2 Friday, April 6, 1979
THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
Purely Commentary
The Historic Aspects of the Festival of Freedom,
Inspirations That Invite Generations' Identification
By Philip
Slomovitz
Passover's Message, the Historic Values Inviting Continuity of Interest
Passover, in its continuity of historic interest, keeps issuing the invitation
name will not be found in the Haggada text. The reason: Jewish tradition does
for participation as well as endless research and study by everygeneration. For
not deify personalities. If Moses were to be made the dominant one in the
the present one it may have special significance.
Passover story it could lead to such glorification. But the heroes are the rabbis
As the Festival of Freedom it carries a message in an era of endless revolts
who discuss history, traditions, principles. That's the basic rule in the Passover
against oppression. It is universal in its appeal, yet it retains the Jewish
and in the historical truths.
characteristics. It is a holiday for all faiths and races, but for the Jew it is
Nevertheless, genius and heroic acts cannot be erased from Jewish experi-
specifically his. -
ence. Exemplary is the current experience evolving around the peace-maks"'
The very flavor of liberty, provided in the Passover epic, could be sum-
between Israel and Egypt. Credit is given for the notable achievement
marized briefly as the blessing of freedom. In the Jewish tradition it is much
Anwar Sadat and to Jimmy Carter. On the Jewish side of the negotiating table
more. The richly endowed story of Passover, incorporated in the Haggada, goes
sat Menahem Begin and to him too goes great credit for an 'historic role in what
farther. It analyzes, philosophizes, warns even if by innuendo of the dangers of
has been achieved thus far. There was bitter debate in the Knesset. Begin was
slavery, and admonishes the generations to come to remember the source and to
supnorted in his negotiations in the 95-18 vote, by Labor as well as the religious
strive for the blessings offered by the Passover and its triumphs.
parties. Among his supporters was a man who was a leader in what could be
This is one of the basic blessings of the festival: that its appeal to the
considered the dovish, the Peace Now ranks, Uri Avineri. About the resulting
children is to learn from the experience of the parents, never to abandon the
vote and the Begin leadership, Avineri, not a party backer of Begin, said,
faith one gains from the Festival of Freedom.
"Thank God for Begin's being in government."
* * *
The lesson is immense in its scope ,and the ideal imbedded in Passover has
become a guideline for the Christianity that stems from Judaism and the Islam
Considering the historic significance of Passover, there is another point to
that acknowledges the prophetic geni -q of Moses.
be emphasized. It is the matter of the Exodus. Now there is the sensational talk
* * *
about a Return, about reverse action of mass-scale Jewish and certainly Israeli
The Christian factor is important and interesting. The Passover feast in the
tourism between Israel and Egypt.
Christian tradition is inerasable from the Easter observance. Isn't the wafer in
Menahem Begin makes much of it. He glories in the idea of open borders, he
the church and the resort to the Lulav in ceremonies preceding the Easter . spoke with joy about Jews visiting Egypt and about an open Israeli door to
celebration also a legacy from the JeWish parentage?
,Arabs.
These are among the historical facts which the historically-minded can
Israel already welcomes tens of thousands of Arab guests yearly. The peace
draw upon in the study of and dedication to the Passover
in the making will make the road easier for many, and the Begin viewpoint is for
* '* *
an open door that 'is common to peoples of good will.
An interesting item, lending itself to the historical-interest, is the matter of
Perhaps . modern additions will be in the making to the Haggada as a 20th
leadership. The great, great hero of the Passover is Moses the Lawgiver. Yet, his
Century supplement to the Exodus.
3,000 Years of Jerusalem History Uncovered by Archeologists
By JOSEF GOLDSCHMIDT
Deputy Mayor, Jerusalem
JERUSALEM — The vis-
itor to Jerusalem can easily
convince himself of the un-
broken. Jewish presence in
this town over the last 2,000
years: he can see the pave-
ment of a Herodian_street at
the foot of the Temple
Mount, he can visit a
medieval landmark, now
restored, the Synagogue of
Nachamanides (Ramban),
and go down to the first ex-
pansion of the city outside
its walls which Sir Moses
Montefiore so intensively
promoted.
Over the past 100 years,
Jewish and- non-Jewish
explorers labored to extend
our knowledge of Jewish
history in Jerusalem by at
least another 1,000 years.
After all, it is undisputed.
that Jerusalem was the re-
sidence of King David (ab-
out"1000 BCE) and was the
site of the First and Second
Temples which formed the
spiritual center of the na-
tion.
Hezekiah's tunnel, built
to channel water from out-
side the city to within (in
the late Eighth Century
Archeological digs in Jerusalem.
.
BCE) shows the amount of
work and planning invested
in the perfection of this city
which remained Israel's
capitaluntil the destruction
of the Second Temple_ in70
CE.
But how did it all begin?
This is what puzzled Cap-
tain Charles Warren
around 1860, and Edmund
de Rothschild who acquired
a large tract of land south of
the Temple. Mount and sent
Raymond Weil (1913-14
and 1923-24) to dig for the
City of David, and Kathleen
Kenyon who headed a
British expedition in 1961.
However, only now are we
on the threshold of a real
breakthrough.
The City of David
Society for Excavation,
Preservation, and Resto-
ration of the City of David
has just concluded the
first of five seasons
planned for the entire
project, and already
there are startling finds.
It turns out, for instance,
Passover's Three Major Symbols:
Pesach, Matza and Maror
The three major factors that symbolize Passover — Pesach, Matza and Maror — are
depicted on the first page of this issue.
The following are the translations of the Hebrew texts on Page One:
Rabban Garnliel used to say: Whoever does not make mention of three things on
Passover has not fulfilled his duty. They are: the Passover lamb; the unleavened bread; the
bitter
herb.
-
.
-
The PassOver-lamb that our fathers used tb eat when the Temple was still standing —
what _was its reason? Because the Holy-One, blessed be He, passed over the houSes of our
fathers. in:EgYpt, -d's thatye Shall say: 'It is the sacrifice of the Lord's pdssover, for
that He pasSed over the hOuses of the children of Israel in Egypt, when He smote the
Egyptians,and delivered our houses. And the people bowed the head and worshipped.
Ding pie Matlik plate the celehral, ays.
This bitter:I-art, that we eat —.What is its reason? It is because the Egyptians embittered the
life of our aricesibrs in Egypt as it is said: And they made their lives bitter with hard service,
in mortar and in brick, and in all manne. of service in the field; in all their service, wherein
they made them, serve with rigor.
:
that in • addition - to
Hezekiah's water tunnel,
another conduit had
been cut (most likely in
prehistoric times) into
the rock at various points
along its course with a
number of outlets, prob-
ably for the- use of houses
and terraced gardens.
Several tens of meters of
First Temple period walls
were discovered, erected
right on the natural bed-
rock.
Higher up on the steep
ledge that separates the
Kidron Valley from the
loWer Tyrophoeon Valley is
a very well preserved piece
of the City Wall that
Nechemiah took such
enormous pains to recon-
struct in 445 BCE in the
early years of the Second
Temple.
A complete base of a per-
fectly round watchtower
which Weil ascribed to Hel-
lenistic times but now is
dated far earlier was found.
Climbing the slope into
which the many resear-
chers, including the present
expedition, have dug, you
feel more awed than any-
where else outside the Old
City Walls. But this cannot
prevent you from stepping
on soil which is indeed a
deep accumulation of pot-
shards piled up over cen-
turies and stratified accord-
ing to period.
Here is a piece of stone
vessel probably used for
sacrificial services, here
part of a jug which must
have been imported from
Crete. If you are lucky,
you find the mouthpiece
of an oil lamp still blac-
kened with soot.
Of course, the most valu-
able finds — coins, jug
handles stamped with in-
scription in ancient He-
brew, and whole clay ves-
sell that seem to have been
stored after slight use in One
of the caves — have been
removed to assist in clarify-
ing the sequence of events
on the site and to be ex-
hibited later in Jerusalem
museums. A huge-stone
vessel for-storing grain was
too heavy to be easily moved
and still stands where the
owners left it thousands of
years ago.
As you wander around,
the waters of the Gihon rush
by, murmuring, tairrigate
the orchards and gardens of
ancient Shiloah. What has
so far been found certainly
demonstrates that this
enterprise holds great
promise for the future.
These excavations will de-
epen evidence of Jewish
roots in Jerusalem and
enrich -the city's -historical
landscape far beyond what
we see today.
(Excavations will resume
July, 1979. Anyone in-
terested in participating
may contact Dr. Yigal
Shiloh at the InstitUte for
Archeology, Hebrew Uni-
versity, Mount Scopus,
Jerusalem.)
A Quiz for Passover
By RABBI SAMUEL FOX
eat matza on the day be-
fore Passover?
A variety of reasons are
Why are some matzot
baked- in a circular offered for this practice.
shape?
Some claim that matza is
This is usually the form in not eaten on the day before
which hand-baked matzot Passover so that the matza
are made. Some claim that which is eaten at the Seder
this pattern is used to indi- is more desirable.
Others point to the bibli-
cate eternity. The reason for
stressing eternity in the cal commandment which
shape of the matza is that reads "In the evening you
the salvation which the Al- shall eat matzot" (Ex
mighty provided for the 12:18) as an indication-
Jews when they were re- one should wait until eve-
deemed from slavery is an ning. to eat them.
Generally speaking,
eternal feature of the Al-
mighty's concern and sav- this situation is similar to
the custom of not blowing
ing grace.
The Haggada itself the shofar on the day be-
states, "In every generation fore Rosh Hashana
they rise up to annihilate us (when it was blown all
but the Almighty saves us through the month pre-
from their wicked inten- ceding Rosh Hashana).
The reason for both re-
tions."
There
are
some straints was that a dis-
authorities who trace this tinction was made be-
custom back to the refer- tween the practice of
ence in the Bible which doing something which
speaks of the matzot as the Bible' ordered and
"Ugot Matzot" (circular doing something on a
cakes of matza). This indi. 7 voluntary basis or just to
cates that the original mat- fulfill a custom. ----
Eating matza through the
zot which our ancestors ate
on their way out of 'Egypt year is purely voluntary;
were round (Exodus 12:39). eating it at -the seder is a
Why is it forbidden to biblical requirement.
(Copyright 1979, JTA, Inc.)