SHABBAT CHL HA'MOED PESACH
IS ENOUGH EVER ENOUGH?

April 13, 2917
17 Nisan 5777

Dayenu is the Seder's most popular song. It's one word refrain of dayenu that is set to a lovely and spirited melody requires no knowledge of Hebrew. Yet the theme of the text, the listing of God's wonderful gifts that unfolded during and after the Exodus is problematical. For example, had God liberated us from Egypt and not split the sea, it would have been enough. Really? At the banks of the Sea of Reeds, our newly liberated ancestors were trapped between the churning waters before them and the Egyptians closing in on their rear. Had there not been the miracle of the splitting of the sea, the Israelite emancipation would have been very short lived.

Had God given us Torah, and not brought us to Eretz Yisrael it would it have been enough. Really? Standing at Sinai for Divine Revelation, transitioned us from Pharaoh's lowly slaves to God's "Kingdom of Priests and a Holy Nation." Had He not brought us to the Promised Land, we would have become a Bedouin or desert tribe. Would that really have been enough for us? It was the final gift of Eretz Yisrael that enabled us to develop true national sovereignty.

There is a different prism, however, through which we may view dayenu's listing of God's blessings. To my mind the purpose of the text is not to enumerate God's many "kindnesses" that simply weren't sufficient. Dayenu affirms that God fulfilled the promise that "I will bring you to the land I promised to your ancestors." (Exodus 6:8) This journey was not completed in one fell swoop, but in a progression of stages, with each one, in turn, serving as the transition to the next.

Reaching and settling in Eretz Yisrael, however, did not prove to be end point of our history, since we were exiled from the Land, not once but twice. This many millennia drama continued with two exiles and the resulting development of Diaspora communities where Jewish life flourished in many lands despite the ever present force of anti-Semitism.

Our story, these days, has unfolded in the aftermath of the terrifying disaster of the Shoah that was followed by the establishment of Israel. The State continues to prosper despite its always perilous position in the Middle East. The post WWII development of American Jewry's wealth and status is an ongoing marvel for a Diaspora community, and vital Jewish life is to be found throughout the globe.

We do not know what will unfold tomorrow, but there is no doubt that today is the infrastructure for the days to come.

Isador Rabi, winner of the 1944 Nobel Prize for physics, was once asked why he became a scientist. He replied: "My mother made me a scientist without ever knowing it. Every other child would come back from school and be asked: 'What did you learn today?' My mother, however, invariably asked, Izzy, did you ask a good question today?' That made the difference. A subsequent lifetime of asking good questions made me into a scientist."

Rabi's mother, in essence, challenged him never to remain content with the knowledge he possessed at any one point in time. New realities were constantly unfolding and the task was to probe these developments and ascertain how to integrate the newly acquired knowledge in whatever were the tasks at hand. His mother would thus never permit her beloved Izzy to be satisfied with a final dayenu that implied that there was no more left to learn.

Each of us when reviewing our lives can note the stages through which we passed to reach our present moment. The times when we achieved a longed for goal was a true dayenu moment. Yet life moves on and those accomplishments often fade into the background as we set new goals in our striving to build a better tomorrow.

May we be continually blessed to ask new good questions to help us realize new achievements.

From the holy city of Jerusalem, my best wishes for a Shabbat Shalom u'Mevorach – a Shabbat of peace and blessing and a joyous and fulfilling last days of Pesach Chag Same'ach.

Rabbi Arnold M. Goodman


TZAV SHABBAT HAGADOL PESACH 5777
CELEBRATING OUR FOUR CUPS OF WINE BY SAYING NO TO NO

April 6, 2017
10 Nisan 5777

I (the Lord) will free you from . . . the Egyptians and deliver you from their bondage. I will redeem you . . . and I will take you to be My people [Exodus 6: 5-7].

Pesach's miracle of redemption is aptly celebrated with wine, the beverage that the Psalmist extols as gladdening the heart. Hence the Talmud's ruling: we are required to drink four cups of wine at the Pesach Seder. The most well known reason for this mitzvah is based on the four expressions of redemption in the Exodus verses cited above. A less well known rationale, however, is to bless and drink the four cups to publicly proclaim the miracle (pirsuma nissa).

The obvious miracle was God's suspension of nature whereby He inflicted Egypt and Pharaoh with Ten Plagues, until the tyrant acceded to Moses' clear call of "let my People go."

There is, however, a human dimension to this miracle. Moses and the Israelites at first were disheartened by Pharaoh's adamant refusal to emancipate his slaves. It was only following God's assurance that freedom was their destiny that Moses persisted in his demand. Over and again he said "No" to Pharaoh's "No, I will not let them go" This human capacity, despite significant barriers, to remain steadfastly committed to justice is, in its own way, a miracle.

Simple Justice by Richard Kluger is a detailed history about the struggle to end the segregation of schools, public conveyances, drinking fountains and rest rooms imposed upon Black Americans. Brown v. Board of Education, the 1954 landmark Supreme Court ruling which declared segregation based on color to be illegal, was the result of a long and arduous process of challenging social norms and government policies that violated the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments.

Prior to "Brown" lower courts in the South, as well as the Supreme Court, said no to the many suits to end segregation. The Black leadership, however, persevered in saying no to those no's, until the 1954 legal victory.

Marin Luther King articulated this miracle of human determination of saying no to the power establishment's no. "The arc of the moral universe," he taught, "is long, but it bends towards justice."

The Seder, at its best, should be more than a context in which to celebrate the justice of our ancestors' liberation from slavery. Consider dedicating each of the four cups of wine to four challenges, past and present, of saying no to no.

The first cup aptly celebrates the willingness and the success of our ancestors in saying no to Pharaoh's no.

Dedicate the second cup to the many participants in the great Civil Rights struggles who repeatedly said no to the no of the power structures that discriminated against men and women because of their color, gender, sexual preference or ethnic identity. We are also well aware that saying no to these no's is an ongoing challenge.

May the blessing of the third cup strengthen our resolve to encourage and support those throughout the world, in Syria, Iran and in many nations, who struggle to free themselves from the chains that keep them enslaved and endangered. The dissidents of those nations who defiantly answer no to the no of their tormentors need our support.

Raise the fourth cup in celebration of the occasions when, in our personal lives, whether in our work place, our relationships, in seeking justice, we successfully said no to no. May we ever be blessed with the capacity to stand up for our rights and to preserve our dignity.

From the holy city of Jerusalem, my best wishes for a Shabbat Shalom u'Mevorach – a Shabbat of peace and blessing and a joyous and fulfilling Pesach celebration. Chag Same'ach.

Rabbi Arnold M. Goodman