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Spirituality

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Enduring Exodus

A bitter experience made a better people

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cally manifested God's involvement
he first exile of the Jewish
with
the birth of the Jewish people
people, the Egyptian exile,
and demonstrated His concern with
occurred more than 3,500
their destiny.
years ago. As the 15th of
In Deuteronomy 4:20, another rea-
Nisan approaches, we are preparing
son is suggested: -"But
for the 3,500-plus time
you
(the Jewish people)
of celebrating Passover,
the
Lord
took and
the holiday that marks
brought
out
of Egypt,
our liberation and
that iron furnace, to be
. redemption.
His people of inheri- -
The Passover seder is
tance as you are this
a meal and educational
day." Egypt is likened to
experience shared by so
an iron furnace, which is
many of our brethren,
explained to be an
not only by Jews who
instrument used for
are observant, not only
refining gold. In other
by Jews who are com-
words,
the suffering in
mitted and not only by
Egypt was meant to
Jews who are affiliated.
refine and cleanse the
Even Jews who have
Jewish character, to
precious little to do
remove their moral
with their Judaism will
impurities
and heighten
participate in a seder
RABBI
STEVEN
WEIL
their
ethical
sensitivities.
and, in one form or
Special
to
the
Jewish
News
Being
enslaved
was the
another, will recount
necessary prerequisite for
and re-experience the
being a people that lives
saga of our Exodus from
by the most sensitive and sophisticat-
Egypt.
ed value system that exists.
The seder and the holiday of
Whenever the Torah commands us
Passover seem to be select Jewish
regarding
the compassion and sympa-
experiences celebrated almost univer-
thy
we
must
show to the widows,
sally by the Jewish people. The ques-
orphans
and
proselytes, i.e., the
tion that needs to be asked is, "Why"
oppressed
in
society, it reminds us of
What is so distinct about the Passover
our
slavery
in
Egypt. The Talmud
celebration that it has endured where
points out that we are enjoined by 36
so - many other Jewish practices have
scriptural references to treat the
been lost to all but the very commit-
stranger kindly, for we, too, were
ted? What is it about the slavery and
strangers
in a strange land. Who can
freedom of our ancient ancestors that
empathize
with the downtrodden bet-
still resonates amidst our people? Can
ter
than
those
who have been victims
we discern the message that the
themselves?
Who
can be more sensi-
Egyptian experience has engraved
tive
to
the
plight
of
the defenseless
upon the Jewish psyche?
than those who have shared that
According to the late Rabbi Joseph
painful and lonely experience?
Soloveitchik, in order to understand
Compassion is pervasive in Jewish
the enduring effects of the Egyptian
law.
Human rights, human dignity
exile, we need to explore what pur-
and
social
justice are the cornerstones
pose there was in enslaving a people,
of
Ha/acha
(Jewish law). No other
causing them to suffer and then liber-
legal
system
is as developed and as
ating them. We know that the shared
sensitive
to
details
as the Torah's in
suffering welded 12 tribal and frag-
areas regarding man's relationship with
mented families into one unified
others. Kindness isn't merely a virtue;
nation. The experience also dramati-
it is a requirement. Charity isn't an

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option; it is a just obligation. Gossip
isn't bad manners; it is an abhorred
practice. We are expected to protect
society from potential danger and we
are forbidden to mislead others in a
way that can be harmful to them.
All of mankind, by virtue of the
fact that we were created in God's
image, has the capacity to love. Every
man, woman and child is endowed
with the potential to show compas-
sion and sensitivity to others. But, as
with any potential, it can be and fre-
quently is suppressed. What distin-
guishes the Jew is that he possesses
not only the capacity to love, but also
the necessity to love.
For the Jew, being compassionate is
not a choice; it is indigenous to his
character. Having been enslaved in a
foreign land, having suffered physical
and psychological torture, knowing
firsthand how it feels to be helpless,
defenseless, downtrodden and
despised — this experience was the
defining moment of Jewish character.
We could no longer choose to per-
form compassionate acts; we became a
compassionate people. The legal sys-
tem we subsequently accepted upon
ourselves facilitates and further incul-
cates this extreme ethical sensitivity on
our collective personality.
Why has the celebration of
Passover endured? Because its positive
effect on us as a people, as a nation, as
a light unto the world, is an enduring
one. We do not act bitterly; we do not
call for vengeance; we do not seek to
treat others in the way that we were
treated for hundreds of years. We rise
above the suffering and accept upon
ourselves the obligation to alleviate
the pain of others.
It is our hope and prayer that as we
all sit down at the seder this year and
re-enact and re-experience the Exodus,
we will also heighten our sensitivities
to a world with such desperate needs
and continue to assert ourselves to
make it a better place. ❑

Steven Weil is rabbi of Young Israel of

Oak Park.