Approximately 3,500 years ago today, the Hebrews were frightened and hopeful. Frightened of the promise of the Egyptians to slaughter all of their firstborn children. Terrified of what would happen to them if they put blood on their doorposts, and the potential retribution that the Egyptians would inflict for that act of revolution. And yet these same Hebrew slaves were hopeful.
After seeing the many miracles of the plagues, the Hebrews wanted to have faith. They wanted to choose to surrender to God and act upon the words of Moses, their leader. Having been persecuted for so long, they yearned to embrace faith in God in combination with their own actions; and yet they were still terrified.
In some ways, the world just hasn't changed that much, especially for Jews and all people of faith.
Today, we too are scared. Scared of attacks on Israel, and attacks on Jews worldwide. Fearful that the situation around Israel could start a third world war, God forbid. Nervous that on any given day, actions like what happened on October 7 could happen in Israel and/or in our local communities, again, God forbid.
And we, like our ancestors over 3,000 years ago, want to have faith that all these problems the world faces today will be miraculously resolved. We want to believe in the truth of the announcements on Friday morning that Iran really is interested in talks about nuclear disarmament. No matter the odds, we hope in the deepest part of our hearts that there will suddenly be a lasting peace in Israel and a cessation of antisemitic hate crimes worldwide.
We ache to believe that the meetings that began yesterday in Azerbaijan between Turkey and Israel will lead to a safe and secure Israel. We are frightened and hopeful, just like our ancestors. And like them, we too argue amongst ourselves for the "caution" of fear versus the commitment to faith.
Three thousand five hundred years ago, there would clearly have been infighting between the Jewish groups and clans, and some academics actually believe that as many as 80% of the Hebrew population did not leave Egypt. We must remember that this is the generation that saw both the most horrific tortures of slavery from the Egyptians and also experienced the many miracles from God. Humans have not changed all that much, and it is easy to think of the arguments between the ancient Hebrews who wanted to leave, and those who wanted to stay "in the comfort of their slavery."
Again, we see the same infighting today. There are people of faith who know that it is only through faith in God combined with personal action that miracles occur, and there are those today who are equally as certain that God is an absentee landlord. Some Jews today believe that the only path to peace is a two-state solution and that the Arabs really do want peace; others have total faith that the only way to have safety and security in Israel is to utterly destroy every Muslim, beginning with Hamas and Hezbollah, and to totally destroy Iran. Passions rage on both sides, and as an example, on Friday morning, one of the opposition ministers from Yesh Atid (Yair Lapid's party) actually said that they should create a second Knesset.
There have always been and always will be an ever-present "machlochet" (debate) between individuals. But Passover is the time to come together and realize that all people of faith are brothers and sisters in the arms of God. And Passover is a time to come together and share our personal truths, our fears, and our hopes. It is a time to embrace all people together: the wise, the wicked, the simple, and the one who is unable to inquire.
It is also a time of true self-reflection. We are obligated to reflect upon those things that we find ourselves enslaved to: money, power, fame, beauty, fear, arrogance, or even the more mundane things like cell phones and electronic devices. This is the time to recognize the patterns that we have that enslave us, and a time to remove those patterns and that slavery.
But it also requires both honest self-reflection and the courage to act upon what we see about ourselves. It requires us to have the faith that God will help us become free, and the passion and persistence to act as we need to in order to achieve that freedom.
We need to contemplate these things as we prepare for the Seder on Saturday night.
None of us knows for sure what will happen in the Middle East over the next day or throughout this holiday of Passover. But there is an important lesson that we each must remember as we determine how deeply we are willing to look at ourselves—and to act.
Our ancestors who had faith in God and the courage to act were the ones who left Egypt. They found a Promised Land, not just in the physical terrain of Israel but in their own spiritual growth. We remember those ancestors each year at the Seder, and their journey toward personal freedom has been codified in stories, songs, and even many movies.
But have you ever noticed that almost no one ever discusses or talks about those Hebrews who lacked faith and courage and stayed in Egypt, remaining in a slavery that they knew rather than exploring a freedom that was unfamiliar to them?
We are each the writer and producer of our own life stories. Do you wish your story to be like those Hebrews who stayed in Egypt? Do you want the tale of your life to be lost in the shadows like those ancestors who remained slaves? Or do you wish your story to be one of courage and passion, faith and freedom, like those who put blood on their doorposts and left Egypt as free men and women? Can you find the desire inside yourself to integrate faith and action together in a way that brings true freedom?
People often ask me how I recommend preparing for Passover. I believe one of the first and most important steps is to be truly self-reflective and honest about those things that enslave us. Then, we each need to commit ourselves to personal freedom: a deeper personal relationship with God and to act based on our faith. The Passover rituals are powerful, but only if we allow them to touch the deepest part of our souls. If we can do that, then the Passover Seder and the week-long holiday can potentially change our lives and the world for the better.
I invite each of us to have the courage to integrate faith and action during this holiday and in so doing, to create peace both within ourselves and in the world.
May we each have a blessed Passover, and may we allow ourselves to truly and fully experience the love of God in combination with the joy of actions based on faith.
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