April 2005

Passover: A Time to Act for Redemption

Passover is a wonderful time to clean the house, dust off the haggadahs, make a delicious Seder meal, see the family, attend the second night congregational Seder, and eat lots of matzah and Passover goodies all week.

But Passover should be more than all of this. It's also a time for us to live the message of Passover, the message of redemption, freedom and caring for all people. At the Seder, we tell the story of the redemption from Egypt long ago. But even more importantly, we proclaim a vision of a messianic time in which the world will be perfected and all people redeemed.

At each Passover Seder, we say: "Let all who are hungry, come and eat." There are several ways to make those words really mean something. Of course, we can welcome guests to our Seder. CBI is doing "Seder Shidduchs," matching up potential hosts and Seder guests. We also encourage people attending our community Seder to make an extra donation so that we can welcome individuals who can't afford the whole cost of the Seder dinner.

Beyond this, we can care about the many hungry people in our society, but donating to organizations such as Mazon (see insert). Mazon, a California-based Jewish organization that feeds the hungry of all religions and backgrounds, encourages all of us to donate the cost of one Seder meal to help make the words of the Seder ring true.

Another meaning of Passover is to work for freedom in the world. Since February 2003, a government-backed militia known as Janjaweed has been engaging in a genocidal campaign to displace and wipe out communities of African tribal farmers in Darfur, Sudan. This is the worst humanitarian crisis in the world today. Last year, as we learned about the dire situation in Darfur, where Sudanese refugees are exiled from their homes by government-backed militia, I was struck by the fact that the lean-to's in which these refugees found shelter looked so like the huts in which our ancestors dwelled when they fled from Egypt. As Jews, we of all people cannot turn away from this situation of oppression and genocide. There are many actions planned by the American Jewish World Service to help the people of Sudan achieve freedom and safety. To learn about the campaign to raise awareness, take political action and bring an end to the atrocities in Darfur, please visit www.ajws.org/darfur/ . We will also include this message as part of our congregational Seder.

Finally, on May 1, the day after Passover (CBI observes a seven-day holiday in accord with the liberal/Reform/Israeli tradition), we will hold the first Jewish Community Mitzvah Day, sponsored by our Social Action Committee. We can take the energy of the holiday and put it to work in making our community a better place (see insert).
Part of the genius of our Jewish tradition is to combine the ritual and the social, the joy of celebration and the call to action. Let us take time to savor the delight of Passover while also doing our part to make the values of Passover real.

Hag Sameach v'Kasher-A Joyful and Kosher Passover to All,

Rabbi Julie Hilton Danan

P.S. Thanks for all the Birthday Cards-what a thoughtful surprise!