Do You Remember Hearts Were Too Cold; Season Had Frozen Us Into Our Souls (Peter Monk & Phil Lesh - "Passenger")

           In the Haggadah we read, B’chol Dor V’Dor Chayev Adam Lirot Et Atsmo K’Ilu  Hoo Yatzah M’Mitzrayim-“In every generation on is obliged to see himself as though he himself had actually gone forth from Egypt." Implied in the Haggadah is the notion that “the Telling” of the Pesach story will be much more meaningful if we put ourselves there. As much as we complain about the Pesach preparations, the cleaning, the cooking, the washing, and the shopping; we prepare ourselves. In a sense, we began the process of putting ourselves back in Egypt at the time of the Exodus over the past few weeks. As we celebrate the final days of Pesach, we are reminded that Yetziat Mitzrayim did not end when B’nai Yisroel marched out of Egypt. Yetziat Mitzrayim continued for weeks, marked Kriyat Yam Suf (the crossing of the Reed Sea). Yetziat Mitzrayim continued for months, marked by Matan Torah (The Giving of the Torah at Mt. Sinai) nearly two months later (50 days). Yetziat Mitzrayim continued for a year, marked by the completion of the Mishkan and the beginning of the journey to Eretz Canaan. Yetziat Mitzrayim continue for 40 years until an entire generation passed away replaced by children and grandchildren born as free souls.

          This Shabbat is the last day of the Pesach Festival, it is a Yom Tov similar to the first two days of the Pesach Festival. The only difference is that we do not participate in a Seder. Also, the final day of Pesach is marked by Yizkor. The Torah portion for the 7th Day of Pesach is that excerpt from Parsha Beshallach, which includes the narrative of Bnai Yisroel being sent out of Egypt and one week later arriving at the shores and then successfully crossing the Yam Suf. The Torah reading for the 8th day of Pesach is an excerpt from  Devarim, Parsha Re’eh (14:22-16:17). Moshe is speaking to the generation born in freedom, invoking the memories of their parents and grandparents' experiences as slaves as he re-iterates the laws necessary for a community to function: The laws of Second Tithes (think social safety net), remission of loans, being charitable to the less fortunate and finally, the re-iteration of the sanctity of the Shalosh Regalim - the Three Festival: Pesach, Shavuot, and Sukkot. 

          How are we supposed to fulfill the Haggadah’s obligation of Lirot Et Atsmo K’Ilu  Hoo Yatzah M’Mitzrayim - see yourself as if you left Egypt if the narrative of Yetziat Mitzrayim is at least a 40-year experience? Perhaps the answer is playing out in Ukraine. A people fights for its freedom against the tyranny of Putin’s Russia. A small group of Ukrainian soldiers in a Mariupol steel factory holds out against the Russian army. The symbol is powerful and unmistakable. Some analysts invoke the image of the Alamo. When a small band of Texans fought off the Mexican Army for a while only to be overwhelmed and killed. That event served as an inspiring reminder as Texas fought to break away from the Mexican Empire. A more Jewish symbol that is certainly more geographically and Pesach relevant occurred 80 years ago this week. The Warsaw Ghetto Uprising was a small group of starving Jews who resisted the Nazi war machine for three weeks. The symbol of a small band of starving Jews in the Warsaw Ghetto filled with courage faith, a few guns and Molotov cocktails would inspire not only other WWII partisans but also those Jews who fought for the birth of Israel and continues to provide meaning today. 

          Whatever happens to those soldiers in the battle for Mariupol, we are witnessing the creation of a symbolic national moment. For any people that have been forced to struggle for their freedom, any community that has had to struggle to throw off the shackles of slavery and tyranny, symbols of that struggle are vital. Symbols of those events unite those who experienced the event and participated in that particular national moment and narrative.  Symbols of those events also bind future generations to their past by giving those future generations a meaningful present. Perhaps seeing ourselves as having left Egypt reminds us that freedom and liberty should never be taken for granted but instead is something that requires faith, and courage to fight for when necessary.

Shabbat Shalom & Chag Sameach,
Rav Yitz