Why Moses Left at Midnight BY DAVID SCHWARTZ (Copyright, 1965, JTA, Inc.) There is the story of the Israeli radio announcer who said, "When you hear the signal, the time will be exactly eight o'clock—or 10 or 15 minutes later." It's just a story, I suppose. At any rate on the historic night, which we recall at the Seder, time was of the essence "It Happened at Midnight" is on6 of the Seder hymns. It was at the inconvenient hour of midnight that the Israelites bade adieu to the country which had been their home for hundreds of years. Moses had -insisted on it. I can well imagine that some of our an- cestors were not foo happy about it. It is easy to reconstruct what Passover Greetings - . _ . • .. - r - must have been said. Some said, "We have been slaves in Egypt for some 200 years. Will it hurt, if we are slaves for one or two days more? What's the hurry ! The restaurants in the wilderness are not the best, there are no night clubs. So let's get together, have a nice banquet and then we can leave like gentlemen." Some protested that to leave so quickly at midnight was to defeat their purpose! If instead of going at midnight, we, have a good night's sleep, then we can start feeling fit and fresh and make greater headway. When some complained that their wives would be unable to bake the bread to take along, that it took time for leavening, Moses WORT SCRAP & SALVAGE CO. Buyers of Scrap Iron, Metal and Junk Cars 7900 Dix, Detroit 9 VI 3-0721 - ...—...--.40.—...--....--....,--4,.. Passover Greetings to Our Friends and Patrons ASH .& COMPANY _ FACTORY SUPPLIES 5100 Grand River TY 4-2258 Happy Holiday BANK OF COMMERCE Resources Over $88 ;000,000 Hamtramck - Warren - Centerline - West Utica Member Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Holiday Greetings BERMAN'S CHOP HOUSE 1431 TIMES SQUARE Ben Gottloeb and Sam Davis I .. . Bl o dl gid . ay Greetings Holiday ' - - - BERRY & SEYBURN Property Management 3500 David Scott WO 1-8369 - So Moses was no speech mak- er. What asset did he have? I think his great quality was a tremendous passion for justice. The sight of the strong tyranniz- ing over the weak aroused him. Several incidents in the biblical Passover Greetings BLUE FLASH CHEMICAL CO. I story point to this. He sees the Egyptian mauling the Israelite and he strikes at the Egyptian. He sees one Israelite attacking another and he intervenes. This time he fears he will be reported and flees to Midian and what happens there? He is hardly there, when he sees the daughters of Jethro trying to water their father's cattle and roughnecks try to stop them and Moses intervenes in their behalf. He had a passion for justice. "Zedek, zedek tirdof." "Justice, justice, shalt thou pursue." The Hebrew word "Zedek" is a little more inclusive than justice. Right- eousness is a better translation. It is justice plus humanity. Greetings BROOKS LAWN SPRINKLER CO. Originator of Lawn Underground Sprinkling System Rain's Only Rival Since 1915 20122 Livernois UN 3-9650 Happy Passover — Shalom Aleichem CADIEUX APPLIANCE SERVICE 15349 WYOMING 863-8424 Regulating One's Pursuit .111•11•01=1•0• ■ 0.7 ■ 0•1 ■ 11.1=10.4•11111.4•1•1.411 ■0■ 11.0.11111.1•11M011 ■ 01•1!0 ■ 04 ■ 1.11 ■0■ 111.041•111.141 ■ 01 ■ 01=11.040.0 Holiday Greetings i , THE WALTER CARROLL COMPANY Painters - Decorators Since 1907 110 N. Waterman -2110 . 1■ 01■ 0-1 •1111.1 i1 ,1111M-111111•11.1101111.11M1.0./..11•1111 DIM.) 411101.0.11 ■ VI 3-1400 0 1111110.01 ■0-0■ 1.1111111 ■ 01111111.11 ■ 0. ■ 011•111•0111•1.1•01B. told them to bake unleavened bread, matzo. There was a great outcry, matzo gets in their teeth, some protested and others said, they didn't see how they could get along without pumpernickel. But Moses was adamant. Why? Perhaps Moses might have thought the people must realize at the beginning of their freedom that freedom required its sacrifices, that it is very easy to sleep away your freedom. But I do not think this is the real reason. We must remember that Moses had achieved . emancipation by gaining the acquiescence of Phar- oh. Today, it would be called a diplomatic coup. Ten plagues had been visited on Pharoah before he could get the Egyptian king to agree and there was no guaran- tee now that Pharoah would not change his mind. He must take advantage of the present favor- able mood, for they were ever a minority. As the Bible story later recounts, Pharoah did in- deed change his mind and start- ed pursuing, but fortunately the Israelites had left in time. There are those who gain eman- cipation by arms. There are those who win freedom for a people by the influence of great powers com- ing to their assistance. There are some leaders of liberty, who are able by their oratory to galvanize their own people to an irresistible pitch, but Moses had no arms to command,- no great powers came to his aid and he had no eloquence. He suffered from an impediment of speech, the Bible tells us, and he pleaded with God, "Send another, I am slow of speech and slow of tongue." The Midrash tells us how this impediment came about. The daughter of Pharoah had rescued Moses and brought the child to the palace where he was raised. The infant one time began playing with the King's crown. The King's priests were greatly alarmed. Per- haps this was a portent that the little Jewish boy would one day seize the crown from the head of the Pharoah. A test was decided on. Before the child was placed a jewel and a coal. If the child picked the coal, it would prove that no esoteric sig- nificance was to be read into his actions, but if he reached out for the jewel it was a portent not to be ignored. Little Moses was about to take the jewel, when the angel Gabriel, seeing it, pushed him away with such a force as to permanently im- pair his organs of speech. 1 "What more is necessary to make us a happy and prosperous people? Still one thing more, my fellow citizens, a wise and frugal govern- ment, which shall restrain men from injuring one another, which shall leave them otherwise alone to regulate their own pursuit of industry and shall not take from the mouth of labor, the bread it has earned."—Thomas Jefferson. THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS 46—Friday, April 16, 1965 Passover Greetings to All Our Friends Relatives and Customers CHECKER BAR-B-Q Ribs — Chicken — Shrimp — Speedy Delivery 20050 LIVERNOIS UN 4-7700 ••■■■■0■11■ 10. 0- 11■ 0•••• ■ 0•1111 ■ 0.11111 ■ 041•1 ■ 41 ■ 11111111.1 ■ 0 011111111.1 ∎.•••∎ •NIM•0 ■ 111•0 ■ 11.0 411111111.M11 M•111. 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