Archive
Thoughtful modern day “Plagues” to contemplate this Passover – presented by JACPAC – but there is something missing
JACPAC (the Joint Action Committee for Political Affairs) a wonderful group of politically active women (and a few men) whose issues center around Israel, women’s rights a
nd now, gun control, have come out with a list of ten modern day plagues to think about this Pesach [Their list follows at the bottom of this post – unfortunately, I couldn’t get the very cool green frog background to copy over]. Their hope is that:
As you gather with your families around the seder table and retell the story of Passover, remember that oppression, hunger, discrimination and violence still plague us all.
However, I thought that given their goal, they left out two of the most important things that we Jews should be thinking about. So, I wrote them the following:
To Marcia, Dana, Janna and JACPAC:
With respect, I believe that you have left out two extremely important plagues:
– The Occupation and the treatment of the Palestinians
– Failure to reach a two state solution
The occupation is one of the most important plagues because of the threat it presents to Israel remaining both a Jewish and Democratic state. It also tends to corrupt a society. I have witnessed this personally when visiting the West Bank and I assume that you have as well. The attitude towards the Palestinians is simply shameful. And it is clearly appears to be an overall policy of the government and military. If this were happening in the US, I am sure that JACPAC would be the first to speak out against it.
For myself, one of the most important aspects of the Seder is the fact that the Haggadah emphasizes the fact that “you” – the Seder participant him/herself – were a slave in the land of Egypt. I think that this is profound. The Haggadah is asking each of us to put ourselves in the shoes of someone that is enslaved and oppressed. It wants us to feel what it is like to be the one who is powerless – as we Jews have been for 2000 years until quite recently.
Now however, the miracle of the success of the State of Israel has put us in an unfamiliar position. The Jewish State (we shouldn’t need the Palestinians to have to bless this description) is now in control of the West Bank and controls access to Gaza. Whether you want to call it” occupation” or not (a la Sheldon Adelson), Israel is controlling the lives of 2.5 million people in the West Bank. How we as Jews handle this situation is a test of Jewish values. The lesson I take from the Haggadah is to remember what it is like to be powerless and oppressed – and if the tables are turned so that Jews are in power, to use that power wisely.
And, I believe that “Treatment of the Palestinians” should come ahead of “BDS” – because there is a connection. BDS scares many of us precisely because we have seen the effectiveness of this tactic before particularly with South Africa. As a matter of fact, many of us Jews were in the forefront of the BDS movement against South Africa. While some of those who promote BDS have the goal of destroying the state of Israel, there are many others who are simply protesting the very real abuses of power and justice that do occur.
The question I would like to contemplate for this Pesach is this: If we keep the land, but lose our ethics, where are we?
I think the Haggadah is telling us that that puts us back wandering in a moral desert.
_______________________________
So, yasher koach, on the list of plagues. It provides much for all of us to consider at the Seder table. I simply wish that you would challenge your membership even further. There are very real facts on the ground in Israel that are hard to look at. But, hiding our heads in the sand, doesn’t change the reality on the ground.
Best wishes to you and your families for a chag kasher v’sameach — a meaningful and sweet Pesach.
JACPAC’s Email:
|
|||||||||||||
It’s That Time of Year for A Repost: Contemplating the Message of Passover
Pesach is my favorite Jewish holiday. The traditions are so rich and the Seder is the ultimate joyous, jubilant Jewish celebration: the symbols of the Seder plate, the smells and tastes of real Jewish food (I will put Margie’s golden chicken soup up against any in the world), the struggle with matzoh for eight days, the four cups, the laughter, the singing, Elijah. Those are all so memorable.
But it is the message that permeates the holiday that is so important. While the book of Exodus holds perhaps more of the basic concepts, precepts, commandments and narratives of the Torah than any other book, the Haggadah‘s lessons seem much narrower.
There are many different interpretations of the meaning of the story from the manifestation of The Lord acting directly in the world, to the molding of the Jewish people into a nation, to the miracles of the Passover and the parting of the Sea of Reeds itself. Yet to me the most straightforward and overriding message is simple:
- REMEMBER. You were slaves in Egypt
- RELIVE. How it felt to be enslaved. To be oppressed
- REPUDIATE. So that, You, personally, and, Jews as a people, will never become oppressors yourselves
Every Jewish holiday harks back to a connection with bedrock stories from the Jewish community’s past like the recitation of the Akedah and story of Jonah on the High Holidays, the Megillah on Purim, Akadmut and Ruth on Shavuot,, or the rededication of the Temple at Hanukkah. But the Seder and the Haggadah ask something of us that is wholly unique and of an entirely different nature than any other Jewish holiday. It specifically tells us that we must place ourselves inside the story – we must be in Egypt to feel the pain and oppression – and the redemption. This is one of the main lessons of the telling of the story of the Four Sons, which acts as an answer to Mah Nishtanah – Why is this night different from all other nights?
So why is it so important to more than sympathize, more than empathize, but to actually experience being slaves in Egypt? The answer seems straightforward. Each of us needs to understand what it is like to be oppressed so that we will never become oppressors ourselves. We must feel the weariness of the excruciating labor, the pain of the task masters’ whips, and shed the tears of a people without rights or freedom. Having lived through it ourselves, it should be unthinkable for Jews to oppress others. And lest we forget, we are commanded to relive our slavery each and every Pesah. We must understand the pain of the oppressed and the evil of the oppressor – so that we never allow the roles to be reversed.
One of the traditional prayers at the end of the Seder is “next year in Jerusalem”. The problem is that now when I look to Jerusalem, I see Israel occupying Arab neighborhoods. Pushing people out of homes that have been in their families for decades or longer. And beyond that, I see checkpoints, and identity cards, and political prisons. Most of all, I see one people subjugating another. This is not fantasy. This is reality for anyone who cares to take a look. But if an American Jew talks about it, he is told, “You have no right to criticize Israeli policy because you don’t live there. You don’t have to serve in the IDF. You don’t have to dive into bomb shelters when the sirens sound. You don’t have to fear that your children will be killed riding in a school bus.” That is so very true. And I am so sorry that life is indeed that dangerous for those living in Eretz Yisrael. But I am also sorry to say that I believe the Haggadah not only gives me the right, but also the obligation as a Jew, to speak out when I see fellow Jews oppressing another people. As Peter Beinart said when he spoke at Northwestern, “The morality of a people must not be measured when they are powerless. The question is how they act when they have the power.”
beyondzerosum 