PESACH MESSAGES
Hope And Optimism
T
he story is told about an
elderly Jewish grand-
mother in a small town
in Europe who removed 11 drops
of wine from her cup during the
recitation of the 10 Makkot, the
10 Plagues, at the seder. A young
grandson, sitting at her side,
pointed Out to her that there were
only 10 plagues so only 10 drops
should be removed. To which the
grandmother responded, "for me,
preparing for Pesach is also a
.
makkah"
There is no doubt that lead-
ing up to Pesach can be stressful
with all the preparations that are
necessary as we get ready for the
holiday. As beautiful and a won-
derful as Pesach is, it can also
be difficult and sometimes, even
painful. The holiday is a financial
burden for many. There can be
emotional sorrow when we look
around our seder and see the
empty chair of a relative who was
with us last year, but has since
passed away.
Spiritually, for some of us,
there is apathy and confusion. We
may be uncomfortable sitting at
the seder. We may study the four
sons and wonder which child,
this year, describes me in my
current predicament.
In addition, all of us carry
a level of fear and uncertainly
regarding what the future holds
for our country, the United States
of America, the world at large,
Akiva. What better place
the blessing recited
and .our beloved Israel, in partic-
to find comfort, encour-
prior to the second
ular. Continued turmoil in Iraq,
agement, and hope than
cup of wine, should
threats of terrorism abroad and
sitting around Rabbi
in our own. country, warnings • not only thank God
Akiva's table and being
for the Egyptian
of a possible bird flu pandemic,
energized with his posi-
redemption, but
poverty, disease and bldodshed
tive outlook. We begin
Rabbi
should also include
all contribute to the mixture of
our seder, recalling Rabbi
Yechiel Morris
a request and a
emotions that we experience this
Akiva's seder, in order
Young Israel of
prayer for future
year as Pesach approaches.
to gain perspective on
Southfield
redemption.
It is for this reason, perhaps,
our own personal and
For Rabbi Akiva,
why the great sage Rabbi Akiva
national doubts, uncertainties
plays such a prominent role at • it's not enough at the seder to
talk about the past, but even dur- and fears.
our seder. Rabbi Akiva lived in a
Rabbi Akiva didn't allow the
ing exile, darkness and periods
post-Holocaust era. The second
of uncertainly, we most also look past or the uncertain present to
Temple had been destroyed;
paralyze him; and our challenge,
forWard to a brighter future.
thousands had been massacred
and the world's challenge, is to
It is for this reason that the
and many more sent off into
look ahead with hope and opti-
sages, soon after the Temple
exile.
mism and work towards a better
was destroyed, traveled to B'nei
Yet Rabbi Akiva is the one, the
B'rak to spend Pesach with Rabbi and brighter future.
Talmud tells us, who taught that
❑
Extending Your Limits
I
n every generation, we are
obligated to see ourselves
as if we personally went out
from Egypt."
Each year, we sit around the
seder table and read words to
this effect from the Hagaddah,
yetthow can we truly take their
message to heart? How can we,
living in the 21st century, see
ourselves as if we personally
went out from Egypt?
In order to answer the ques-
tion, let us first clarify the com-
mandment. Egypt is not merely
a place where our ancestors were help others and to live a more
once slaves. The Hebrew word for meaningful life by strengthening
Egypt is Mitzrayim, which liter- your connection to Torah and
mitzvot? These are the questions
ally means "from narrow places:'
we
must ask ourselves in order
from places of constriction or
to
fulfill
the obligation of "see-
limitation. We all have such
ing
ourselves
as if we personally
places in our lives – areas where
out
from
Egypt."
•went
we feel constricted, boundaries
In
the
biblical
account, Jews
that prevent us from actualizing
were
slaves
for
400
years before
our potential. •
they
"cried
out
to
God!'
We can
What are these places of limi-
get
so
used
to
being
enslaved
tation for you? What old ways
that we forget there is something
of thinking and behaving have
more to which we might aspire.
restricted your growth? What
The first step in leaving Egypt is
more could you be doing to
water, the mixture
to be aware of how
must not sit longer
we are enslaved and
than 18 minutes or
to call out for help.
else it becomes cha-
An interesting
metz. When you let
symbol for the
something important
importance of act-
sit instead of acting
Rabbi
ing on this principle
. upon it, it becomes
Rachel Shere
is the difference
chametz. Chametz is _
Adat Shalom
between matzah
literally the food of
Synagogue
and chametz. As
procrastination.
you may be aware,
Eighteen minutes is not a coin-
matzah and chametz contain the
cidence. It is a life ... your life.
same basic ingredients – flour
And it's time to book yourself a
and water. However, from the
one-way ticket out of Egypt.
moment that the flour hits the
•
❑
More Than A Memory
M
y first Pesach as a
rabbi looked nothing
like what I had expe-
rienced before nor like anything
since that time. In Selma, Ala.,
Congregation Mishkan Israel
always celebrated a first-night
community seder. Being a stu-
dent rabbi, I knew not to break
with tradition, but did what had
been done for years before my
arrival. In this case, that meant
using the same Union Haggadah
written in 1908, which had been
handed out for 80 years prior to
my time there.
Serving Southern Jewry
definitely had its sense of his-
tory; and 80-year-old charokt
stains were pretty cool to con-
template. Yet, as we worked our
way through this seder, some-
thing was definitely missing.
Something wasn't right.
With this Haggadah as a guide,
it seemed to imply that our
historic struggle had concluded
with the start of the 20th century
— our greatest hopes had been
realized. The future was bright.
America was all the promise
we could imagine. But we were
reading this in 1991 — and
nowhere was there mention of
the Holocaust, the experience of
our families, the destruction of
European Jewry Nowhere was
there mention of Israel, a yearn-
ing for our homeland, a recogni-
tion of the state. And nowhere
was there mention-of the work
that still needed to be done.
I recognized at that time what
the ancient rabbis so wanted
Pesach to be for generations to
come — an awareness of the
blessings we have, the freedom
we experience here and now,
and a commitment to bring such
freedom to those today who suf-
fer. Every seder, in some way,
talks about our past, from where
we've come — and moves us to
what we have to do now.
1940s on Birwood Street
So make Pesach
in Detroit, specifically
even more than an
designed to separate
incredible memory
African Americans from
trigger for your chil-
whites -- and how
dren and a wonder-
some of us are joining
. ful family tradition.
with Blight Busters to
Make Pesach a com-
Rabbi Michael
help make this wall no
mitment to do what
Moskowitz
more.
our faith demands of
Temple Shir
Just three examples.
us. Talk about what
Shalom
Three
incredibly impor-
is going on in Darfur
tant
examples.
Pesach
and how we cannot
be silent as genocide occurs right implores us to do this and much
more. Appreciate, honor and
before our eyes. Link up.with
celebrate our gifts — and from
the Jews in France today who
this,
create blessings for so many
worry about the increasing anti-
more in our world.
Semitism surrounding them.
Talk about the wall built in the
❑
April 6 • 2006
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