Passover's Eternal Message
Passover, the most observed of all Jewish holi-
days, arrives at sundown on Monday. It is many
things to many people: A celebration of freedom;
a rebuke to despots everywhere; a family gath-
ering; a brilliant saga of exodus and liberation;
an exciting tale of plagueS and pestilence and
the hardening of hearts of an already hardened,
embittered pharaoh.
Exactly because it is so adaptable to so many
people in so many places — to Jews in Ameri-
ca, Russia, Morocco, Syria, South Africa, and
everywhere Jews gather around a seder table
— Passover has become, perhaps, a bit diluted
in meaning. A holiday that can be all things to
all people can easily end up being nothing to
everyone.
But most of all, beyond its message of free-
dom and empowerment, beyond its meal of
matzah and bitter herbs, Passover is about the
long and inviolable chain ofJewish continuity.
Approximately 3,273 years ago, the Israelites
fled Egypt; their ancestors have remembered
ever since in rituals that have been updated and
transformed with every generation.
Passover is, simultaneously, the most mod-
ern ofJewish holidays and the most tradition-
al. Modern because it speaks in the idiom of
freedom, an idiom that is eternally contempo-
rary. Traditional because Jews have remem-
bered for all those centuries what happened
when the Lord stepped into history and made
the Jewish people into a nation.
On Monday and Tuesday evenings, let us re-
member the past, however recent or distant.
And let us remember the present: the tragedy
in Bosnia; the Jews of Syria and other countries
who cannot leave; the people in our own coun-
try who do not share in our freedoms.
And let us also remember the future and the
generations that will follow us, generations that
will recall the distant past of Egypt and even
the days that we experience now. For wherev-
er and whenever there are Jews, there will be
a seder. It is an emblem of our people, a yearly
reminder of who we are and where we have
come from and for what it is we most deeply
pray. ❑
Opening Up The Conference
The organized Jewish community took a step
toward inclusion this week when Americans for
Peace Now was voted into the Conference of
Presidents of Major American Jewish Organi-
zations.
The vote was controversial because several
leaders within the Zionist Organization of Amer-
ica made a very public case against Americans
for Peace Now (APN), arguing that the dovish
group threatens the community consensus on
such key Mideast positions as opposition to talks
with the Palestine liberation Organization. The
critics also charged that several key leaders of
APN, namely president Gail Pressberg and co-
chair Letty Cottin Pogrebin, had a long record
of support for anti-Israel positions.
Supporters of APN countered that their poli-
cies are more reflective of the Rabin government
in Israel than is, for example, those of the right-
wing Zionists who opposed the group's approval.
Debate and discussion can be healthy in our
all-too lockstep organized Jewish community.
Although the debate over APN was overly nasty,
personal and vitriolic, it at least proved that
some Jewish leaders care deeply about who is
and who is not included in the Presidents Con-
ference, an umbrella group of major national
Jewish organizations. Now it is time to explore
more closely the workings of the Conference—
who votes, based on what kind of representa-
tion, and why the shroud of secrecy?
If the Conference truly represents American
Jewry, it should be more open about its inner
workings. In the meantime, though, its mem-
bers are to be congratulated for broadening the
definition of "mainstream" by accepting the
membership of a group that represents the
thinking of a significant number of American
Jews. ❑
Dry Bones
3,000 YEARS AGO
MOSES LEO THE
JEWISH PEOPLE
OUT of ex ► LE.s.
Letters
Why Was She Smiling?
Over 20 years ago there was
a very sad story about young
children in a column by June
Brown in the Detroit News.
I read the article to my then
6-year-old granddaughter. She
said, "That is horrible." Then
looking at Ms. Brown's picture,
asked, "Why is she smiling?"
In your March 19 issue,
there is a heartbreaking pic-
ture and story called Angel of
Death. As a 6-year-old once
asked, "Why is the author of
the thesis smiling?"
Gert Left
N Miami Beach
Blacks, Jews
and Posturing .
How humiliating and degrad-
ing it must be for the Jewish
Community Council and other
illustrious Jewish organiza-
tions to have to formally beg
the black leadership of Detroit
to disassociate itself from the
anti-Semitic views of Louis
Farrakhan.
And what a painful insult
and slap in the face to the en-
tire Jewish community to be
coldly turned down, with total
insensitivity to the fears and
feelings of old "best friends" in
the civil rights movement.
It is time for our Jewish
leaders to stop begging for
what should have been 'a just
and obvious course of action on
the part of black leadership.
It is futile for our Jewish
leaders to engage in one-sided
lamentations about a nostalgic
past.
It is time to accept reality as
it is now, and with pride and
wisdom direct our efforts and
resources in more productive
ways.
Sabina Heller
A ND (WU), ONCE
AGION TIE ,X0SH
P6c)PC, (\)t) - ro
BE REscuD.
13(11- 11.1tS 1106
w6 geo/6 To
Po 146 J0 E
OUR SC--LIVES I NAPPY/
Southfield
$250,000 For
Miracle Mission
•
A
P655ACW!
I want to wish everyone who
goes on the Mission to Israel a
wonderful trip. Unfortunately
I cannot leave at this time, or
I too would be on a plane!
However, I want to tell you
how outraged and appalled I
am to read that the United
Jewish Foundation has given
$250,000 to "cover the costs" of
the over 1,200 people fortunate
enough to go on this trip.
Surely you know how much
good $250,000 would do with-
in this community. Just visit
Borman Hall, Prentis Manor,
or the poor hungry Jewish peo-
ple right here in our own com-
munity.
Going to Israel is a choice,
but people do not choose to be
hungry or poor. Anyone who is
going on this trip has opted to
go and obviously can afford to
go.
Whatever Federation is sup-
plying as an extra — scarves,
T-shirts, travel bags, dinner or
whatever — is a frivolous ex-
penditure. I am aware that
many items were donated but
surely this money could have
been used elsewhere.
I would hope that the same
amount of money has been
spent on providing for those
less fortunate...
Nancy Silverman
Southfield
Mission Grant
Was Bad Message
In reference to "UJF gives
$250,000 to Miracle Mission"
(March 19): It appears once
again our priorities are not for
those in most need, especially
when the Jewish Community
Council is supposedly broke
and is asking for more funds,
when Jewish Vocational Ser-
vice, Jewish Family Service
and other Jewish agencies are
hurting financially.
Also, when so much is need-
ed for adult foster care clients,
mentally impaired clients liv-
ing in the City of Detroit in un-
suitable housing, and in
nursing homes.
It would appear that those
persons going to Israel on the
Mission certainly could well af-
ford any additional cost re-
quired and needed...
The message given by the
United Jewish Foundation did
not speak well for tzedakah.
LETTERS page 10
Bessie Chase
Oak Park