our hearts
• With hopeful prayers on our lips
• With thanks for the opportunities in America.
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