Each Passover, Jews retell the story of the exodus from Egypt. This is a story of a population who emerged from slavery to relaxation and from oppression to liberty. The Passover story gives us pause to reflect upon a spiritual adventure that began with Moses and ended in the promised land of Israel. It fabricates the basis of modern Judaism and Christianity. The Passover story describes the Jews' seemingly insurmountable victory over a vastly classic enemy, a tale of wandering in the wilderness and of redemption with God's Ten Commandments. Those Ten Commandments lie at the heart of modern Judeo-Christian beliefs. They are the groundwork of our morality and the foundation of desired ethical behavior. And, when the Jews wandered for forty years in the wilderness - when they became idolaters and lost their moral compass, it was the Ten Commandments that brought them back, figuratively and literally.
Like the victory of the Hebrew Maccabi, the exodus from Egypt seemed impossible. Yet, somehow the Jews survived. In every generation, the enemies of the Hebrew nation have attempted to annihilate them. Time after time, the Jews have been defeated, evicted and enslaved. Yet, each time, they conduct to survive as a people. Each time, they return to Israel from the Diaspora. The rallying cry at each Passover Seder is, "Next Year in Jerusalem." Every Jew is bound to retell the Passover story each year as though it was happening to them. And the corporeal focus for this goal is all the time the land of Israel. Despite the fact that Jews are less than 2% of the global religious community, they somehow conduct to survive and articulate their hold upon this tiny fragment of land. Today, surrounded by enemies, the Hebrew nation is in the same predicament. How do they survive? How does their spirit continue straight through pogroms and genocide? And, what is the true meaning of Passover?
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Persecution is intensely malevolent and pervasive. Humans are particularly wicked with each other. Three thousand years ago, Moses pleaded with Pharaoh to free his population from persecution and slavery. The ten plagues that followed forced him to issue the Jews. Yet even after the worst plague of all, the destruction of the firstborn of Egypt, Pharaoh pursued the Jews into the Red Sea, where his soldiers were swept away. Evil can be just as suited a motivator as love is. While the Spanish Inquisition, anyone suspected of being a Jew was imprisoned, tortured and put to death. Nazi Germany systematically annihilated millions of Jews. What purpose is served by inflicting pain and suffering upon innocent people? What promotes such evil hatred? Why is animosity aimed at the Jewish people? And, how do the Jews conduct to survive repeated attempts to destroy them?
Like Easter, Passover occurs each year in the springtime. The notion of renaissance is ubiquitous. From sacrificial lambs to the nearnessy of an egg on the Seder plate, the symbolism of devotion and rebirth is palpable. While the overriding message of Passover is freedom, gratitude and spiritual devotion, the notion of renewal allows each of us to survey the holiday by achieve acts of kindness. From generation to generation, Jews retell the Passover story and revel in the miracles that led to their redemption as a people. The Passover Seder requires that each Jew place himself or herself in the position of being a slave in Egypt. Every Jew must taste the plagues and walk straight through the wilderness. The Seder brims with imagery and metaphors. But what does this mean for us today? Can we recognize with our three thousand year old ancestors?
Good and evil exist in the world. We don't need to look very far to see it or feel it. The exodus of the Jews from Egypt is an example for us to succeed forever. Yet, humanity continues to enslave, maltreat and murder the innocent. One might have guessed that the Holocaust would put such immorality to an end. genuinely humankind should be repelled by the vast bad dream and the murder of millions of innocent people. Yet, holocausts continue unabated. Since the Nazi Holocaust, we have experienced holocausts in Cambodia, Bosnia, Rwanda and Darfur. Anti-Semitism is again growing throughout the world. Why don't we learn? When will it end? Why do the Jewish population play a essential historical role as victims in genocides? And, what can be done to stop it? What can any of us do to reduce religious persecution?
Prejudice, bigotry and racism originate an environment in which persecution thrives. This Easter and Passover, each of us can vow to promote goodwill and acceptance. The foundation of relaxation lies in our value for freedom and unity in the face of hatred and intolerance. Instead of waiting for a miracle, let us originate our own. Let each of us retell the story of the Passover as though we were personally a part of it. Moreover, as we retell the Passover story and celebrate Easter, we can place ourselves in the minds of current victims of genocide, slavery and intolerance. We have the power to defy fanaticism. We have the courage to fight for freedom. This is the meaning of Passover. We can make our own miracles by fighting to free the oppressed.
Humans are not God. But we have the power of choice. We can use it to enslave or to liberate. We can persecute or accept others. This Easter and Passover, let us vow to use our power of selection to fight for mercy, justice and liberty. If the meaning of Passover is spiritual redemption and rebirth, then let us be reborn to stop prejudice. Let us promote tolerance and encourage everybody to value the differences among us. In this way, the spirit of Passover will live on straight through our progeny. As we enjoy Passover and Easter this spring with our families, let us pause for a moment to ask what each of us can do to eradicate the evil that surrounds us. The rebirth of this spirit is the true meaning of Passover.
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