What Pesach teaches the youth

VARIOUS

Habonim: social justice, freedom, and equality
Eden Plein, Sganit Mazkira Klali, Habonim Dror SA

Pesach offers so many lessons for Habonim youth. In the Pesach story, the Jewish people are confronted with the issues of social justice, freedom, community, self-restraint, and more. It is essential that we take advantage of these lessons as diaspora Jewry in 2019.

For Habonim, Pesach is, of course, an undeniable message about the importance of kehillah (community). The story of the entire nation being discriminated against in exile, and then experiencing the hardships of nomadic life together as a unit, emphasises our bond with one another as Jews. From the Pesach story, we learn that Judaism is central to a Jew’s identity, no matter where or when.

We are even confronted with the complexities of separation within the kehillah when we reflect on the account of the encampment of the tribes of Israel in the book of Bamidbar. To protect the tabernacle, they travelled in an ordered, uniform formation, with each tribe having its own role to play. It reminds us how in our community, there are different internal tribes with differing cultural, political, and perhaps religious beliefs. However, we all work towards the same goal, namely the preservation and advancement of our people. Testament to this message is the fact that, ultimately, each tribe received the same Torah, transcribed by Moshe on Har Sinai (Mount Sinai).

This focal point in our history solidifies the fact that we are, and will always be, a people distinct from the rest of the world, tasked with the responsibility of shedding light in the world.

Just as our ancestors ate unleavened bread when exiting the land of Egypt, we refrain from eating leavened grain on Pesach. Even this mitzvah is directly linked to the above message of kehillah, that we carry with us our ancestor’s blessings and burdens in the preservation of the culture and essence of our people.

Moreover, in 2019, the mitzvah of refraining from various common food products teaches us about self-restraint, and contextualises our privilege in the land of Israel and the diaspora.

The way that the Jewish nation fought for its freedom in the Pesach story implicitly teaches us that as Jews, we believe in the right to autonomy of all people. With this in mind, Habonim’s Pesach story is a present-day call to form alliances with those without autonomy. With independence in our own state of Israel, it becomes our duty to advocate for all those who still face persecution, and to act always in the image of justice, freedom, and equality.

Netzer: our progressive seder 
Rachael Sara, head of Netzer Cape Town

Pesach is all about freedom, right? The story goes that we were slaves in Mitzrayim (Egypt) and then Pharaoh let us go and thus, we were free… or were we?

Today, though many of us have woken up and realised what our role is in creating a better world, there are still oppressors evident in our lives, Technology? Discrimination? Unkindness? Unfavourable laws? Child labour? Closed-mindedness? How can we celebrate freedom when there are so many who do not have this privilege? These are the questions we must ask at our seder.

So how is our seder different from all other seders?

In progressive Judaism, we not only have the kos Eliyahu (cup for Elijah the prophet), but also the kos Miriam (cup for Miriam). Miriam, as we know, saved Moses’ life by giving him to the waters, allowing the flowing streams to take him to where he needed to be to rise up and become the leader that he was.

This theme of water stuck with Miriam even in the desert. A well, filled with mayim chayim (life sustaining waters), followed the Israelites through the desert only while Miriam was alive. The kos Miriam symbolises these life-sustaining waters on our seder table. We, as South Africans, know all too well how valuable this resource is.

The tradition that accompanies the legend of Miriam can take on many forms at the progressive seder. One of these is to bring an empty kos Miriam to the table at the start of the seder. Each guest at the table is required to pour a little water from their own glass into the kos Miriam. As each person pours into the cup, they talk about how someone or something has nurtured them and given them life-sustaining guidance.

This honours Miriam and the life-sustaining impact she had on us in the desert. It also symbolises the fact that we all need to contribute to sustaining this world. It must be the work of many to truly achieve the freedom for all that we so desperately seek.

The kos Miriam also allows us to celebrate women in Judaism. The Pesach mitzvah is not only to tell the story, but to ask questions. So, we tell the legend of Miriam, and ask what else can be done in this world to enhance women’s rights.

There are so many struggles that need our attention, so many people still in chains. The question is what we choose to engage with and tackle, because none of us are free in a world where there is but one person in chains.

Bnei Akiva: learning so much from so little 
Illan Biddle, national chairperson, Bnei Akiva

Pesach teaches us powerful lessons which relate to Bnei Akiva’s commitment to the Jewish people, the land of Israel, and the Torah.

These come from a mishne (commentary), which states, “He begins with shame and concludes with praise.” The Talmudic sage Shmuel explains it as follows, “he begins with shame” refers to avadim hayinu (we were slaves) and “he concludes with praise” refers to “Hashem our G-d took us out from there”.

Why was it necessary for us to begin with the shame of humiliating, backbreaking labour in servitude to Pharaoh? What lessons can we learn as Bnei Akiva?

Rav Soloveitchik explains that only through brutal slavery were the Jews able to truly understand the cruelty of human suffering. Consequently, a feeling of compassion and sensitivity toward their fellow man was engendered within them. Without being enslaved, they would never have been able to reach true levels of empathy and sensitivity toward others. Slavery allowed the Jewish nation to become a truly free nation with the ability to comprehend the difficulties of others and act mercifully toward one another.

The question can also be answered with the analogy of a bow and arrow. If we attempt to shoot an arrow without pulling back the bow string, what will happen? Most likely it will stay put. However, what will happen to the arrow if we pull the bow string back and release it? It will travel a great distance. The same is true for the Jewish nation. It is through being pulled back so greatly by harsh slavery that we can blossom into the strong, united, successful nation we are today.

This is also true of eretz Yisrael (the land of Israel). Following a brutal exile, you might think it best to give up on the dream of returning to your homeland. However, in spite of and perhaps because of our suffering and exile, many Jews have returned to Israel, and many others continue to pursue the dream of returning to their homeland.

We can apply this lesson to our personal lives. In spite of our failure or suffering, we must never give up. Rather we should use our setbacks to push us forward.

The final lesson comes from the fact that from just one statement in the mishne, and one simple question regarding the statement, we have learned two incredible, relevant lessons. It is one small example of the limitless depth of Torah, and the overflowing lessons within.

Betar: Pesach is further proof of our connection to Israel 
Yossi Malherbe, Sgan Rosh Hanhaga, Betar

Pesach is a special chag for Betar, a Zionist youth movement, as it is the story of how we gained our freedom from slavery, and began our return to the land promised to Abraham and the Jewish people. It shows a more than 3 000-year-old connection with Israel.

Pesach offers proof that without a Jewish state, the Jewish people will be weak and at risk. Since Israel’s independence in 1948, Jewish people have been persecuted less than at any time in history since the destruction of the second temple. Instead, it has helped to save Jews around the globe. As Betarim, it is our duty to stand by Israel, and to encourage Jews to move to Israel so that the country can flourish even further.

Our claim to Israel is religious and legal. Following the Ottoman Empire, an international agreement called the Sykes-Picot Agreement (1916) divided Arab lands under the empire’s control into French and British spheres, giving them rights to areas such as Syria, Lebanon, parts of Iraq and Turkey, Israel, and Armenia.

In the hope of creating a peaceful relationship between Jews and their Muslim neighbours, the British Mandate of Palestine set out only 22% of the territory for the Jewish state. The rest became Jordan.

Israel is both our ancient religious soil, and a legally designated area for Jews whose borders were shaped by international votes and defensive wars.

People argue that Jews have no claim to Israel, a country in which the majority are Jews and there are democratically elected officials. No-one discusses the Alawite minority rulers of Syria, the Muslim rulers of Persian Iran, or Saudis receiving Jordan. If no one has a problem with other Sykes-Picot land distributions, why take issue with Israel? Palestinians are banned from working in various fields in Syria, not in Israel. Why target Israel for “apartheid” when Syria is guilty of it, not Israel?

Today’s anti-Semitism is being rebranded as anti-Zionism.

For the love of our people and the love of our religious/legal/just homeland, Betar sees the Jewish land and the Jewish people as one, knowing that Israel is just, and Zionism and Judaism are connected. On Pesach, Betaris around the world reiterate their commitment to stand up for Israel and Zionism, to help protect our eternal homeland, and to keep Jews around the world connected through Zionism.