The joke goes around that most Jewish holidays can be explained away very simply - they tried to kill us; they did not succeed; let's eat!" This would not work well with Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, but there is an element of truth here, simplified though it is.
What is not so simple to explain away is the hate that has continued throughout history and time and why, even in countries where there are no Jews or very few, there is still that anti-Semitism , that virulent hatred that has pustules that burst all over the world.
And make no mistake about it. The hatred of anti- Semitism is the same hatred that abounds all over the world in other ways. The Sunni and the Shiites, the Houthis who hate everyone! The irrational hatred of those who are different in any way, real or perceived, the hatred of those whose orientations are other than what is considered the norms - and no matter how much rationality, logic and sense is applied to the problem, there appears to be no end in sight. What seems to have become better suddenly erupts from below the surface and it is ugly!
That is why the holiday of Passover is so meaningful this year. For hundreds of years the Children of Israel had lived in slavery in a land where their ancestor had once saved the country from ruin, where they had once lived in honor and prosperity. Yet they still managed to hang on to at least some of their heritage and some of their courage as they stepped off into the night on their way to the land of their ancestors, promised to them forever. They have never forgotten that promise and fight to keep it still, to this day.
Courage, humanity, decency, hope, all can be crushed, stomped on, until it is almost unrecognizable and yet, and yet,......there it is and will remain. In the depths of the horror of the genocide of WWII, possible survivors, the youngest and the strongest, were urged to survive, to tell the story. Even in that horror where the end goal was a stated mad desire to wipe out all Jewry, all over the world, where the goals and needs of the war were subjugated to this horrific goal, even then there was still that grain of hope , that knowledge that yes, some would survive and we would live once more, to fulfill our destiny and our assignment - to be a light unto the nations.
That light, that assignment, is what has kept us going, kept our faith with our G-d, ourselves and with the world. Tikkun Olam, the fixing of the world, is a commandment, a theme, that runs through our lives and will continue to do so for all eternity.
So when we see the hate that abounds today, the anger, the illogical laws that are passed trying to control all and condemn some to a lower, lesser place within society or even outside of society, we will join in the fray and fight for what is right. Today we have Arkansas trying to pass an even worse bill than Indiana, despite the boycotting and the shame that has hit Indiana. Walmart warns off the state of Arkansas but such is the hatred, the foaming, frothing hatred that people do not listen. And make no bones about it - where one is hated, many more will be included as time goes on. Hatred, prejudice, is like the Blob of the old teen movies. It just grows and consumes all within its path and no good results.
So this year, whether you are at the seder, eating a matza sandwich for lunch, or chasing Easter eggs in the hunt on the lawn, let us all remember the humanity that we share, that we need to further and stress, and perhaps we can all do a better job in making our world, large and small, a better place.
I will be away for the holidays with family and will try to post, but it will be irregular - and remember, the community wiring there is faulty (gee!), but be patient. Thanks.
I wish all a Chag Sameach, a zissen Pesach, a sweet Passover, and a Happy Easter.
Now......let's eat!
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