I
n 1947, David Ben
Gurion famously said
at the United Nations:
“Three hundred years ago
a ship called the Mayflower
left for the new world … Is
there a single
Englishman who
knows the exact
date and hour of
the Mayflower’s
launch … do
they know how
many people
were in the
boat? Their names? What
they wore? What they ate? …
“More than 3,300 years
before the Mayflower set sail,
the Jews left Egypt. Any
Jewish child, whether in
America or Russia, Yemen
or Germany, knows that
his forefathers left Egypt at
dawn on the 15th of Nissan
… Their belts were tied and
their staffs were in their
hands. They ate matzot and
arrived at the Red Sea after
seven days … Jews worldwide
still eat matzah for seven days
from the 15th of Nissan, and
retell the story of the Exodus,
concluding with a fervent
wish ‘Next year in Jerusalem.’
This is the nature of the
Jewish people.”
It is at the Pesach seder
that these powerful facts of
Jewish history are relayed
— the facts which lay the
foundation for our vision and
values contained in the Torah
and expressed through the
mitzvot. The Pesach seder has
a special place in the hearts of
Jews across the world. More
than 80% of Jews in Israel
participate in some form of
Pesach seder; and in South
Africa the figure is more
than 90%. (In America, it’s
70%, according to the Pew
Research Center.)
The power of the Pesach
seder goes way beyond
statistics. The seder is in
our hearts because it is at
the heart of Judaism and the
future of the Jewish people. It
is that time of the year when
one generation hands over to
the next the history, vision
and values of what it means
to be a Jew.
How does the seder
ensure that the facts and
values of our Divine mission
are conveyed from one
generation to the next? The
clue is the mah nishtanah —
the famous four questions.
If you look carefully in the
Haggadah, you will find
that these questions are not
answered immediately, and
some are only answered
indirectly.
The inescapable
conclusion is that in a certain
fundamental sense the
questions are more important
than the answers, and that the
Pesach seder is not merely a
history lesson dictating dry
facts to the new generation.
The questions symbolize an
active and lively interaction,
which aims to nurture an
open and loving atmosphere.
The seder is a dynamic
dialogue, not a monologue
because it is conveying the
very essence of who we are
and what our purpose is
on Earth. G-d has designed
the seder to be a space and
a forum where the facts,
values and vision of Judaism
are transmitted from one
generation to the next in the
context of the bonds of love.
The Pesach seder, with its
potential to uplift and inspire
families, can be a model for
Jewish life in general. It is in
the hearts of so many Jews
across the globe because we
intuitively understand its
vital importance for a vibrant
Jewish future. The seder is a
call to Jewish families for how
to live our lives. It teaches us
all how we need to make time
and space for one another
in order to discuss and to
debate the most important
dimensions of what it means
to be a Jew.
Just as on the seder night
when families sit together to
discuss the big ideas of what
it means to be a Jew, so too
can we do that all year round,
making time for each other.
Let’s do it at the Shabbat
table and during the week by
learning Torah together. Let
the dynamic conversations
continue beyond the seder.
Let families talk to each
other, discussing and
understanding what it means
to be a Jew, our values, our
faith, who we are, where we
come from, our faith, our
values, our vision for the
future.
Chag Sameach!
Chief Rabbi Warren Goldstein, who
has a PhD. in Human Rights Law, is
the chief rabbi of South Africa. This
essay was written March 10, 2021,
for theshabbosproject.org.
SPIRIT
Pesach — In Every
Generation
A WORD OF TORAH
Rabbi
Warren
Goldstein
THESHABBOSPROJECT.ORG
42 | APRIL 14 • 2022