Passover! (guest post by Steven Greenebaum)

Tradition tells us that for the first time in recorded history, an enslaved people were able to walk away from slavery. As a Jew I am “commanded” to remember this day, and I do. I also feel strongly that it is something we all might wish to celebrate: NOT as a single event in history, but as an indictment of slavery as we join together to embrace a Universal Passover as our goal for humanity. It is not that “we” escaped the bondage of Pharaoh, once and forever, but that Pharaoh has come to enslave all of us throughout history, with many different names and forms, and we must seek to overthrow ALL Pharaohs, at all times – whatever form Pharaoh may have taken.

For me, this has long been the essence of Passover. Yes, I remember that “We were slaves in the land of Egypt.” But I remember it not because the “poor Jews” were enslaved, but rather as an in-my-face reminder that slavery is wrong. It is always wrong. It is wrong if Jews are enslaved. It is wrong if Africans are enslaved.  It is wrong if any race, any creed, any gender, any human being is enslaved. Slavery is wrong. It is always wrong. For me, this is what Passover is all about.

This is why I eat charoses, matzo, bitter herbs, and kosher grape juice (because of meds, no alcohol allowed anymore, not even for Passover), as well as other ritual foods. I do this to remember the bitterness of slavery and the sweetness of freedom: not just for me, not just for “my people”, but for all of humanity. A crucial part of my Passover tradition is the recitation of the words, “If one be slave, man or woman, Jew or Gentile, any race, any creed: if this one be slave, then none of us is truly free.”

Which brings us to a Pharaoh that I believe far too https://msipressblog.blogspot.com/search?q=Greenebaummany of us find invisible. It seems to me that the one inescapable Pharaoh is the one who can, if we are not vigilant, slip into our minds to imprison us. That Pharaoh is fear, and it enslaves our minds as surely and destructively as the Pharaoh of Egypt 3,000 years ago.

As a Jew who deeply values Passover, I believe this Pharaoh must be opposed, even and perhaps especially when Fear enslaves fellow Jews be they in Israel or the United States. As an American who deeply values Passover, I believe this Pharaoh must be opposed, even and perhaps especially when Fear enslaves fellow Americans.

On this Passover, in this year where Fear seeks to divide us yet again, and most particularly against the stranger, it is important to remember that Scripture reminds us that we ourselves were “strangers in a strange land.” Scripture also reminds us to love the stranger as we love ourselves.

So yes, love is indeed a key that can unlock the prison we impose on our minds. But, and this is huge, proclaiming love is like putting a key in the lock and walking away. If that’s all we do, the lock remains, as does the prison we have placed on our minds. To unlock the prison door, we must *turn* the key. Proclaiming love has never been enough. I deeply believe we must act with love – and to act with love we must reject fear as we would reject Pharaoh. To walk away from this most cruel of tyrannies, we must walk with love. That is what will turn the key.

On this Passover, may we embrace our human family – the whole of our family. Yes, indeed, some in our family act out. There’s no denying that! And sometimes we will find we must oppose members of our own family. There’s no denying that either. But we can do so lovingly, not encumbered by fear and the bigotry it breeds. At the end of the day, we remain family. On this Passover, my prayer is for my human family. May we be free. May we all be free.

Amen.

The above post about Passover, the current pandemic, and fear was written by Dr. Steven Greenebaum, interfaith pastor and author of One Family: Indivisible; a spiritual memoir.