We’ve reached the end of Passover and I want to speak about some difficult challenges that are facing the Jewish people in terms of how others relate to us and we relate to the rest of the world.
What I’ve noticed is - by and large, people older than I am emphasize the importance of protecting the Jewish people and people younger than I am take a more universal view.
This is a generalization to be sure. You may surely say, I’m older than you and I am very universal in my thinking. And you may be younger and say I totally see the need for protecting the Jewish people. And you may say, I see both sides, I get the subtlety - and I’m sure that many of us do. I know that I’m generalizing by generation. But still…
I want to give 2 mini-sermons.
First off - here’s the sermon that I think many younger people could benefit from hearing. It’s based on a famous passage in the Haggadah that begins with b’khol dor vador. In every generation.
בכל דור ודור עומדים עלינו לכלותנו
B’khol dor vador. Om’dim aleinu l’khaloteinu.
In every generation, enemies rise up against us to destroy us.
Maybe you didn’t experience much discrimination for being Jewish in school, in college, and professionally. Maybe you weren’t called names, or spat at, or worse.
Please consider - that discrimination and persecution against Jews has always been a reality, and that it is still a reality - even if it hasn’t affected your life very much or at all.
In terms of the historical reality - you can read Jacob Katz’s historical analysis of anti-Semitism, or for primary sources, you can dive into the writings of John Chrysostom or, centuries later, Martin Luther.
If you like historical fiction, check out Geraldine Brooks’ People of the Book, a novel about the Sarajevo Haggadah. It’s a great read and it analyzes several major phases of the history of a Haggadah whose origin is traced to 15th century Spain.
The Haggadah survives the Spanish inquisition, the censorship of Christian Venice, the growing anti-Semitism of late 19th century Vienna, and ultimately the Holocaust. The survival of the Haggadah, as described in the book, provides a snapshot, a manuscript microcosm of the survival of the Jewish people.
And discrimination and persecution against Jews are still realities as we know. That includes Europe for sure. And it includes the United States. I took the following right off of the ADL website:
"There were 1,986 anti-Semitic incidents reported across the United States in 2017, including physical assaults, vandalism, and attacks on Jewish institutions. That figure represents a 57 percent increase over the 1,267 incidents in 2016. Every part of the country was affected, with an incident reported in all 50 states for the first time in at least a decade."
Anti-Semitism is a problem on the right - including David Duke and the marchers in Charlottesville who shouted “Jews will not replace us” this past summer and it is a problem on the left - including Louis Farrakhan and the Rev. Jeremiah Wright.
It is perpetuated by Christians and by Muslims and by people of other faiths and by atheists and by agnostics.
And just because you suffered from it in the past doesn’t mean you are immune, which was reinforced tragically as Mireille Knoll, an 85 year old Holocaust survivor living in Paris, was stabbed to death by two young men who then set her apartment on fire.
Across history, across ideology, anti-Semitism is a problem. If you are, appropriately, advocating for the rights of other minority groups, do your best to speak up if some of those whose rights you are defending are making anti-Semitic comments.
Related to that, learn the difference between criticism of Israel that is legitimate and criticism of Israel that is a thin veil for anti-Semitism.
We - Jews - have a right to defend ourselves. While we are defending others who are being persecuted, we also have a right to defend ourselves - in fact if we don’t defend ourselves, we won’t be able to defend others.
B’khol dor vador - in every generation, including this one, there are those who try to destroy us. We need to be aware, and we need to respond.
So that was mini-sermon #1.
And here’s mini-sermon # 2. It is also based on a famous passage from the Haggadah which also starts with the phrase b’khol dor vador - in every generation.
בבכל דור ודור חייב אדם לראות את עצמו כאילו הוא יצא ממצרים
B’khol dor vador hayav adam lir’ot et atzmo k’ilu hu yatza mimitzrayim.
In every generation, we are obligated to see ourselves as though we left Egypt.
It’s an interesting request. We’re not asked to imagine ourselves as slaves. We’re asked to imagine ourselves as having actually left the place of slavery. We're being told "Look at yourself as having actually left." We’re asked to imagine ourselves as beginning the journey from dependence upon a despotic ruler to dependence upon one another and God’s redemptive power.
We’re asked to imagine, in a sense, our own moment of birth, of release from something constrained into something larger.
We’re asked, I would say, to summon our powers of imagination to consider the excitement and the fear that come from looking out into the vast world and seeing not only its danger, but its potential.
It is not enough to protect. We also have to create. Which is why, when we say kiddush, we speak of yetziat mitzrayim - leaving Egypt - and ma’aseh bereishit - creation.
It is not enough to defend ourselves. We also have to protect others. Which is why the Torah repeatedly connects our experiences with our obligations to others
And therefore - kudos to Israeli leaders who have been fighting for a humane response to the tens of thousands of refugees from Africa that now live in Israel. As you may know, Israel recently reached a deal with the UN that would involve Israel absorbing many of the refugees and other countries absorbing many as well.
Shortly after agreeing to the deal, Israel’s PM backed away from it under political pressure.
What does it mean for the State of Israel, the Jewish state, to order refugees to go back to dangerous countries voluntarily or face expulsion? What does it mean to do so right around the holiday of Passover?
It concerns me when people, often of a certain age, get quite worked up when Jews are in danger but significantly less so regarding others who are in danger.
Now, as I said earlier, the generational divide is a generalization. There are plenty of people of all ages who understand the following:
We must protect ourselves. And we must protect others.
We must be on guard for those who wish to destroy us. And we must be on guard for opportunities to create communities, societies, nations that foster dignity and respect for all
We deserve to leave in security and peace. And so does everyone else.
B’khol dor vador - in every generation, there are those who seek to destroy us. We can’t forget that. We must protect ourselves.
B’khol dor dor vador - in every generation, we must leave the narrow place behind and we must help to create a big, wide, welcoming world for us and for others.
The book that I referred to earlier, the fictional account of the history of the Sarajevo Haggadah, is in some sense a story of our persecution and survival. There is a great deal of violence in the book.
But there is also a great deal of decency. Stories of Jews, Christians and Muslims helping one another by acting with humanity.
To bring the two mini-sermons together:
Whatever our age, whatever our background, I hope we can affirm the following regarding every other human being. I matter and you matter. I deserve to live and you deserve to live. L’dor vador, one generation at a time, we will help one another to leave Mitzrayim and to create a wide, safe, welcoming world.
Originally shared with the Temple Israel of Great Neck community on the final day of Passover 5778, April 7, 2018
Mireille Knoll, Holocaust survivor and humanitarian, z"l
What I’ve noticed is - by and large, people older than I am emphasize the importance of protecting the Jewish people and people younger than I am take a more universal view.
This is a generalization to be sure. You may surely say, I’m older than you and I am very universal in my thinking. And you may be younger and say I totally see the need for protecting the Jewish people. And you may say, I see both sides, I get the subtlety - and I’m sure that many of us do. I know that I’m generalizing by generation. But still…
I want to give 2 mini-sermons.
First off - here’s the sermon that I think many younger people could benefit from hearing. It’s based on a famous passage in the Haggadah that begins with b’khol dor vador. In every generation.
בכל דור ודור עומדים עלינו לכלותנו
B’khol dor vador. Om’dim aleinu l’khaloteinu.
In every generation, enemies rise up against us to destroy us.
Maybe you didn’t experience much discrimination for being Jewish in school, in college, and professionally. Maybe you weren’t called names, or spat at, or worse.
Please consider - that discrimination and persecution against Jews has always been a reality, and that it is still a reality - even if it hasn’t affected your life very much or at all.
In terms of the historical reality - you can read Jacob Katz’s historical analysis of anti-Semitism, or for primary sources, you can dive into the writings of John Chrysostom or, centuries later, Martin Luther.
If you like historical fiction, check out Geraldine Brooks’ People of the Book, a novel about the Sarajevo Haggadah. It’s a great read and it analyzes several major phases of the history of a Haggadah whose origin is traced to 15th century Spain.
The Haggadah survives the Spanish inquisition, the censorship of Christian Venice, the growing anti-Semitism of late 19th century Vienna, and ultimately the Holocaust. The survival of the Haggadah, as described in the book, provides a snapshot, a manuscript microcosm of the survival of the Jewish people.
And discrimination and persecution against Jews are still realities as we know. That includes Europe for sure. And it includes the United States. I took the following right off of the ADL website:
"There were 1,986 anti-Semitic incidents reported across the United States in 2017, including physical assaults, vandalism, and attacks on Jewish institutions. That figure represents a 57 percent increase over the 1,267 incidents in 2016. Every part of the country was affected, with an incident reported in all 50 states for the first time in at least a decade."
Anti-Semitism is a problem on the right - including David Duke and the marchers in Charlottesville who shouted “Jews will not replace us” this past summer and it is a problem on the left - including Louis Farrakhan and the Rev. Jeremiah Wright.
It is perpetuated by Christians and by Muslims and by people of other faiths and by atheists and by agnostics.
And just because you suffered from it in the past doesn’t mean you are immune, which was reinforced tragically as Mireille Knoll, an 85 year old Holocaust survivor living in Paris, was stabbed to death by two young men who then set her apartment on fire.
Across history, across ideology, anti-Semitism is a problem. If you are, appropriately, advocating for the rights of other minority groups, do your best to speak up if some of those whose rights you are defending are making anti-Semitic comments.
Related to that, learn the difference between criticism of Israel that is legitimate and criticism of Israel that is a thin veil for anti-Semitism.
We - Jews - have a right to defend ourselves. While we are defending others who are being persecuted, we also have a right to defend ourselves - in fact if we don’t defend ourselves, we won’t be able to defend others.
B’khol dor vador - in every generation, including this one, there are those who try to destroy us. We need to be aware, and we need to respond.
So that was mini-sermon #1.
And here’s mini-sermon # 2. It is also based on a famous passage from the Haggadah which also starts with the phrase b’khol dor vador - in every generation.
בבכל דור ודור חייב אדם לראות את עצמו כאילו הוא יצא ממצרים
B’khol dor vador hayav adam lir’ot et atzmo k’ilu hu yatza mimitzrayim.
In every generation, we are obligated to see ourselves as though we left Egypt.
It’s an interesting request. We’re not asked to imagine ourselves as slaves. We’re asked to imagine ourselves as having actually left the place of slavery. We're being told "Look at yourself as having actually left." We’re asked to imagine ourselves as beginning the journey from dependence upon a despotic ruler to dependence upon one another and God’s redemptive power.
We’re asked to imagine, in a sense, our own moment of birth, of release from something constrained into something larger.
We’re asked, I would say, to summon our powers of imagination to consider the excitement and the fear that come from looking out into the vast world and seeing not only its danger, but its potential.
It is not enough to protect. We also have to create. Which is why, when we say kiddush, we speak of yetziat mitzrayim - leaving Egypt - and ma’aseh bereishit - creation.
It is not enough to defend ourselves. We also have to protect others. Which is why the Torah repeatedly connects our experiences with our obligations to others
And therefore - kudos to Israeli leaders who have been fighting for a humane response to the tens of thousands of refugees from Africa that now live in Israel. As you may know, Israel recently reached a deal with the UN that would involve Israel absorbing many of the refugees and other countries absorbing many as well.
Shortly after agreeing to the deal, Israel’s PM backed away from it under political pressure.
What does it mean for the State of Israel, the Jewish state, to order refugees to go back to dangerous countries voluntarily or face expulsion? What does it mean to do so right around the holiday of Passover?
It concerns me when people, often of a certain age, get quite worked up when Jews are in danger but significantly less so regarding others who are in danger.
Now, as I said earlier, the generational divide is a generalization. There are plenty of people of all ages who understand the following:
We must protect ourselves. And we must protect others.
We must be on guard for those who wish to destroy us. And we must be on guard for opportunities to create communities, societies, nations that foster dignity and respect for all
We deserve to leave in security and peace. And so does everyone else.
B’khol dor vador - in every generation, there are those who seek to destroy us. We can’t forget that. We must protect ourselves.
B’khol dor dor vador - in every generation, we must leave the narrow place behind and we must help to create a big, wide, welcoming world for us and for others.
The book that I referred to earlier, the fictional account of the history of the Sarajevo Haggadah, is in some sense a story of our persecution and survival. There is a great deal of violence in the book.
But there is also a great deal of decency. Stories of Jews, Christians and Muslims helping one another by acting with humanity.
To bring the two mini-sermons together:
Whatever our age, whatever our background, I hope we can affirm the following regarding every other human being. I matter and you matter. I deserve to live and you deserve to live. L’dor vador, one generation at a time, we will help one another to leave Mitzrayim and to create a wide, safe, welcoming world.
Originally shared with the Temple Israel of Great Neck community on the final day of Passover 5778, April 7, 2018
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