We're Standing On The Beach, The Sea Will Part Before Me (John Barlow & Bob Weir - "Estimated Prophet")

           The Seminary where our daughter attends during her gap year in Israel has been closed for Pesach since the second week of March. In fact, most of the Seminaries and Yeshivot in Israel give 3-4 weeks of “vacation” to their students. Rather than leaving the students completely on their own, our daughter’s seminary offered them a variety of “outside” class experiences including backpacking through a region in Israel or taking the Magen David Adom (Israel’s Red Cross) first responder certification program.  Our daughter chose to study for her certification with Magen David Adom (the Red Cross).  When I asked her why she wanted to spend her Pesach vacation taking this incredibly intensive class, she explained that it is important to have life-saving skills because one never knows. She also reminded me of a section of Talmud from the Tractate Kiddushin 29a. The Talmud discusses the four obligations that a father has in terms of raising a son.  One of those obligations is teaching his son to swim (since it might save his life). My daughter reminded me that such an obligation should probably be applied to raising a daughter as well. So my daughter explained that acquiring such skills not only helps her but could potentially help another.  

          This Shabbat is also the Seventh Day of Pesach. As we continue our celebration of Pesach, the Torah reading continues the narrative of the Exodus. We read of the miracle of Kriat Yam Suf (the Crossing of the Reed Sea). Already out of Egypt and now pursued by the Pharaoh's army; B’nai Yisroel finds itself stuck between the proverbial rock and hard place. Before them lies the Reed Sea, and behind them, the Egyptian Army continues its pursuit. Panicked, these former slaves believe that they have two choices: death by drowning or death at the hands of the Pharaoh's army. Moshe, too, appears at wit’s end. Unsure of how to proceed,  he begins to pray on both his and the people’s behalf. VaYomer HaShem El Moshe -  God says to Moshe  Mah Titzahk Eilai Dabeir El B’nai Yisroel V’Yisau – speak to the Children of Israel and let them journey forth (Ex. 14:15). Eventually, B’nai Yisroel mustered enough courage and they crossed the sea. Upon their successful arrival onto the other side, Moshe and B’nai Yisroel break out into song praising God’s strength, love, and protection.

          The Talmudic Sages in the Tractate Sotah 36a credits the great- great- grandson of Judah, Nachshon Ben Aminadav, as the first person into the Sea. However, the Sea did not open when Nachshon put his foot into the water. Nor did the sea part when he was knee-deep, thigh-deep, or waist-deep into the water. Undeterred, and apparently full of a profound and simple faith in God, Nachshon continued to wade into the water. The water covered his chest, his shoulders, his neck, chin, face, and soon he was completely submerged. At the moment he was to sink or float, the waters opened up. B’nai Yisroel followed and they made their way across. While the Midrash doesn’t suggest that Nachshon actually swam at all, certainly he was the ultimate first responder, risking his life to save B’nai Yisroel from their own spiritual paralysis.

            Nachshon’s courage in the Midrash teaches a valuable lesson about faith and freedom. No matter the difficulty, no matter the pain, sadness, and grief, there is a path across the Yam Suf. That is not to say that we may not be bruised, scarred, or damaged in some way. It only means that crossing our own sea gives us an opportunity for a future. Staying back, remaining paralyzed, succumbing to our fears, guarantees no future, and remaining enslaved. Indeed, freedom is all about a sense of tomorrow, the future, and possibilities. Yes, our daughter had to get her apartment cleaned for Pesach. However, her Pesach preparations also included first aid, CPR, artificial respiration, treating wounds, broken bones, spinal injuries, and other medical emergencies that might very well save someone’s life. There was classroom instruction, there was experiential learning (practicum),  and there numerous hours of studying every day. After two weeks,  several days before Pesach began, she was supposed to take an exam. A few days before her exam, nervous and anxious she called her mother. She reminded our daughter that she has done all the work, put in an enormous amount of effort, and now needs only to have faith and jump into her exam. Right before Pesach, having passed the exam,  she sent us a picture with her Magen Adom jacket posed in front of a Magen David Adom ambulance. 

Peace,

Rav Yitz

You Will Follow Me And We Will Ride To Glory (John Barlow & Bob Weir- "Estimated Prophet")

I don’t know about you, but we are expecting a long lost relative to show up at our Seder this year. In fact, I am willing to bet that a long lost uncle will be showing up at many Seders in the United States and even in Canada. Well before Elijah shows up, this long lost cranky Uncle Bernie will make an appearance. No, he won’t be there physically, but make no mistake, Uncle Bernie will put in an appearance. It would have been way too tense with lots of political fireworks if our eldest daughter came home for Pesach. However, the woman for whom our daughter works needed our daughter in Pennsylvania for that state’s April 26^th primary.  I just hope that if and when Uncle Bernie shows up, there won’t be yelling, screaming, name calling, or long diatribes about the same thing over and over again.

Of course Uncle Bernie shows up when we open the door to symbolically welcome the needy into our home. Most likely he would have been there before screaming at us to “open the damn door already, there are millions of people who need our help and society has failed them”. So we open the door and in walks Uncle Bernie.  As he brusquely walked in, not even saying hello to my younger kids, nor my nieces and nephew, I would looked at him and told him that I open the “damn door” when the Hagaddah instructs me to open the door since I follow the prescribed order of the Hagaddah. I reminded him that we started our Seder at a certain time and he didn’t need to make such a scene.  As he sits down, he throws his first barb at me. He tells me that “I am a slave to Torah, to organized religion.” He tells me that I am a slave to the capitalist society and that “only a revolution”, of which he is the leader “can throw off the shackles of this current state of slavery.” Knowing that I will have a chance later, I dismiss his initial parry and tell Uncle Bernie that he should save his diatribe for later while we are eating or even better, after that last cup of wine.

                So as we working our way thought Hagaddah, I pick up the Matzah and explain that this is the bread of poverty, Uncle Bernie reminds us that we should always appreciate the fact that it’s not only the bread of poverty for Jews, especially after the Pesach shopping is complete, but we should always be aware of the poverty all around us and be sure to do something about it.  The kids are getting fidgety, “Yes Uncle Bernie, we know, and we will, but first, tonight is Pesach and we are celebrating our freedom and we are getting hungry.” So we managed to keep Uncle Bernie quiet long enough to work our way through the middle of the Hagaddah and are beginning with the Seder meal. He likes my wife’s chicken soup, he loves the hard-boiled egg in salt water, and apparently it reminds him of his upbringing in Brooklyn. Then dish after dish is placed upon the table, potatoes, chicken, brisket, some type of vegetable kugel, and other things that I have no idea what they could be. Does Uncle Bernie compliment my wife? No. Uncle Bernie complains that there is too much food and we should have given it away to the poor and the needy, and he refuses to eat. Standing on principle, or rather sitting on it, he begins another diatribe about Jews and too much food.  He even mentions that his mother would cook too much on certain occasions.

There it is, there is my opening. Under my breath but loud enough for Uncle Bernie to hear, I say “Sure, like May Day but definitely not on Shabbat, God forbid.” Now the gloves come off. While chewing some chicken, Uncle Bernie, who reminds me of so much of Larry Sanders yells at me, “I am just as Jewish as you are you self- righteous spiritually vapid slave.” Everyone stops and awaits my response.  “No, Uncle Bernie. You are a Jew. Your mother was a Jew.  Make no mistake, you are not just as Jewish. Nor am I self-righteous. I am observant. I believe in the particularism of Judaism as well as its universal values. However I do not sacrifice one at the expense of the other. For me, Pesach is NOT a one and done. Pesach is the embodiment of the hard work of raising a family, of passing along Jewish knowledge, of passing along the joy of being Jewish. It is not basking in a Judaism of ethnicity based upon a Brooklyn accent, bagels and lox, working on a kibbutz one summer. I am much more interested in the Jewish legacy that I leave with my kids. You know Uncle Bernie, I am sure that many Jews derive great pride in the fact that a Jew is running for President. Not me, I can’t tell you how upset that you are the one running for President. I wish it was Uncle Joe (Lieberman). You know why? Uncle Joe is Jewish. He isn’t just a Jew. Uncle Joe observes, he is proof that you strike a balance between the secular and the sacred; between the holy and the mundane. He is proof that you can raise kids and they will remain connected to a community and to a people. Uncle Bernie you can’t say the same thing. Your version of Judaism dies with you. Your version of Judaism with only universal values, while appealing to Millennials, will, unfortunately lead them astray once they get married, have kids, feel a bit mortal and want their kids to have a relationship with their grandparents. Beside a Judaism solely based upon Universalism demands very little if anything from its adherents. As a result there is nothing to pass down to the next generation.  You know Uncle Bernie, even Uncle Mikey (Michael Bloomberg) running for President would have been a better alternative than you. Although he is not so observant, Uncle Mikey is totally respectful, he would never think to call me self-righteous. Don’t think that I can’t see your sarcastic smirk because he is a multi- billionaire and the .001% of the 1%. You know how much Tzedakah he gives? You know how much he gives to charity, to Israel? Yep, Uncle Mikey doesn’t just talk a good game. Uncle Mikey puts his money where his mouth is. Tell me Uncle Bernie, you spent all these years in the Senate, what did you accomplish? You yelled a lot. You waved your arms a lot. You railed against many things that, I agree, were often hypocritical. But you know something Uncle Bernie, you spent so much time not being, not being a Democrat, not being Jewish, not being from Brooklyn ( you left when you were in your early twenties and moved to Vermont),  and don’t get me started about your behavior in New York State these past couple of weeks. Sure do the ethnic Jewish thing in New York. Big deal! For the rest of the primary states you don’t talk about being Jewish. Remember Uncle Bernie, in order to get stuff done you need to be a part of something”. 

“Tell me Uncle Bernie, do you know that the Midrash tells us that only 1/5 of the Jewish slaves left Egypt. The rest stayed in Egypt. I won’t say that you deny your Judaism, that is an insult to your father’s family who died in the Holocaust, and I don’t care if your social circle of friends in Vermont are Jews or not. But tell me Uncle Bernie, you have spent so much time trying to minimize the Particularism of Judaism and focus on the Universalist values, would you have left Egypt? After all, those who left, by definition had a sense of faith, they felt a sense of “choseness”. They had accepted the ideal that one must be different in behavior (ritual circumcision) all year round in order to participate in the Pesach offering. They were willing to create institutions and adhere to them rather than rid themselves of them. So tell me Uncle Bernie would you have been one of the 20% that left or remained with the 80% in Egypt. I can’t help but think that since you consistently align yourself with the 99% you would have found comfort with the vast majority as opposed to those who were truly revolutionary and willing to follow someone who was an incredibly uninspired speaker, Moshe.”

For the first time, Uncle Bernie is quiet. He finishes eating. Of course he doesn’t’ stay until the end. He didn’t really want to discuss anything. He didn’t really want to participate in the give and take of ideas and argument. He wanted to yell, and rage at all the problems but not offer solutions, nor enjoy the moments he had with us. So Uncle Bernie left, sure there were some food stains on his blue sport coat but I wasn’t going to say anything. And as we all exhaled deeply we were all happy to see Elijah come by for his cup of wine.

Peace

Rav Yitz