Passover Pondering

God commands us to annually remember, teach and celebrate the sequence of miracles we know as the Exodus. After 210 years of back breaking, heart breaking enslavement with no hope of escape, the nation of Israel suddenly gets thrown out of Egypt! Loaded with treasure given them as a going away present, 600,000 men, their families and livestock simply walk away into freedom. 

Though physically removed from captivity, the migrants remain psychologically subjugated to their past. After generations living under tyrannical government and daily influences of Egyptian customs, only a faint echo remains of God's promises for liberation and autonomy that Jacob spoke of so long ago. The Israelites now believe in magical emanations and worship animal gods. 

The ten plagues that affect Egyptians but not Jews are intended to prove the existence of a supreme God who has ultimate power over lesser deities, human will, and life and death. These miracles and the splitting of the sea assuage longstanding fears and neuroses for a short time; however, many Israelites quickly relapse into dependency on false idols when confronted with the uncertainties ahead. 

At Sinai, Moses leads the enslaved Jews out of the bondage of spiritual darkness into the revelation of God’s presence and His moral law. A thorough examination of proper behavior and attitudes follows in the vast oral and written transmissions of Torah from HaShem to Moses. 

Thus, Judaism is the world's first religion offering a pathway out of spiritual slavery. It is the first religion to forbid idol worship; the first religion to sanctify human life; the first religion to prohibit child sacrifice; the first religion to criminalize the murder of innocents; the first religion to provide a spiritually principled foundation for human interaction; to define proper behaviors between men and women; to limit intimacy to marriage; to grow societies based on truth and justice and mercy. 

As we celebrate the miracles of Passover this week, let us ask ourselves these four questions: 1) Where am I on my personal exodus from spiritual slavery to spiritual freedom?  2) Do I rely on Divine Torah principles for guidance in my life, or do I worship false idols - my own intellect, reputation, professional standing, financial status, the opinion of others? 3) Do I respect human life from conception onward and take actions to protect it? 4) Do I compromise my moral integrity for personal gain, or am I honest, fair, and forgiving?

May our pondering compel each of us to search deeper inside of ourselves for the eternal reality of a heavenly God who liberates every enslaved soul on Earth.

Cecily Routman

May there be abundant peace from Heaven, and good life upon us and upon all Israel. Amen.