This is what has stood for our ancestors and for us. For not just one has stood against us to wipe us out, but in every generation they have stood against us to wipe us out. Yet, the Holy One of Blessing saves us from their hands.
- Passover Haggadah
On the eve of the festival that celebrates the Season of Our Freedom, we are once again reminded that the world is far from being the place we dream it could be. At tonight's seder, we'll sing a song about how "in every generation they have stood against us," and we will think about yesterday's events in Overland Park, Kansas.
The song, though, should not be an occasion for bemoaning our lachrymose history or railing against the way the Jewish people have been (and are) victimized by antisemitism. Instead, hear the words of the song.
"This is what has stood for our ancestors and for us." In the context of the Haggadah, "this" refers to the covenant between God and the Jewish people. "This" is also our ability to stand above the fear and hatred that fills this sphere and to make our purpose about something higher. We are the people of the covenant, and that means that, no matter what others may do to us, we will persevere because of our loyalty to the belief in redemption. We were made for a world that is better than this.
We will mourn for the dead in Kansas and offer comfort to their families and to the survivors. We will aid a community that has been devastated by tragedy. And we will go on hoping for, and building, a better world. In short, we will uphold the covenant.
That, ultimately, is the power that saves us from the hands of destruction.
- Passover Haggadah
On the eve of the festival that celebrates the Season of Our Freedom, we are once again reminded that the world is far from being the place we dream it could be. At tonight's seder, we'll sing a song about how "in every generation they have stood against us," and we will think about yesterday's events in Overland Park, Kansas.
The song, though, should not be an occasion for bemoaning our lachrymose history or railing against the way the Jewish people have been (and are) victimized by antisemitism. Instead, hear the words of the song.
"This is what has stood for our ancestors and for us." In the context of the Haggadah, "this" refers to the covenant between God and the Jewish people. "This" is also our ability to stand above the fear and hatred that fills this sphere and to make our purpose about something higher. We are the people of the covenant, and that means that, no matter what others may do to us, we will persevere because of our loyalty to the belief in redemption. We were made for a world that is better than this.
We will mourn for the dead in Kansas and offer comfort to their families and to the survivors. We will aid a community that has been devastated by tragedy. And we will go on hoping for, and building, a better world. In short, we will uphold the covenant.
That, ultimately, is the power that saves us from the hands of destruction.
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