Passover urges all of us to speak out and fight injustice | Opinion
The Jewish holiday of Passover (the Hebrew word for Pesach) is based on the story of the Exodus in the Jewish bible. How the ancient Israelites became enslaved in Egypt for 430 years, how Moses finagled their freedom from Pharaoh, then led them out of Egypt and across a desert to Canaan (Israel) while getting the Ten Commandments along the way.
This year preparing for Passover was more than just cleaning out my pantry of forbidden foods like bread and cereal. This year is a harsh reminder of the difficulties and challenges of moving forward.
Besides wrestling with a new laptop that has decided to become HAL from the movie “2001 Space Odyssey’, up popped a seating chart from a 2005 Passover ritual dinner (Seder). So many place cards for relatives who have passed, but who are definitely looking over my shoulder as I made the chicken soup with matzo balls and the brisket that always needed more carrots.
The year’s Passover dinner was at my daughter’s house, along with my grandmother’s dishes that once traveled to my house so many years ago when I took over the family Seders.
Old customs and traditions remind us of our Israelite ancestors; new traditions emphasize how we are all family, no matter where we are or who we are.
While the youngest child still recited the “Four Questions,” new items were added like an orange on the Seder plate, or a song “We shall overcome” along with Had Gad Ya.
One of the Cantors in Louisville explained why God chose Moses to lead the ancient Israelites out of slavery: Moses had a speech impediment, “slow of speech and tongue” and he struggled with anger that led him to kill an Egyptian who was beating a Hebrew, and how Moses rescued Zipporah and her sisters from being harassed by the shepherds at the well. God saw how Moses stood up to these bullies and knew he would stand up to Pharaoh.
Passover reminds us that we all are Moses as the dictators keep resurfacing. Passover instructs us that each of us has a moral duty to fight tyranny and injustice and to help others regain their freedom.
In our Passover Haggadahs (the book of the Seder), says “the more we dwell upon the story of the Exodus, the deeper will be our understanding of what freedom means, and the stronger our determination to win it for ourselves and for others.”
Our Haggadah recalls how the pharaoh of Egypt became afraid that the Israelites would rise up against him, so he enslaved them. Today some of our elected officials are so afraid of DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion) and antisemitism, they passed laws to prevent protests, to bully our public schools and universities with threats of withholding funding, and to file lawsuits against businesses and the news media.
The hardest and most dangerous step towards freedom is that first step. Passover urges all of us to speak out and fight unjust laws.
The most repeated message in the Haggadah: “We were slaves, and now we are free.”
A fourth generation Kentucky Jew, Ms. Goldman is a community activist and organizer who often writes on Jewish holidays and social issues. Starting this year at sundown on Saturday, April 12, Passover will end at sundown on Sunday, April 20.