TORAH PORTION 1992 April SMTWTFS 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 216 23 24 25 30 26 27 28 CIRCLE THESE DATES for DAY SCHOOL HILLEL Matzah's Message: Time To Act Is Now SHLOMO RISKIN Special to The Jewish News Wednesday, April 29th S Wednesday, May 27th ANNUAL DINNER Mat Shalom Synagogue Honoring: RC)SALYki S Group Apartments for the Elderly A Jewish Family Service Program Since 1979 • Luxurious apartments, with private bedrooms, for shared living. • Supportive care provided by Geriatric Care Workers and Social Workers. If someone you know desires a family-like setting, please call Zena Baum or Jan Bayer at 5594500. pvq JEWISH FAMILY SERVICE Limited space is currently available. Limited subsidies available. Endowed by the Coville-Triest Family Foundations. 10.00 OFF GET YOUR NEXT PAIR OF SANSABELT (with ad)' THE AREA'S LARGEST IN STOCK SELECTION WITH GUARANTEED BEST PRICE! GLIDERS FROMS168.00 slacks at a sensible price. Why pay more when we offer them at discount? We even include FREE tailoring. Discount prices start at: (_ & 0440 t<• ROCKERS .$98.00 $36plenty of free parking behind our store sizes 32-60 "We Ship Anywhere" 21325 Telegraph 3337 Auburn Rd (1 Mile ,Jest of -dams ; Auburn Hills 853.7440 50 FRIDAY, APRIL 17, 1992 I 1992 May SMTWTFS 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 21 22 23 17 18 19 28 29 30 24 25 261 31 (Just North of B Mile) Southfield 948.1060 JOHN R MEN'S WEAR 543-4646 M-Th 9:30-6:30, Fri. & Sat. 9:30-8, Sun. 11-5 1 mom a roan R Take 1-75 to V Mile 4 ince bread is the staff Of life, one could con- ceivably imagine a festival in any number of cultures emphasizing the miracle of wheat turning in- to a miraculous loaf of bread, a kind of universal celebra- tion of thanks, the mother of all Thanksgivings. But what can one say about a festival that honors a cracker-like often hand-baked, substance, difficult to chew, exhausting to prepare, which must be continuously watched (since the fulfillment of its re- quirements is meticulously exacting). Passover is also referred to as "the time of our freedom" and extols the virtues of freedom over the ignominy of slavery. But how does a na- tion merit freedom? If we study the contrast between bread and matzah, we shall glean significant insights in- to the heart of Passover and the road to freedom. Unlike matzah, bread is the desired result of my mixture of dough and water. It's what I expect; it's what I want, and it's natural. If I take wheat, rye, barley, oats or spelt and let it naturally ferment and bake, what I get is bread. This is another way of saying that chametz is the way of the world. If I want matzah, however, I have to disturb the baking process. I cannot allow nature to take its course. I must work the dough, watching the clock, rolling and pounding the dough to remove air bub- bles. And I dare not allow the entire process to last longer than 18 minutes or else fermentation, or leavening, will take place. If the matzah is a metaphor for our own realities, it means that if we want to achieve freedom; we cannot afford to let nature take its own course; we must purposefully step in to redirect the natural order. In practical terms, everyone is aware of how often we put off major deci- sions by saying that we're not ready: wait till the children are born, or until I retire, and then, and then, and then .. . The value of the 18-minute deadline is that it tells us that we have to start from where we are right now. Rabbi Riskin is chief rabbi of the city of Efrat and dean of Ohr Torah Institute of Israel. Otherwise every time the 19th minute arrives, we enter the domain of chametz relying on the natural order to do the work for us. Whoever said freedom will arrive perfectly baked, a crusty pumpernickel bread having risen to its full roundness? Evidence for this comes from the Exodus itself. Had the Jews waited until they were ready for redemption, we'd still be there today sunk in the morass of the 49th degree of impurity. We were slaves, bound to Pharaoh; then came the commandment to prepare the paschal lamb and to slaughter it — an act of rebellion against Pharaoh since the lamb was an Egyp- tian god. We were hardly prepared for a revolution, we were Passover: Exodus 12:21-51 Numbers 28:16-25 Joshua 5:2-6:1, 27 hardly ready to confront the Egyptian despot. Neverthe- less, the Bible commands us to prepare the first freedom seder when still in Egypt, that we begin to strike out for the - light of freedom even when we are still in the midst of darkness: "You must eat it with your waist belted, your shoes on your feet, and your staff in your hand, and you must eat it in haste." (Exodus 21:11) "In haste" means before the Jewish people were ready — but also before it was too late. In life, timing is everything. If you come a minute late, you miss the plane. So often the message is speed. Even .though we don't sacrifice a paschal lamb today, Jewish law still requires that we finish the meal before mid- night, just as the lamb had to be finished before midnight in Egypt. The Jews began their rebellion before the 10th plague (the destruction of the Egyptian firstborn) had begun, before the circum- stances were optimal, before success could be achieved logically and naturally. In 1948, many Jews were convinced that Israel should not declare statehood but ought rather to wait for events to take their natural course. The reasons were con- vincing. How could a nation of 600,000 fight a war against a powerful Moslem bloc with jihad (holy war) on its lips?