34 | APRIL 1 • 2021 

SPIRIT

S

cholars have long 
wondered why Jews 
who number less than 
one-quarter of 1% of the world 
have had such a profound influ-
ence on almost every field of 
human endeavor.
In the 20th 
century, Jews, 
more than any 
other minority, 
have been recipi-
ents of the Nobel 
Prize, with almost 
one-fifth of all 
Nobel laureates 
being Jewish.
Perhaps, it all goes back to 
the very beginning of the birth 
of our people and the Passover 
holiday.
Passover conveys five major 
concepts that became our man-
tras for how to lead successful 
and productive lives. They are 
the five most important things 
to know about Passover, and 
to incorporate into every day 
of the rest of the year. Because 
we’ve absorbed them into our 
national psyche for the thou-
sands of years since the Exodus, 
we’ve been privileged to fulfill 
in great measure our propheti-
cally mandated role to become 
a light unto the nations.
They are our greatest contri-
butions to the world and can 
be summarized in five words: 
memory, optimism, faith, fami-
ly and responsibility.

IMPORTANCE OF MEMORY
The Irish Catholic writer 
Thomas Cahill was so over-
whelmed by how the Jewish 
people literally transformed 
the world that he authored the 
international bestseller, The 
Gifts of the Jews. One of the 
major gifts he credits to Jewish 
genius is the invention of the 
idea of history.
Remember that you were 
strangers in the land of Egypt. 
Remember that the Lord took 
you out of the bondage of 
slavery. Remember is a biblical 

mandate that had never seemed 
important to anyone else before 
the Jewish people. It was the 
Passover story that initiated a 
commitment to memory.
Memory links our past to our 
future. It turns history into des-
tiny. Learning to treasure it was 
the first step in our climb up the 
ladder of greatness.

IMPORTANCE 
OF OPTIMISM
The true miracle of Passover 
and its relevance for the 
ages is the message that with 
God’s help, no difficulty is 
insurmountable. A tyrant like 
Pharaoh could be overthrown. 
Slaves could become free men. 
It was the biblical record of 
the Exodus that enabled the 
spirit of optimism to prevail for 
the followers of Martin Luther 
King in their quest for equal 
rights, because they were stirred 

by the vision of Moses leading 
his people to the Promised 
Land. 
That optimistic spirit, based 
on our own miraculous history, 
is the second great gift we have 
given to mankind and defines 
our identity.

IMPORTANCE OF FAITH
A pessimist, it’s been said, is 
someone who has no invisible 
means of support.
Jewish optimism is rooted 
in a contrary notion, a firmly 
held belief that we are blessed 
with support from above by a 
caring God. And that faith in a 
personal God gives us faith in 
ourselves, in our future and in 
our ability to help change the 
world. 
Faith gives us the certainty 
that whatever our present-day 
problems, history moves in the 
direction of the final messianic 

redemption. That is what has 
always motivated us to believe 
in progress and to participate in 
tikkun olam, efforts to improve 
the world.

IMPORTANCE OF FAMILY
Passover taught us yet another 
major truth: the way to perfect 
the world is to begin with our 
own families.
God built His nation by ask-
ing Jews to turn their homes 
into places of family worship 
at a seder devoted primarily 
to answering the questions of 
children.
Children are our future. 
They are the ones who most 
require our attention. The 
home is where we first form 
our identities and discover our 
values.
At the seder table, the chil-
dren are encouraged to be the 
stars and their questions are 
treated with respect. And that 
is the first step to developing 
Jewish genius.

IMPORTANCE OF 
EMPATHY FOR OTHERS
As we celebrate our Divine 
deliverance from slavery, we 
may ask why did God allow 
us to become victims of such 
terrible mistreatment in the first 
place?
We were slaves in Egypt, so 
we have empathy for the down-
trodden in every generation. 
We experienced oppression, so 
we can understand the pain of 
the oppressed.
We began the seder by invit-
ing the hungry and the home-
less to join with us. We con-
cluded the seder by opening the 
door for Elijah. It is our accep-
tance of responsibility to others 
that is the key to hastening the 
arrival of the Messiah. 

Rabbi Benjamin Blech is a professor of 

Talmud at Yeshiva University His website 

is rabbibenjaminblech.com. For a longer 

version of this essay, visit aish.com/h/

pes/t/g/The_5_Most_Important_Things_

to_Know_About_Passover.html.

Passover’s 
Five Lessons

Rabbi 
Benjamin 
Blech
aish.com