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The Relevance Of Passover
E
ach year, we sit at the seder table
some dutifully some reluctantly
and go through the Haggadah —
the story of the Exodus. The text is ancient
and so naturally
there is a perception
that it must have
lost relevance long
ago.
Some years
ago, an infamous
Palestinian terror-
ist, Salah Taamari,
who was captured
in the 1982 Lebanon
War, was sitting in
an Israeli prison. He
reported later that
at that time, he was
a broken man on
Cap & Gown
Yearbook
Is Now Open
To All Grads!
ith Passover and spring
break upon us, we want
to remind all graduating
high school seniors in Michigan
who are Jewish to participate in
our 2010 Cap & Gown Yearbook.
It will be will be published
May 20, but the deadline for
editorial listings of a student's
achievements is April 30. The
deadline for congratulatory
advertisements is May 14.
For complete information
for both listings and ads, go to
JNonline.us and click on the Cap
& Gown button at the top of the
home page.
W
Cap Gown
YEARBOOK
the verge of giving the Palastinian struggle;
he felt that there was no way that his people
would ever succeed. However, something
transpired at that moment that changed his
mind forever. It was Passover and he saw
one of the prison guards eating a pita.
Taamari was shocked to see a Jew eating
bread on this Jewish holiday and he asked
the guard how he could publicly eat bread
on Passover. The guard replied, "I feel no
obligation to events that occurred to my
nation over 2,000 years ago. I have no con-
nection to that"
After hearing those words, Taamari was
encouraged and finally came to the conclu-
sion as he himself put it: "A nation whose
members have no connection to their past,
and are capable of so openly transgressing
their most important laws, has cut off all its
roots to the land."
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As a nation, we must have a past that
gives meaning to the future. If the seder
does not speak to us, perhaps the failing is
on our part. There are fundamental ques-
tions that need to be addressed at the seder,
and all year round for that matter: What is
our right to a homeland and why should
it be in Israel? Why have Jews been perse-
cuted throughout the ages and what affect
has that had upon us as Jews? How have the
Jewish people survived so many years and
managed to maintain their traditions?
To be a Jew in the 21st century may not
be more difficult that it was in any previ-
ous century; but it nevertheless requires a
special talent and an ability to connect with
our past however ancient it may be.
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Rabbi Cohen is spiritual leader at Young Israel
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What you can do to stop global warming.
Spring and Summer Tips:
• Buy produce locally during the warmer months when there is a large variety.
Buy local produce year round when you can. www.maplecreekfarm.com
• Compost, compost, compost your organic kitchen waste. Keep a covered con-
tainer at your sink to hold the waste and make a weekly or bi-weekly trip to the
compost. Go to www.epa.gov/compost/ to get a complete list of what you can
compost. The short list is fruit, vegetables, tea bags, coffee grounds, leaves, grass
clippings and yard waste. Compost is a great fertilizer for your garden.
• Recent research on lawn watering at Michigan State University showed that,
counter to all prior wisdom on the topic, the best time to water lawns was at
mid-day for a very short time (not to soak the roots). The air-conditioning effect
of evaporation from just a short watering at mid-day reduced heat stress on the
lawn, creating the best lawn of all the test plots.
turf.msu.edu/docs/E0009TURF.pdf
• Mulch your garden to retain moisture. It also reduces weeding, enriches the soil,
helps control erosion and looks nice.
Jewish Thought on the Environment
"These are the generations of the heaven and of the earth when they were
created, in the day that the LORD God made earth and heaven."
—Genesis 2:4
Please contact Michigan Coalition on the Environment & Jewish Life for global
warming presentations: (248) 642-5393, ext. 7, or mi-coejl®jfmd.org .
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