Front Lines PASSOVER THOUGHTS The Wayward Church Robert Sklar Editor D ear IN Family: In the shadows of the most celebrated holiday of the Jewish people, Passover, comes news that a Presbyterian Church (USA) report is bla- tantly anti-Israel and reduces the Arab- Israeli conflict to a caricature of right and wrong. The news source is the Jewish Council for Public Affairs (JCPA), whose assess- ment is not shocking given the PCUSAs 2004 General Assembly vote to divest Church money from Israel. Following that controversial vote, the PCUSA softened its stance at the 2006 G.A., where it called for the Church to promote Middle East peace. If not amended before the 2010 G.A. this summer, the new report will erode the already strained relationship between the PCUSA and the American Jewish community. "After analysis, JCPA finds the Presbyterian Church (USA) report makes highly selective use of sacred texts, histor- ical events and current realities to build a narrative against the Jewish state;' says Rabbi Steve Gutow, the Washington-based president of the JCPA. Remember, we're not talking about a terrorist organization like Hamas or anti- Semitic throngs based in Europe or pro- Palestinian groups propagandizing on American campuses. We're talking about a U.S.-based Christian organization! Gutow makes a case that every American Jew should heed. He says the PCUSAs 2010 G.A. will be asked to blame Israel for "Palestinian resistance ignor- ing the danger posed by Palestinian fac- tions sworn to destroy the Jewish state. "The Presbyterian Church makes more than a dozen demands for changes in Israeli policy or U.S. policy toward Israel," says Gutow. "The few recommendations made for Palestinian or Iranian reforms are generally paired with additional demands on Israel!' This Pesach, which begins Monday night, I urge you to acknowledge, once more, that the religious freedom we enjoy in America must never divert us from the anti-Zionist canards of other U.S. reli- gious groups like the Presbyterian Church (USA). Around the seder table, where families gather without judgment, Jews recount the story of our liberation from slavery in Egypt 3,322 years ago. Religious freedom, limited in many parts of the world, is cen- tral to the Jewish people. Our collective will keeps us whole and fighting for the weak, vulnerable or oppressed among us. It also drives us to repel forces — like the new Presbyterian Church (USA) report — seeking to demonize our ancestral homeland. The report cites the Kairos Palestinian document, which describes Israel as evil and sinful, just words in one respect, but also scene setters for justifying Israel's condemnation. It's one thing for recognized religious groups like the Presbyterian Church (USA) to arrive at such justification after careful review; but the committee generating the report invited little consultation or dialogue with the organized Jewish community. So much for studying up before Passover's Inspiration A s Jews, once a year we are commanded to tell our story to one another (even if we think we know it already). On Passover, we are instructed to remember where we come from and to recall our ascent from darkness to light and from slavery to freedom. Interestingly, we don't only share the tales of our accomplish- ments, but we elucidate both our struggles and our challenges along the way. In fact, we don't even shy away from the notion that our ancestors were idol worshippers and slaves to the Pharaoh in Egypt. In telling our story, there is no room for embarrassment or discomfort — we just say it like it is (or was!). While all 613 of our commandments have their place, in some ways I think that the commandment to "tell our story" is one of the most important and meaningful mitzvot we possess. For if we refrain from recounting where we come from, we will soon forget our origin and ultimately cease to be a unified people, holy unto God who brought us out of the land of Egypt to be a 8 March 25 4, 2010 JN light unto the nations. The Egypt of the Torah was a sinister place, where the Israelites — enslaved under miserable conditions — were in danger of losing their faith for all time. But the Almighty answered their cries of sorrow and sent Moses and Aaron to save them, giving them a chance to start fresh. So too, each year at this time, Pesach provides us the chance to begin again. We sit around the seder table telling our amazing story, hoping to gain inspiration and insight from the experiences — both the highs and the lows — of our ancestors. Thankfully, our story is not one that is frozen in time. Like our forbearers, we too become liber- ated when we use the Passover holiday to model for the next generation how to cele- brate our faith in all its beauty, allowing the joy of Jewish living to literally overtake us. In this way, our story lives on even in the Jewish year 5770 (2010) and it never gets old! Chag Sameach! Rabbi Joseph H. Krakoff is a spiritual leader at Congregation Shaarey Zedek Oakland County. unleashing a theological fury certainly inciting to Jews. "It is unfortunate that although the Presbyterian Church insists it is only seeking a peaceful two-state resolution, it continues to give lip service to Palestinian responsibility, blaming Israel even for attacks made against Israel;' Gutow con- cludes in his March 15 analysis. Pesach is a universal reminder that Jews through the ages were delivered by God from Egyptian slavery just as the Israelites were. American Jewry must be ever vigilant, and not let our relative wealth and security insulate us from tor- rents of discontent and hate aimed at our ancestral homeland. It was never God's plan for Jews to live independent of one another. It's through our oneness that we thrive, dream and embrace the ideals of a better world — always with the encouragement and hope distilled from what ultimately binds us: our sacred Torah. Remember that this Pesach. Chag kasher Pesach v'sameach and Shabbat shalom! E Not The Story, But The Telling W e know the story. We have heard and read about the slavery, the oppression and the moaning; the plagues, the exodus, the miracle at the Sea of Reeds; Moses, Miriam and Nachshon. The theme is a recur- rent one, even in contem- porary literature: The persecuted emerge into freedom, a band of sufferers unite as a people, vowing to remember their past and committed to a brighter future for all who are in need of sustenance, and of free- dom. We refer to the Pesach story on a regular basis: in our liturgy (zecher y'tzi-at Mitzrayim — this reminds us of our going out from Egypt), in the Torah. What is so meaningful to me about the Passover celebration is the telling (haggadah) of the story. It's the dialogue and interaction between the generations, between family mem- bers and guests and even strangers. It's the different languages and gimmicks and memories and inclusions of poetry and songs from so many sources. For that, truly, is the freedom that I am grate- ful for: the opportunity to share my insights of being Jewish, to ask and answer questions from those who have different (though just as authentic) experiences and back- grounds; to find new understand- ing in ancient symbols. I celebrate the links to my people all over the globe — and my vital role in realizing our dream of redemption for all humanity. Chag Sameach — Enjoy your telling! Rabbi Roman is spiritual leader at Temple Kom Ami, West Bloomfield.