PESACH LAST DAYS 5778
BROKEN MATZA AND THE LITTLE GOAT
April 5, 2018
20 Nisan 5778
Pesach celebrates freedom. The exodus from Egypt is a timeless paradigm of the human longing for liberation. The Bible commands us to tell and retell this ancient story through the generations as an affirmation that it is God's will that the descendents of Adam and Eve create societies and communities where freedom is the norm. Abraham Lincoln articulated this timeless ideal and challenge when he asserted: "I believe this government cannot endure permanently, half slave and half free."
One of the first rituals of the Seder is yachatz, raising and splitting a matza into a larger and smaller "half" with the former being set aside for the afikomen. The split matza symbolizes that the path to being a free and equal society is strewn with conflicting interests and goals. There is the inevitable disdain of the "other" based on differences of color, creed or religion. Creating a free and redemptive society requires an ongoing open give and take that flowers into a compromise where none of the parties is left with a whole matza.
The first part of the Seder is the retelling of our ancestors' march toward freedom. Following the traditional festive meal, the seder resumes with a series of liturgical selections that express the joy of redemption. This section is introduced with the cup of Elijah the Prophet, the symbol of our hope that the day will soon come when all humanity will bask in the warmth of the Messianic era. The "End of Days" envisioned by Isaiah is one of peace and contentment, free of strife and competing interests.
The last word of the Seder, however, is the popular and beloved Chad Gadya, the song about the little goat that father bought for two coins. We know the story: the little goat is devoured by the cat, which in turn was bitten by the dog, which is then smote by a stick… Each aggressor was consumed by a more powerful enemy with the slaughterer being the last earthly power in this sequence. He is overcome by the Angel of Death who is then vanquished by the Holy One Blessed be He, who finally intercedes to end all this madness.
What distinguishes each in the chad gadya cast is the fierce determination to totally vanquish the opponent or enemy. There is no hint of compromise; each party demands total control. The challenge of yachatz, of the split matza, of being satisfied for less than the whole is sadly absent in Chad Gadya.
Thus, following our long night of telling and retelling, of singing, eating and celebrating, we are sent home with the sober awareness that our world is far from redemption–the aversion to compromise ultimately threatens us all.
Fortunately, there are voices cautioning against saber rattling, voices which challenge the view of "my way is the only way." May each of us find his/her way to join with, and to strengthen, those voices committed to moving us closer to that world of peace and harmony so beautifully symbolized by Elijah's Cup.
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From the holy city of Jerusalem, my best wishes for a Shabbat Shalom u'Mevorach, a Shabbat of peace and blessing, and a chag sameach, a joyous culmination of our Festival of Freedom.
Rabbi Arnold M. Goodman
PESACH 5778
DAYENU – REDEMPTION TEMPLATE
March 27, 2018
13 Nisan 5778
Had He just taken us out of Egypt but not punished the Egyptians, Dayenu, it would have been sufficient for us.
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Had he just drowned our enemies into the sea, but not given us everything we needed in the desert for 40 years, Dayenu, it would have been sufficient for us.
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Had he just enabled us to enter Eretz Yisrael, but not enabled us to build the Holy Temple, Dayenu, it would have been sufficient for us. [From the Haggadah]
This familiar and spirited Seder song traces fourteen divine acts from the enslavement in Egypt to the ge'ulah (redemption) with the settling in the Promised Land and the construction of the Holy Temple in Jerusalem.
Realistically however, would it have been enough for the glorious night of the Exodus to have been ended at the banks of the Red Sea with the newly redeemed Israelites once again at the mercy of Pharaoh and his hosts? Would the miraculous rescue at the sea been sufficient if the redeemed Israelites had been consigned to endlessly wander in the Sinai desert? Would reaching the Promised Land have been sufficient without the physical evidence of God's presence symbolized by Solomon's Holy Temple?
The lesson of Dayenu's enumeration of the step-by-step process leading from enslavement to ge'ulah is that redemption must be viewed an evolutionary process with each attainment serving as the building block for the next. Dayenu thus records the redemptive process of Pharaoh's former slaves being transformed into the servants of God.
During our long history of exile, Jewish families gathered at their Seder tables burdened by poverty, subjected to persecution, and relegated to statelessness in a Mitzraim (Egypt) of their day. Joining in Dayenu strengthened the hope that they too would ultimately be redeemed. Tragically, these dreams were seldom realized.
We are ever grateful that this is not the lot of American Jews who are equal citizens in this glorious land of freedom and enjoying its prosperity and security. For us, Dayenu celebrates not only the redemption of our ancestors who established themselves in Eretz Yisrael, but our sense of being truly liberated and redeemed.
Yet, there is a caveat embedded in Dayenu. Jewish history did not end with our hegemony over the Promised Land and the erection of the glorious Temple on the Mount. In time both the First and Second Temples were destroyed and Jewish hegemony eluded us until the establishment in 1948 of the State of Israel.
During the evening, Elijah the prophet is welcomed to our Seder to sip from his designated cup that has been filled to the brim with sweet wine. This figure that is to precede the coming of the Messiah is yet to put his lips upon his cup. Jewish hope, however, springs eternal, and we await the Messianic era when all humanity will rejoice in the ultimate ge'ulah.
May our singing of Dayenu strengthen our resolve to share in the painstaking process of bringing redemption for the many people of all faiths, creeds and origins, now tragically entrapped in their own Mitzraims.
For us as American Jews, may Dayenu inspire us to utilize our strength and resources to help fashion a nationwide ge'ulah that will transform America into a land that is truly blessed for all.
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From the holy city of Jerusalem, my best wishes for a Shabbat Shalom u'Mevorach, and a Chag Sameach, a fulfilling and joyous celebration of Pesach.
Rabbi Arnold M. Goodman
