The irony of celebrating the festival of freedom in lockdown

RABBI SAM THURGOOD

Well, we’ll soon have the truth of both of those statements – albeit in the reverse, in the suddenness with which the novel coronavirus has come upon us. Billions of people in lockdown around the world, police stopping to check people when they leave the house. Millions of businesses closed for weeks. All of this certainly feels like a dream, and the situation has escalated more rapidly than we could have believed possible.

These are challenging times, and we must brace ourselves for more difficulties times to come. But, we have a principle in Torah that the measure of goodness is far greater than the measure of difficulty; that from the challenge itself we can see the greatness of the reward. If this virus and all of its ensuing hardship has come upon us so suddenly and unbelievably, we must believe that so too can salvation. As Jewish people, we have been excitedly awaiting redemption for thousands of years, and for all those who say that such a thing is unrealistic, we are witness to how the world can be turned upside down.

This year, Pesach will be, for many of us, the first time at such a small seder and the first time we lead it ourselves. Never has the mandate that we received before the giving of the Torah been more strongly felt: that we must be “a kingdom of priests and a holy nation”. That every one of us must be a spiritual leader. Usually we are content (and understandably so) to have one member of the family or group take on this responsibility, but now millions of Jews around the world will be running their own seder – whether for one person or for 10 – on their own. It presents a real challenge, but also a significant opportunity to rise to the occasion.

The Talmud teaches us that the seder takes the form of questions and answers, and that even if we are celebrating the seder alone, we ask ourselves the questions and teach ourselves the answers. Each of us is a questioner and a seeker, and each of us a guide and a teacher. May we be inspired to continue to learn and to grow, to help and to share even as we return to “normal” life.

We also gain a deeper appreciation this year of the central role of Pesach and redemption in Jewish life. Our ancestors in Egypt experienced oppression, slavery, and unimaginable hardship, and must at times have felt abandoned and forgotten. But they weren’t. Hashem’s message to us was that He loves us, has remembered us, and will redeem us.

The experience of going “from slavery to freedom, from grief to joy, from mourning to festivity, from darkness to great light, and from servitude to redemption” is central in Jewish observance. We mention the exodus from Egypt in the Shema every day, and when we make kiddush (blessings) on Shabbat. It is referenced in the Torah when speaking about countless mitzvot, and even in giving the ten commandments, Hashem introduces himself to us as, “Hashem your G-d, who took you out of the land of Egypt from the house of slavery.” Why is this so important? Because we need to know that Hashem has never forgotten us, and will indeed redeem us once more.

The irony of experiencing the festival of freedom in lockdown isn’t lost on me. I’m not a prophet who can tell you the meaning of these dark days that have come upon us, when they will end, or the toll that they will take, but I can tell you of the power of faith that has sustained our people through darker days than these. I can tell you of Natan Sharansky in the solitary confinement cell of a Soviet prison, saying tehillim (psalms), and feeling himself a part of his people in spite of his distance from them. I can tell you of the women in the Warsaw Ghetto, who had children and chose to bring them into the world, believing that Hashem’s future would ultimately be good. I can tell you of Noah and his family, who saw the entire world destroyed, everyone and everything they had ever known lost to them, but afterwards were given the revelation of the rainbow – the symbol of Hashem’s faithfulness and love.

The world won’t be destroyed, and one day, we will celebrate together once more. There is a joke which I have always enjoyed, “Next year in Jerusalem. The year after that – how about a nice cruise?” The point of that joke is that Jerusalem has miraculously become so very accessible to us over the past 50 years, that it can be experienced as simply another destination.

This year those words: leshana haba’ah b’Yerushalayim (next year in Jerusalem) will hold a special meaning and significance. We will be praying for ourselves – to be present, in good health, and capable of making the trip. We will be praying for Jerusalem – to be restored, healed, safe, and open to us once more – and we will be praying for the redemption of the world, the time in which death is swallowed up forever, and we will know sadness no more.

May Hashem bless us all with strength and courage, with faith and love, with togetherness and health, with prosperity and security, and with a chag kasher v’sameach (a kosher and joyous Pesach).

• Rabbi Sam Thurgood is the rabbi of the Beit Midrash Morasha @ Arthur’‘s Road congregation.